Dear Editor
Sept. 22, 2024, has been an incredibly special day for our province. Our Saskatchewan flag is 55 years old. Once again, I requested a proclamation for “Saskatchewan Flag Day” by the minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, Laura Ross.
I have requested proclamations for Saskatchewan Flag Day since 2016 making those requests to Ken Cheveldayoff (2016), Gene Makowsky (2017 – 2020) and Laura Ross (2021 – 2024). Thank you to each of them for their proclamations and recognizing our Saskatchewan flag and its designer, Anthony Drake.
I decided to do some research and found an article from the Regina Leader Post from Sept. 23, 1969, by Mary Ann Fitzgerald. Mary wrote her article the day following the inaugural raising of our Saskatchewan flag.
The following people were present: S.G. Davies (NDP Moose Jaw South, the opposition and vice-chairperson of the flag committee); Premier Thatcher; J.E. Snedker (Speaker of the Legislature); and R.L.Hanbidge (lieutenant-governor).
Hanbidge said the province was84 years old as it was adopting the “time honoured custom of a nation and a state to adopt a flag as its emblem.”
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly read the proclamation, making the flag official. Saskatchewan joined Confederation Sept.1, 1905, and was the last province to adopt an official flag. The flag was then run up a flagpole placed at the front of the legislative chamber and O Canada was played.
Premier Thatcher set up an all-party legislative committee to choose a “distinctive flag and it is a symbol of our determination to build an even better Saskatchewan for future generations. I hope it will be given the respect and allegiance it deserves.”
Sadly, Anthony Drake was not present as he had returned to England to raise their daughter who was born in Hodgeville, where Anthony designed our provincial flag.
Percy Schmeiser was at the inaugural raising, along with all the other flag committee members. They each received small flags as a thank you for their hard work. They had 4,025 entries, and they had to choose just one.
Later, in 2019 at the 50th anniversary, I arranged to have the only member of the original flag committee who was still alive meet Anthony Drake at Government House. That same flag, that was presented to Percy Schmeiser 50 years earlier, was now being given to Anthony Drake. This was a touching moment and was captured by Global TV News.
In 2016, Premier Brad Wall read his welcome speech in the Legislature. On Aug. 31, 2016, Wall received “an open letter to the people of Saskatchewan” from Anthony Drake. It was a detailed letter of our 2016 Saskatchewan flag tour. It is a journal explaining each day's events and how he felt at the time.
As I read the seven-page letter, his final words were very touching, “Without Gail, this grand tour would never have happened. She organized everything, every minute of it, and for that, not only my family but everyone in Saskatchewan would not have gained the pleasure and joy that Gail brought us, through her hard work. Thank you forever, Gail and Mirek.”
My heart warms and breaks at the same time. I miss Tony greatly, as he passed away two years ago. It saddens me that he is not with us for the 55th anniversary of the wonderful flag he designed. I was born and raised in Montreal, then we lived 37 years in Calgary. Mirek and I opened the Hodgeville Skool Inn, the old high school that Anthony Drake taught at in 1969. I promised Tony I would always honour him and his flag as long as I lived in Saskatchewan. So, this is why I am sharing this story with you.
The next big event for our Saskatchewan Flag will be in 2029, the jubilee (60th) anniversary. We want to have a celebration where the flag was raised for the first time, at the Legislature in Regina. At that time, we will open a time capsule that we created in 2019, during Anthony’s last visit to Hodgeville and Saskatchewan.
Gail Hapanowicz
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
