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Portland Association 1 ISSN 2474-1787

Portland Flag Association “Free, and Worth Every Penny!” Issue 61 December 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Whitney Smith 1940–2016

Whitney Smith 1940–2016 1 Whitney Smith, the visionary who For decades Whitney was likely November 2016 Flutterings 2 organized and named , the only person to make a living as Flag Change in Columbia, SC 4 died 17 November in Boston. a flag expert. Still, he proved con- Roundup 5 sistently generous with his time and The Fleur-de-Lis 6 Anyone with an interest in expertise to the old and young. The First World Vexillology Day 8 not only knows of Whitney, but Michael Orelove’s Burgees 10 owes him a huge debt. He gave His master work, Flags Through the The Flag Quiz 11 the flag-studies its name (as Ages and Across the World (1975), Portland Flag Miscellany 12 a 17-year-old enthusiast in 1957). brought the study of flags to many Next Meeting 12 people. In a 1999 survey, NAVA In the early 1960s he launched members listed up to five of their www.portlandflag.org the Flag Research Center and the favorite flag books—4/5 of the Flag Bulletin, and in the mid-60s he respondents listed that book, usual- brought together the flag scholars ly in first place. It was one of over of the US and Canada to start 25 books Whitney wrote, plus 233 NAVA—the North American numbers of the Flag Bulletin over 50 Vexillological Association, and years and many other publications. those of the world to organize We salute the memory of a great FIAV—the International Federa- friend and scholar. tion of Vexillological Associations. We meet the second Thursday of odd-numbered months. Please mark your 2017 calendars for PFA meetings at 7:00 PM at the following dates/locations: 1/12/17 Jessie Spillers 3/9/17 Patrick Genna 5/11/17 John Schilke 7/13/17 Ted Kaye Whitney Smith gives congratulations 9/14/17 Scott Mainwaring and his book to Mason Kaye, long- 11/9/17 David Ferriday Flags are a universal time PFA member, on the occasion of characteristic of human Mason’s Driver-Award-winning talk at Thank you to our generous hosts civilization. NAVA 33/ICV 18 in Victoria, BC, in 1999 (with 6 PFA members attending). for their hospitality to the PFA! —Dr. Whitney Smith, Flags Through the Ages If you wish to compliment the editor, to contribute in the future, contact Ted Kaye and Across the World at 503-223-4660 or [email protected]. If you wish to complain, call your mother.

2 The Tabloid November 2016 Flutterings You Need to Know In our November meeting, hosted by Fred Paltridge and his fiancée Willow Washburn in their new home, 11 PFA members enjoyed a lively 3+hour evening of flags. In the usual role of the host, Fred moderated the discussion.

Fred compared the red and white checks of arms of the royal families of Croatia (past) and Monaco.

Ted Kaye passed around newspa- per clippings with flags as photo subjects, Željko Heimer’s new book (see p. 5) which he’d edited, and Portland city flag pins, recently Host Fred Paltridge (with Willow) moderates the discussion. arrived from the vendor. William Gifford arranges 48 historic flags sold by Von’s stores during 1976. He also posed the most recent flag David Koski anticipated the up- quiz to the members, described a coming “Civil War” football game William Gifford brought a 1976 visit to Columbia, S.C. (see p. 4), between the University of Oregon bicentennial flag set with 48 histor- and shared some full-size flags (Ducks) and Oregon State Univer- ic flags and an explanatory booklet, from his collection, including those sity (Beavers), wondering how to marketed by Von’s and created by of the Saami nation, Ukraine (a gift create a “flag for ambivalent peo- the Golden State Display Mfg. Co. from the Antarctic base command- ple” who support both or neither in N. Hollywood. He’d bought it er), Western Ukraine (a gift from side—perhaps using a platypus? recently from an antique shop after business colleagues), and a hospi- it was left out in the rain. tality flag used by European hotels John Schilke reflected on his recent (comprising 16 country flags). office cleaning, where he mostly Michael Orelove described how he just moved items around and gave gave away his burgee collection to away a few things...but kept his flag the local Sea Scouts (see p. 10). books!

Michael Orelove shows the one burgee David Koski wonders if Roman Mars John Schilke reflects on office clean-up he retained in his collection—from the has a personal flag... challenges. Royal Yacht Club, Suffolk, UK. December 2016 Portland Flag Association 3

Ken Dale describes Clackamas County’s only Medal of Honor winner.

