nava news, 2010 (oct-dec), no. 208 · 2014. 10. 1. · nava news· no. 208 · october–december...

NO. 208 OCT.—DEC. 2010

NAVANews

www.nava.org

The Quarterly Newsletter of theNorth American Vexillological Association

NAVA 44 meets inLos Angeles, California

Page 2

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...

Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1NPS Ranger Named Vexillonnaire. . . . . . 7John Purcell Honored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718th-Century 13-Star Flags Update . . . . 8Raven 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Flags for U.S. Territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Chumley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Member Flags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13New Flag: Akron, Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Examining the Fremont Flag up close.Tessie Borden/Autry National Center

Friends:

It’s that time of the year again that I am able to say“thank you” for again entrusting me with the office ofNAVA president. Your confidence and support foranother term at the helm of the preeminent vexillologi-cal association in the world is both gratifying and heart-ening. I thank you also for continuing the other officersin their positions throughout the coming year. With theInternational Congress of Vexillology coming to the U.S.next year, having continuity on the board and the com-mittees is vital.

The annual meeting in the Los Angeles suburb ofArcadia was a nice time to see old friends and make

new ones. It was also a time forlong-time NAVA members in theWest to renew their fellowship.The most striking thing was thescenery; my hotel window lookedout on the spectacular San GabrielMountains. I realize that a trip out

West is quite a jaunt for most of us, but I hope every-one of you will be making plans to attend theWashington Flag Congress next summer. Start planning(and saving) now!

I have written several times over the past two yearsabout the need for NAVA to take a hard look at the waywe do things. At this time last year, I noted that we arelooking at “a serious challenge in membership numbersthat are, quite frankly, stagnant with little year-to-yeargrowth [and t]he average age of the membership isincreasing as well. . . . we must continue those pro-grams and services that work, improve or end thosethat don’t, and create new ones to fill unmet needs.”

With the members’ approval of the 2010-11 budget,progress is being made on this front. The approvedbudget contains funding for a significant investment inupgrading both the look and functionality of our web-site. While technologically-advanced for the time whenit first went up in the late 1990s, the current website islong past its prime. The overhaul will be overseen bySecond Vice President Annie Platoff, whose yeomanwork on digitizing NAVA News and Raven has been asingular accomplishment. I look forward to the daywhen we can announce and unveil the new NAVA.org.

As always, I cannot emphasize enough that NAVA’sfuture rests in your hands. The board can set all thegoals and make all the plans in the world but ultimate-

NAVA NewsPETER A. ANSOFF, EDITOR

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

EDITORIAL BOARD

North American Vexillological AssociationFOUNDED 1967

HUGH L. BRADY, PRESIDENTGUSTAVO TRACCHIA, FIRST VICE PRESIDENTANNE M. PLATOFF, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

WILLIAM J. TRINKLE, SECRETARYEDWARD B. KAYE, TREASURER

NAVA News 208, (ISSN 1053-3338), Oct.-Dec. 2010, Vol. 43, No. 4Published 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.© 2010 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]

HUGHBRADY

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Returning Thoughtsly, it is your contribution of your time and your talentsthat will help accomplish both. I renew my annualrequest that you commit to a simple goal of recruitingone new member or contributing a short item to NAVANews over the next year. And if you’ve got more timeon your hands, please consider volunteering to helpwith the work of the Association in the areas of flagconservation, encouraging flag scholarship, recognizingand aiding flag design, and other areas.

As we all know, the central charge on the NAVApresident’s flag, the Cheyenne Indian “Woheiv” star,symbolizes hope and guidance. It is again my hopethat I will provide both in the coming year.

HUGH BRADYPRESIDENT

Contact Peter Ansoff: [email protected]

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear NN Readers,It was great seeing everyone at NAVA 44 in LosAngeles. Several of the fine presentations given therewill be featured in upcoming issues of NAVA News.Meanwhile, enjoy Bill Trinkle's report on the meeting,and our other features.

PETER ANSOFFEDITOR

NAVA News · No. 208 · October–December 2010 · 1

Mark your calendars: 1-5 August 2011

NAVA 45 and the ICV 24 (the 24th InternationalCongress of Vexillology) will take place in Washington,DC, 1-5 August 2011.

Find full information on the Washington FlagCongress at www.nava.org; this will be the primarysource of details as plans proceed. A substantial early-bird discount rewards those who make a prompt deci-sion to attend—consider your 2011 plans now!

Producing an ICV takes a significantly larger pool ofvolunteers than does a NAVA meeting. Members ofthe Chesapeake Bay Flag Association are the “presenceon the ground” for the ICV, but there are many oppor-tunities for NAVA members to help from a distance.For example, these areas need volunteers: name tags,public relations, packet procurement, photography, etc.Please contact coordinator Ted Kaye at [email protected] volunteer.

NAVA 45 = ICV 24MILESTONES

Call for ICV 24 Meeting PapersIf you wish to present a paper or set up a display atICV 24 / NAVA 45, please mail the following informa-tion to 1st VP Gus Tracchia by 31 March 2011:

1) Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mailaddress if available;

2) Title of your paper, presentation, symposium,workshop, or exhibit;

3) Abstract of your paper, presentation, symposium,workshop, or exhibit;

4) Type and size of exhibit area and/or equipmentneeded, including tables, electrical requirements,audio/visual equipment.

Notice of acceptance will be sent no later than30 April 2011. If it is a paper, please send a completecopy (in publishable form in both hard-copy andelectronic file) by 30 June 2011.

Presenters who have not provided this copy by thedeadline, or made other acceptable arrangements, willbe deleted from the meeting schedule.

Send materials to:Don Gustavo Tracchia82-67 Austin St #205Kew Gardens, NY11415 USA(718) 847-2616e-mail: [email protected] www.nava.org for more information.

Peter Buhrman, Maryland Heights, Missouri(AllStates Flag Co., Inc.)

Chad Creech, Wilmington, North Carolina(All Star Flags)

Christopher Curtis, Hull, Yorkshire,United Kingdom

William Dawes, Sr., New Orleans, Louisiana Mickey Dennis, Eagle Butte, South DakotaLeslie Fife, Shreveport, Louisiana John M. Hartvigsen, Salt Lake City, UtahKemper Hicks, Houston, TexasDouglas Kneissl, Derby, Connecticut Errol Maynard, Basseterre, St. George,

St. Kitts & NevisDaniel McCord, Elbert, ColoradoHailey McGinnis, Brooklyn, New YorkNorris Nagao, San Diego, CaliforniaRichard Nelson, Toronto, OntarioColin Nelson-Dusek, Washington, D.C. Logan Pecore, Seattle, WashingtonClark Peterson, Hinkley, MinnesotaDavid Phillips, San Francisco, CaliforniaMatthew Pluster, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

(Flag Center)Timothy Seipel, Greendale, WisconsinDong-Yun Shin, Newark, New Jersey

(LTPYL Love The Place You Live)Chris Tait, Conn, OntarioAlex Tang, Houston, TexasAlison Wilkes, North Bay, Ontario James Woods, Madison, Wisconsin

New Members for 2010The Executive Board thanks those whorenewed their membership during the pastyear, and welcomes these new members for2010:

David Heisser 1942-2010Dr. David C. R. Heisser, long-time NAVA member,historian, student of sphragistics and heraldry, and

librarian emeritus at The Citadel inCharleston, South Carolina, died 29October 2010. Fellow participants willrecall his help in arranging NAVA 43 lastyear, where his advance work led to ourvisits to several significant museums andthe tour and dress parade at The Citadel,

the military college of South Carolina.

2 · October–December 2010 · No. 208 · NAVA News

So Long, NAVA 44!By WILLIAM J. TRINKLE

Another October has come and gone andwith it, this year’s annual meeting—NAVA44 Los Angeles.

If you missedthis one, we aresorry not to haveshared it with you.If you were one ofour 50+ partici-pants, you knowwhat a great week-end it was.

As the chair forthis year’s meeting,I was very pleasedhow things went. It

was a positive experience and I thought itmight be interesting to share a few mentalsnapshots of our weekend at the HiltonGarden Inn in Arcadia/Pasadena, 8-10October…

For me, NAVA 44 was a cheap pizzaplace on Hollywood Boulevard on ourThursday evening tour and Annie Platoff,sprawled on the sidewalk, entranced byHarrison Ford’s star and handprints. It wasJohn Hartvigsen’s look of disbelief whenwinning the Driver Award. It wasCameroon’s Maxime Meka Meka’s broadsmile on receiving an Honorable Mentionfor his presentation.

NAVA 44 was visiting the Autry Centeron Saturday and standing four inches fromthe Fremont Flag for as long as I wanted,absorbing every detail I could. It was won-dering, once again, how Jim Ferrigan knowsall those details about flags. It was sadnessat recalling Howie Madaus’s death whenJim mentioned him in his presentation. Itwas seeing Whitney Smith, the father of itall (and his baby picture, too).

