Portland Flag Association Publication 1

Portland Flag Association “Free, and Worth Every Penny!” Issue 46 June 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Remembering Sam Oakland 1934–2014

Remembering Sam Oakland 1 By Ted Kaye Flags in the News 2 Just after his 80th birthday, Sam Roundup 3 Oakland (polymath and PFA The Malaysian Airliner Tragedy 3 member) died in Portland after a May 2014 Flutterings 4 recurrence of pancreatic cancer. Flags and Travels 6 The Flag Quiz 7 I’d known him for 40+ years as a neighbor in Willamette Heights. Portland Flag Miscellany 8 However, only recently did he and Next Meeting Announcement 8 I connect regarding flags; as a

www.portlandflag.org result he enthusiastically joined the Portland Flag Association.

Variously a professor of English and law, international lecturer, Forest Service and Park Service Sam roamed the world on four ranger, proud family man, and Fulbright grants, taught in many local political activist, Sam also different countries, and had recent- collected flags. ly been accepted as a Peace Corps He began in the 1960s by buying volunteer in Albania. He drank surplus nautical flags at Zidell’s whiskey with Marshal Tito at his ship breakers for 25 cents each. villa in Slovenia the year before Tito’s death. And he always flew By the end of his life he was ordering custom-made flags of several national or subnational flags obscure and historical designs on his house on N.W. Thurman. from a seamstress in Dublin.

Sam’s career as a political activist led him to start the Oregon Bicy- A true and complete history cle Lobby, run unsuccessfully for of the flags of the world— public office, and battle against of national symbols—would be the closure of the Pioneer Post nothing less than a history of Office in downtown Portland. the aspirations of men and nations. If you wish to compliment the editor, or to contribute in the future, contact Ted Kaye at — Edward S. Holden 503-223-4660 or [email protected]. If you wish to complain, call your mother.

2 The Vexilloid Tabloid Flags in the News The advent of color in our local Recent events in Ukraine provide These eye-catching and evocative and national newspapers has led to an important and instructive view photographs explain the stories in a profusion of flag images. of old and new flags. compelling ways. Wall Street Journal 4/8/14 4/8/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 3/22–23/14 3/22–23/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 3/24/14 3/24/14 Journal Wall Street

Russian troops guard a military base at Perevalnoye, near the Crimean capitol of Simferopol.

Crimean and Russian flags at the Crimean parliament. Wall Street Journal 3/3/14 3/3/14 Journal Wall Street Oregonian 5/4/14 5/4/14 Oregonian Oregonian 3/26/14 3/26/14 Oregonian Wall Street Journal 5/9/14 5/9/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 3/8–9/14 3/8–9/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 5/9/14 5/9/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 3/14/14 3/14/14 Journal Wall Street Wall Street Journal 3/20/14 3/20/14 Journal Wall Street

June 2014 Portland Flag Association Publication 3 Round-Up

Where do YOU see flags? Your smart phone’s camera feature means you can document them anywhere!

At Andy & Bax (a military surplus store on S.E. Grand Ave. since 1945), the At Fred Meyer, the bakery provides “patch bin” sells insignia at $1.50/item. a book full of options for decorating Among the options: U.S. Flag patches for left- and right-shoulder use, cakes for any occasion. Among them Patrick Genna spotted this Russian food in regular and camouflage colors. are national flags of all flavors. cart at S.E. 82nd Ave. near Mall 205.

Recognizing the Malaysian Airliner Tragedy

By Michael Orelove I have been flying the Malaysian flag at my house in sympathy for the Malaysian airliner tragedy.

The Permanent Mission of to the United Nations sent me the flag in 2011.

The 14 stripes and points of the represent the 13 member states of the Malaysian federation and the Federal District of . They show the equal status in the federa- tion of the states and the federal gov- ernment. The crescent and star rep- resent Islam; is a traditional royal color. The blue rectangle stands for unity of the Malaysian peo- ple. The blue rectangle was originally adopted from the Union Jack and represented Malaysia’s link to Britain.

I encourage all PFA members to use Michael Orelove displays the flag of Malaysia at his Gresham home, their flags to commemorate public in recognition of the Malaysian airliner tragedy. events, happy or sad. Malaysia’s U.N. mission provided him with the flag for educational purposes.

4 The Vexilloid Tabloid May 2014 Flutterings You Need to Know In our May meeting, hosted by Scott Mainwaring, 13 PFA mem- bers enjoyed a lively evening of flags and other wide-ranging topics. The PFA flag bore a black crepe ribbon in memory of Sam Oakland.

Ted Kaye described a recent inter- view (his second) with Roman Mars of the design-oriented radio show 99% Invisible. He gave report on the city of Portland’s licensing of its flag for soccer merchandising (the council approved) and the next effort: updating the code’s specifi- cations and requiring all city build- ings to fly the flag (as Chicago A mystery combination flag from the collection of Scott Mainwaring, our host. does). He described the his role Further research revealed this as the 1987 Louisiana Creole Flag. organizing flags at the centennial dinner of the Lang Syne Society which they drew their inspiration. An enthusiast of kites as well as (coincidentally, the group which He concluded by reading the flags (he sold when running launched the contest which resulted poem opening the 1959 Observer’s Elmer’s), Mike Hale shared flag- in the 1958 city flag). Book of Flags, the Edward B. Ham- related pins and described attending David Ferriday told how he collects ley verse featured in VTs 10 & 32. kite-flying festivals and his idea that flags related to his son’s car-racing one event there might involve any Scott Mainwaring, just back from hobby. He mentioned that the City kites depicting flags. Toronto, investigated the flag’s Club of Portland’s current mem- history and presented the broad bership drive offers a Portland flag quantity of information about the T-shirt as a premium (see p. 8). flag’s design and adoption which After a local ceramics showcase, he Toronto shares on its website. If collected many of the cards identi- only each city had such extensive fying the artists, which bore the history on-line, Canadian City Flags flags of the countries or states from would have been much easier to research! He also showed a flag from his collection which Patrick Genna chose for display at the meeting, an unusual combination of four individual flags.

