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Don't forget your STATE FLAG, everyone!

(...& to those of us who are proud to be in/from the South, the Stars & Bars, too!).

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The Colorado State Flag

The Colorado State Flag was designed by Andrew Carlisle Carson and adopted by the Colorado General Assembly on June 5, 1911. The flag specifications seemed clear enough when adopted but modification to the legislation was required in 1929 and in 1964.

The field is comprised of three alternate stripes, the two outer stripes colored blue and the middle stripe white. At one fifth the length of the flag from the staff end is the letter "C". The color of the "C" is red. The diameter of the letter "C" is two thirds the width of the flag, the inner line of the letter being three fourths the width of its body and the outer line double the length of the inner line of the letter. The center of the letter "C" is filled with the color gold. It was also stipulated that the flag should have an attached cord of gold and silver intertwined with gold and silver tassles.

It seems that certain specifications for the flag were not clear and some controversy arose over the precise shades of red and blue to be used in the flag. This issue was resolved by the General Assembly on February 28, 1929 when it stipulated that the red an blue colors in the flag were to be the same as the national flag.

Again controversy developed over the specifications for the flag. This time at issue was the size of the letter "C". The General Assembly addressed this on March 31, 1964, revising the 1911 legislation to stipulate the diameter of the letter "C" and its distance from the staff.

The colors used in the Colorado State Flag represent evnvironmental features of the state. The gold represents the abundant sunshine enjoyed by the state. The blue sybolizes the clear blue skies of Colorado. White represents the snow capped mountains of the state and red represents the color of much of the state's soil.

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"If I could rest anywhere, it would be in Arkansas, where the men are of the real half-horse, half-alligator breed such as grows nowhere else on the face of the universal earth."

Quote attributed to Davey Crockett

Arkansas, officially "The Natural State", is a state of mountains, valleys, dense woodland and fertile plains. Its clear lakes and streams and abundant wildlife help to make tourism one of the state's most important industries.

Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock

Arkansas became a state on June 15, 1836. In the early days of statehood, a couple of U.S. Senators had some disagreement on the spelling and pronunciation of Arkansas. One preferred to be called the senator from Arkan"saw" and the other preferred to be called the senator from Ar"Kansas". In 1881, the conflict was resolved when the state General Assembly passed a resolution stating that the state's name was to be spelled "Arkansas" but pronounced Arkan"saw".

Pronunciation of State Name.

 

THE NAME:

Arkansas is another form of Kansas and first appeared on a 1673 map of the region. The Kansas Indian tribe is a member of the Sioux nation.

The Quapaw Indians lived west of the Mississippi River and north of the Arkansas River. The Quapaws were known as the "downstream people". Perhaps influenced, by French pronunciation of Indian names, the Algonkian-speaking Indians from the Ohio Valley called the Quapaws "Arkansas" meaning "south wind".

Source: Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - 1994
Arkansas Secretary of State Web Site - www.sosweb.state.ar.us/index.html - 1999

THE NICKNAMES:

The Natural State: (Official) This nickname was officially adopted by the legislature in 1995 and is intended to highlight the "...unsurpassed scenery, clear lakes, free-flowing streams, magnificent rivers meandering bayous, delta bottomlands, forested mountains, and abundant fish and wildlife." This nickname replaced the official Land of Opportunity nickname following the slogan Arkansas Is a Natural that was used to promote tourism and outdoor recreation.

Land of Opportunity: This was the official state nickname of Arkansas prior to the adoption of The Natural State in 1995. Adopted in 1947, this nickname served for 38 years.

The Wonder State: This nickname served the state of Arkansas as the official nickname from 1923 to 1947. This name was adopted by concurrent resolution of the legislature to promote Arkansas' abundance of natural resources and to replace the nickname, the Bear State, which was so widely in use and, it was feared, gave a false impression of the state.

The Razorback State: Though not official, Arkansas is very often referred to as the Razorback State in reference to the athletic teams of the University of Arkansas. A razorback is a thin, long-legged wild hog resident in the state of Arkansas.

The Hot Springs State: This nickname is in reference to the world-famous hot springs of Arkansas. A related, though less known, nickname was The Hot Water State.

The Bowie State: This nickname, along with "The Toothpick State" references the famous Bowie knives that were in use in the Arkansas territory. The Bowie knife was first crafted by blacksmith/knifesmith James Black, to Jim Bowie's specification. It was said that a Bowie knife had to be sharp enough for shaving and heavy enough to use as a hatchet. It had to be long enough to be used as a sword and wide enough to paddle a canoe.

The Toothpick State: Another large knife, made by Arkansas blacksmiths/knifesmiths and referred to as an Arkansas Toothpick, was similar in heft to a Bowie knife, but longer and designed for throwing.

The Bear State: This is the earliest known nickname for Arkansas, first seen in print in 1858. Undoubtedly, Arkansas was referred to as the Bear State by early settlers who found the territory home to many bears. This nickname was pronounced, "Bar" State.