NAVA 44 was the face of artist JillianKogan as she charmed us at the Fridayevening reception. It was the governingconstancy of our officers seen during thebusiness meeting on Sunday morning. Itwas the faces of first-timers Peter Loeser,Ed Mooney, Dave Davidson, John King,

Whitney Smith & Vanessa Van de PutteLouis Maxime Meka Meka describes Cameroon’s flags

Behind the scenes at the Autry Center

NAVA 44 was the green lawns, classicart, and history of the Huntington Libraryduring our Friday tour. It was disclosingmy deepest vexillological secret on Sundayat dinner over a beer and many laughs.

Scott Mainwaring, Dan Sanley, and MaximeMeka Meka. It was the happy faces as ourgroup photo was taken (even though I ambehind a branch!). It was my pride in shar-ing the Bear Flag Museum collection.

NAVA 44 was the honor of being able tocall Scot Guenter a friend and colleague.

It was GusTracchia’sstrong handin runningthe presen-tations.It was thefriendlyfaces ofcolleaguesseen onlyonce a year.

It was John Purcell’s modest pride on beingmade an honorary member of NAVA for hislifetime contributions to our organization.

NAVA 44 was the ever-present faces ofDavid Ott, Kevin Harrington, Pete andVanessa Van de Putte, Gil Vegas, and somany more. It was Al Cavalari’s curiosityabout flags and always offering a helpinghand. It was the dearness of MarleneLittle. It was Gary Randall’s auction yells.It was the NAVA meeting flags hangingproudly in our hotel lobby.


Bill Trinkle & Cuffy

First-timers lunch, hosted by NAVA’s board and former presidents

First VP Gus Tracchia

President Hugh Brady bestows honorary membershipon John Purcell for service to NAVA


It was cramming Maxime Meka Meka,Cindy Williams, and her daughter into mycar stuffed to the brim with Bear Flagmania to drive them all to Disneyland onMonday. It was See’s Candy. It was ChrisBedwell’s work and humor in our auctions.It was learning that the Flag ResearchCenter may have a permanent home at theUniversity of Texas.

NAVA 44 was looking out at everyone atthe Friday reception, talking and laughingand yes, drinking a little, standing next toTed Kaye and telling him: “This is whatmakes all the work worthwhile”.

That was NAVA 44. I am already look-ing forward to next August and NAVA 45 /ICV 24 in Washington!

Bill Trinkle is NAVA’s board secretary, executive directorof the Bear Flag Museum (www.bearflagmuseum.org),

and chair of the NAVA 44 organizing committee.

John Hartvigsen receiving the $250 Driver Award checkfrom President Hugh Brady

The newly re-elected 2010-11 NAVA Board: (l. to r.) Ted Kaye (Treasurer), Annie Platoff (2nd VP),

Hugh Brady (President), Gus Tracchia (1st VP), & Bill Trinkle (Secretary)

Past NAVA meeting flags adorn the lobbyof the Hilton Garden Inn

Past President Peter Ansoff confers withNAVA Shopkeeper Al Cavalari

Sally Sharpe & Marilyn Hichborn


NAVA 44 PRESENTATIONSThe Selection of theNAVA 44 FlagPeter Ansoff

Rearranging Deck Chairs onthe Titanic: A look at somevexing, vexilliary vexillismsJim Ferrigan

The Cinco de Mayo FlagFlap: Rights, Power, andIdentityScot Guenter

Utah's Mammoth StatehoodFlag (Driver Award)John M. Hartvigsen

Flag Symmetry WorkshopChristopher Maddish(presented by Gus Tracchia)

Creation, Significance,Evolution, and Display ofthe Camerounian FlagLouis Maxime Meka Meka

The USS Port Royal Flag:A 21st-Century AmericanNaval Battle EnsignEd Mooney

The "Forward Russia" Flag:Examining the Changing Useof the Bear as a Symbol ofRussiaAnne M. Platoff

The Treasures of the FlagResearch CenterCarol Salvo & Whitney Smith

Flags of the Civil Air PatrolDean Thomas(presented by Peter Ansoff)

NAVA 44 especially thanks:Advertising Flag Company for supplying the largemeeting flags, Annin & Company for producing thetable flags, PROMEX GmbH (Germany) for makingthe flag pins;

Commercial Members of NAVA for underwritingthe Driver Award: Advertising Flag, CRW Flags,The Flag Guys, Herold Flags, Jeff R. BridgmanAmerican Antiques, Preservation Designs, Six-Sided Simulations, & TME Co.;

California fine artist Jillian Kogan for attending theopening reception and sharing how she uses theCalifornia Bear Flag in her art;

The Autry National Center, Museum of theAmerican West and its staff: Kim Walters, LindaStrauss, LaLeña Lewark, & Peg Brady;

The membership of NAVA and its board & vol-unteers;

and most of all, the Organizing Committee Chair:William J. Trinkle.

Dean Thomas wasunable to attend.

