Handmade in Bossier, 75 Years Ago: Flags of the United Nations

“United Nations Flags Made Here” said the caption in the Planters Press newspaper of Bossier City, La. above a photo of Mrs. W. P. Belcher holding the United Nations emblem and Mrs. W.E. Richie with a standard flag-sized cloth laying on the table before her. No, a new factory didn’t open up, though the two factories that did exist in the U.S. for making the flags were already cranking them out as fast they could in the Fall of 1950. Taking up the slack for the increased demand for U.N. flags caused by the onset of the Korean War and the United Nations Day of late October, were women and girls of Home Demonstration Clubs and 4-H clubs that were affectionately referred to at the time as modern-day “Betsy Rosses.”

When North Korea attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations, formed on October 24, 1945, took action that invigorated much of the American public’s interest in and support of the U.N., even among folks who originally did not have high hopes for it. It was American farmers, under the urging of Mr. Albert Johnson, the head of The National Grange, a longtime fraternal organization for farmers, who conceived of the United Nations countrywide flag-making effort. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture through its Cooperative Extension Service endorsed the project and provided the leadership to promote the effort. The Extension Service tapped the National Committee on Boys and Girls Work (later known as the National 4-H service Committee and National 4-H Council) to make kits of materials and patterns for the flags, and got the woman and girl-power to put them together through its Home Demonstration (women) and 4-H Club (youth) membership.

The kits contained iron-on patterns of the U.N. logo design, blue cloth, and directions to make the 3x5 foot flag. Clinics for making the flags were planned for Oct 16th through Oct. 23rd of 1950 though Bossier actually started on Sept. 22nd when the home demonstration council had its regular meeting. The Louisiana State Agricultural Extension Agent, H.C. Sanders, assured potential makers that the plans were simple. (The fact that the Bossier Parish “champion United Nations Flag Maker,” Mrs. Clotelle McCoy of the Bossier City Home Demonstration Club, was so-designated because she made two flags, with each one taking twenty hours, seems to belie that statement!)

Ultimately, 25 flags were completed by the Bossier Parish home demonstration and 4-H clubs. The flags were presented to local mayors, including Bossier City mayor Hop Fuller, high school principals, home demonstration club buildings and other schools. The hope for the project, according to head agent Sanders, was that it would provide the participants, especially the youth, not only a practical stitchery lesson but a broader understanding of the U.N. and U.S. efforts for world peace.

Anything to which people pledge their allegiance attracts scrutiny, and the U.N. flag making project was no exception. The program had critics who said it was un-American. One of these critical groups was the Veterans of Foreign Wars under its National Commander, Charles C. Ralls, who disparaged it as an effort to supersede the American flag. The major U.S. farm organizations released an editorial to rebut this claim, saying:

“Kremlin propagandists who have been attempting to discredit the United Nations have been given invaluable assistance by uninformed and bigoted American groups seeking to block display of the UN flag on October 24, United Nations Day; The farm organizations unanimously reaffirm their confidence in the United Nations as the greatest single instrument for peace in the world; The project…was accepted immediately by members of the national labor, business, veteran, civic, fraternal and educational groups; Display of the United Nations flag along with the American flag on October 24 will be an expression of the same unity on the home front that exists on the battlefield of Korea where the men of free nations are fighting and dying under the United Nations banner...” - Joint statement by American Farm Bureau Federations, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union and National Grange, 10/12/1950.

Perhaps as a rural locale with a strong farming tradition and an exceptionally strong Home Demonstration program, U.N. flags were completed and raised, often accompanied by elaborate ceremonies, throughout Bossier Parish. The publisher of the Planters Press boasted in his newspaper that they were the first in the parish to fly one of the flags at their printing plant on Traffic Street in Bossier City and that he personally hung it. The following week his paper gave a detailed example of U.N. Day (October 24th) 1950 at a local school with Benton High School’s event, which was sponsored by the Benton 4-H Club:

The entire student body, faculty, T. L. Rodes, Supervisor of Schools, Home Demonstration Club members Mayor Carter and Mrs. Voncell Lank associate Home Agent, attended the celebrations. A letter to all youth of the nations was read by Mary Alice Stinson. The United Nations flag, made by 4-H members of that club, was advanced on a staff by George Stroud along with a United States flag of the same size advanced by John Paul Jones. The audience then pledged allegiance to the United Nations Flag. Barbara Grisham gave the history of the flag. A panel discussion on United Nations was led by the 4-H Club, president, Bobbie Jones…

