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Robert G. "Bob" Heft (January 19, 1941 – December 12, 2009),[1] born in Saginaw, Michigan, was a designer of the 50-star flag, and one of the proposed designs for a 51-star flag for the United States of America. He spent his childhood in Lancaster, Ohio, where he created the flag as a school project.
He designed the current U.S. flag in 1958 while living with his grandparents. He was 17 years-old at the time and did the flag design as a class project. He unstitched the blue field from a family 48-star flag, sewed in a new field, and used iron-on white fabric to add 100 hand-cut stars, 50 on each side of the blue canton.[2]
He originally received a B- for the project. After discussing the grade with his high school teacher, Stanley Pratt, it was agreed that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959. According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an A for the project.[3]
Heft has also stated he had copyrighted designs for 51- through 60-star American flags.[4]
When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for Statehood, more than 1,500 designs were spontaneously submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower by Americans. Although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three, and probably more, of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. These designs are in the Eisenhower Presidential Archives in Abilene, Kansas. Only a small fraction of them have ever been published.
After graduating from college, Heft became a high school teacher and later a college professor, and he also served as mayor of Napoleon, Ohio for 28 years. After retiring from teaching, he became a motivational speaker. Heft was a longtime member of the Harvey Spaulding Toastmasters club in Saginaw. He earned the nickname "father time" as he often filled the role of timer during meetings. While he was seen as one of their own, other members of the club were always honored when Heft would deliver a speech at a meeting.
Heft died due to a heart attack at Covenant Medical Center in Saginaw, Michigan on December 12, 2009. [5]
[edit] References
- ^ Social Security Death Index
- ^ *Leepson, Marc, Flag: An American Biography (Thomas Dunne Books, 2005)
- ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. "A half-century ago, new 50-star American flag debuted in Baltimore," The Baltimore Sun, Saturday, July 3, 2010.
- ^ Hooker/Dill, Lisa Fairfield County (Ohio) Treasures 1988
- ^ The Saginaw News: Hats off to Saginaw flag deisgner who gave America 50 stars.
[edit] External links
- Designer of America's current flag, by Jim Sielicki (UPI), The Exchange, July–August 1988.
- Who Created the First US Flag of 50 Stars?
- Story Corps oral history of the creation of the 50 star flag in the words of Robert G. Heft.
- Who Knew? - Video on the American Flag mentioning Bob Heft as designer of the modern American Flag.