Chris Maddish wasunable to attend.

Bea Jones shows herpride and joy

Chris Bedwell auctionsyet another flag to

Gary Randall

Annie Platoff enjoysHollywood Boulevard

Artist Jillian Koganautographs a Bear Flag

PHOTOS: BILL TRINKLE & TED KAYE


PHOTO: Pamela Almodovar

24 Sally Sharpe25 Hal Hichborn26 Gary Randall27 Caroline Mooney28 Whitney Smith29 Peter Ansoff30 Edward Mooney, Jr.31 David L. Davidson32 Marlene Little33 Gil Vegas34 Carlos Arias35 Romayne Little36 David Breitenbach37 Ted Kaye38 Kin Spain

39 Gus Tracchia40 Deanna Hartvigsen41 John Purcell42 John Hartvigsen43 Bill Trinkle44 Jack Lowe45 Dan Sanley46 Rich Monahan

Not shown: Olivia Davidson,Kevin Harrington, KarenLowe, Maxime Meka Meka,Stan Mottaz, Kevin Murray,Peggy Rose

9 Christopher Bedwell10 Vernon Leon11 Randy Smith12 Mary Ann Docktor-Smith13 Marianne Loeser14 Pete Van de Putte15 Al Cavalari16 Peter Loeser17 Vanessa Van de Putte18 Cindy Williams19 John King20 Jan Mericle21 Bea Jones22 Marilyn Hichborn23 Hugh Brady

NAVA 44 Attendees on the lawn of theHilton Garden Innbefore the Saturdaybanquet.

1 Carol Salvo2 Annie Platoff3 Martin A. Francis4 Scot Guenter5 Michael Platoff6 David Ott7 Jim Ferrigan8 Scott Mainwaring

NAVA News · No. 208 · October–December 2010 2010 · 7

The winner of this year’s VexillonnaireAward is U.S. National Park Service RangerSkip Wheeler. The honor was announcedat NAVA’s 44th annual meeting in LosAngeles.

The Vexillonnaire Award, established in2003, recognizes a significant and success-

ful act of activist vexillolo-gy, involving flag design orusage, in North America.The vexillonnairebecomes personallyinvolved in a specificevent of creating, chang-ing, or improving flagdesign, or promoting good

flag usage or altering it for the better.In 1999-2001, while working at the USS.

Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii,Wheeler coordinated a display of U.S. stateand territorial flags. Learning that someminor U.S. island territories lacked flags, hespurred the adoption of official flags forMidway, Johnston Atoll, Palmyra, andNavassa. Wheeler worked with the agen-cies responsible for those territories—theUS Fish & Wildlife Service, the NatureConservancy, and the US Air Force—todevelop designs of outstanding flags forthose islands in time for the ceremonies forthe 60th anniversary of the attack on PearlHarbor.

The Vexillonnaire Committee firstlearned of Wheeler’s accomplishmentsthrough the scholarship of Roman Kliměs,whose articles on the flags of minor U.S.territories are currently running in NAVANews. Wheeler now works at the memorialin Oklahoma City.

Congratulations to Skip Wheeler, NAVA’snewest vexillonnaire, for promoting goodflag design and usage. Read his own storyon page 10.

National Park Service RangerNamed Vexillonnaire

On rare occasions NAVA confers honorarymembership on a person who has rendered“distinguished service to the association”.

John M. Purcell, Ph.D., a member since1968, has tirelessly and cheerfully servedNAVA and the cause of vexillologythroughout the years. He served as corre-sponding secretary 1974–76, recordingsecretary 1978–80, and president 1981–83.A keen scholar, in 2003 his 40 years ofresearch into U.S. municipal flags culminat-ed in Raven 9/10, American City Flags. Heled that major effort which brought NAVAinternational vexillological honors.

A founding member of the RavenEditorial Board, John has helped guideNAVA’s annual journal through 17 volumes,reviewing many scores of prospective arti-cles and offering authors insightful feed-back. He also established NAVA’s flagdesign committee, advancing his interest invexillographical excellence.

During the NAVA 44, President HughBrady and four past presidents joined topresent John with just the eighth honorarymembership bestowed in 40 years. Bradysaid “his peers have long recognized thatno member has been more devoted to theassociation’s success than John. As ourteacher, mentor, and friend, he truly is thestandard for vexillological excellence.”Each past president then paid tribute toJohn with generous remarks.

