CAPE GIRARDEAU HOME OF STATE FLAG

Cape Girardeau is recalling events that have highlighted the city's history as preparations are being made to observe the bi-centennial.

One of the interesting stories concerns Mrs. Marie Watkins Oliver, the creator of Missouri's state flag, which was officially adopted by the state March 22, 1913.

At the time Mrs. Oliver began thinking about designing a flag for Missouri, the state had only one emblem, the state seal. Other states had individual flags. As chairman of the American Revolution committee in her DAR chapter, much research was undertaken about a design for a Missouri flag.

To assist Oliver with the artwork, Miss Mary Kochtitzky, an artist in Cape Girardeau, was put on the committee. The flag was designed on paper. The design incorporated three strips of red, white, and blue evenly divided and running from left to right across the oblong body of the flag. The state seal was in the center. All of the instruments embodied in the design had special meaning.

In 1909 Mrs. Oliver's husband, state Sen. Robert Burett Oliver, drafted a bill to make the flag the state standard. It was introduced in the senate by Sen. Oliver's nephew, Sen. Arthur L. Oliver of Caruthersville, March 17, 1909. It was called "The Oliver Flag Bill." It passed the Senate but was rejected by the legislature.

Another flag had been submitted for consideration six weeks earlier. It was of no particular design and too similar to the national standard. It was "The Holcomb Flag Bill." It was not accepted.

The Oliver flag remained in Jefferson City in the office of the secretary of state.

Mrs. Oliver wrote a detailed explanation about the meaning of the devices used on the Oliver Flag, to promote a better understanding of the standard.

In 1911 the "Oliver Flag Bill" was again introduced in the Senate by Arthur L. Oliver, and it was approved by a vote of 23-2. During the 1911 session of the General Assembly, the State Capitol was destroyed by fire, and the flag in the secretary of state's office was also destroyed.

Mrs. Oliver immediately set to work to make another flag exactly like her original model, only this time the flag was made of cloth. She asked Mrs. Edith MacFarland, another Cape Girardeau artist, to assist her.

During the confusion and delay because of the fire, when Sen. Oliver again presented the flag bill, the House of Representatives did not pass it.

The Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames of Missouri each formally and cordially ratified and approved the design of the flag and wrote, urging the General Assembly to adopt the Oliver flag as the official standard of the state.

Charles C. Oliver, representative of Cape Girardeau County in the General Assembly, introduced the "Oliver Flag Bill" in the House on Jan. 21, 1913. It met with almost unanimous approval of the members of the House and was adopted March 7, and reported to the Senate. There, for the third time, it met with favorable action. The bill was then signed and approved by Gov. Elliot W. Major on March 22, 1913, and since that date has been the official flag of Missouri.

After the flag was adopted, the General Assembly let Mrs. Oliver retain the flag during her lifetime. When she died at the age of 90 in 1944, her son, Allen L. Oliver, took the flag to Jefferson City and it was formally presented to the governor and the secretary of state, and placed in the office of the secretary of state, where it remained for 44 years.

Now-Secretary of State Roy Blunt noticed the cloth was showing wear, and immediate steps needed to be taken to restore the flag. The public was informed of the matter, and there was a large response of gifts of money to undertake the restoration. The work began in 1988 and was completed in 1990. School children were active participants in the project.

Since the flag was made at the Oliver Home, 740 N. Street, the Cape Girardeau City Council adopted the slogan "Cape Girardeau, Home of Missouri State Flag." The date of the slogan was Jan. 22, 1975.

The River Heritage Museum under the direction of Patty Mulkey is preserving the history of the flag and details pertaining to the restoration of the standard. The museum will have special programs about the flag during the city's bi-centennial.

During his lifetime, Mrs. Oliver's son, Allen, wrote several articles about his mother designing the flag. One article appeared in the 1971 Heritage Review in connection with the third Heritage Ball. Another was published in the Biography of Historic Cape Girardeau County, a 1976 booklet commemorating the country's bi-centennial.