Michigan: The Flag¹

On Michigan's flag is the state Coat of Arms. At the top, you'll find the words, E Pluribus Unum. It's kind of cool because this is the nation's motto as well. It means "From many, One."  The Michigan Coat of Arms is forever united with our Nation, not only as a State but also on our flag.  

On the shield is written the word Tuebor which means "I will defend"  which refers to the frontier position Michigan holds.   Lastly, is the state motto.  Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam, Circumspice, which means "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.²"  (A side note.  This motto was written in 1835.    The Upper Peninsula was just beginning to be discovered.  In my mind, the motto should read If you seek pleasant peninsulas look about you.  But that's just me.)  

               

I started looking into the history of Michigan but was unsure of where to actually start.  After trying several different Michigan topics I finally decided that the best place to start is with the flag as it represents those who sacrificed their lives to defend the frontier of the land in which we now call home.

The flag in that flies today in Lansing is not the same one that flew when Michigan was inducted into the Union in 1837.  Back then flags as well as banners were used by everyone from everywhere for everything.  Politics, war, and countries³; they were as popular then as they are now.  So, in order to truly understand the history behind Michigan's flag, the best place to start is back in 1835. Tuesday, June 2nd to be exact.  It was on this day that the Constitutional Congress met and approved the Michigan coat of arms,⁴ created by Lewis Cass, non-acting Governor of the Michigan Territory.   When Lewis Cass created the Michigan coat of arms,  he included an elk, a moose, and a bald eagle The elk and moose, because they are native to Michigan and the bald eagle as a representation of the United States. 

Looking back at Michigan's first state flag, historians refer to it as the Brady Flag because it's the first flag to have the Michigan coat of arms on it.  Michigan's Adjutant General John Robertson wrote⁵ "It appears that, on the 22nd of February, 1837, Stevens T Mason, first Governor of Michigan, presented to the 'Brady Guard' of Detroit, then in command of Capt. Isaac S. Rowland, a Flag, now in possession of the State, with a Brady guard and a lady, and on the reverse, his own portrait.  This was without a doubt the first Flag bearing the State coat of arms and was carried by the first uniformed company of militia in the State, having been organized  April 13, 1836..."   

The above image is what remains of the Brady Flag.  After 1911 the flag had been lost until 2003 when a piece of silk resurfaced among some papers belonging to the family of the Lawton T Hermans, Legislator, and biographer of Mason, Lawton T. Hermans.  Governor Mason's image is clearly visible in the above photo, as well as the words along the bottom of the flag.  "Organized Brady Guard, May 1836."    Today you can find the first flag stored with the Capitol Battle Flag Collection in the Michigan Historical Museum.  

The above photo shows a soldier, the Michigan coat of arms, and possibly something resembling clothing, probably a portion of the lady.  

Images Provided By Michigan State Capitol Archive

To say that there was a second "official" version of Michigan's flag submitted in 1865 would be a gross understatement.  As was the case before 1837, there were numerous flags and banners being flown, this time though they all bore the Michigan coat of arms.
In 1865 John Robertson recommended the new Offical State flag and Governor Henry H. Crappo approved it.  The Michigan coat of arms was on one side and the National arms on the other.  Now it's recognized as the standard of Michigan and is carried by the Michigan regiments, side by side with the stars and stripes.   

In 1911 Act 209⁶ was passed to determine the regulations surrounding the flag for its use and protection.  When they finished,  the State Legislature issued this statement: "The State Flag shall be blue charged with the arms of the state."⁶

Michigan's flag is a symbol that stands for honor, strength, and freedom.   Its very existence is the result of the men who fought and died defending the frontier of Michigan in wars that resulted in a divided nation becoming One.  I think this sums up what not only our flag represents but what it stands for and the respect it and all who fought for it deserve.  To all those who've sacrificed for not only the land I live in but the state as well I say thank you.  Wherever you are.  

                                                                    

"Stand by the flag, on land, and ocean billow

By it, your fathers stood, unmoved and true

Living, defended, dying from their pillow

With their last blessing passed it on to you."

