no. 215 julynava september 2012 the flag of ... · they are valuable as publicity and marketing...

NO. 215 JULY—SEPTEMBER 2012

NAVANews

www.nava.org

The Quarterly Newsletter of theNorth American Vexillological Association

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...Minuteman “Bullseye” Flag . . . . . . . . . . 5John M. Purcell: A Tribute . . . . . . . . . . . 6Contest Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818th-Century Gadsden Flag Image. . . . . 8New Flag: First Nations Tax Commission 9The Trials of a “Flag Man” . . . . . . . . . . . 10New York World’s Fair 1939–40 . . . . . . . 11Flag Humor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Member Flags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Planting the Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14NAVA 46 2012: Columbus, Ohio. . . . . . 14

U.S. Naval commissioning pennants in thecollections of the National Museum of

American History, Washington, D.C. Ted Kaye

The Flag of CameroonThe Flag of CameroonPage 2

one’s challenges, [c]ommon sense dictates an avoid-ance of . . . extremes. I say to you: ‘Do something’;and when you have done that something, if it works,do it some more; and if it does not work, then dosomething else.

NAVA's last great risk was daring to inaugurate anacademic journal, Raven. It could have easily failed,either financially or in quality. President Scot Guenterdid not let the fear of failure stop his vision back in1994. And look at what NAVA has to show for thatachievement: seventeen volumes of serious scholar-ship, with three volumes receiving the Vexillon fromFIAV for the most important contribution to vexillologyduring the preceding two years: 3/4 (Flags of theNative Peoples of the United States), 9/10 (AmericanCity Flags Part 1: United States—150 Flags from Akronto Yonkers), and 16 (Russian Regional Flags: The Flagsof the Subjects of the Russian Federation). No othervexillological organization has as many "Oscars", andit started with an idea.

But that was 1994. NAVA needs to dare boldlyagain—and we will.

HUGH BRADYPRESIDENT

Friends:

Building on the last two columns, I planned this columnto discuss the principle of leadership; more specifically,the type of leadership that NAVA needs as it approach-es its 50th anniversary in 2017.

While that remains the topic, I must first note thedeath in June of our friend and mentor Dr. John Purcell.

John was a quiet leader who, for over three decades,rendered exceptional service to NAVA motivated by hisunrivaled love for the organization. His tireless workcontinued to ensure NAVA’s well-being and that workwill be sorely missed. Fuller tributes appear in thisissue and will appear in Raven.

At my first NAVA meeting in Nashville, Johnbefriended me and entertained me with his dry wit and

good humor. John encouraged meto serve as NAVA president and hewas always there with thoughtfuladvice and keen insight during mytenure. He will be missed.

In NAVA News 213, I discussedWhitney Smith’s six fundamentalcommitments for vexillology and

suggested that we renew our focus on those to “pro-vide a fuller philosophy for a responsible approach toour work as vexillologists and an antidote to pettinessand personal gain”. In NAVA News 214, I reviewed ourrelationship with our Canadian members and the needto fully realize our promise as a bi-national organiza-tion.

NAVA is in the midst of two great changes; one tovexillology and the other generational. With the end ofthe Flag Research Center as an ongoing business, theend of the regular publication of both The Flag Bulletinand Flagscan, and the withdrawal from active participa-tion of some of the leading figures of the last 50 yearsof vexillology, there is a huge void in our discipline forwhich few organizations are ready, willing, and able tofill.

Few of us—including me—would honestly say thatwe have all the answers; for that matter, few of uswould say we even know what all the questions are!

I have heard from many of you about the comingopportunities and challenges both NAVA and vexillolo-gy face. We all realize the need to meet the test weface. At NAVA 46 in Columbus, there will be opportuni-ties to begin and continue discussions about our collec-tive approach and the kind of leadership needed forthat approach.

Let me tip my hand just a bit: I think we need lead-ership that embraces failure.

During the Great Depression, Franklin DelanoRoosevelt told a Baltimore audience that, in meeting

NAVA News 215, (ISSN 1053-3338), July–September 2012, Vol. 45, No. 3Published quarterly by North American Vexillological Association,

1977 N. Olden Ave. Ext. PMB 225, Trenton, NJ 08618-2193.A benefit of NAVA membership. Articles, letters to the editor, and inquiriesabout rates and permissions may be sent to the editorial office.Editorial Office: NAVA News Editor, 1977 N. Olden Ave. Ext. PMB 225,Trenton, NJ 08618-2193. [email protected]: Send address changes to NAVA News, 1977 N. Olden Ave.Ext. PMB 225, Trenton, NJ 08618-2193.© 2012 North American Vexillological Association. All rights reserved.

Views expressed are those of individual authors and may not representthe views of NAVA, its officers, or the editor.