Nathaniel Mainwaring has been working on his Minecraft-based “Flag World”, with an even larger Carl Larson observes David Ferriday’s One-time kite purveyor Mike Hale Brickyard 400 auto-racing flag. U.S. flag than his prior iteration. proposes a special flag-kite event.

June 2014 Portland Flag Association Publication 5

Patrick Genna distributes a fun and challenging 19-question flag quiz to the attendees, including Michael Orelove and Ken Dale.

Max Liberman shares his collection of 4”6” flags—the lower set represents question: name a flag which is places to which he’s traveled. white with five crosses. Very en- tertaining, it got some push-back Max Liberman brought his collec- on a few of the answers! tion of 4”x6” stick flags, divided [Answer: Republic of Georgia] between those places he’s visited and those he hasn’t yet been to, In a discussion of using Portland noting that the USSR was out of city flag post cards for recruiting, contention. He posed the current Carl Larson noted that a neighbor quiz questions, to mixed results. flies the Portland flag regularly.

John Schilke observed that a flag of John Niggley, the first member to the People’s Republic of China had see the Portland flags applied to been made in Taiwan; Max pointed N.E. Multnomah, reported that out that some of the stars were one is now separating from the Michael Orlove displays the Cherokee oriented incorrectly…coincidence? pavement. We’ll advise PBoT. , to contrast it with Alaska’s.

Patrick Genna challenged us with a At Elmer’s Flag & Banner, pro- Travelling to Alaska soon, Michael 19-question quiz on flags—sample prietor Dave Anchel has a large Orelove will be carrying that state’s stock remaining of 1970–2002 flag as well as another one with Portland city flags; much to Ted’s Ursa Major: the Cherokee war flag. relief he has moved them to the He showed his latest acquisition in “historical flags” section. Elmer’s his flag-solicitation project—Prince makes “Rip City” banners for the Edward Island, Canada. playoff-bound Trail Blazers, but cannot sell them to the public. A third run of Portland city flag post cards has been printed; let Ted Ken Dale engaged us in another know if you need more. insightful discussion of language, John Schilke checks a Taiwan-made PRC and reflected on flags depicted in Our next meeting will be at the flag, with some stars oriented incorrectly. a history of the 20th century. home of Ted Kaye on July 10th.

6 The Vexilloid Tabloid Flags and Travels

Nevada joined the union in 1864 as the 36th state. This flag was used Michael Orelove holds the state flags at Michael Orelove and Kathleen Forrest until 1867, when Nebraska became the Nevada-California border at Lake hold the Nevada state flag in front of the 37th state. Michael Orelove Tahoe. (He apologizes to the California Nevada’s capitol building in stands next to the flag in the Nevada flag.) In the background fly the flags of Carson City. state capitol. Nevada, U.S., and California.

NAVA secretary John Hartvigsen, who spearheaded the recent upgrade of the Utah state flag, shows Ted Kaye the flag-history display in the state’s capitol (exterior view below).

Visiting Fort Clatsop, Michael Orelove An unusual U.S. flag variant viewed by hoists the 15-star, 15-stripe flag used by Ted Kaye in Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery Memorial Museum (operated by the when wintering over there in 1805–06. Daughters of Utah Pioneers).

The National Park Service operates the Created in the mid-19th-century by a replica fort. Known to some as “Fort Mormon schoolteacher, Eliza Hubbard, Clatsop III”, it burned in 2005 and was it is not known why the colors of the hurriedly reconstructed just in time for stars and stripes vary, except perhaps Oregon’s Lewis & Clark Bicentennial because of the limited materials commemorations in in 2005–06. available in early pioneer days.

June 2014 Portland Flag Association Publication 7 What’s that Flag? What Was that Flag? Answers to the last quiz

By Scott Mainwaring By Max Liberman

Can you name these seven flags and identify the unifying theme?

Answers in the next issue…

Kent, England

Yemen

Trinidad & Tobago coast guard ensign

Pays de Dol, Brittany

Afghanistan, Jan.–Oct. 1929

German East African Company

The obvious theme linking these seven flags: all use the colors red, black, and white. Amstelveen, Netherlands

8 The Vexilloid Tabloid Portland Flag Miscellany City Club of Portland, the state’s premier civic-affairs organization, is currently using the city’s flag on promotional materials during its spring membership drive.

Prospective T-shirt design incorporating Portland, Oregon’s name and flag.

The Club’s executive director, Sam Adams, served as Portland’s mayor 2009–2012. While chief of staff to Mayor Vera Katz, he worked with Doug Lynch to draft the 2002 ordi- nance which updated the city’s flag.

At Mayor Charlie Hales’ 2014 Portland City Club member and sound “State of the City” address before technician Leslie Zenner sports the flag Volunteer Danielle Schira greets the Club, all 400+ attendees T-shirt in the Sentinel Hotel ballroom. members with the new T-shirt. received Portland flag post cards.

July Meeting The next meeting of the Portland Flag Association will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 10, 2014, at Ted Kaye’s house: 2235 N.W. Aspen (at Belgrave), Portland, Ore. 97210.

See the map at right.

We look forward to seeing those of you who have missed recent meet- ings, and hear some new stories, see some different flags, and engage in provocative discussion.

If you can’t get to the meeting, perhaps you can give the editor The Vexilloid Tabloid , founded in 1999 by the late John Hood, is published bi-monthly something to share with readers. by and for the Portland Flag Association—Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Find back issues at www.portlandflag.org.

June 2014