78-Year-Old Rancher Scales 130-Foot Flagpole To Fly Massive American Flag Over Star Valley

On a prominent hill in Star Valley, a 1,500-square-foot American flag flies from a 130-foot-tall flagpole. When the massive flag needs to be replaced, ranch owner Darcel Hulse, 78, insists on doing the work himself.

“I’m an old guy, but I’m not afraid of heights,” Hulse told Cowboy State Daily. “Our hired hand and my son-in-law are a little timid about it, but it doesn’t bother me a bit.”

When a microburst windstorm tore the ropes keeping the flag up, Hulse called a local crane operator to hoist him up so he could install a new line of much stronger rope. Amy Rhodes, Hulse’s daughter, filmed her father as he was lifted to the top of the flagpole.

“I offered to do it,” Rhodes said, “but (Dad) said, ‘A mother of five? I’m not letting you do that.’”

Rhodes posted the video of her father rigging and raising his flag over the Salt River Ranch once again. Since August 12, it has received over 1.4 million plays, accompanied by an outpouring of optimism and patriotism.

“We've had wonderful responses from the community,” Hulse said. “Wherever you go, they don't know your name, but they know you by the flag.”

His Statement

Hulse, the owner of the Salt River Ranch, first raised the massive 50-foot-by-30-foot flag on its towering flagpole last September. He went big because he wanted to make a big statement.

“I have a great love for the country, but I was not in love with what was going on in our country at the time,” he said. “I decided to put that flag up as my stand against all of the stuff and show our love for the country.”

A 50-foot-tall hill on Hulse’s ranch was chosen as the perfect spot to put the homemade 130-foot-tall flagpole. Once the pole was painted and installed, Hulse bought the huge American flag from Colonial Flag in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Since then, the flag has become a fixture of the landscape in Star Valley. When the ropes broke this summer, Hulse took the opportunity to replace the flag, as well.

“Because of the strategic location, you can see it from quite a ways away,” he said. “Our new flag is more colorful, but flags fade in our harsh environment, and we need to keep a vibrant flag out there.”

Star Valley residents definitely noticed when that star-spangled banner wasn’t yet waving o’er the land of Star Valley.

“When it was down, everybody was calling,” Rhodes said. “They said, ‘Where’s our flag? What happened to our flag?’ They feel like it’s their flag, too, and it’s become part of the community.”

Grade A In The USA

Hulse was born in Idaho, not far from Star Valley, but spent a good portion of his life in California.

“They had better education at that time, and so we raised the family there,” he said.

He moved to Wyoming in 2009 and bought the Salt River Ranch in 2018. It was his way to “come back to the roots” he left in the West. 

Hulse now runs a family ranching business that sells premium, dry-aged beef, free from added hormones and antibiotics.

“We sell premium beef by the cut and the bundle,” Rhodes said. “We are a direct-to-consumer operation. All of our cattle are born and raised on our ranch, taken right to a USDA processing facility, and shipped from our ranch to doorsteps nationwide.”

Rhodes manages marketing and social media for the Salt River Ranch. Business has been good since they started three years ago, and it’s been boosted by the presence of her father’s massive flag.

Hulse is pleased with the growing success of the Salt River Ranch, which he credits to his daughter’s marketing savvy.  

“If I were in charge of all that stuff, we wouldn’t be selling any beef,” he said. “I’d be enjoying the ranch on a smaller scale. The marketing’s all hers.

Oh Say Can You See

Patriotism runs in the family. American flags have been abundant on the ranch since the family moved there.

“We raise flags on the border of our property along Highway 89 every Fourth of July,” Rhodes said.

Hulse had installed solar-powered lights at the base of the flagpole to ensure his massive flag is well-lit at all times. He was contemplating taking the flag down this winter, just to save himself the effort of clearing snow off the panels, but Rhodes was skeptical.

“He didn’t take it down last year, and I know he’ll keep it up this year,” she said.

At the very least, Hulse hopes he won’t have to ascend to the top of the flagpole anytime soon. The new rope is much stronger, so the flag should stay up, and just because he’s comfortable fiddling 130 feet in the air doesn’t mean he’s keen to do it all the time.

“There wasn't much extra boom to get me to the top, I'll tell you that,” he said.

Nevertheless, the massive flag on the Salt River Ranch has become a point of pride for Hulse, his family, the Star Valley community, and thousands of people appreciating it from afar. Hulse is committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure his flag is there to stay.

“That’s our goal, and we’re committed to it,” he said.

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.