Contact Hugh Brady: [email protected]

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Failure is an Option

NAVA NewsPETER A. ANSOFF, EDITOR

EDWARD B. KAYE, JOHN A. LOWE, DAVID B. MARTUCCI, HUGH L. BRADY, EX OFFICIO

EDITORIAL BOARD

North American Vexillological AssociationFOUNDED 1967

HUGH L. BRADY, PRESIDENT

GUSTAVO TRACCHIA, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

ANNE M. PLATOFF, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

MARY ANN DOCKTOR-SMITH, SECRETARY

EDWARD B. KAYE, TREASURER

WHITNEY SMITH, PRESIDENT EMERITUS

HUGHBRADY

NAVA News · No. 215 · July–September 2012 · 1

EDITOR’S NOTE

EditorialMusings

Dear NN Readers,

NAVA’s mission, as stated in our bylaws, is the same as italways has been: “to promote vexillology as the scientificstudy of flags”. Publication of cutting-edge research is stillthe bread-and-butter of how we fulfill that mission.However, the world has changed a little since those wordswere written in 1967. As our president states in his columnin this issue, we need to think boldly about how we canrespond to today’s challenges, including the voids left by thedemise of Flag Bulletin and Flagscan.

President Brady gives us an excellent example of thesorts of issues that we need to think about. As he mentions,three volumes of Raven have recently received the Vexillonaward from FIAV. All three were what I will call “vexi-ency-clopedias”—reference collections with brief informationabout current flag domains (Native American polities, UScities, and Russian regions). I can see why FIAV honoredthese publications. They continue a long and honorable tra-dition of such works by Whitney Smith, William Crampton,and many others, they represent excellent scholarship, andthey are valuable as publicity and marketing tools. As actualreference documents, however, this type of publication isarguably obsolete in printed form. Historically, we have pub-lished such books anyway, despite the cost, because therewas no other way to distribute the information. Now, how-ever, we have the Internet, which can be updated continu-ously at a relatively low cost and which is, for a large seg-ment of North Americans, the “go-to” source for knowledgein general.

I’m not suggesting for a second that NAVA should stopproducing printed publications—quite the contrary.However, we need to take a hard look at what kind of con-tent makes sense, and what will give us the best return forour limited funds. As our president has said, we’ll be dis-cussing these sorts of issues in Columbus, and beyond.

PETER ANSOFFEDITOR

"To our mentor, our friend, a gentleman and a scholar, JohnPurcell...you will be missed." Half-staff display of Cleveland,NAVA, and Cincinnati flags by NAVA Member Chris Bedwell at hishome in Washington,D.C.Editor's note: Among his achievements, John was the chair of theNAVA Flag Design Committee. I'm sure he would have beenintrigued by the fact that Chris's NAVA flag appears to be aslightly non-standard design.

FIELD REPORT: WASHINGTON, D.C.

Contact Peter Ansoff: [email protected]

25TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF VEXILLOLOGYROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS 5–9 AUGUST 2013www.nfc2013.com

MILESTONES

John M. Purcell 1932–2012

John M. Purcell, Ph.D., a member of NAVA since 1968,was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 25 November

1932 and died in Cleveland, Ohio,on 15 June 2012.

He served in various officer rolesand as NAVA’s president 1981–83.A founding member of the RavenEditorial Board, he helped guideNAVA’s annual journal through 19

volumes, and wrote most of American City Flags aswell as contributing to Canadian City Flags. He alsoestablished NAVA’s Flag Design Committee, advancinghis interest in vexillographic excellence. At NAVA 44(2010) in Los Angeles, NAVA awarded John honorarymembership for “distinguished service to the associa-tion”. See the tribute on page 6.

John’s family has asked that contributions in hismemory be made to NAVA’s Flag Conservation Fund.

2 · July–September 2012 · No. 215 · NAVA News

The recorded history of Cameroon(“Cameroun” in French) began with a briefexploration by Hannon, a Carthaginian naviga-tor, in the 5th century B.C. In 1472 Portugueseexplorers noted an abundance of the mud lob-ster (Lepidophthalmus turneranus) in the WouriRiver and named the area “Rio dos Camarões”(River of Shrimp). Over the following cen-turies, European interests traded with thecoastal peoples, Christian missionaries pushedinland, while the northern area was part of theMuslim slave trade network.

Soon after the arrival of German traders atthe port of Douala, the territory of “Kamerun”became a protectorate of the German Empirein 1884. In 1919, at the end of the First WorldWar, defeated Germany ceded its colonies,including Kamerun, to France and Britainunder League of Nations mandates. TheFrench took over the larger “Cameroun”, theBritish, “Southern Cameroons”.

The French part of Cameroon gained inde-pendence and full national sovereignty on 1January 1960; the southern section of theBritish part followed 1 October 1960 (the north-ern section later joined newly-independentNigeria). This independence was only achievedafter armed conflicts on one hand, and heated,drawn-out, and secret negotiations on theother. After a referendum on 1 October 1961,these two parts of Cameroon were combinedinto the “République fédérale du Cameroun”.The new country’s constitution provided forassorted adequate visual and acoustic symbolsof the nation that have changed little since.