Ken Dale described the rededica- tion of the memorial to Larry Ted Kaye stumps the crowd with the flag of Western Ukraine (a long-ago gift from Dahl, a Medal of Honor winner software development vendor colleagues in Lviv) as Joyce Gifford looks on. from Clackamas County, just be- fore Veterans Day, and related the described the most recent Big Bang Erick Watkins, inspired by the flag experiences of his aunt, a nurse Theory “Fun with Flags” episode. of Cyprus, jokingly proposed a new during WW2. flag for Portland, with its map sil- David Ferriday showed some houette and two “green stags”. Joyce Gifford related how when recent acquisitions, including a the San Francisco Zoo needed folk art U.S. flag with 8 stars and Our next meeting will be at the 5,000 4”x6” California state flags 9 stripes, a Betsy Ross House print home of Jessie Spillers on Jan. 12. for the opening of its exhibit which he gave to Fred & Willow, Jessie took the Portland Flag Asso- on extremely short notice, the and an Irish city flag. ciation flag home with him—the Giffords’ Chinese source ran its customary task of the next host. factory day and night for two days to complete the on time.

Jessie Spillers presented his recent learnings about the history and flags of Newfoundland, and

David Ferriday unveils the flag of the Jessie Spillers describes the history of Irish town of Loch Garman (Wexford), Erick Watkins shows what a Cyprus- Newfoundland and its flags. in County Wexford’s colors. inspired Portland flag might look like.

4 The Vexilloid Tabloid Flag Change in Columbia, South Carolina By Ted Kaye Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina, could really use a change of topic when it comes to flags.

As the focal point for display of the Confederate Battle Flag in the South, the city hosted a turning point in the fractious debate, with the removal of the flag from the The South Carolina State House and Confederate Monument in front of Confederate Monument, 2009: Flagpole and fencing in place. the capitol, in July 2015, by order of Governor Nikki Haley.

Calls for the flag’s removal had intensified since the murder of Activist Bree Newsome capturing the nine people in the Charleston Confederate flag on the SC state house church shooting the month before. grounds, as interpreted by Rebecca Cohen. [Museum May/June 2016] The flag had flown from a pole next to the monument, surrounded by a concrete deck and a small Columbia’s flag has served the fence. Within a day of the decision city for more than a century, but it The South Carolina State House and to remove it, all of that was gone represents a bygone era (corn and Confederate Monument, 2016: Flagpole and fencing removed. and sod was being laid in its place. cotton) with an outdated, ineffec- tive design (a on a bedsheet). The most visible event associated Perhaps this new flag topic will with the flag was its lowering two Local leaders have begun an effort bring positive attention to Colum- weeks before as an act of civil dis- to consider updating the flag as bia. It may well show how flags obedience by a young African- part of reclaiming civic pride and are far more than designs on bits American filmmaker, Brittany Ann improving the branding of the city. of cloth, and can serve a communi- “Bree” Newsome, whose pole- A large group came together at the ty as a unifying symbol. climb went viral and won praise Columbia Museum of Art for a from Democratic presidential can- workshop to learn about flag de- didate Hillary Clinton. sign and discuss ideas for change.

I visited Columbia in 2009 in conjunction with NAVA 43 (Charleston), and then again this year. That provided an opportuni- ty to see the monument before (with flag) and after (without flag).

The Columbia Design League and the local arts-commission equiva- Columbia’s media relations staff show lent had invited me in September the flag in the city council chambers. A light-blue version of the Columbia to speak about flag design and how Adopted in 1912, it features the city city flag flies below the state and the city flag might be improved. seal and stalks of corn and cotton. national flags outside City Hall. December 2016 Portland Flag Association 5 Roundup

Protesting in downtown Portland John Niggley’s mother celebrated in support of the Malheur occupiers. her 76th birthday on 18 Sept. 2016; John honored the event with the The surfer-pirate flag in Catlin Gabel Portland hosted the trial of the Bennington Flag. School’s Pirates of Penzance. armed occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in south- How to represent surfer-pirates easter Oregon. In Chapman on a flag? Catlin Gabel School’s Square, in front of the US District annual 8th-grade Gilbert & Sulli- Courthouse, maintained van operetta—this year Pirates of a vigil, including this boy hoisting Penzance—replaced pirates and po- the as a symbol of licemen with surfers and lifeguards, distress. In a surprise verdict, the using a flag designed in a group A golf ball with 32 national flags in effort led by Danny Lezak. defendants were acquitted. pentagons and hexagons.