John Purcell Honored by NAVA

(l to r) Whitney Smith, Hugh Brady, Peter Ansoff,John Purcell, Scot Guenter, and Kin Spain


By DAVID B. MARTUCCI

A comprehensive survey of 43 contempo-rary 18th-century images of the UnitedStates flag ran in NAVA News 167 (April-June 2000), pp. 6–12. As I noted in thatoriginal article, the “presentation is notexhaustive”. From time to time I haveadded new images and updated some of thetext reflecting new research and newly dis-covered information. The following infor-mation should be noted when referencingthe original article. It is also included onhttp://www.vexman.net/13stars/.

7. View of the American Position atYorktown. The image originally noted as“by” Lt. John Graves Simcoe is now notedas “attributed to Lt. John Graves Simcoe,but doubtful”. It is also now noted as“probably” painted by a British soldieracross the river from the American lines.[See also NAVA News #190, pp. 14-16.]

8. Fort Independence Flag (also knownas the Jonathan Fowle Flag). The noteshould now read “Mastai claimed this is theflag used in 1791 to receive the first Britishsalute from a Man-of-War to the U.S. flag.The flag’s documentation only claimed itwas made in 1781 and displayed at the fortin 1814”.

9. Mondhare Flag Sheet (Tableau detous les Pavillons que lon arbore sur lesVaisseaux dans Quatre Parties du Monde).A new image of this flag, not as poorlyhand-painted, has surfaced on the websiteof the Loeb-Larocque, Livres Maritima(http://www.loeb-larocque.com/maritima.php)which shows, as long-expected, the flagdesign has thirteen stars arranged 3-3-3-3-1 with a fleur-de-lis at the top center, exact-ly like the image on the 1782 Lotter FlagSheet (#10). The stars, however, are clearly5-pointed.

22. 1784 Year Book (Historic GenealogicCalendar, or Year Book of the Most CuriousNew Events of the World for 1784), imageaccompanying Matthias Sprengel’s accountof the American Revolution. An uncoloredimage has surfaced, courtesy of MatthewLarsen, which shows the stars as spur row-els (pierced in the center), which are print-ed on the image rather than added by thehandcolorist.

28. Society of Pewterers Flag. A high-resolution color image of this flag has beenpublished on the New-York HistoricalSociety’s website. The previous analysis,specifying a range of 5- to 8-pointed stars,relied on statements by Richardson, whoapparently did not have adequate access tothe image. The stars on the U.S. Flag in thecanton only have seven and eight points.There are eight 7-pointed stars and five 8-pointed stars.

As always, I would appreciate any addi-tional images or information appropriate tothis ongoing survey. I welcome your opin-ions and questions as well.

Dave Martucci is a past president of NAVAand former editor of NAVA News.Contact him at [email protected].

Society of Pewterers Flag (detail) SOURCE: https://www.nyhistory.org/web/

crossroads/gallery/viewer/pewterers_banner.html

The 13 Stars and Stripes:Survey of 18th-Century Images–An Update


RAVEN 17With its 2010 volume,NAVA’s scholarly journalresumes its standard for-mat: several excellentarticles on varied flagtopics. All were present-ed first as papers atNAVA’s annual meeting2009 in Charleston, SouthCarolina; they representthe pinnacle of vexillolog-ical scholarship in NorthAmerica and include the winner of the Captain WilliamDriver Award and the recipient of the honorable men-tion. Unusually, two of the members of the EditorialBoard of Raven contributed articles—demonstratingthe deep commitment its members have to vexillologyand furthering their personal research in the field.Volume 17 comprises:

Juxtaposing Symbols in Civil Religion:The Lady and the FlagScot Guenter, founding editor of Raven and coordinatorof the American Studies Program at San José StateUniversity—San José, CaliforniaIn a timely analysis, the leading proponent of observingthe flag as the centerpiece of the country’s civil religionnow explores how Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presiden-tial candidate, embodied the archetypes of the femaleessence of America—Good Mother, the WomanWarrior, and the Sex Goddess—all juxtaposed with theAmerican flag. Extensively illustrated.

Flags of the State Navies in theRevolutionary War Peter Ansoff, U.S. Navy contractor and tirelessresearcher into revolutionary-war-era flags—Annandale, Virginia.Eleven states created their own navies, separate anddistinct from the Continental Navy organized byCongress, to fight the British. Categorized into “bluewater”, “brown water”, and “minor” navies, theyplayed an important role in the Revolutionary War and(while the evidence is inconclusive) perhaps in thedevelopment of the nation’s early flags.

Ensigns of New ZealandDean Thomas—expatriate Kiwi and vexillologist forthe XIV Commonwealth Games in Auckland—Beebe,ArkansasWhile the roots of the country’s ensigns lie in those ofthe United Kingdom, those of New Zealand have often“broken the mold” with a potpourri of tradition andoriginality. The article describes over a dozen ensignsranging from the national flag to the Ministry ofTransport ensign.