Emblems for Cameroon date as far back as1914 when the Reichstag designed flag propos-als for each of Germany’s four colonies inAfrica. The Kamerun protectorate’s flag was

patterned on theimperial flag of thetime: three equalhorizontal stripes ofblack, white, and red.At the center was ashield, divided

white—bearing the black Imperial Eagle withoutspread wings, over red—bearing a white ele-phant head. However, with the outbreak of theFirst World War soon after, Germany never hadthe opportunity to display this emblem inKamerun or in its other colonies.

In its progress toward independence, thepart of Cameroon under French trusteeshipacquired relative autonomy in 1957 through aFramework Law adopted by France that wouldenable it, among other things, to have a govern-ment with limited powers and a legislativeassembly (ALCAM). At the assembly’s openingsession on 8 October 1957, the first bills consid-ered were essentially “devoted to symbols with-out which, the identity of the State would havebeen deemed incomplete”: the flag, theanthem, and the motto. The flag, chosen fromamong several proposals, had three equal verti-cal stripes of green, red, and yellow, in an obvi-ous echo of the French flag in basic elementsand proportions.

The related lawwas adopted on 5November 1957. Theexplanatory statementof the law and thediscussions of thissession in the OfficialGazette explained:the flag of theRepublic of Cameroon “translates and express-es, by its three colors, the physical aspect of ourcountry in the indissoluble union of its threeelements”:• The “green color represents the luxuriantvegetation of the South and also symbolizeshope, the hope of a rich and prosperousCameroon for all its children” thanks to thework of all its countrymen;• The “yellow gold color represents the soil ofthe Far-North and also symbolizes wealth and,for all its people, it has always appeared to rep-resent the sun, symbol of long life;• The “red color represents the bridge betweenthe green color of the South and the yellowcolor of the North; it is the emblematic color ofauthority, authority without which anarchy will

The Flag of Cameroon—Its Creation, Significance, Evolution, and Display

Kamerun, 1914

[French] Cameroon, 1957–1960

By LOUIS MAXIME MEKA MEKA


reign. This red color is therefore the symbol ofour sovereignty”.

Prime Minister André-Marie Mbida, in hisspeech at the ceremony in Yaoundé on 10November 1957 which debuted the firstCameroonian flag, repeated this explanation ofits meaning.

After independence in 1960 and the unifica-tion of the two federated states of Cameroon, alaw was adopted to add two stars in gold, tosymbolize the two entities, in the upper part ofthe green stripe. Without formal specifications,the star placement varied—sometimes one overthe other and sometimes side-by-side. (Itshould be noted however that Southern (formerBritish) Cameroons had used a badge, but itwas not officially approved.)

In 1972, following a referendum, the countrywas renamed “République unie du Cameroun”and a new constitution adopted. It defined aflag with a single star in the center of the redstripe. This was confirmed in a comprehensivelaw adopted in 1975. The following year apresidential decree defined rules applicable topublic ceremonies, precedence, and civil andmilitary honors.

The following features are mentioned anddescribed in this decree:• The Cameroonian flag: green, red, and yel-low in three vertical stripes of equal dimension,bearing one gold star in the center of the redstripe and measuring 3 by 2 meters. It shall flyon all public buildings under the jurisdiction ofthe Republic of Cameroon;

• The pennant in Cameroonian colors, fringedwith gold measuring 36 cm. by 26 cm., shall flyexclusively in the capital on the motor car ofthe President of the Republic;

• A removable and luminous cockade inCameroonian colors, 8 cm. in diameter, shall beplaced in the middle of the upper side of thewindscreen of vehicles of such officials as thePresident of the National Assembly, the PrimeMinister and Members of Government, thePresident of the Supreme Court, Members ofParliament, Governors and Senior DivisionalOfficers, among others;• A special pennant shall be used by Generalsof the Armed Forces, the characteristics ofwhich are specified separately;• The Cameroonian flag shall be painted onthe front and rear fenders of Government vehi-cles.

• Drivers of Members ofGovernment shall weara rosette inCameroonian colors onthe front of their caps.• Messengers ofMinisters and ofGovernment servic-es shall be requiredto wear theCameroonian colorson the shoulder-straps of their uni-forms.

Cameroon, 1972–

Cameroon, 1960–1972, variants


• Lastly, the gold silk fringeof the flag of the Republicshall be 45 cm. by 90 cm.

Concerning the honorspaid to the Cameroonianpennant, it should beemphasized that the actual“Flag of the Republic” is inprinciple kept at the Presidential Palace, whilerepresentations of this emblem fly on all publicbuildings under the jurisdiction of theGovernment.

During official ceremonies, this Flag of theRepublic leaves the Presidential Palace and istaken back by a detachment of the guard ofhonor of the unit responsible for the militaryprotection of the Head of State which, duringthis occasion, pays him honors accompanied bythe singing the national anthem (the refrain orthe full anthem).

