The response to the flag contest redesign has floored us. I quit counting more than a week ago when we already had 1,000 entries. Now, in the final days (deadline is Friday 5 p.m.) we’ve also gotten envelopes full of submissions from art and history classes across the state.

It’s surpassed what we hoped it would do. The contest has made people — from student citizens to senior citizens — think about what makes Oregon distinct. What symbols brand us. It’s been great to read the letters so many of you have written about what you love about Oregon and why it’s important to you.

I designed a great flag, but the contest asked for entries from citizens of Oregon. My design uses the existing blue and gold, and adds two shades of green. On the hoist side, I used half a wagon wheel in gold (superimposed over the blue) that looks like the rays of the setting western sun. And I bet there are at least 100 entries that look just like it.

Should the Union Jack be taken out of the New Zealand flag? – 27 Sep 2007 – Political News – New Zealand Herald
The Prime Minister has suggested taking the Union Jack out of the flag as pictured here.

Asked whether New Zealand should become a republic or consider changing its flag, Helen Clark said the two issues could be kept separate.

Should the Union Jack be taken out of the New Zealand flag?

What were they thinking? How about a nice statue of HONDO?

Flag-Themed Hydrant Pulled From Dog Park
A fire hydrant painted as an American flag has been removed from a dog park after complaints it was disrespectful to let dogs use it for what dogs do.

The new leash-free park was named for Hondo, a police dog killed 10 years ago chasing a suspect, and the flag-painted hydrant was intended as a tribute to him. “We put a lot of effort into it,” said artist Jason Ross.

However, after a photo of the hydrant appeared Sunday in The Oregonian newspaper, e-mails started arriving at the parks department.

This Scout’s Eagle project reminds visitors why the park exists.

Scout Schumacher honors military with flag project – Lemont, IL – Lemont Reporter
Legion Park at the triangle at Main Street and New Avenue is dedicated to the people who have served in the U.S. military, but there was little in it that would convey that message. Matthew Schumacher, a senior at Lemont High School, decided he would change that with his Eagle Scout project.

Beginning about a year ago, and finishing this past spring, Schumacher organized and executed a project to improve the appearance of the gazebo in the park and mount flags on the ceiling of the gazebo representing all five branches of the U.S. military and an American flag.

Someone needs to get the Congressman a copy of the U.S. Flag Code, pronto.

newsobserver.com | Bill would allow students to wear U.S. flag
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones has introduced a proposal to withhold federal education funds from schools that prohibit the display or wearing of American flags, his office announced today. …

…The bill specifies that the flag must be displayed or worn in a “respectful manner,” and that students’ right to wear the U.S. flag must be “at least equal in quality and scope to the right of a student to display or wear any other” flag.

Most flag books do not show the other side of the Oregon state flag, so for people who don’t live in Oregon, this story will be news indeed.

MailTribune.com: Since You Asked: Long may Oregon’s beaver flag wave
Vexillologists confirmed for us that Oregon is in fact the only state that has a different design on the two sides of its state flag, at least since 1979 when New Jersey removed from the rear of its flag the word “Fuhgeddaboudit,” that state’s official motto (ahem!).

Among nations, Oregon’s only two-sided flag equal is Paraguay. You’re swelling with pride, yes?

The front of Oregon’s flag (or the rear, depending on whether you’re a fan of the OSU Beavers) shows a heart-shaped shield with an eagle on top, surrounded by 33 stars, for the Union’s 33 states in 1859, when Oregon became a state.