A "pop-up holiday shop" at the RiverTown Crossings mall in Grandville, MI (a suburb of Grand Rapids) has been selling Confederate Battle Flags & t-shirts with the flag's imagery prominently displayed on them, but a couple of local public-school teachers (who also happen to be husband & wife) didn't like seeing the flag there and announced a protest to be held the day after Christmas.
Jon Jaco, owner of the temporary store called '3rd Dimension,' respectfully heard the unfounded complaints against the flag from Jim & Sonja Schultz-Fryer, both long-time teachers in Grand Rapids Public Schools who are currently teaching at Burton Middle School. The two then complained to mall management over the flag imagery, which resulted in the mall asking Mr. Jaco to not display the shirts with the flag near the entrance to his shop, so as to keep it out of view for passers-by. The Fryers, however, are not satisfied by simply moving the flag from sight; they want it taken off of the shelves!
Mr. Jaco, to his credit, has been unwilling to cease sales of the flag and merchandise with it's imagery. Aside from these items being quite popular among shoppers, Mr. Jaco is more educated about history than the two public school teachers and knows the flag is a symbol of resistance to tyranny. He also sells other such merchandise items, such as pro-Second Amendment shirts and Gadsden flags ("Don't Tread On Me").
The Fryers announced, via a Christmas Day news article on MLive.com, that they would be holding a protest outside of the shoppe on the day after Christmas.
The Michigan Camps of the SCV were on top of this about two hours after the story broke. Cmdr. James Perkins, Commander of the 'MajGen. Patrick R. Cleburne' SCV Camp #2257 out of Grand Rapids, was immediately notified. Cmdr. Perkins personally paid a visit to the '3rd Dimension' store at RiverTown Crossings the next day to support Mr. Jon Jaco and his business in the face of any protest that might materialize.
The Fryers cancelled their planned protest early that morning, citing prior commitments during the holiday weekend as the reason. Cmdr. Perkins reported back that no other protesters ever materialized either, but a little lady did make an appearance outside of the store wearing a hat with the Confederate Battle Flag on it and she proceeded to unfurl a Third National Flag of the Confederacy in support of Mr. Jaco and his store. Cmdr. Perkins also said he had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jaco, who he described as "an impressive gentleman and entrepreneur who knows his U.S. history."
We here at the Michigan Camps of the Sons of Confederate Veterans would like to salute you, Mr. Jon Jaco, for your commitment to spreading a true history of the Confederacy through your business, and we support your stand against those (especially these two mis-educators) who would seek to revise and distort history in the minds of the public!
We are also very grateful to Cmdr. Perkins for taking the time out of his Christmas weekend to respond to the situation on such short notice.
If you'd like to support Mr. Jaco's business ('3rd Dimension') by purchasing one (or more) of the fine shirts or flags he sells, his temporary store at RiverTown Crossings is scheduled to be open through December 31st. You can get more information about RiverTown Crossings, including it's location and hours of operation, by clicking *HERE*.
DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms, SCV Camp #1321
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