If you have any information, stories, or photos about the UN Flag project or other Home Demonstration or 4-H local club photos or stories, we would love to see them or to copy them, with permission, to add to the History Center’s research collection. Please come to the History Center to do research or see our exhibits at 7204 Hutchison Drive, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 10-8, Fri 10-6, and Sat 10-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Image:  H.C. Sanders, Director of the Louisiana Agricultural Extension Service, and Miss Ellen Le Noir, State Home Demonstration Agent, hold up the first United Nations flag made in Louisiana to launch a statewide campaign to make the flags in preparation for United Nations Day on October 24, 1950. Bossier Parish Home Demonstration Clubs and 4-H Clubs answered the call and U.N. flags were raised throughout the parish on that day. Photo from The Planters Press Thu, Oct 19, 1950 · Page 4

Article by: Pam Carlisle 

Bossier City’s Official Flags Represent Link to the Past

While writing a History Center column last September about Bossier City officially being named a city, I learned that along with that new title, Bossier gained its first official city flag. This made me curious as to how many official flags the city has had through the years and where the flags might be today.

In 1951, due to Bossier’s population growth, Louisiana Governor Earl Long issued a proclamation stating that henceforth, Bossier would be known as the City of Bossier City. Prior to this, it had been a village and then a town. As part of the celebrations surrounding this auspicious occasion, The Planter’s Press newspaper announced on August 23, 1951 that the Bossier Chamber of Commerce was sponsoring a design contest for an “initial municipal flag” to be unfurled during festivities marking “the community’s advancement from class of town to that of city.”

The winning entry was provided by Bossier resident and school teacher Velma Hagert, whose concept featured a green background with Bossier City, Louisiana in white letters encircling a gold star containing a Magnolia blossom. According to The Planter’s Press of September 13, the contest’s selection committee changed the Magnolia to a cotton boll, because, as committee chairman and businessman Arthur Ray Teague was quoted as saying, “The cotton boll is more in keeping with our territory.” And the star was changed to a circle. The flag made its public debut at those advancement festivities, held at Bossier High School’s Memorial Stadium.

Thirty-one years later, Bossier City was preparing for another celebration, its 75th anniversary. The Shreveport Journal of March 12, 1982 carried the news that a second contest, sponsored this time by the Bossier Arts Council, was being held to “create a new city flag.” According to the newspaper, Ms. Hagert welcomed the idea. “It’s time for a new city flag …,” she is quoted as saying in The Journal’s April 1 edition. “We’ve progressed in the 30 years since I designed my cotton flag.” But on page 31D of that same April 1 edition, the newspaper simply refers to the new design as “a special commemorative flag,” hinting that it would not replace Ms. Hagert’s flag.

During anniversary ceremonies on Saturday, April 3, the new flag was unveiled. Designed by Bossier High School student John Jones, it showed a star overlapping the state and had the year of Bossier’s incorporation as a village - 1907 - within the star. An article in The Shreveport Journal on April 4, highlighting the previous day’s celebratory events, refers to the flag as being an “anniversary” flag, but makes no mention of it being the city’s official flag. And minutes of the Bossier City Council meeting for March 30, 1982, printed in the Bossier Tribune on April 9, show a motion was unanimously approved to recognize the design “as commemorative of the 75th birthday of Bossier City.” So, it seems this flag was associated more with Bossier’s birthday than being an official banner.

By 1986, there was another call for a new city flag. As part of a campaign called “Standing Proud Bossier City”, the National Bank of Bossier, in coordination with the mayor’s office, sponsored a design contest, offering $500 for an original layout. Of the approximately 145 entries, one offered by 30-year-old Bossier City resident Randy Canterbury was chosen. It featured colors of red, white and blue with the words Bossier City in script. A curved ribbon representing the Red River had a star showing the city’s location on the river. This became Bossier City’s official flag and remains so today. Canterbury was understandably proud. “It will be something to tell my grandchildren about,” he said in an interview with the Bossier Press Tribune for the newspaper’s April 30, 1986 issue.

