Flag contest: Mainers to vote on adopting a pine tree design paying homage to state’s 1st flag

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Mainers are going to decide in November whether to adopt a new flag, one that tracks closely with the state’s first flag.

The design by contest winner Adam Lemire of Gardiner features a soaring pine tree in two shades of green, and a blue star against an off-white background. It was unveiled by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Monday, selected from more than 400 submissions from 42 different states as well as a few entries from abroad, she said.

Bellows described it as “a beautiful, faithful representation” of an Eastern white pine, Maine’s ubiquitous tree species that was used for the masts of sailing ships and gave rise to the state’s nickname, the Pine Tree State. “Should voters vote yes to Question 5 in November, we will have a beautiful state flag that honors our past and our future,” she said.

The contest required designs to pay homage to the state’s first flag, used from 1901 to 1909.

A stylized version of the first flag took the state by storm during the Maine’s bicentennial in 2020, and has appeared on hats, sweatshirts and soon license plates.

The popularity played a role in lawmakers’ decision to let Mainers vote on replacing the current flag, which features the state’s official seal, a lumberjack, a sailor and the state’s motto, Dirigo. That’s Latin for “I lead,” a reference to the north star. The current flag hasn’t been controversial, just rather boring, and overly similar to other state flags with official seals on blue backgrounds, critics said.

The law required Bellows to present the final design, so she launched the contest.

The design process was not without some controversy, when news reports of a similar-looking flag flown at the vacation home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. That flag, featuring a pine tree and the words “AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN,” dates to the Revolutionary War, but has recently been associated with the Christian nationalist movement and the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.