Politics & Government
Township's Egret Flag Draws Vexillologist's Attention
Nice color, cool bird, the director of Flags of the World says, but lose the words and the gray.
It’s not that old of a flag, and it doesn’t get much of a chance to fly in the cramped conference room where it nests in Hall.
But the Plainfield Township flag and its egret image on green does appear on the Web Site “Flags of the World” (http://flagspot.net), dedicated to vexillology, or the study of flags.
Flag aficionado Rob Raeside, director of Flags of the World, lives in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in Canada. He gets the credit for putting a spotlight on the flag, which the township adopted in 2008.
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Township officials chose the egret symbol to symbolize the rare waterfowl lives here and went with the shade of green which “nods to the traditional colors of Plainfield,” a township newsletter said at the time.
The intention, township officials say, was to create a flag of “classic and dignified design.”
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How did they do?
They might have done better without the words “Plainfield Township” in green and the “1850” in gray, Raeside said.
“You will find that many people in the flags field will sneer at any flags with text on them, but this is the normal practice for U.S. municipal flags," Raeside wrote to township Supervisor John Argoudelis in a recent e-mail review.
“The argument is against words on a flag on the basis that they are difficult to read when the flag is flapping and, of course, normally would be backwards on the reverse side of the flag,” he wrote.
At least Plainfield Township's flag has a minimum of text, and the flag expert likes the green, even if he’s not so crazy about the faded-out gray.
“The gray of the date might be bit on the pale side - it could be bolder (maybe in a contrasting colour?), if it is really important,” Raeside opines.
“Its simple design is distinctive,” the critique goes on. “It speaks of an important local element.”
All in all - a well designed flag, the flag expert concludes.
“I'd say the flag would stand out in a parade of flags,” Raeside says.
When is the next parade of flags, anyway?
(If you want to see a rendering of the flag, click here and scroll down.)