Source: Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - 1994
Shankle, George Earlie, Phd State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols H. H. Wilson Company, New York - 1938 (Reprint)

THE CITIZENS:
People who live in or who come from Arkansas, are referred to as Arkansans.

THE QUARTER:

U.S. Mint image

The Arkansas quarter is the fifth and final quarter of 2003, and the 25th in the 50 State Quarters® Program. Arkansas was admitted into the Union on June 15, 1836. Arkansas was acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and later became the Arkansas Territory before gaining statehood. The Arkansas quarter design bears the image of rice stalks, a diamond and a mallard gracefully flying above a lake.

It is fitting that the "Natural State," Arkansas's official nickname, chose images of natural resources. Arkansas has an abundance of clear streams, rivers and lakes. In fact, Arkansas has more than 600,000 acres of natural lakes. Arkansas is also known for its sportsmanship and boasts mallard hunting as a main attraction for hunters across the nation. Visitors to Arkansas can search Crater of Diamonds State Park for precious gems including, of course, diamonds. The mine at Crater of Diamonds State Park reportedly is the oldest diamond mine in North America, and the only one in the United States open to the public-visitors get to keep what they find. Visitors can also experience "Rice Fever" in Arkansas-just the way W.H. Fuller did when he grew the first commercially successful rice crop in Arkansas. Soon after, thousands of acres of the Grand Prairie were changed to cultivate rice, and Arkansas became the leading producer of the grain in the United States.

In January 2001, Governor Mike Huckabee announced the Arkansas Quarter Challenge as a statewide competition. A two-week media tour promoting the Challenge resulted in 9,320 entries. After several rounds of elimination, the Governor forwarded three concepts to the United States Mint, including Arkansas' natural resources and the State Capitol building. The United States Mint provided four candidate designs based on the concepts to the Governor from which he chose the natural resources design.

The Arkansas State Flag

The battleship U.S.S. Arkansas was to be commissioned and the Pine Bluff chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution voted to present an Arkansas State Flag to the ship. The committee dutifully sent a letter off to Secretary of State Earl W. Hodges to learn more about the flag. They received a reply to their letter explaining that Arkansas had no state flag.

The Pine Bluff Daughters decided that this situation had to be corrected and sponsored a statewide flag design contest. Secretary of State, Hodges chaired the committee to select the flag design and chose a distinguished group to assist him: Dr. Junius Jordan, the Chairman of Philosphy and Pedagogy at the University of Arkansas; Mrs. Julia McAlmont Noel, a member of the John McAlmont chapter of the D.A.R. in Pine Bluff; Miss Julia Warner, a teacher in the Little Rock school system, and Mrs. P.H. Ellsworth, a former president of the Arkansas Federation of Women's Clubs.

Sixty-five entries were received in different formats, from crayon drawings to miniature silk flags. Many of the entries featured the state flower, the Apple Blossom, in different settings. The entry chosen was a red, white and blue design by Miss Willie Hocker of Wabbaseka, a member of the Pine Bluff chapter of the D.A.R., where the idea for the contest originated.

The design depicted a large white diamond bordered by twenty-five stars on a blue band. A straight line of three blue stars was centered in the diamond. The flag committee thought the state's name should be on the flag, Miss Hocker agreed and suggested that the blue stars be re-arranged with one star above the name and two below.

The Arkansas Legislature adopted Miss Hocker's design as the official state flag of Arkansas. The U.S.S. Arkansas recieved this flag from the Pine Bluff chapter of the D.A.R....

Wait!... There's more.

Trouble was brewing. The design committee had neglected to consider the role of Arkansas as a member of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. To correct this, in 1923 the Legislature voted to add another star above the state name. This fourth star was placed above the letter "R" in Arkansas and the original star above the name was moved to a position above the last "A" in Arkansas.

This time an uproar came from those who claimed the addition of the fourth star compromised the original meaning and symmetry of the design. So, in 1924, the Arkansas Legislature addressed the design of the state flag again. The original three stars were moved below the state name and the additional star was centered above the state name. This is the way the flag is today.

The flag displays a white diamond on a red field. The white diamond is bordered by a band of blue containing twenty-five stars. The state name is centered in the diamond. Three stars are placed below the state name and one is centered above the state name.

The colors of the flag, red, white and blue associate the state with the United States of America. The three blue stars below the state name represent the three countries that the territory belonged to (France, Spain and the United States), the year (1803) that Arkansas was aquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase and that Arkansas was the third state created from the purchase. The two stars below and parallel to the state name represent the twin states, Arkansas and Michigan, both admitted to the union at about the same time: Arkansas on June 15, 1836 and Michigan on January 26, 1937. The single star above the state name represents Arkansas' membership in the Confederate States of America.

Twenty-five stars in the blue band represent Arkansas as the twenty-fifth state admitted to the union. The diamond signifies Arkansas as the only diamond-producing state in the nation.

State Statute

If you want more information on the State Flags of the United States, you might want to check How Proudly They Wave: Flags of the Fifty States by Rita D. Haban. This book is geared toward kids... and for adults like me who want to know about the history and design significance of the flags of all fifty states but can't find this information in an expensive encyclopedia.