The flag is displayed on or in front of publicbuildings every day from sunrise to sunset.The flag is raised at sunrise and lowered atsunset with the salute of the bugle; the publicin the immediate vicinity faces the flag andslowly takes off headwear.

The other considerations related to the flagfollow standard protocol:• The place of honor of the flag is at the left, ifan even number of emblems, or at the center ifan odd number;• It is forbidden for the flag to touch theground;• It is forbidden to destroy the flag in public orto cover it with different objects;• The flag has primacy over the other emblemsof the State, etc.

Despite these standard considerations, thereare however cases of disrespect and impreci-sion regarding the official description, design,reproduction, and display of the flag, amongother emblems.

Therefore a committee was established bythe Prime Minister in 2007 to standardize theofficial symbols of the State in order to“improve their rendering, facilitate their under-standing and use, as well as ensure their pro-motion”. This framework was set up to brain-storm and make proposals in order to providestandards and design a guide for the best prac-tices applicable to the state emblems. Thus,concerning the flag especially, the main issuesare to:

1. Define properly the exact colors consideringthe various shades of colors offered by produc-ers so that the national flag is the same every-where;

2. Define a quotient applicable where the flagis reduced or enlarged (from the largest to thesmallest dimension);

3. Fix the standard diameter of the star, its ori-entation (up or down) as well as the exactnumber of its sides, all of which are not nowspecified;

Proportion 2:3If L = 3l/2 and D (diameter) = l/3 then D(diameter) = 2L/3


Louis Maxime Meka Meka, a NAVA member since 2003, is anAdministrateur Civil in the office of the Prime Minister of Cameroon.He presented this paper at NAVA 44 in Los Angeles in 2010, whereit won an honorable mention for the Captain William Driver Award.

4. Choose the fabrics for standardized use, withexception of silk used for ceremonial flags, tak-ing into account their duration, the fading ofthe colors, and of their resistance to the windwhich is often violent in this tropical area;5. Specify all authorized shapes and forms:types of material, black and white, as well asthe conditions of display (inauguration ribbons,scarves of elected personalities, cockades, air-craft, and others).

The flag appears as a roundel on militaryaircraft.

In the long run, the nation of Cameroonintends to have an appropriate graphic charterthat will facilitate the depiction and utilizationof its emblems by nationals and foreignerswho, by better understanding the significanceand conditions of use, will better promote andbolster their pride and admiration forCameroon.

CORRECTION

Minuteman "Bullseye" Flag

In NAVA News 189 (January–March 2006),we presented a detailed article aboutWorld War II Production Award Flags.

Then-editor David Martucci has sincedetermined that the image of the Minute-man "Bull’s-Eye" flag, shown on page 7 ofthat issue, was not historically correct.

Below is the actual appearanceof the flag. As noted in the original article,this flag was awarded for 100% participa-tion of employees contributing a minimumpercentage of their salaries to the WarBond Drive.

The “Bullseye” Flag,1942.

SOURCES: Salt Lake Telegram, 16 June 1942, p. 12;Spokane Daily Chronicle, 10 October 1942, p. 1.

UPDATE

NAVA member Phillip Tibbetts has identi-fied one of the unknown flags shown inGordon White's recent article on Burma'snew flag (see NAVA News 214, page 3). He

notes that theflag flyingbetween theBurmese andThai flagsappears to be

that of the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN). The blue flag to the leftof the Burmese flag is still unidentified.


John M. Purcell—A Tribute

By DAVID BREITENBACH

Earlier today I returned home from funeralservices for our colleague and my good friend,Dr. John Purcell. My journey across Illinois,Indiana, and Ohio was a taxing four days, but atrip I would not have missed and would makeagain in an instant. Although we all knewJohn’s passion for flags, few know he had anequal passion in many other areas.

At the burial service in Cincinnati, I metother friends who told me proudly that theymet John and his siblings as teens growing upthere. I thought it a great testament to John’scharacter and that of his sister, Pat, his brother,Bob, and their parents that people proudlyannounced they had known the family for 50 ormore years. One friend recalled that as chil-dren, John would create fictitious countrieswith their own flags and languages for every-one to speak.

I was the relative newcomer to the group,knowing John a mere 21 years. He and I firstmet when we became charter members in whatis now GWAV. In 1995, John persuaded thegroup to publish a regular journal, Flagwaver,and encouraged me to join him as co-editor.

Our interests and abilities complementedeach other well and I always jokingly told oth-ers that John was the brains behind the opera-tion while I was there to put on the lipstick and

make everything look pretty. However, Johnwas always quick to correct me, insisting thatour work was a partnership and we shouldshare the accolades, or barbs, equally. Despitethe numerous awards bestowed on him,Flagwaver was permitted to praise him onlyonce—when NAVA awarded him honorarymembership in 2010 and I managed to add mypersonal congratulations to a story after hisfinal review and before printing.