Our Croatian colleague, Lt. Col. Željko Heimer, has turned his PhD dissertation into a book, with edi- torial help from Ted Kaye. It’s available on demand at Lulu.com.

Veteran Michael Orelove stands in front of his flag display at the Columbia Gorge Kiwanis Club Veterans Day appreciation pancake breakfast held in Corbett.

Among the flags was the 15– 15–stripe flag. While Michael has been Exploring Vexillology through downsizing, he has retained a large number of flags, which he shares with the Military Unit Flags, by Željko Heimer. community and school groups.

6 The Vexilloid Tabloid The Fleur-de-Lis: From Lys to Lis, or from Flower to

By Patrice de La Condamine The fleur-de-lis is one of the most famous in history. It was used in France particularly throughout the period of the - archy. But we know little about its origin. What is it exactly?

In accordance with its name, it would be good to begin with the flower itself.1 The lily is an immac- ulate white flower with three petals at the end of a long stem. It gives an impression of elegance, natural grace, and delicacy. It is therefore not surprising that in observing nature, men have seen in the lily a symbolic representation of the highest virtues.

As Christianity gradually settled in Europe, many elements of Nature revered under old pagan beliefs transformed into intangible repre- sentations in the new religion, the lily included. Clockwise from top left: lilies (lis), irises (iris des marais), bindweed or morning glory (liseron), common morning glory (volubilis). The lily came to represent Chris- tian values: faith, wisdom, chival- This aquatic plant covers vast However, official French histori- ry, and father, son, Holy Spirit. It swamps of the Flemish countryside ography does not accept this represented the purity of the trini- (where the Franks lived before en- version. ty. Simultaneously it became a he- tering Gaul) and was called gele lis Other plants have been called by raldic representation of the Virgin or lily. A euphonic assimila- the name lys, including lily of the Mary, an allegorical figure of heav- tion into French could well have valley (muguet—Convallaria majalis), enly immateriality and of eternity. been fleur de lys, an expression also called a May lily, and the water which history and heraldry have lilies (nénuphar or lys des étangs) that Incidentally, the name of the plant retained to the present day. is spelled with a “y”: “lys”, while float in a lily pond. Then there are the heraldic lily is written with an A fanciful legend from French the bindweed or morning glory “i”: “lis”, as highlighted in all the history relates how King Clovis,3 (liseron), which belongs to another specialized literature.2 after winning the Battle of Poitiers family (Convolvulaceae),4 and the in a marshy area full of yellow iris, purple morning glory (volubilis— Some point to a different origin for placed the flower on a sky-blue Ipomoea purpurea), with twining the emblem, namely the yellow iris background reflecting the water, to stem and arrow-shaped leaves (iris des marais—Iris pseudacorus). create a new symbol. which resemble aspects of the lily.

December 2016 Portland Flag Association 7

Québec has retained the original white fleurs-de-lis [1948 version].

The flag of the administrative region of Brussels, Belgium [1991]. It is faithful to the version of the yellow irises on a blue field, recalling the botanical origin of the fleur-de-lis.