Soviet Children’s FlagsAnne M. Platoff, Slavic Studies Librarian at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara—Goleta,CaliforniaIn the Soviet Union (1922-91) small flags designed forand used by children were more than just toys. Deepscholarship and extensive illustrations of flags fromthe author’s collection show how such flags played asignificant role in the socialization of Soviet children.

The Presidential Flag of Cuba from 1909to the PresentMaikel Arista-Salado y Hernández, Cuban immigrantand historical scholar—Miami, FloridaHow could the flag of the chief of state of thisCaribbean nation have been portrayed with the wrongcolor in otherwise-definitive flag books (such asNeubecker) for most of its history? The author showshow a misreading of the original description led to theuse of a light blue field instead of the standard darkblue, and proposes an update to the design of theflag.

Coming next year:Current plans will have Volume 18 appear asCanadian City Flags. This special issue, a counterpartto the Vexillon-winning American City Flags (2002-03),will cover the flags of 100 municipalities in Canada,including more than 60 of the largest cities in thecountry and at least five in each province and territory.The research team of twelve is hard at work.

The Raven Editorial Board: Scot M. Guenter, Ph.D., San Jose State University; Anne M. Platoff, M.S., M.A.,University of California, Santa Barbara; and John M.Purcell, Ph.D., Cleveland State University, Emeritus.


Flags for U.S. IslandTerritories—aVexillonnaire’s TaleBy SKIP WHEELER

In May 1999 the USS Arizona Memorialwas hosting the Vietnam Memorial MovingWall, in honor of those who served duringthe conflict. Chief Ranger Randy Westerasked me to place a display of U.S. stateflags near the wall. I was able to borrow astate flag display from Honors andCeremonies from the U.S. Navy at PearlHarbor. Since the display is in the shape ofa “V”, I placed a U.S. flag at the vertex andarranged the state flags behind the wall inorder of their admission to the Union. TheUS flag flew higher than the state flags.

It looked pretty impressive, howeverwe’d overlooked one small detail. Twosailors from the naval base complained thattheir fathers were Vietnam vets and theirflags were not represented. One sailor’sfather was from Puerto Rico, the other’sfrom American Samoa. Randy, the perfec-tionist, informed me that I needed to putthe flags from Puerto Rico and AmericanSamoa in the line-up.

I warned that this was going to open acan of worms—what about the others? Itold him that one of the sailors who pilotedour boats was from Guam, and I was surethat there were Vietnam veterans from theVirgin Islands, Washington, D.C., and theNorthern Marianas Islands. He told me tofind flags for all six of those territories; Ieventually found them and added them tothe display.

About a month later, I was giving outtickets at the front desk when two very mil-itary-looking men came in for a ticket tothe Memorial. One had a T-shirt with a flagon it that said “Wake Island”—anotheroverlooked U.S. territory. He proudly told

me that he was in the Air Force and hadjust finished his tour of duty on WakeIsland. I contacted the island and officialsthere verified that Wake Island had a flagand gave me the telephone number of thecompany that manufactured it. When Icalled the company, they were delighted tomake one for the National Park Service.

I realized that there were otherAmerican micro-territories that I shouldalso contact. I began with the Fish &Wildlife Service at Midway Atoll. A rangerthere, Steve Dryden, told me that he didn’t

think thatMidway had aflag, but he wouldget back to me.The next day hecalled and con-firmed that, buthe had beendoing a great deal

of thinking about it and had asked the staffthere and they all encouraged him todesign one. He asked me if I could be hisgo-between to the mainland. In about amonth, he presented the new Midway flagdesign to me.

In the meantime, I had already contact-ed the Air Force at the Johnston Atoll. Thecommanding officer of the Johnston AtollChemical Agent Disposal System informedme that since Wake and Midway weredesigning flags, that he would start a flagdesign contest on the island and the win-ning design would be the flag for JohnstonAtoll. About a month later, Lt. Col. Donald

Van Dine, theisland’s com-manding officer,told me that thewinning designhad been chosenthree stripes,blue/white/blue.In the center was

a gold colored eagle holding four stars in itsbeak. The four stars represented the four

Johnston Atoll

Midway


islands in the atoll. Col. Van Dine wasdelighted when I suggested to him that theblue stripes should use Air Force blue.

During WWII, American GIs were sta-tioned on Palmyra. I learned they had

designed a flag,three stripes run-ning horizontally:red (for the atoll’ssky at sunriseand sunset), overblue (for theocean), over yel-low (for the

atoll’s sand). Centered in the red band wasa yellow semicircle, which symbolizedeither the rising or setting sun. I sent thedesign to the Nature Conservancy, thesteward of the island, and out of respect forthe veterans of Palmyra, the staff acceptedthe design after making several modifica-tions.

