When Superintendent Arthur C. Manning took charge of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, there was no flagpole on campus, and the United States flag was not displayed. Wanting to change this, he erected a small flagpole outside the window of his sun porch, personally raising and lowering the flag each day.
One day, a group of men approached him, offering to donate a flagpole and a flag to WPSD. However, Manning suspected they were affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. He declined their offer, explaining his reasons, but told them they were welcome to present their proposal to the Board of Trustees, who would be meeting at the school the following Thursday. The men never returned.
Shortly after, Manning received a letter from a local representative in the state legislature. The letter stated that it had been reported WPSD did not display the U.S. flag and had refused a donated flagpole and flag. Manning responded, explaining that he displayed a flag daily from his apartment window and that he had merely suggested the donors bring their offer to the Board of Trustees. He also pointed out that he disapproved of the way they had bypassed this process. The legislator promptly replied, assuring Manning that his explanation was entirely satisfactory. It was clear that the would-be donors had resented his opposition to their organization and had attempted to discredit him with the legislature which provided funding for the school. Soon after, a 90-foot flagpole was generously donated by O.J.H. Hartsuff, the superintendent of the Edgar Thompson Steel Works in Braddock. The flagpole was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1923, on the front lawn of the Main Building. From that day forward, a large U.S. flag was flown daily—except in stormy weather—throughout Manning’s tenure at WPSD.