Washington state’s grand old flag hits century mark

By Gale Metcalf for Senior Times

Happy 100th birthday to our Washington state flag.

It was born on June 7, 1923, when the law creating Washington’s flag went into effect.

Celebrating its 100th birthday, it flies throughout the Tri-Cities on municipal and other government buildings, as well on standards of private owners, as it has for a century.

The flag was 34 years in coming after Washington became a state on Nov. 11, 1889, even though the state seal featured on the flag was adopted in 1889 during the state’s constitutional convention.

When adopted, Washington was one of only four of states without an official banner. Today, all have official flags.

As the 19th century marched into the 20th century, unofficial flags featuring President Washington’s likeness fluttered on flag poles throughout the state. A gold profile of Washington was featured against blue bunting and carried by Washington state’s volunteer infantry during the Philippine-American War in 1899.

Other unofficial flags featured the state seal in gold on a backdrop of purple or green. A ceremonial banner of this type is displayed in the State Reception Room of the Legislative Building in Olympia.

A full decade before adoption of the official flag, an effort was made for one. A state representative from Whatcom County, William J. Hughes, proposed forming a commission specifically to come up with a flag representing the state.

His proposal passed the state House of Representatives, 69-20, but was not placed on the floor of the state Senate for a vote in 1913.

Washington Gov. Ernest Lister, a supporter of having a state flag, called on citizens throughout the state to come up with designs.

Interestingly, opposition came from the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of Veterans, who felt a state flag would be detrimental to the American flag.

One year later, in 1914, the Daughters of the American Revolution launched a campaign to adopt an official state flag and formed a design committee, headed by Emma Chadwick, wife of a state Supreme Court justice. In 1915, a flag with a green background and the state seal in the center, was adopted by the DAR, which manufactured one in Washington, D.C., for $48.

The state chapter then proudly displayed it at the national DAR until 1916. When it was returned to the state chapter, it was flown during the April 1916 general meeting of the state DAR in Everett. There, the chapter asked the state Legislature to officially adopt the flag as the state’s symbol.

A 1917 National Geographic magazine on U.S. state flags featured an unofficial Washington state banner similar to that designed by the DAR.

It was supposedly sourced from “military authorities.”

In 1920, the secretary-treasurer of the Washington State Nautical School, Grover C. Gaier, designed a state flag similar to that of the DAR, and it actually flew on the USS Vicksburg on a voyage first cruising the West Coast and then across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. The flag was representing the state nautical school.

In 1922 the DAR again took up the gauntlet to push for a state flag, this time joined by other civic organizations, including the Sons of the American Revolution.

When a bill was introduced as the 1923 Legislature convened, it was passed unanimously by the state Senate and then the state House. A signature from the governor was not required and the bill became law.

The law took effect the first week of June, and the Daughters of the American Revolution unfurled an unofficial state flag on Flag Day, June 14, 1923, before an official one could be made.

On July 23, 1924, the first official flag was unveiled, and a “State Flag Waltz” celebrated the new banner at the Jan. 25, 1925, inaugural ball of new Gov. Roland H. Hartley.

Green fringe was an original feature. After 1925 it was changed to gold fringe, and it officially debuted on June 27, 1927, while flying on the car of Hartley while he was touring the U.S. military installation at Fort Lewis.

A state flag was presented by the DAR to Hartley in 1929 and went on display in the Washington’s state Capitol building.

Standardized colors for the state flag were issued in 1955 by Washington’s secretary of state, Earl Coe. The office is caretaker of the state flag. In 1967 the secretary of state requested a redesign of the state seal to feature the likeness of the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, which was rescued from a burning White House during the War of 1812.

In April 1967, the state Legislature approved the new state seal and it immediately updated the state flag.

Gale Metcalf of Kennewick is a lifelong Tri-Citian, retired Tri-City Herald employee and volunteer for the East Benton County History Museum. He writes the monthly history column.

Meals on Wheels offers farmers market benefits for seniors

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels has kicked off its Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program to provide eligible lowincome seniors with vouchers to use at local certified farmers markets.

Eligible seniors can receive up to $80 in benefits.

Benefits are pre-loaded on to benefit cards with a QR code for scanning at the markets.

“The benefit program helps our seniors access fresh, diverse, healthy food while supporting our important local agricultural community,” said Cara Hernandez, director for Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels, in a news release.

To ensure equity, seniors who are unable to access the markets themselves can appoint a trusted friend or family member to act as a proxy to shop on their behalf.

For an application to receive vouchers, call the Meals on Wheels office at 509-735-1911 or email admin@seniorliferesources. org.

Applications also are available online at seniorliferesources.org.

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels is a program of Senior Life Resources Northwest, a nonprofit committed to helping seniors retain their independence.

Commissioners to hold more meetings in Kennewick

Benton County commissioners plan to begin meeting once a month in Kennewick, rather than holding almost all of their weekly business meetings at the county seat in Prosser.

The change, which is expected to start around July, follows a new state law granting counties greater flexibility in where to hold commissioner meetings. The law was sponsored by state Sen. Perry Dozier and state Reps. Stephanie Barnard, April Connors and Skyler Rude.

Commissioner meetings currently are held at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Benton County Courthouse in Prosser and videocast to the county administration building in Kennewick.

People also can watch the meetings online.