Did you know...

Did you know(I doubt it!) that Tuesday, June 14th, 1910 was celebrated as "Bear Flag Day" and that the Native Sons of the Golden West distributed all over the State 100,000 tiny, silk Bear Flags? That is what the Woodland Daily Democrat reported was the plan on June 9, 1910.

On Friday, January 27, 1911, the Woodland Daily Democrat wrote: "We believe the legislature will make a mistake if it enacts a law adopting the 'bear flag' as the flag of the state. The stars and stripes is good enough for state as well as national purposes." Well a newspaper can't always be right!

The March 26, 1948 Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram reported that on March 25th State Senator Jesse R. Mayo, Republican from Angels Camp, CA introduced a resolution calling for the State to replace the bear on the State Flag with a jumping frog. Mayo displayed a large California Flag with the frog in place of the bear. On March 29th the Oakland Tribune suggested that Senator Mayo "put his frog under one arm and go jump in a lily pond."

Bet you didn't know that in 1861 there were several occasions when the Bear Flag was briefly raised - in Los Angeles, Sonoma, & San Bernardino - in support of California's secession from the Union and joining the Confederacy. Even the ol' Bear Flag has a skeleton in its past. S.F. Alta 6/22 & 7/9/1864; Sac. union 6/24/1864.

NAVA News, Vol. II, No. 4 July 1969 at p. 5 reported that the Apollo II first flight to land on the earth's moon was to carry "a set of flags of the 50 States" in its lunar module & the flags would then be brought back to earth. Sounds like July 20, 1969 was the first time the California Bear Flag was on the moon. Betcha didn't know that!

Did you know that the Native Sons of the Golden West state in their Images of America volume that they own the "world's largest Bear Flag," a 35' x 50' California Bear Flag? That's one pretty big flag!

Did you know that in the early 1950s there was a railway mail clerk, Berkeley, CA resident, member of the Native Sons of the Golden West named Roy B Gudmundson who notified public entities like UC Berkeley, the Alameda Public Library, et al. that they were in violation of the California Flag Act of 1943 for not flying the U. S. And California Bear Flags at required locations. He was a true "Bear Flag crusader" who claimed that as a result of his efforts 402 Bear Flags had been raised in various locations throughout California. Oakland Tribune, 11/10 & 12/1950.

Bet you didn't know that in September 1857 in celebration of the 7th Anniversary of California Statehood 120 members of the Society of California Pioneers (along with other groups) paraded from noon to 1:30pm in San Francisco. "[The Pioneers] bore in their ranks the celebrated Sonoma bear flag, the first raised in California prior to the annexation of the Territory; the second bear flag[?], and Col. Fremont's silk banner[?]." John Sutter was there. So was Thomas Oliver Larkin. I wasn't there!

For reasons not clear, officers of the Native Sons of the Golden West presented a Bear Flag to the Oakdale Ranch nudist colony on September 4, 1955, and the flag was received by an au naturel Oakdale resident. Can you imagine that? Well, maybe you don’t want to. I’ll bet Cuffy was really growling then. Images of America Native Sons of the Golden West, p.73.

The Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram reported on 1/16/1952 that Governor Earl Warren had responded to a request from Corporal Samuel Penrod (of Pomona) for a Bear Flag: "I’d appreciate it if you could do me the favor of sending me the State Flag. I want to show these guys what a real flag looks like." Warren sent a huge banner. Cpl. Penrod was a medic in Korea with the U. S. 2nd Division and proudly flew his Bear Flag from hilltops in Korea wherever he was stationed. Bet you didn’t know that one.