Since becoming a village in 1907, Bossier has had two official flags. While examples of the current city flag are readily available, the original city flag may now only exist in old photos. So far, I’ve been unable to uncover the whereabouts of that first flag, flown during the festivities to acknowledge Bossier gaining city status in 1951. I’m interested in speaking with anyone who might know if it still exists and have access to it. I’d also like to learn the whereabouts of the anniversary flag. It too is a piece of history worth saving.

If you have any information or items relating to the history of Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• First official flag of Bossier City held (l to r) by Bossier councilmen Clyde Nelson Jr., C.L. Madden Jr. and acting Shreveport Mayor John Ford during celebrations of Bossier becoming a city in 1951/courtesy The Shreveport Times, Langston McEachern.
• Bossier's 75th anniversary commemorative flag/courtesy The Shreveport Journal,1982.
• Current official flag of Bossier City/courtesy Wikipedia.org.

Article by: Keven Flowers

Handmade in Bossier: Flags of the United Nations

 “United Nations Flags Made Here” said the caption in the Planters Press newspaper of Bossier City, La. above a photo of Mrs. W. P. Belcher holding the United Nations emblem and Mrs. W.E. Richie with a standard flag-sized cloth laying on the table before her. No, a new factory didn’t open up, though the two factories that did exist in the U.S. for making the flags were already cranking them out as fast they could in the Fall of 1950. Taking up the slack for the increased demand for U.N. flags caused by the onset of the Korean War and the United Nations Day of late October, were women and girls of Home Demonstration Clubs and 4-H clubs that were affectionately referred to at the time as modern-day “Betsy Rosses.”

When North Korea attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations, formed on October 24, 1945, took action that invigorated much of the American public’s interest in and support of the U.N., even among folks who originally did not have high hopes for it. It was American farmers, under the urging of Mr. Albert Johnson, the head of The National Grange, a longtime fraternal organization for farmers, who conceived of the United Nations countrywide flag-making effort. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture through its Cooperative Extension Service endorsed the project and provided the leadership to promote the effort. The Extension Service tapped the National Committee on Boys and Girls Work (later known as the National 4-H service Committee and National 4-H Council) to make kits of materials and patterns for the flags, and got the woman and girl-power to put them together through its Home Demonstration (women) and 4-H Club (youth) membership.

The kits contained iron-on patterns of the U.N. logo design, blue cloth, and directions to make the 3x5 foot flag. Clinics for making the flags were planned for Oct 16th through Oct. 23rd of 1950 though Bossier actually started on Sept. 22nd when the home demonstration council had its regular meeting. The Louisiana State Agricultural Extension Agent, H.C. Sanders, assured potential makers that the plans were simple. (The fact that the Bossier Parish “champion United Nations Flag Maker,” Mrs. Clotelle McCoy of the Bossier City Home Demonstration Club, was so-designated because she made two flags, with each one taking twenty hours, seems to belie that statement!)

Ultimately, 25 flags were completed by the Bossier Parish home demonstration and 4-H clubs. The flags were presented to local mayors, including Bossier City mayor Hop Fuller, high school principals, home demonstration club buildings and other schools. The hope for the project, according to head agent Sanders, was that it would provide the participants, especially the youth, not only a practical stitchery lesson but a broader understanding of the U.N. and U.S. efforts for world peace.

Anything to which people pledge their allegiance attracts scrutiny, and the U.N. flag making project was no exception. The program had critics who said it was un-American. One of these critical groups was the Veterans of Foreign Wars under its National Commander, Charles C. Ralls, who disparaged it as an effort to supersede the American flag. The major U.S. farm organizations released an editorial to rebut this claim, saying:

“Kremlin propagandists who have been attempting to discredit the United Nations have been given invaluable assistance by uninformed and bigoted American groups seeking to block display of the UN flag on October 24, United Nations Day; The farm organizations

unanimously reaffirm their confidence in the United Nations as the greatest single instrument for peace in the world; The project…was accepted immediately by members of the national labor, business, veteran, civic, fraternal and educational groups; Display of the United Nations flag along with the American flag on October 24 will be an expression of the same unity on the home front that exists on the battlefield of Korea where the men of free nations are fighting and dying under the United Nations banner...” - Joint statement by American Farm Bureau Federations, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union and National Grange, 10/12/1950.

