Did Lawrenceburg’s German Catholics tear down the American flag flying above Sacred Heart School in Lawrenceburg and burn it in the yard when the United States declared war on Germany in 1917?

No, they certainly did not.

But unfortunately, that did not stop that rumor–and many others just as malicious–from spreading rapidly through the county when the United States entered World War I.

At that time, Sacred Heart School of Lawrenceburg owned a very large, very beautiful, and very expensive American flag, which flew from the school. Interestingly enough, the Lawrence ‘Democrat’ reported that Sacred Heart School was the first public building in Lawrence County to ever fly the American flag–apparently even predating the court house!

To protect the flag from the elements, it was the habit of school officials to take it down during inclement weather. Such was the case on April 7, 1917. As is normal for our area in the springtime, several bands of thunderstorms had pummeled Lawrence County that day, and school officials took the flag indoors to protect it.

Unfortunately for school officials, their timing could not have been worse. The day before they removed the flag, the United States had declared war on Germany, marking our nation’s entry into World War I. Some of the town’s non-German population noticed that the flag was gone, and as Sacred Heart Church and Sacred Heart School had been founded by German immigrants, the false rumor spread that the town’s German inhabitants had torn the flag from its pole and burned it in response to the United States’s declaration of war on Germany.

In addition to the rumor regarding Sacred Heart School’s flag, it was whispered about town that Father Ottke, an elderly and kind-hearted old German priest, had left Lawrenceburg in order to be a German spy. However, in addition to being the victim of ignorance and xenophobia, Father Ottke, like the school officials, was probably also the victim of bad timing. He had left Lawrenceburg about the time that war was declared on Germany, but, as Dr. Neal told the ‘Democrat,’ Father Ottke had left town for his health, as he was far too old and feeble to be a spy for anyone.

Contrary to these idle rumors, Lawrence County’s German population remained, on the whole, extremely loyal to the United States throughout both world wars.

The Lawrence ‘Democrat’ had harsh words for those who perpetuated such rumors against the county’s German population: “No man who loves America ought to circulate or give credence to such yarns so calculated as they are to stir up prejudice and provoke injustice. It is not the part either of patriotism or decent citizenship.”