John Robertson

Flags of Michigan

  

Special thanks to Valerie R. Marvin, Historian & Curator at the Michigan State Capitol Archive and Janice Murphy at the Library of Michigan.    Your help was invaluable to my research and greatly appreciated.  Last but certainly not least to my mom for suggesting that I find that first flag.  As a result, I've learned more than I ever thought I would have about the history of the state and the above flag would have never been seen.  Thanks Mom!  :-)  

Flag Image¹

Coat of Arms²

The Flags of Michigan, John Robertson,1887, pg 7³

Daily Journal of the Convention to Form a Constitution, Tuesday, June 2, 1835, p 46⁴

Flags of Michigan,  John Robertson, 1887, pg 19⁵

Michigan Legislature ⁶

Michigan History: Our Flag⁷

Honoring a Friend

A long time ago at a camp on the shores of Lake Superior, a young boy sat down with the camp nurse to give her his meds for the week.  That boy was me and that nurse was Marcia Nichols.  Now, I'm not certain this is how we met but it makes sense.  I know her husband Cliff through some mutual friends and her oldest daughter from camp as well.  But that's not the point of this post.  Last week Marcia passed away.  As I said I didn't see her much so I didn't know her all that well.  But her influence was one that I have seen for years and I still consider her a friend.  I met her oldest daughter Kristen at Gitche Gumee Bible Camp back in the 90s.  Eventually, Kristen would go on to Cedarville University where she would run track with my sister.  Small world.

  All the pictures I've seen have been of her helping people.  Whether it be her grandchildren, as a nurse back in 1979 (That was awesome .  What a precious moment to capture on camera), her daughters, family, or in the community it was great to see her smiling face one more time.  As always it was a treat to see.    Two posts stood out to me.  First, I must say though that it was great to see all the support coming from those in the community and from wherever.  Just seeing that it was obvious she was (and still is) loved.  It pains me that I can't be there to support those who are grieving even more than I.  That said, someone posted a picture of Marcia with her two daughters Kristen and Erin and a note to Kristen and Erin.  I thought that was pretty classy.  The second post that stood out was one that really left an impression on me and I think shows what kind of a person Marcia was.  It wasn't a picture but someone wondered that if when Marcia got to heaven did God say "Well done though good and faithful servant." or did he just wrap his arms around her.  It gave me pause.  Not so much because of what this person said but why they said it.  The influence Marcia had on so many lives is astounding.  Personally, I loved to hear her talk.  She had that great Finnish accent.  I just wish I had seen her more.    From what I understand she had a rough time of it towards the end but I'm glad she was able to see her family before she went home.  Now she is pain free and surrounded by awe-inspiring, word defying glory.  Marcia, I know you didn't rest long!  :-)  Looking forward to seeing you again!

Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel; will I dance in your presence of in awe of you be still; will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall; will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?

MercyMe



Last Words

Over the last few days I've had opportunity to spend a lot of time with Grandma Roberts.  She went home this morning (July 31, 2017) to be with her Father as well as to be reunited with her husband.  I've said it several times this week.  I think Lewie was waiting for her on a bench by the Pearly Gates.  No doubt he kept looking at his watch.  When she finally did show it he no doubt said, "Well it's about time, Jackie!"  :-)  To which God looked at him and said, "Go work on your mansion."  He no doubt has plans for a whole neighborhood up there.

The last few days have not been a struggle as some might think.  Yes.  I've had my moments.   But sitting with the family and listening to them reminisce about their mom and dad was not only a comfort to me but also opened doors to my past.  Hearing Dad talk about getting hit on the head by a dump truck by his sister Peggy when he was five and then returning the "favor" with an Indian to the cheek was not something I'd hear in an every day conversation (although Dad has brought that up before.  More for his sister's "benefit" than anything else.  The whole brotherly love thing.  For some reason she's always in earshot...) But there were also some other things that spoke to the Roberts Family Heritage that were discussed.    The 2500 plus homes that Grandpa built.  The blizzards, restaurants, building codes (or lack thereof), that Grandpa worked with.  All the history that surrounds our family.  The stories I head this weekend were incredible.  I actually felt like I became more of a Roberts as a result of it just because I knew more about our heritage.