We always met one Saturday each May andNovember, holed up in his or my den, andworked diligently to assemble each issue. Atfirst, John cut out and glued each story andillustration into the layout. I eventually taughthim to do this task more easily with softwareand later, how to insert and edit images viacomputer. While he was quick to heed myadvice in these areas, there was a limit. Formany years after the computer world embraced(or at least grudgingly accepted) Microsoft’sword-processing software, I tried to convincehim to switch from a competing product to noavail. I prevailed approximately three yearsago only when John bought a new computerthat did not offer his old-standby software.

We began to email ideas for articles andother GWAV-related items shortly after ourpartnership began. Gradually, those emailsbegan to include information about vexillologyin general and details of our respective lives.It was through these emails that our friendshipdeepened and we learned that we shared sev-eral other interests such as old movies andtheir stars, linguistics, classical music, andtravel. Though I wasseveral hundred milesaway, through hisnotes he included meas a part of the regu-lar holiday gatheringswith his family, spe-cial events such asweddings and births,his transition toretirement, and sub-sequent wintersojourns to Florida.I also heard about hisfavorite occasionswhen he was able tocombine several pas-sions—city flag NAVA 12 (1978) Montgomery.

John Purcell with his personal flag in 1973.


research, travel, and the pie served at a partic-ular restaurant a few hours’ drive fromCleveland. Civic flags were a long-time inter-est, leading to his co-authorship of the Ravenvolume American City Flags, for which the teamreceived the Vexillon Award in 2005 and Johnwas named a Fellow of FIAV.

In meeting so many people John knew inCincinnati, and at the following memorialservice in Cleveland, I realized that some knewJohn the devoted family member and avidparlor-game player or John the vexillologist orJohn the sci-fi enthusiast, John the churchpresident and choir member, or Dr. Purcell theeducator and linguist, but few people knewmore than one or two sides of him in depth.It made me feel privileged that he was comfort-able enough to share many of the diverse facetsof his life with me. During flag conferences, we

spent much of our free time together wander-ing the streets of Berlin, Stockholm, Nashville,Denver, and elsewhere, seeing the sights, get-ting lost, eating mediocre meals, and searchingfor great pie, but we always laughed about ouradventures in the end.

John was a charter member of NAVA, butdid not attend his first meeting until NAVA3/ICV 3 in 1969. Since then, he missed onlytwo meetings, NAVA 11/ICV 7 in 1977 andNAVA 45/ICV 24. Ironically, both meetingsoccurred in Washington, DC. He served asNAVA’s corresponding secretary 1974–1976,recording secretary 1979–1980 and president1981–1983, and hosted NAVA 9 in 1975 inCleveland. He also served as secretary, vicepresident, and presi-dent of GWAV.

The last two ofJohn’s 79 years wereespecially difficult ashis health began tofail in 2010, justbefore NAVA 44 inLos Angeles. Despitethe multiple medicalprocedures, extendedhospitalizations, andnursing home stays,his spirits alwaysremained high andhis mind as keen asever. When he wasunable to access his email account during thelast year, we reverted to snail-mail.

I know we will all miss John’s big smile andwarm welcome in Columbus and subsequentNAVA meetings, but I also know that those ofus who considered him a friend will alwayscarry a bit of that warmth with us, and togetherour smiles will almost equal John’s when wegreet future vexillologists.

These scant few words hardly seem ade-quate to express our loss, yet volumes moreadded to the messages written by other NAVAand FIAV members would still not be enough.John’s family members asked me to expresstheir deepest gratitude to each of you for themessages I received and forwarded. Each notebrought smiles to their faces because of thefriendship and high esteem they showed forJohn.

Adios, amigo.

NAVA 23 (1989) Dallas.

John Purcell at a recent GWAV meeting.

NAVA 36 (2002) Denver.


CONTEST CORNER

Tough Trivia TenBy GREG NEDVED

How many of these do you know...without looking them up:

1. Which nation’s flag was used for target practice in June 2012 war games?2. What two Latin American nations feature the “Sun of May” on their flag?3. Who created the 1818 Grand Star Flag that was never adopted by the United States?4. What ideology did the flag at the lower right represent? 5. What is the only U.S. state flag with a swallowtail? 6. What is Robert Barrett’s contribution to flag lore?7. What does the “49” on the Absaroka flag represent?8. Which Chicago Cub rescued an American flag from protestors?9. What is the largest flag ever flown (on a flag pole)?10. What is the proper way to dispose of the Canadian national flag?

You can reach the Vexi-Quizmaster at [email protected]

An 18th-Century Image ofthe Gadsden Flag

By PETER ANSOFF

In April of 1789, George Washington trav-eled from his home at Mount Vernon toNew York City, where he was inauguratedas the first president of the United States.To celebrate his entry into Philadelphia on20 April, the bridge over the SchuylkillRiver was decorated with triumphal archesand flags. An engraving of the eventpublished in the May 1789 issue ofColumbian Magazine shows a flag flyingfrom a staff on the east side of the bridgethat resembles the so-called “GadsdenFlag”. This is one of the very few known18th-century images of this flag, and itdiffers in some respects from moderndepictions and replicas. The motto is abovethe snake on a scroll, and the snake itself ismore tightly coiled. By 1789, the rattle-snake was already somewhat anachronisticas an American symbol, and contemporary

readers would have understood it as a ref-erence to the Revolutionary War that hadended six years earlier.

