Upon completion of every home he owns and remodels, Mike Spillane likes to leave behind his mark—an American flag. It’s just something he does.

“I think every home should have a flag on it. I actually make a point of purchasing them locally, from a Batavia store,” he says. “Before my homes go on the market I always make sure they have a flag and a mailbox. To me, they symbolize the completion of a project and a sense of pride in the community.”

Flags have been hung on and around homes for decades. Standards for displaying the American flag were set forth by the United Sates Code and written into law by Congress in 1942.