NOTES

1. “In all languages, the name refers to its origin in the lily of the garden.” Source: Ottfried Neubecker, Le grand livre de l’héraldique, Paris, Bordas (French, 1982, 288 pp.), p.132. 2. The French Academy teaches that the pro- Flags of the Kingdom of France: semé of fleur-de-lis [1180–1364] (above) nunciation sounds the “s” when speaking of and a blue field with three fleurs-de-lis placed 2, 1 [1364–1632] (below). the flower, but omits the “s” sound when referring to the Arms of the House of Bour- bon (the second corresponds to standard The naturalist Pliny the Elder5 they range from the conversion of French pronunciation). In practice, however, the final “s” is sounded in both senses. considered the morning glory Clovis,7 who changed his previous 3. Clovis, 465–511, was a Frankish king and Nature’s first attempt to create the symbols—toads—to lilies to sym- founder of the Merovingian dynasty which perfect lily flower.6 And etymo- bolize the conversion of the King- ruled France for two centuries. logically, liseron derives from lis, dom of France to Christianity; the 4. Convolvulaceae derives from the Latin verb convolvere, “to wrap”. from the Latin lilius, “lily”. But evolution of “Fleur de Loys” (the 5. Pliny the Elder, 23–79, was a Roman writer these small plants are never cited flower emblem of King Louis VII) and naturalist. as the source of the symbolism of into fleur-de-lis; and the transfor- 6. Jean-Bernard Cahours of Aspry, Des fleurs French sovereigns. mation of the spearhead of the de lis et des armes de France: Légendes, Histoire et Symbolisme, Atlantica, 1998, p. 21. Gallic tribes into the emblem we The botanical lily has no monopo- 7. Clovis was a pagan, but he converted to know. Christianity after his victory at Tolbiac against ly on the explanation of the origin the Alemanni in 496. Baptized at Rheims, he of the expression fleur-de-lis. Many But we’ll save those stories for committed his kingdom and his people to the new Catholic religion, and accordingly changed other theories have been advanced: another time. his emblems from toads to fleurs-de-lis.

8 The Vexilloid Tabloid Vexiday: The First World Vexillology Day By Scott Mainwaring Milan, Italy. FIAV member or- On 1 October the flag world came ganizations Bandiere Storiche and together to commemorate the first the Italian Center of Vexillological day dedicated to the celebration of Studies (Centro Italiano Studi flags and flag studies. World Vex- Vessillologici—CISV) hosted a illology Day (Vexiday for short) is day-long celebration of flags at the an annual celebration, organized Sforza Castle in Milan. See http:// for the first time this year by vexil- www.bandierestoriche.it/ lological associations around the attivita.html for more photos. Attendees displaying the flags of CISV (left) and Bandiere Storiche (right). world. (See VT #60 and http:// First row: Marco Mecacci, vexiday.org for more information.) Mario Dalceri, Alfredo Betocchi, Gigi Ferrara, Roberto Beschi. Slovenia. Heraldica Slovenica Second row: Roberto Fanello, organized a “photograph your Paolo Paddeu, Giovanni Sala. favorite flag” activity. Third row: Alessandro Doldi, Flavio Marchetto.

Italy’s Vexiday event took place in the France. The Société française de courtyard of Sforza Castle. vexillologie (SFV) asked members to send in flag photos.

Peter Pavel Klasinc shows the flag of the city of Maribor, Slovenia.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Italian compatriots honor the memory of Peter Orenski with his flag group behind “the People’s Flag for New Milford, Connecticut. of Milwaukee” (@MilwaukeeFlag) tweeted: “It’s World Vexillology Day! #Disney's #SmallWorld concept by #MaryBlair displays powerful flag design while promot- ing unity & peace #vexiday.” SFV president Hervé Calvarin with a tricolor from the 1944 Liberation of Paris.

Tallahassee, Florida. Blogger Adam Moran (@HistorybyMoran) tweeted his personal flag Mary Blair’s concept art for It’s a with hashtag Small World After All at the 1964 #vexiday. World’s Fair (now at Disneyland). Fun with flags in Milan. December 2016 Portland Flag Association 9 Salt Lake City, Utah. Each day Vort Man posts his collage-based flag art to Instagram (see insta- gram.com/explore/tags/flagaday); his Vexiday post honored FOTW.

Vort Man’s collage of the flag of the Members of the Portland Flag Association with the PFA flag. Flags of the World (FOTW) Internet From left to right: Max Liberman, Patrick Genna, Scott Mainwaring, collective. Michael Orelove, Ken Dale, Ted Kaye.

Portland, Oregon. The PFA Tbilisi, Georgia. The first Geor- celebrated Vexiday with a flag gian National Conference of Vexil- display at Salmon Street Springs, lology and Heraldry celebrated a public plaza in downtown Vexiday before the closing dinner. Portland. A great way to engage curious passersby! San Jose, California. The North American Vexillological Associa- tion (NAVA) recognized Vexiday by awarding its initiator, Scott Mainwaring, the 2016 John Purcell Award for promoting public under- standing of vexillology. An onlooker proudly poses with his country’s flag.