“An East View of Gray’s Ferry, near Philadelphia—with thetriumphal arches, &c., erected for the reception of General Washington, April 20th 1789”,Engraved by J. Trenchard after Charles Wilson Peale.

SOURCE: Library of Congress,reproduction number LC-USZ62-342 (detail).


NEW FLAG

First Nations Tax CommissionBy JAMES CROFT

Canada’s First Nations Tax Commission iscommitted to the development of a nationwidesystem of First Nations (indigenous peoples)real property taxation. It consists of ten com-missioners, including a chief commissioner anda deputy chief commissioner. The commissionis composed of men and women from acrossCanada, including members of First Nations.

The flag of the First Nations Tax Commissionis a banner of its arms, that is, the elements ofthe shield of the coat of arms are spread acrossthe field of the flag. The coat of arms, flag,badge, and commissioner's gavel and staff weregranted on 15 October 2008 by the CanadianHeraldic Authority (CHA) in Ottawa.

The proportions of the flag are 1:2.According to the CHA, “The central emblem isthat designed for the First Nations TaxCommission (FNTC)’s predecessor body, theIndian Taxation Advisory Board, by TomMaracle of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.The patterned outer circle represents the juris-diction of First Nations’ governments. The tree,strong and enduring, is symbolic of life, ahabitat of animals and birds, a provider of shel-ter, heat, medicine, clean air, and soil stability.Its branches and leaves represent First Nationscommunities and individuals within thesecommunities. As it is a maple, it also repre-sents Canada. The yellow is associated withchalcedony, the east, and illumination. Red isthe color of the north and of spiritual purity.Green is the color associated with the earth.The arrowhead shape of the shield reminds usof the First Nations way of life, especially relat-ed to trade and sustenance, going back count-less centuries.”

Beside the shield, the coat of arms consistsof a crest, supporters, and the motto. In thecrest, “the winter lodge appears on the coat ofarms of the Kamloops Indian Band of theShuswap Nation, and marks the fact that theFNTC has its head office on the site of thisband, a leading First Nations community in thefield of real estate development. More general-ly, as a form of shelter, the winter lodge speaksto the commission’s role in allowing housing to

benefit the community. The coyote fur, in theplace of the traditional heraldic wreath, isbased on the scouting hat and refers to thecommission’s work in looking ahead and pro-viding for the future.”

The supporters area coyote and an otter.The coyote “was sentdown by the Creatorto teach humans howto develop a society.The otter has intimateknowledge of theworlds of both landand water. Just as the otter is able to movecomfortably between two worlds, so too shouldall people be able to live in the present while atthe same time honoring their past and tradi-tions. The eagle feather is an important symbolof authority in First Nations culture. Themount of grass emphasizes the importance ofland, and the representation of water refers tothe role of water in trade and communications.”

“The Chinook [Jargon] motto meaning ‘Webuild a new path’ refers to the commission’srole in assisting First Nations governments todevelop by means of establishing appropriatesystems of property taxation. Chinook [Jargon],a 19th-century trade language used extensivelyin western Canada and the United States, wasspoken by many different First Nations as wellas Europeans, Chinese, and Hawaiians. It wastherefore multicultural and represents commu-nications among First Nations and betweenFirst Nations and other cultures.”

James Croft is the director of the Institute of Civic Heraldry

SOURCE: Canadian Heraldic Authority


The Trials of a “Flag Man”

By DALE GRIMES

Editor’s note: NAVA member Dale Grimes owns alarge and fascinating collection of American flags,mostly from the World War II era. He has exhibited hisflags and given presentations about them for manyorganizations in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.Here he recounts some pitfalls of his avocation.

On the weekend before the Fourth of July thisyear, I set up a flag exhibit for our historicalsociety at the entrance to the local fair. This isthe fifth or sixth year we have done this. OnThursday the day before the fair opened I wasputting up a 10' x 19' 15-star/15-stripe U.S. flagunder the archway when a passerby said the flagwas facing the wrong way. I pointed out to himthat when one faced the flag display from insidethe fair the flag was facing the correct way. Ireversed it, but before I could get the flag com-pletely hung someone else pointed out the flagwas facing the wrong way as people came into thefair.

“No problem”, I thought. I’ll just get another10' x 19' U.S. flag to hang together with the 15star/15 stripe flag facing the other way. I haveanother one at home (actually, I have four more).So I drove home and got a 10' x 19' 50-star flag,still in its original bag.