Three other islands in the Pacific areunder the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service. Baker, Howland, andJarvis Islands were supposed to have a flagdesigned, but as far as I know, that neverhappened. I used the current Dept. ofInterior flag to represent those threeislands.

There is also one small island in theCaribbean claimed by the United States.Navassa Island, anunincorporated territorylocated about 30 miles to the west of Haiti’ssouthern peninsula, was claimed by the

United Statesunder the GuanoAct 1857. In1917, a light-house was builton the island toassist with therise in oceangoing shipping

spurred by the opening of the PanamaCanal. Jurisdiction of the island was in thehands of the U.S. Coast Guard until 1996when the lighthouse control of the island

shifted to the Fish & Wildlife Service(Puerto Rico office). The island is home tomany endangered animal species. We wereable to use a photo of the island, probablytaken from a boat offshore, as the Navassaflag prototype. The island is solid darkgreen. The island lies between two hori-zontal bands; the “sky” band on top is whiteand the lower “ocean” band is royal blue.The Navassa lighthouse is gray with agreen roof.

The last territory was Kingman Reef, alargely submerged reef south of Palmyra.Once under the jurisdiction of the Dept. ofthe Navy and used for training, it wastransferred to the Dept. of Interior in 2009as a marine national monument. Since thereef was still under the jurisdiction of theNavy when I developed the display, I usedthe Navy’s flag to represent the reef. Nowthat it is under the Dept. of Interior, I wouldfollow the Baker, Howland, and Jarvis leadand use the flag of the Dept. of Interior.

Skip Wheeler is a ranger withthe National Park Service

and NAVA’s most recent Vexillonnaire awardee.

See NAVA News #206 and #207 for more informationon the flags of Navassa and Midway.

The new Midway flag at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, held bySkip Wheeler (National Park Service, left) and

Steve Dryden (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, right).

Navassa

Palmyra


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. If you’d like to submit an item for pub-lication, contact the editor, Peter Ansoff, at [email protected] publication schedule is:

Deadline for ApproximateIssue No. Submissions “In the Mail” Date209 31 January . . . . 20 March 2011210 30 April . . . . . . 20 June 2011211 31 July . . . . . . 20 September 2011212 30 September . 20 December 2011

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

NAVA’s Grant ProgramsNAVA actively promotes conservation, preservation, and restoration of historic flags by raising and granting fundsfor museums and other repositories, and by lending its name in support of these efforts, through the GraceRogers Cooper Flag Conservation Grant of $250–$500. The Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr. Grant for Research in Vexillology supports original research in variousaspects of flag design and usage. NAVA gives this grant, now $500, on an occasional basis NAVA to individualspursuing research which advances vexillological knowledge in North America.See “Grants” at www.nava.org for more details.

Dues Reminder!NAVA memberships run on a calendar-year basis, nomatter when in a year a member joined.

All dues are payable 1 January for the full year;memberships lapse on 31 March if dues are not paid.

Please check your mailing label—it shows the yearthrough which your dues are paid.

You can pay your NAVA membership dues viawww.PayPal.com to [email protected] (more and moremembers are choosing this option), or by check to theNAVA P.O. box, or go to www. nava.org. & click the“Renew” link in the upper right of the home page.

Dues for 2011 remain the same: Regular (active):$40, Student (associate): $20, Commercial (organiza-tional): $60, Subscription: $40. You can pay for multi-ple years at once and simplify your bookkeeping!

Honor Roll of NAVA ContributorsDecember 2009—November 2010NAVA gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of its members and friends.Their support makes NAVA programs and publications possible.

Contributors to theNAVA Annual FundPhil AllenPeter AnsoffWilliam M. Belanich, Jr.Jim BrownBevinn ByrneMickey DennisGerhard P. GrahlThomas J. HaleDonald HollandTed Kaye

Richard S. KelchnerSusan KenneyRev. Richardson A. LibbyDavid A. MaggiScott MainwaringErrol MaynardGerard McCaveraDaniel J. McCordDavid MeadRev. Michael B. Smith

Contributor to theDevereaux CannonReseach FundCRW Flags, Inc.

Contributors to theFlag Conservation FundRichard T. ClarkCarita CulmerBerton A. LeonRev. Richardson A. LibbyTME Company

Contributors toNAVA 44Chris BedwellHugh BradyAl Cavalari/The Flag GuysTed KayeTME Co.William J. Trinkle

Contributors to theDriver Award[See NAVA 44 Story]


CHUMLEY THE VEXI-GORILLA

NAVA ClassifiedsUnusual collection of flag information and historicalflags. The Flag Guys® www.flagguys.comFREE catalog. 845-562-0088 283 Windsor Hwy.,New Windsor, NY 12553.