Now, as I was sitting in Grandma's room there were a couple times when Dad left me by myself.  It was these times when I talked to her.  Thinking about it now maybe I should've felt weird about it but I didn't.  She was hours from death at that point.  I can't remember what I said but I do know one thing.  I was so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to say good bye.  Because I had that chance.  And while I won't be able to make the funeral I'm happy that I was able to give what I could.   Plus, She's not going to be there anyway.  She's got a new body, is in heaven and is even now communing with her Lord and Savior.  That is something to rejoice over!    So Grandma, until we meet again!

A Firm Foundation

The current trend in a lot of churches today has been the shift away from the hymns and the move to choruses and praise songs.   First of all let me say that most of the songs that we sing now in our worship services are fine, and it's not my intent to belittle them in any way.  That being said, there is something about the hymns of the faith that move the soul. makes them resonate.  Hymns like Blessed Assurance were written back in 1873.  Some churches are still singing that hymn.  More and more though there are less and less churches singing hymns for whatever reason.  That brings us to the next few entries of my blog.  I'm going to post about some good old fashioned hymns.  The ones I sang in church growing up and still enjoy hearing to this day.  Given that this is the first post, I thought How Firm A Foundation would be appropriate.

In 1787 John Rippon, pastor of Carter Lane Baptist Church in London, published A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors.  How Firm a Foundation was included in the publication.  The writer of the hymn is still unknown.  They have an idea as to who wrote it, but no one knows for sure.  At first the only author was merely only identified as K.  Then in 1822, in an updated publication of the hymns, the author had been changed to Kn.  In the 1835, edition the author's name changed yet again.  This time the author was Keene (or Keen).    The thought was that the writer was Robert Keene, the musical director at John Rippon's church, which would account for the some of the uncertainty surrounding the author.  However in an 1844 edition, it was decided that the author was Kirkham.

It has been said many times that God (or the Lord) "works in mysterious ways." Men from all walks of life have found this hymn to be encouraging in times of peril. In fact the one thing that I've seen in my reading of history is how effective stories and other random tidbits of information can be.  I have found some surrounding this particular hymn.    For example, it was sung on a regular basis by both North and South before the Civil War.

It was a favorite hymn of President Theodore Roosevelt, and it was sung at both his and President Woodrow Wilson's funerals as well as to Andrew Jackson on his deathbed.   It was also a favorite of Robert E. Lee.

General Curtis Guild, Jr., told the story in an interview with The Sunday School Times about the Seventh Army Corps during the Spanish-American War.

"The Seventh Army Corps was encamped on the hills above Havana, Cuba, on Christmas Eve of 1898—a beautiful tropical night. Suddenly a sentinel from the camp of the Forty-ninth Iowa called, Number ten; twelve o’clock, and all’s well!

      A strong voice raised the chorus, and manly voices joined in until the whole regiment was singing. Then the Sixth Missouri added its voices, and the Fourth Virginia, and all the rest, ’til there, as General Guild said, on the long ridges above the great city whence Spanish tyranny once went forth to enslave the New World, a whole American army corps was singing:

‘Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed;

I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

      The Northern soldier knew the hymn as one he had learned beside his mother’s knee. To the Southern soldier it was that and something more—it was the favorite hymn of General Robert E. Lee, and was sung at that great commander’s funeral.

      Protestant and Catholic, South and North, singing together on Christmas day in the morning—that’s an American army!"

—Amos Wells

There are many hymns out there with many stories surrounding them.  Some give insight into why the hymn was written, and show the rawness of the author.  Maybe the hurt he or she was feeling.  I think this is a bit different though.   We don't know much about the person who wrote the hymn, but one thing we do know is this.  Much of the written text is taken directly from the Bible.  So much so, that in some hymnals the majority of the text has quotations around it because of that very fact.     I am not dismissing any other hymn or hymn writer but given that the very text of the hymn straight out of the Bible it stands to reason that there should be some mystery surrounding it.  It reminds me of the unknown author of the New Testament book of Hebrews.     The one thing we know about the writer of that book is that he was a student of God..  In the same way, whoever wrote How Firm A Foundation,  very obviously was a student of the scriptures, and was very intent on using them to usher believers into the presence of God.  

