WLM Winter 2013-14 | Page 22

WLM

| Wyoming Woman

Who Created

© Kris Bauer

© Cliff Cox

THE WYOMING FLAG?

by Kati Hime

W

e were making our way through the
Carbon County Museum one afternoon
last April when my oldest child and I
discovered a fascinating display – how
our Wyoming state flag was born – and
I realized…I had never heard this story before. Was it my
fourth grade teacher, Mr. Roehrkasse, or my high school
Wyoming history teacher, Mr. Smueles, who was to blame?
Or had I been napping that day? I have to admit, I was pretty
disappointed in myself.

Reading the story, I was excited to see that
our flag’s history falls right in line with
our history as the Equality State. We hold
claim to the first woman governor, the first
woman voter, the first female juror…not to
mention the countless women who founded
schools, churches and nurtured our young
and rowdy communities… Who was the
Wyoming state flag’s designer? Not just a
woman, but a young woman at that! Being
a relatively young female entrepreneur in
Wyoming, I have to say l felt a moment of
pride.
The display, and its companion story that
you can find at carboncountymuseum.
org, set the scene – but to begin with, we
must also learn about another powerful
Wyoming woman, Dr. Grace Rymond

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Hebard. An Iowa native, Dr.
Hebard became a noted University of
Wyoming educator and held her own
series of Wyoming female firsts: the first
female member of the UW Board of
Trustees (in 1891); the first woman admitted
to the Wyoming State Bar Association
(in 1898); admitted to practice before the
Wyoming Supreme Court (in 1914). Dr.
Hebard established UW’s first library as
well as traversing the state, collecting oral
histories from residents. While her historical
accounts have been criticized throughout the
years, her love of Wyoming and the west
cannot be questioned. Today, the Grace
Raymond Hebard papers are a wellknown collection at the American Heritage
Center.

Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Winter 2013

As most Wyomingites know, especially
those currently going through fourth
grade in a Wyoming school, our state was
established in 1890. However, by 1916, we
still did not have an official state flag. At
that time, Dr. Grace Hebard served as
the state regent for the Daughters of the
American Revolution (DAR) and suggested
that this ought to be remedied. A contest
was organized, with a $20 prize offered
for the winning design. The design was to
be selected from the members attending the
Wyoming DAR conference in late summer
1916, held in Sheridan.
Of 37 entries submitted, the winner was
Buffalo resident Verna Keays, a recent
graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago.