Project to create City Coat of Arms Flag approved by City of Oklee

In March the Oklee Herald reported on the City Coat of Arms project started by Matthew Genova. Two weeks ago, the final approval came from the City of Oklee and from RLCC School Board, so here is the final design of the flag. The flag has the Norwegian flag and a fleur-de-lis inside the Canadian Maple leaf representing the Norwegian and French-Canadian immigrants who settled in this area. A fleur-de-lis is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means "flower", and lis means "lily") or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It is commonly found in religious, political, dynastic, artistic, and symbolic emblems used especially in French heraldry. In the center it was important to recognize the farming community that Oklee is and has been since 1910.

Matthew Genova, back in November or earlier, came before the Oklee City Council and asked why the City didn’t have a Coat of Arms Flag. He wanted to start a project with RLCC School to create a Coat of Arms for the City of Oklee. This project would involve the students and the City of Oklee, creating the Coat of Arms, which could be something to be proud about for the City and the students. However, there wasn’t enough interest from the students to do the project. RLCC sent Genova a letter that the school couldn’t fulfill their end and wished Genova luck. 

Genova then contacted Courtney Salo, a graphic designer, who designed a number of flags and Genova showed them to a number of people. There was one that stood out not only to him, but to those he showed the samples too. That is the one he picked.

What a Coat of Arms is came up and Genova explained very simply, that it is a flag that represents a city. 

Coat of Arms (a short history): In this area of the country, there haven’t been many coats of arms that most can remember seeing, other than the Minnesota State flag. They are comprised of unique heraldic designs that represents an individual person or family, corporation, city or state. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century according to Wikipedia and said that by the 13th century, coat of arms had spread to become a flag or emblem for families in the higher social classes of Europe. There were rules or laws about who had a right to use arms and the rules varied between countries. Eventually, the use of arms spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers, and to royally chartered organizations such as universities and trading companies. Today, one way to look at them is that they are your town’s logo, just like a school has its school colors and signage. 

Heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, where tradition alone has governed the design and use of arms. In Britain the granting of arms is and has been controlled by the College of Arms. In the present day, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals and many European cities and universities have guidelines on how their coats of arms may be used, and protect their use as trademarks. 

The French were greatly influenced the British and Western European coats of arms and in France are considered an intellectual property of a family or municipal body. In the Nordic countries, provinces, regions, cities, and municipalities have coats of arms. They are posted at the borders and on buildings containing official offices, as well as used in official documents. Arms can also be used on souvenirs if it has been granted by the municipal council.

The flag is designed, the spot where it will be flown has been picked, now it is time to raise the funds to complete this project. Genova has set up an account at Security State Bank, “Oklee Flag Fund.” The account has two signers and donations will be used for the flag and pole, the monies left over will be used to maintain the flag and pole. 

Genova has been asking for donations and so far donators include: Cenex (Brooks), Seamless Texturing (Oklee), Enbridge, Harriet Ross (Oklee), Matt Genova (Oklee), Gavin & Lilly Hager (Oklee). Everyone is welcome to donate, any amount is welcome.