My Notes:

History of Hymns

History and Mystery

Hymn Stories

Additional Sources:  

Newspaper

Studies of Familiar Hymns

Sermon Writer

Saying Good-Bye to 2016

When I look back on this past year I'd be lying if I said it had been easy.  Don't get me wrong.  A lot of great things have happened.  I moved back to Michigan which enabled me to spend more time with family, I went to the UP in October, and got to spend Christmas at home for only the second time since 1997.  But I've had my struggles and there is one small group of people that over the last year have really helped and supported me.  My family.  While I haven't talked to them a lot about some of the things I've been going through I know they've been thinking about me and praying for me.  Or just plain loving me.  To have that family structure has been such a blessing over the last thirty years, but specifically the last ten.  Knowing that they are there for me means a lot.  Of course I have to be careful not to take it for granted (and I have been) but when I look at the strength and stability of my brothers and sister (and their wives/husband) the biblical principles we were taught when we were growing up are coming to light.  The verse that comes to mind, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."  (Proverbs 22:6) is one that I think is very applicable and even though I don't have children of my own I certainly hope I can leave that sort of legacy.  I also, truly hope that our family continues to remain strong in the years to come even after we leave.  Happy New Year!!!  2017 here we come!!!

Legacies

Every day people die.  Actually every minute of every hour.  As the year goes by the Entertainment section of Google News will have a story about a different celebrity that has passed on.  For me , some of the older ones that have died (Florence Henderson for example), didn't have quite the impact as when Robin Williams died.  That one and ironically Dan Haggerty (He was known for the show The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams back in the seventies).  Robin Williams was one of my all time favorite comedians and the first actor I grew up watching to pass away.  I had that moment where I'll never forget where I was.  On vacation, in Gaylord, Michigan, getting ready to get into a car.  Dan Haggerty, known as Grizzly Adams, was the origin of my email address.   I was also dubbed Grizzly Adams by my cousin because I had grown a beard so I had a kinship with him.  Heck,  even  when The Force Awakens came out and Han Solo died (Oops.  Spoiler alert) I felt as though I'd lost a friend.  But I digress.

 This week Alan Thicke passed away.  He was sixty-nine.  Five years older then my parents and twenty-five years older than me.  I grew up watching Growing Pains.  He was an actor I "knew" well.  A friend.  Or at least his character was.   I'm at the age (forty-two) where the actors I grew up watching are starting to take get to an age where they are more likely to leave this world.  In watching the news feed surrounding Alan Thicke's death what has been so cool to see is to see the positive mark he left on the world.  How cool is it that the last thing he was doing was playing a pick-up game of hockey with his son?  Spending time with family.  What a way to go.  Almost like going in your sleep.  I only hope that I can leave behind that kind of legacy.  My hope for him though is that when he entered the next world he was ready because if he wasn't then all the positive things he did here, while great, would mean nothing.  However, that is not for us to know.

An Adventure into the Past, A Journey to the Present

 

 The last few days have taken me on a trip back in time.  So much so that at one point  I felt trapped between times.  Stuck in some sort of space/time continuum.  It was down right odd.  When opportunities like this present themselves it can be very rewarding to see how we grew up.

As I've looked back I've found things that are very consistent.  If I were to do write a resume based on my life I would be an outdoorsman. :-)

Way back in 1976 I was skipping stones in the park and bothering the animals.  I was two!  In fairness to the swan or whatever that is I think it was a staring contest.  Ironically, I had a similar encounter with a bear a many years later.  Thankfully we weren't this close and it wasn't a staring contest!  But that is another story for another time.    

Over our lives we tend to do certain things.  I have a tendency to climb things.  

I started early and it hasn't stopped.  From skipping stones, encounters with wildlife, and climbing trees I'm guessing my childhood wasn't much different then any other boy's.  Granted, there were five other kids that came after me and thousands of hours or adventures, stories, bumps bruises, and the like but we all have our beginnings somewhere.  For me, it was these two people.  That house in the first picture is the house they brought me home to.  Dad told me once that without me they wouldn't be a family.  He's right.  Without them we wouldn't be a family.  In looking back I've seen how important family is.  I've seen pictures of people I never knew, hardly knew, and know very well.  t's been really good.  I'm looking forward to sharing more as I sort through all these pictures I have.  This is just the tip of the iceberg!