Dirigo! — Flag For Portland

By now you’ve probably seen that a member of the Maine State House of Representative has submitted a bill to revert flag of the state of Maine from the current blue-flag-with-state-seal back to the original state flag, which features a pine tree and blue North-star on a cream background.

A version of the original flag of the State of Maine (sometimes called the 1901 flag for the year of its adoption). Note that the exact image of the tree would probably vary depending on the technique used to manufacture the flag. Image source: Main… — A version of the original flag of the State of Maine (sometimes called the 1901 flag for the year of its adoption). Note that the exact image of the tree would probably vary depending on the technique used to manufacture the flag. Image source: Maine Flag Company

For reasons that should surprise no one, I support this bill. The Maine state flag is basically the template for the Portland flag, with a little less obtrusive text. If you check out our FAQ page, you can quickly evaluate how the Maine banner stacks up against the best-practices for flag design.

The current flag of the State of Maine. Notice it also has a pine tree and the north star… and a couple dudes, a moose, and some text for good measure. Kind of a lot of detail crammed into a little area, no? Image Source: www.statesymbolsusa.org

Around half of the states use this same template, while the rest have more-or-less unique designs. Given that our state’s motto is “Dirigo” (meaning: I lead), it certainly seems like we’re following the pack on this one. If you’ve ever been to a park or federal building that displays all of the state flags, you might have found it a bit difficult to pick Maine’s out from the crowd.

This isn’t the first time the idea to revert to the old flag has been discussed in Maine, and to be honest, I don’t expect the effort to succeed this time either. The current flag is well known in the state, and is seen in use quite frequently at businesses, schools, offices, etc. Additionally, there is history of Maine military members serving under the flag, which gives it more gravitas than the Portland flag, by a long shot.

It is not too late to rally support behind the Original Maine Flag, however, and I encourage you to reach out to your state representative and senator to let them know you support the re-adoption of the Original Maine Flag, a strikingly simple and yet elegant design that set’s Maine apart.

…oh, and since you asked, yes I’d be happy to share my favorite current-state-flag design. I’ll let you figure out what state it belongs to: