Clank Robbins, owner of A and C Flag Company, has had a special love for the U.S. flag since his days serving in the ROTC in college and a stint in the Army Quartermaster Corps.
Clank Robbins’ Centralia garage is packed to capacity with high-quality made-in-America flags.
Clank Robbins, owner of A and C Flag Company, is planning to retire after about 15 years of providing made-in-America flags of all sizes and kinds at low costs.
Fifteen years ago, Clank Robbins was preparing for a well-earned retirement when he decided instead to start a new business, but not with the intention of making a profit.
“Having been in the service, I’ve always enjoyed flags,” he said. “At this time in our world situation, I think it’s very important we respect the flag and treat it properly.”
But Robbins was dismayed to discover that most U.S. flags aren’t actually made in America, but rather in China.
He and a friend founded A and C Flag Company with the intention of buying and distributing made-in-America flags and flagpoles to as many people as possible at affordable prices, he said.
“I really wasn’t interested in a profit,” he said. “I just wanted to see more flags in our county.”
Since then, he’s sold thousands of the high-quality flags. But at 87 years old, he’s preparing to retire again, and for good this time.
Clank Robbins, who was born Clarence but never liked his given name and acquired his nickname while in school, graduated from Centralia High School in 1949.
He attended the University of Washington, where he participated in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. He later spent a few years in the Army’s Quartermaster Corps before coming back to Centralia to drive a delivery route for Wonder Bread.
His time in the ROTC and the Army gave him a lifelong respect for the U.S. flag, he said.
Robbins also owned a furniture store in Chehalis for 40 years and was one of the founders of Stillwaters Estates in Centralia, where he still lives.
In the early 2000s, he sold his stake in the estates and planned to retire, but that didn’t last for long.
“I guess I’ve always needed something to do,” he said.
He started A and C Flag company out of his home. In addition to U.S. flags, he stocks durable nylon and polyester college and military flags, pennants and flag poles in various sizes. He also collects tattered or worn-out flags and disposes of them as flag-etiquette requires — by burning them as part of a ceremony.
“My garage is completely full of flags, so my cars sit in the driveway,” he said.
Robbins estimates he’s sold thousands of flags in Lewis, Grays Harbor, Cowlitz and Thurston counties through mostly word-of-mouth advertising.
He buys the flags in bulk from two large U.S. based-manufacturers to get the best deal possible, then resells them for a deep discount or close to wholesale, he said.
“Once they buy a flag from me, they always come back,” he said.
Robbins can be contacted at 360-736-5860.
