A series where we take a #lookback at the stories and history of our community, brought to you by Mick Pryor, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.
Prior to 1917 Wyoming was one of the few states in the Union that had no state flag. The Wyoming chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held a contest in 1916 to find an appropriate design for a flag to represent Wyoming. Verna Keays of Buffalo, Wyoming at the prodding of her father entered the competition. She had just graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago where she had studied Design and Decoration. The contest was advertised in newspapers all over the state with a $20 prize to be awarded to the first place winner. Verna thought about the design all summer, but didn’t put her thoughts on paper until just before the deadline. Then one night she woke up from a deep sleep; the design came to her in a dream.
The following morning, she drew the design that had been revealed in her dream. She then wrote an explanation of the colors and symbols in the flag. She packed up her design and shipped it to Sheridan where the DAR would judge the entries. There were 37 entries from all over the state. The other entries were returned to their owners and there are no photographs of the losing entries.
Soon Verna received a phone call from Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard, the head of the DAR in Wyoming. Verna’s design had been selected and would become the new Wyoming State flag. A bill was introduced into the Wyoming Fourteenth State Legislature with design specifications. The legislators had some fun with the bill. One Democrat suggested the Bison be replaced with a donkey, then a Republican motioned for an elephant to replace the Bison. Even the Bull Moose party suggested a change to the flag with their emblem, but the Bison survived. There is one major change from Verna’s original design on today’s flag. Originally, the Bison faced away from the flagpole. Grace Hebard changed the design when the flag was sent to be manufactured, so on today’s flag the bison faces the flagpole. The flag was officially adopted on Jan 31, 1917.
In 1920 a folder was printed with the new flag and an explanation of the symbols and colors and given to every schoolchild in the state, so they could become familiar with their new flag. In 1927 the state purchased six flags and loaned them out to any group for parades and conferences.
Verna Keays married Arthur Charless Keyes in 1921. They made their home in Casper. Arthur died in 1951 and Verna lived until 1982.
This is the symbolism in the flag as Verna Keays Keyes explained:
The Great Seal of the State of Wyoming is the heart of the flag.
The Great Seal on the bison represents the truly western custom of branding, The bison was once “Monarch of the Plains.”
The red border represents the Red Men, who knew and loved our country long before any of us were here; also, the blood of the pioneers who gave their lives in reclaiming the soil.
White is the emblem of purity and uprightness over Wyoming.
Blue, which is found in the bluest blue of Wyoming skies and the distant mountains, has through the ages been symbolic of fidelity, justice and virility.
And finally the red, the white and the blue of the flag of the State of Wyoming are the colors of the greatest flag in all the world, the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America.
Author: Liz Farmer
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
January 17, 7-9pm at the Pioneer Museum, “PREZ ervation: The Art of All Hubbard; A Retrospective Collection of Contemporary Indigenous Art” Opening Reception
Call the Dubois Museum 1-307-455-2284, the Pioneer Museum 1-307-332-3339 or the Riverton Museum 1-307-856-2665 for detail regarding their programs.
The Dubois Museum, the Pioneer Museum in Lander and the Riverton Museum need your financial support. In the current economic environment, the museums are more reliant than ever on donations from the private sector to continue to provide the quality programs, collections management, exhibits and services that have become their hallmark over the last four years. Please make your tax deductible contribution to be used specifically for the benefit of the museum of your choosing by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.