I hung the additional flag up with the first one,and promptly realized that I had another prob-lem. Because of the doubled the weight on mysteel support cable, the flags now touched theground! What to do? Now was getting dark. Twoof the fair organizers came by and complimentedme on the nice flag display, but pointed out the

flags were touching the ground. I said “I know,that bothers me, too. I'm going to put a tarpunder them.” They said, “fine, when?” I said,“tomorrow.” They said “when tomorrow?” I said,“after work.” They said, “what time?” I said,“3:30”, but I was thinking, “AHHHHHHH!!!!.”They said, “that won't do—the fair opens at noonand people will complain.”

I decided to re-string the steel support cable,which would lift the flags six inches off theground. The organizers offered to send somepeople to help me, but nobody showed up. It wasnow after 9 PM, and dark. I finished the displayby myself and went home.

Friday was the firstday of the fair. Itclosed at 10 PM. At 11PM a “derecho” stormroared into the areaand its 60-mph (100-km) winds andknocked everythingdown.

I arrived at 7:30 AMSaturday to untanglethe mess and set thedisplay back up. The15-star/15-stripe flaghad lost its bottom redstripe, making it a 15-star/14-stripe flag.

Luckily, there wereno further incidentsand I took everythingdown at the end of thefair Sunday night. Thehistorical society isdiscussing ideas fornext year.

Dale Grimes presented “Two Famous American Flags”

at NAVA 45/ICV 24 in 2011.10' x 19' 50-star U.S. flag facing the entrance to the fair.

10' x 19' 15-star/15-stripe U.S. flag, facing the display.

The day after the storm.

Missing the red stripe.


By DAVID B. MARTUCCI

The flag of the 1939–40 New York World’sFair is well known and distinctive.Designed in the New York City colors, ithad three vertical stripes of orange-blue-orange with the well-recognized symbol ofthe fair, the Trylon and Perisphere, in whitein the center. Above the emblem in whiteis the year 1939. Below, in two lines, also inwhite, is NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR.

The Trylon (a 3-sided pyramid) and thePerisphere (a globe) were designs patentedin 1937 (number 107,424 and others) by theNew York World’s Fair Corporation anderected as actual buildings that housedexhibits at the fair.

Little known is that in 1937 the corpora-tion also patented a design for a fair flag.Patent number 105,485 was granted on 3August 1937 to Robert Foster of New York,New York, assignor to New York Word’s Fair1939, Inc.

Like the flag eventually used at the fair,it consisted of three vertical stripes oforange-blue-orange. However the centerstripe had a very different design on it.This consisted of a somewhat abstractgraphic in orange, white, and blue of theupper portion of the Statue of Liberty hold-ing her torch and the year 1939. Patent105,484 issued the same day, also to Foster,was for the emblem that appeared on theflag. This design was used in a limited waywhen the early planning for the fair firstgot underway in 1937.

New York City’s colors derive from theold flag of the Netherlands, honoring itsfounding as New Amsterdam. Although theDutch colors are now red-white-blue, NewYork retained the orange when it adoptedthe flag in 1915.

Alternate Reality:New York World’s Fair 1939–40

Dave Martucci, past president of NAVA, performed all thelayout work on American City Flags.

1939 New York World’s Fair Flag, as used.

1939 New York World’s Fair Flag, 1937 design.

New York City flag, 1977(originally designed in 1915).


NAVA News wants your articlesand other vexi-news from aroundNorth AmericaNearly all of the content of NAVA News comprises contributionsfrom NAVA members and others in the vexi-community. We’re always looking for short articles, news about members’vexillological activities, photos, pictures, and descriptions of newand interesting flags, etc. To submit an item for publication,please contact the editor, Peter Ansoff, at [email protected] publication schedule is:

Deadline for ApproximateIssue No. Submissions “In the Mail” Date216 31 October 20 December 2012217 31 January 20 March 2013218 30 April 20 June 2013219 31 July 20 September 2013

Don't wait—get started now on that article you’vebeen meaning to write!

Good Flag, Bad Flag now inPortugueseThanks to Tiago José Berg, anew NAVA member living inCordeirópolis, São Paulo,NAVA’s guide to flag designis available in Portuguese.

As Bandeiras Bonitas,Bandeiras Feias, it is avail-able on the NAVA website—see under “Flag Design”.

Thanks go to Tiago for hisinitiative and outstandingeffort in extending the reachof our flag-design guidance.

GFBF is already in English, Spanish, French, andGerman.

To receive or renew your password:1) Go to http://members.nava.org or

Go to NAVA.org and click on “Member Login”.2) Enter your member number in the “Member ID” box

(it’s on your mailing label).3) Click on “Forgot Password?” and an e-mail with

your new password will be sent to the email addresson record.

E-mail Shane Sievers, NAVA webmaster, [email protected] with any questions.

NAVA Database

To access information about fellow NAVA members, orto update your NAVA member profile—address, phone,e-mail, flag interests, personal flag, and e-mail prefer-ences—visit the Members Only section of the NAVAwebsite. Click on “Edit My Profile” and update anyinformation listed there.