Wichita, Kansas. Promoters of Michael Orelove tells Portland visitors Wichita’s excellent flag about his 50-star, 50-stripe flag. (ilovewichita.org) cele- brated its appearance on the cover of NAVA’s American City Flags (Raven 9/10). @WichitaFlag tweeted: “Adding ‘book cover model’ to my list of accomplish- ments and celebrating Oct 1 @vexiday. NAVA’s 2016 John Purcell Award Flags flying at Salmon Street Springs. #ilovewichita & #worldvexillologyday” honors the initiator of Vexiday.

10 The Vexilloid Tabloid Michael Orelove’s Burgees Make Port By Michael Orelove meaning of buoys and lights, how I’ve been downsizing and looking to take advantage of wind and for a place to donate my collection tides, and how to drop anchor or of 26 burgees from yacht clubs approach a dock. from around the world. PFA In appreciation for my donation member Larry Snyder suggested of the burgees, the Sea Scouts gave the local Sea Scouts and put them me one of theirs! It has the Boy A scout hangs the burgee from the in contact with me. Scout superimposed over an Waikiki Yacht Club, Hawaii, bearing a Sea Scouts is a coed program of anchor, with the organization’s a large “W” which fits perfectly in the the Boy Scouts of America for “Be Prepared”. triangular-shaped flag. young adults ages 14 to 21 who are The Sea Scouts boathouse on the interested in sailing and boating. Columbia River (home to SSS601) The program focuses on sailing now has a collection of burgees and cruising either sailboats or from around the world. I’m so power vessels. During the boating pleased that they have made port season, Sea Scouts learn to main- in such an appropriate “harbor”. tain and operate a vessel, with a focus on learning the safe and proper methods of handling The burgee from the Greenwich Yacht boats. Sea Scouts also learn the Club of London, England, with the nautical symbol of a .

Proud Sea Scouts pose with some of the Skipper Bill hangs up four burgees burgees on the walls of their Columbia from the Cold Springs Harbor Yacht River boathouse (on Marine Drive). Club, New York. A scout hangs the burgee from the Ketchikan Yacht Club, Alaska. It rains a lot in Ketchikan and the burgee a bird holding an umbrella.

Sea Scouts and their leader show the U.S. Power Squadron cruise pennant and burgees from the Antique & Clas- sic Boat Society of Clayton, New York; A scout hangs the burgee from the the Royal Yacht Squadron from the Port Orchard Yacht Club, Washing- Isle of Wight, UK; and the Port ton. Below is the burgee from the Michael with the Sea Scouts burgee, Orchard Yacht Club, Washington. Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. a gift from Ship (troop) 601. December 2016 Portland Flag Association 11 What’s that Flag? What Was that Flag? Answers to the last quiz

By Scott Mainwaring By Tony Burton Can you name these seven designs, Flags with a star or several are and explain the common theme? common. Less so are those using more than 5 points. Here are sev- Answers in the next issue… en of less than dozen with a single star of more than 5 points— Azerbaijan presented in ascending order: 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 24. (There appears to be no flag with a 10-pointed star—except for one of the original Fiji finalists pub- lished in error. A 10-pointed star has certain occult connotations). Sarawak, Malaysia Congrats to Michael Orelove, and to Mike Thomas (Luxembourg) and John Cartledge (Great Britain) who seem to have a time zone ad- vantage in responding first.

Federation of Malaya 1950–1963

Nauru Israel

Jordan Marshall Islands

12 The Vexilloid Tabloid Portland Flag Miscellany

Other beers use the Cascadia flag to pro- mote secession from the US & Canada. A Portland brewpub, Coalition Brewing on S.E. Ankeny, bases a beer on the Cascadia flag. “Cascadian Dark Ale”, also known as a “Black IPA” or an “India Black Ale”, is a style of beer recently growing in popularity. Cascadia flags appear as tifo at For more on the Cascadia flag, Timbers games—led by the fans of see VTs 36, 43, & 53. our MLS champions.

January Meeting

The next meeting of the Portland Flag Association will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 12, 2017 at the home of Jessie Spillers (Legends), 1132 S.W. 19th Ave., Portland, OR 97205. You can take MAX.

See the map at right.

We look forward to seeing those of you who have missed recent meetings and engaging in provoca- tive flag-related discussion.

If you can’t get to the meeting, perhaps you can give the editor something to share with readers.

The Vexilloid Tabloid, founded in 1999 by the late John Hood, is published bi-monthly by and for the Portland Flag Association—Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Find back issues at www.portlandflag.org.

December 2016