Perhaps as a rural locale with a strong farming tradition and an exceptionally strong Home Demonstration program, U.N. flags were completed and raised, often accompanied by elaborate ceremonies, throughout Bossier Parish. The publisher of the Planters Press boasted in his newspaper that they were the first in the parish to fly one of the flags at their printing plant on Traffic Street in Bossier City and that he personally hung it. The following week his paper gave a detailed example of U.N. Day (October 24th) 1950 at a local school with Benton High School’s event, which was sponsored by the Benton 4-H Club:

The entire student body, faculty, T. L. Rodes, Supervisor of Schools, Home Demonstration Club members Mayor Carter and Mrs. Voncell Lank associate Home Agent, attended the celebrations. A letter to all youth of the nations was read by Mary Alice Stinson. The United Nations flag, made by 4-H members of that club, was advanced on a staff by George Stroud along with a United States flag of the same size advanced by John Paul Jones. The audience then pledged allegiance to the United Nations Flag. Barbara Grisham gave the history of the flag. A panel discussion on United Nations was led by the 4-H Club, president, Bobbie Jones…

If you have any information, stories, or photos about the UN Flag project or other Home Demonstration or 4-H local club photos or stories, we would love to see them or to copy them, with permission, to add to the History Center’s research collection. Please come to the History Center to do research or see our exhibits at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 10-8, Fri 10-6, and Sat 10-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Photo: H.C. Sanders, Director of the Louisiana Agricultural Extension Service, and Miss Ellen Le Noir, State Home Demonstration Agent, hold up the first United Nations flag made in Louisiana to launch a statewide campaign to make the flags in preparation for United Nations Day on October 24, 1950. Bossier Parish Home Demonstration Clubs and 4-H Clubs answered the call and U.N. flags were raised throughout the parish on that day. Photo from The Planters Press Thu, Oct 19, 1950 · Page 4

Article by: Pam Carlisle

Bossier Parish’s 20th Flagaversary

Flags have been used since ancient times and were originally used mainly in warfare. Today, flags are used as a symbol, a signaling device, or for decoration. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country. In the United States, every state, territory, and federal district has a unique flag, representing the uniqueness of each.

While every state territory and federal district honors the United States flag, you can think of state flags like a first name and the U.S. flag as the last name. Each flag has deep symbolism that speaks to the history of the state, territory, and federal district—each utilizing different styles and design principles.

Each state is made up of municipalities, counties/parishes, cities, towns, and villages. Some of these municipalities have a flag, and others do not. Those which do, display a variety of regional influences and local histories to show pride and symbolize some unique aspect of the area. Louisiana has 64 parishes and 303 municipalities, but like most states, not all of them have a flag.

Twenty years ago, Bossier Parish adopted its first official flag through a contest that was open to middle and high school students throughout the parish. The contest was in response to a Lincoln Parish schoolteacher's campaign to have all parishes adopt an official flag. Police Juror Jeff Rogers initiated the contest, and in announcing the contest, he said, "We won't limit the type of design or colors because we want to use the creativity of students."

Each school held a contest and selected its winners. These winners became semifinalists in the parish-wide contest. The semifinalists were whittled down to three finalists by a Police Jury committee. Then, the full Police Jury selected the grand prize winner, announcing the winner in June of 2001.

The winner was Jennifer Hankins, a Benton High School senior. A Shreveport Times article that announced her as the winner stated that she "worked on her piece for two weeks, completing it with a little help from her family and art teacher, Rose Ann Holomon." Hankins had just started taking art a couple of years before and loved painting with oil pastels. Holomon stated that "Hankins possesses raw talent that can take her into art professionally."

Hankins' flag design won because it best represented the parish. The flag has a green background with a white triangle going from the hoist to the end of the fly. The middle is an outline of the sun with deep red-orange rays along its border, symbolizing the warm climate. In the sun's center are other symbols of the area, including water, a crawfish, the parish seal, an outline of Bossier Parish pinpointing the Parish Seat of Benton, and the dogwood flower.

When announcing the contest, Rogers, stated "The winning student artist will receive a savings bond of at least $100 and will have his or her flag design displayed in a case in the courthouse's main hall. A plaque will list the winner's name and the school the student attends."

What do you want to know about Bossier Parish's history? Or, perhaps you have important information or artifacts about Bossier Parish History that you would like to share. Donations are a large part of our collection and are vital in helping us preserve Bossier Parish's history. Visit, call or email the Bossier Parish Library History Center for help with your research. We are at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City, 318-746-7717, history-center@bossierlibrary.org.