NAVA members need a password.

NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OFNAVA AND PROPOSED SLATES OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERSAND OFFICERS FOR 2012-13

In accordance with Resolution of the Executive Boardpursuant to §4.01 of the Bylaws establishing the place,day, and hour of the annual meeting of the votingmembers of the Association,

NOTICE IS HEREBY DELIVERED to all voting andnonvoting members of the Association in accordancewith §4.04 of the Bylaws of the North AmericanVexillological Association that the annual meeting ofthe voting members of the Association shall be onSunday, 7 October 2012 at 9:00 AM, at theRenaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, 50 NorthThird Street, Columbus, Ohio.

NOTICE IS FURTHER DELIVERED by the ExecutiveBoard that the following proposed slate of nominatingcommittee members for 2012-13 is presented:

Scot M. Guenter, Edward B. Kaye, Pete Van de Putte

NOTICE IS FURTHER DELIVERED by the NominatingCommittee that the following proposed slate of officersfor 2012-13 is presented:

President: Hugh L. BradyFirst Vice President: Gustavo TracchiaSecond Vice President: Christopher BedwellSecretary: John M. HartvigsenTreasurer: Mary Ann Docktor-Smith

Mary Ann Docktor-SmithSecretary, North American Vexillological Association


FLAG HUMOR

Fall comes earlier inCanada.

Artist: Juan Carlos PartidasUsed by license from

www.Cartoonstock.com.

MEMBER FLAGS

Members are encouraged to send in their personal flag designs for inclusion in the NAVA Member Flag Registry. Send your photos, drawings, and descriptionsto [email protected], or mail to: Member Flag Registry, 1977 N Olden Ave Ext PMB 225, Trenton NJ 08618-2193 USA, or post them directly to the MemberDatabase.

Hugh L. Brady—Austin, TexasThe flag is a banner of his arms., blazoned Party per bendsinister Gules and Or in the sinister base a dexter handcouped at the wrist the index finger pointing at the sun insplendor in dexter chief the whole within a bordure allcounterchanged.

Lawrence D. Soucier—Austin, TexasThe flag is banner of his family arms, blazoned Gulesan escallop Argent ears pierced chained and ringed Oron a chief wavy of the same two fleurs-de-lis Azure thecenter petal of each charged with a star Or.


North AmericanVexillological Association

1977 N. Olden Ave. Ext. PMB 225Trenton NJ 08618-2193 USA

RENAISSANCE COLUMBUS DOWNTOWN HOTEL

NAVA 46’s venue is in downtown Columbusat 50 North Third Street. The hotel is twoblocks from the Ohio State House and ashort walk from the Short North ArtsDistrict and the Arena District. The PortColumbus Airport is 20 minutes away withshuttle service available.

Join your fellow members in Columbus, Ohio, 5–7 October 2012for the 46th annual meeting of the North American VexillologicalAssociation. We plan an exciting flag-filled program, hosted bythe Great Waters Association of Vexillology (GWAV).

The NAVA 46 Organizing CommitteeDavid Breitenbach, chair

REGISTRATIONA registration form is available on the NAVA website:www.nava.org. Late registration is $225.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTSHear more Vexi-Bits than ever, enjoy a banquet, several interestingpresentations, and the camaraderie of fellow NAVA members. OnSaturday, NAVA 46 will tour the Ohio Historical Society’s collectionof Civil War battle flags and the Ohio State House which wasrestored to its original 1816 appearance in 1996.

NAVA 46 Columbus, Ohio 5 –7 October 2012

Planting the Flag

Michael Orlove, a NAVA member living inGresham, Oregon (near Portland), “sows”flags each year in his “flower bed”.

In recognition of the 2012 Olympics inLondon, Michael planted the Union Jack.He made a wooden frame painted white torepresent the white stripes and planted redand blue petunias for the other colors.

In 2011, Michael planted the reverse ofthe Oregon flag with blue lobelia and abeaver made of wood. In 2010, he plantedthe U.S. flag with red and white impatiensand blue lobelia (see NAVA News 207).

Why Come to a NAVA Meeting?• Hear engaging, cutting-edge presentations of the latest flagscholarship.

• Meet and exchange ideas with the premier vexillologists inNorth America..

• Help govern NAVA by participating in the annual business meet-ing.

• Hear a keynote address or special presentation from a localexpert.

• Visit sites of interest and local flag displays in the host city.

• Buy and sell flags, books, and related materials at significantsavings.

• Compete to earn the Capt. William Driver Award for best paper.

• Share meals, a receptions, and a banquet with NAVA membersand friends.

• Welcome first-time attendees with special events.

• View NAVA members’ exhibits of flags and flag items.

• Display a personal or organizational flag.

• Enjoy the company of like-minded flag enthusiasts.

no. 215 julynava september 2012 the flag of ... · they are valuable as publicity and marketing...

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