Robert G. Heft
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Robert G. Heft | |
|---|---|
 Robert G. Heft on December 5, 2009, seven days before his death. | |
| Born | January 19, 1941 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 2009 (aged 68) Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Known for | Self-proclaimed designer of the 50-star flag |
Robert G. "Bob" Heft (January 19, 1941 – December 12, 2009) claimed to be the designer of the current American 50-star flag; he designed a proposal for a 51-star flag proposal.[1] Born in Saginaw, Michigan, he spent his childhood in Lancaster, Ohio, where he created his design as a school project as while a junior at Lancaster High School in 1960.
Early life and education
Heft was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but was raised by his grandparents in Lancaster, Ohio, where he graduated from Lancaster High School in 1960. He subsequently studied at Ohio State University and Ohio University.[2]
Career
Bob Heft taught at Sheridan Middle School for one year before moving to Northwest. After high school, Heft worked as a draftsman. He later taught history at Lancaster High and at Northwest State Community College in Archbold. He also served seven terms as mayor of Napoleon, Ohio.[2] After retiring from teaching, he became a tourist and visited Europe, looking at flag designs. He was a longtime member of the Harvey Spaulding Toastmasters club in Saginaw, where he earned the nickname "Father Time" as he often filled the role of timer during meetings.[citation needed]
Claim to flag design and adoption
According to Heft, he designed the 50-star U.S. Flag in 1958 as a class project in his junior-year high-school history class, cutting up an old flag that belonged to his grandparents. His teacher, Stanley Pratt, gave him a B- for the project, but after discussion agreed that if the flag design was accepted by the United States Congress, he would reconsider the grade. Heft enlisted the aid of his congressman, Walter Moeller, who lived nearby, and the 50-star flag design that was the same as Heft's was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation in 1959 after the admission of Alaska into the union and before that of Hawaii. According to Heft, Pratt honored their agreement and changed his grade to an A for the project.[3][4] Heft also stated that he was invited to the National Mall on July 4, 1960, to see his flag fly over the U.S. Capitol. There he was, with a congressman on one side and President Eisenhower on the other."
To date, there is no independent verification of Heft's account. First, "the official designer is listed as the Army Institute of Heraldry."[5] Heft's story does not account for the fact that more than 1,500 flag designs were spontaneously submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the time Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood; although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. Nor does Heft's story account for the fact that the Acting Secretary of the Army by 1958 had already sent designs for the 49-star and 50-star flags prepared by the Army's Institute of Heraldry to the Secretary of Defense that included the designs that would be ultimately selected by the president.[6] "In fact, by the time Heft submitted his design, the final design probably had already been chosen."[5] In September 1958, the Acting Secretary of the Army had already sent designs for the 49-star and 50-star flags to the Secretary of Defense that included the designs that would be ultimately selected by the president.[6] At a cabinet meeting on November 19, 1958, President Eisenhower received a briefing on the history of the flag design process and several suggestions were made regarding designs for the new flags.
Death
Heft spent his last years in Saginaw, Michigan, where many of his family lived. On December 12, 2009, he died from a heart attack at Covenant Medical Center at the age of 68.[7]
References
- ^ Social Security Death Index
- ^ a b Sell, Jill (June 2015). "Starring Role". Ohio magazine.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sell, Jill (June 2015). "Starring Role". Ohio magazine.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. (July 3, 2010). "A half-century ago, new 50-star American flag debuted in Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ a b Martucci, David B. "Wayne's World (of Flags)." Raven: A Journal of Vexillology 22 (2015): 67-77.
- ^ a b "This Week In Quartermaster History 1-7 July". US Army Quartermaster Museum. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
- ^ Barber, Barrie (December 17, 2009). "Hats Off to Saginaw flag designer who gave America 50 stars". MLive.