Chumley the Vexi-Gorilla™is the creation of Michael Faul,editor of Flagmaster, the distin-guished journal of the FlagInstitute in the UnitedKingdom. To a field not oftenblessed with humor’s grace, Mr.Faul brings a delightfully lighttouch, deep vexillological roots,and sparkling whimsy.

NAVA News is reprinting some vintageChumley flags that previously appearedin black-and-white.

MEMBER FLAG

Scandinavian Ancestry

The personal flag of John M. Hartvigsen is based on hispersonal arms. The flag is white with the following charges:along the hoist in blue, a stylized net defining threediamonds, the center diamond charged with a blue anchor.The net represents Scandinavian ancestors who were fisher-men and seamen. The anchor is an augmentation of honor,representing NAVA’s Driver Award received in 1982.

The remainder of the flag’s field is charged with a redchevron. Above the chevron are two red fleur-de-lis charges.The fleur-de-lis is the sign of the sixth son. Below thechevron is a demi-sun above two wavy barrulets couped allin red. The chevron symbolizes the protection of home andfamily as in a pitched roof. It also represents military servicein the U. S. Army Adjutant General’s Corps. The demi-sunand the wavy barrulets represent the midnight sun andaurora borealis symbolizing Norwegian ancestry. The colorsare those of the United States, Norway, and Denmark.

Flag of John M. Hartvigsen , Salt Lake City, Utah

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

Visit www. MetroFlags.com . We offer US, State, World, Historical, Military, and Nautical flags and flag-poles. Free shipping with coupon code: shipping50.


North AmericanVexillological Association1977 N. Olden Ave. Ext. PMB 225Trenton NJ 08618-2193 USA

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PLEASE CHECK YOUR LABEL!If the “Paid Through” date is 2010 orearlier, it’s time to renew for 2011.Pay your NAVA membership dues viawww.PayPal.com to [email protected] orby check to the NAVA P.O. Box.Thank you!

NEW FLAG

Akron, OhioBy DAVE MARTUCCI

The city of Akron,Ohio, has altered itsflag slightly byreplacing the motto“City of Invention” on its city seal withthree dates: “1981, 1995, 2008”, with fourstars as separators. The seal, centered on awhite background, forms the city flag.

According to an update on the city web-site, “Akron, Ohio is an award-winning citywith a storied past and a promising future.The City of Akron Seal was designed toreflect the pride that the people of Akronfeel for our community.

“The red, white, and blue color schemeis used to symbolize our status as an All-America City. The seal incorporates theofficial design of the All-America CityAward, presented by the National CivicLeague to Akron in 1981, 1995, and 2008.

“In the blue field of the shield (PantoneBlue 287) there are 10 stars representingthe 10 wards of the City of Akron.

“The stripes (Pantone Red 186), in addi-tion to recognizing the official logo of theAll-America City Award, also mirror thelogo of one of our city's most beloved insti-tutions recognized throughout the world,the All-American Soap Box Derby.

“First adopted in 1996, the City of AkronSeal is displayed on official correspon-dence; on vehicles, signs, banners, flags,and pins; and recognizes officially-spon-sored city events.”

The previous flag’s design was rated2.86 on a scale of 0 (worst) to 10 (best) inNAVA’s 2004 City Flag Survey, ranking it126th out of 150 flags. The changes to theflag are unlikely to alter its relative positionsignificantly.

SOURCE: (http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/Tour/)Also see www.ci.akron.oh.us/news_releases/2008/0606.htm.

For a full discussion of the flag’s history, see Raven 9/10 (2002-03,American City Flags, pp.1-3 “Akron, Ohio”, by John Purcell.

From the President: Returning ThoughtsMilestones: NAVA 45 = ICV 24New Members for 2010Call for ICV 24 Meeting PapersDavid Heisser 1942-2010So Long, NAVA 44!NAVA 44 PresentationsNAVA 44 Especially Thanks:National Park Service Ranger Named VexillonnaireJohn Purcell Honored by NAVAThe 13 Stars and Stripes: Survey of 18th-Century Images–An UpdateRaven 17Flags for U.S. Island Territories—a Vexillonnaire’s TaleHonor Roll of NAVA ContributorsNAVA’s Grant ProgramsDues Reminder!NAVA News Wants Your Articles and Other Vexi-news From Around North AmericaChumley the Vexi-GorillaMember Flag: Scandinavian AncestryNew Flag: Akron, Ohio

nava news, 2010 (oct-dec), no. 208 · 2014. 10. 1. · nava news· no. 208 · october–december...

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