By: Amy Robertson

A Celebration: The Birth of a City and Its First Flag

Did you know, following New Orleans and Shreveport, Bossier City was the third municipality in Louisiana to have an official flag?

By the middle of the 20th century, census figures revealed that Bossier City was the fastest-growing municipality in the state. On August 9, 1951, Louisiana Governor Earl K. Long issued a proclamation changing the municipality of Bossier City from a town to a city. “By this proclamation, ‘A City Was Born,’” headlined in the papers and plans were set in motion for a celebration.

Proclamation making Bossier City a city

Hoffman L. Fuller
Bossier City's sixth mayor

In planning for the celebration, Mayor Hoffman L. Fuller appointed Bossier civic leader, Arthur Ray Teague, to head a committee to conduct a design contest for the first official Bossier City flag. Another contest sponsored by the Bossier Chamber of Commerce and the Planters Press was for a slogan for the newly formed city.

Initially, the celebration was scheduled for the end of September, but Mayor Fuller announced that the ceremony was postponed, “until the polio situation clears up and the parish schools open.” Before long, it was announced that the celebration would take place on October 16 at the Bossier High School Memorial Stadium dedicated in 1948 to the memory of the local high school students that lost their lives in World War II.

The celebration started with a parade at Fort Smith park and moved through the stadium. Chief of Police Burgess McCranie and State Trooper Capt. H. H. Hollenshead led the parade on horseback. Each parade float reflected one of the chief industries which aided in the growth of Bossier City; cotton, oil, agriculture, and Barksdale Air Force Base (a significant factor in the growth of Bossier City). The parade also included a marching contingent from Barksdale Air Force Base along with Bossier City’s police and fire departments, honor guards, and the bands of Bossier High, Byrd, Fair Park, and BAFB.

There was a pageant of Bossier City written by Ira Harbuck and Kenneth Green, a short history given by Arthur Ray Teague, and Mayor Fuller read the proclamation. Bossier City’s first mayor, Ewald Max Hoyer and Ellen Lowe Sims, a pioneer resident having lived in Bossier City the longest, were both honored in the ceremony.

Bossier City Chamber of Commerce manager Bob Conwell awarded the slogan contest winner, Irene Vinson, for “Next Door Neighbor to World’s Largest Air Base,” a $15 cash prize. Arthur Ray Teague, master of ceremonies, awarded the flag contest winner, Velma Hagert, with a $10 cash prize, who then presented the flag to Mayor Fuller.

Velma Hagert is holding her entry of the flag of Bossier City
and Miss Hall, A. R. Teague's secretary holds the entry of
runner-up W. E. McFarland.

The winning design consisted of a gold star in the middle of a green flag with a magnolia blossom centered in the star and circled with the words “Bossier City, Louisiana.” According to the rules of the contest, changes to the selected entry were allowed. Only two changes were made one replacing the magnolia bloom with a cotton boll and the other changing the star to a circle. Robert H. Rogers of Shreveport made the flag out of rayon with gold braid lining.

The Official Flag of Bossier City.
(L to R) Clyde Nelson, Jr., C. L. Madden, Jr., and acting
Mayor John Ford (Times Photo by Langston McEachern).

The flag was donated by the Louisiana Municipal Association and the Bossier Tribune, and the flagpole was donated by Arthur Ray and Albert Hugh Teague. The flagpole was dedicated in memory of their brother Lt. Edward Teague who was a graduate of Bossier City High School and a veteran of WWII. Lt. Teague was a flight instructor in the Air Force at Goose Bay, Labrador, where he died in an airplane crash on March 13, 1947.

The flag was raised in the stadium in memory of the deceased high school students that died in WWII: James O. Avery, Luther Bedingfield, William Bedingfield, James Francis Brown, Jr., Robert Edwards, Alfred D. Bond, Harold M. Valentine, Burton McCallum, Jake Maniscalco, Jr., Francis Peters, Jr., Edward Teague, and Sedric White.

This flag remained as the official emblem of Bossier City until 1986 when, through another contest, a new flag design was selected, which has not changed since.

To learn more about the history of Bossier City, visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City.

By: Amy Robertson