Mary Pickersgill: "Betsy Ross 2.0"

PROFILE OF OUR UN-DISPUTABLE STAR SPANGLED MOTHER

Lived in Baltimore Maryland: from 1807-1857
Sewed the real Star Spangled Banner
Flag was 30 by 42 feet
Received payment of $405.90
Flag given to Fort McHenry August 19, 1813
Born in Philly 1776

Ms. Pickersgill is responsible for sewing the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner during the war of 1812, when the US was invaded by the UK.

By strange utter providence (that's what they called synchronicity back in the day) she was born in 1776 in Philadelphia, in Betsy Ross' hometown.The great thing about this flag is we know much about it and it had 15 stripes! Two states joined just after the revolution, during Washington's Presidency. The first state born after the original 13 was also the first state born completely free, without slavery, Vermont #14 in 1791. The second state born after the original 13 was also the first state born in bondage: Kentucky (1792). Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), and Louisiana (1812) were also official states during the War of 1812, but there states were not included on the "official" flag. Unofficial flags had 16-18 stars and stripes before the War of 1812.

15 stripes instead of 13
The Original Star Spangled Banner

Also the star field rests on a long red stripe rather than a white one. There are seven long stripes coincidentally reflective of the big states: New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky. They are balanced with eight short stripes by amazing alignment to the small states: Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

Here it is at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC

Flag on Display in early 1900s
(note stars were allowed to float back then as if twinkling like distant suns)

Stand By Me Flag

A PIE IN YOUR FACE!

In 1986 a timeless movie about growing up in the 1950s was made: Stand By Me by Rob Reiner. Partly because it was retro-50s from the 80s, the classic drama stands by itself a great distance from the crowd. Wonderful acting also helped too. In the fable dream sequence a bullied kid, known as 'Lardass' by the town, gets revenge on the town during a pie eating contest. Of little consequence was a flag used as a pie eating marker.


The scene shows that 'revenge' done the right way, with no one getting hurt, and at the right moment can be a delightful and enjoyable treat.

Worry not about the outcast and 'looser' kids you may have bullied. Just accept the fact that you have an embarrassing 'a pie in your face' coming your way, when you least expect it.

Stand By Me Flag/Revenge to Bullies Flag

A warning to bullies: THERE IS A PIE WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, KEEP IT UP AND THE BIGGER & STINKER IT GETS

Revenge is not necessarily a dish that is best served cold, rather it can be an amusing, unexpected creamy puff in your pie hole.

VIDEO OF WHEN THE BULLIED GET THEIR JUST DESSERTS

Guidon, Signal Corps and Yin & Yang

US SIGNAL CORP GUIDON

Guidon is a type of flag usually for military use. This Guidon's emblem is for the US Signal Corps.

"THE K FLAG"

Note the Yin and Yang symbol is an abstraction of the US Signal Corps Flag. Or rather the US Signal Corps Emblem is an abstraction of the Yin and Yang essence? Many flags exhibit an 'Yin-Yangic' phenotype.

Original US Signal Corps Flags

Guidon"the K flag" of Spanish American War

Doylestown Township Flag & Seal

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)


Doylestown, PA is the County Seat of Bucks County. The pleasant story book community was incorporated as a borough in 1838.





learn more and visit the Borough's Website at www.doylestownpa.org/

Jack Harold Bandera

I once knew his guy called Jack, who played the trumpet and whose father was a distant cousin of Antonio Bandera. Jack loved flags and wanted to write books about them. He coined a word, Banderology in 1961,but someone had already beaten him to the punch with something called Vexillology.

Poor Jack

Reservation 729B10SG

Fukuoka Prefectural JET Meeting, 2000

Ten years ago I gave my first vexillologial presentation in Fukuoka Prefecture, by accident. At the Fukuoka Prefecture Mid Year Seminar I gave workshop number 5, Effective Use of the Text.

You can see the Fukuoka
prefectural symbol on cover
of Mid-Year Seminar Pamphlet
Many foreign English Teachers often found the assigned English texts less than effective. However, I pointed out that the dry text can be used as model to write your own lessons.

A primary directive of being a JET was cultural exchange. English Teachers in Japan can fall into the trap of simply rehashing text materials or becoming a living tape recorder. Teachers were encouraged to dig into their own culture and model lessons about their nation, cultural holidays, or whatever. Using a personal cultural holiday that each JET knows intimately: Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, Canada Day, so long as a love and sincerity was behind the motivation. Any subject could easily be turned into a lesson: vocab, worksheet, quiz!

During this workshop, I did something very bizarre, that foreshadowed my vexillological calling. I modeled a lesson about flags of Korea. During the lesson I made a Japanese flag out of construction paper and turned it into a South Korean flag by adding blue paper and drawing the black Yin-Yang trigrams in each corner. Amazingly none of the Japanese teachers present made a comment. Whatever emotions they may have felt on the inside they chose not to voice it. Oddly enough, two years later Korea and Japan hosted the world cup in Asia for the first time and did it together!

Making a Korean Flag out of Japan's Flag

PREFECTURAL JET SPEAKER LIST: FUKUOKA HS 2000
(click picture to see other JET colleagues)

Interested in Teaching English in Japan on the JET Program? Click Here