About the City of Roswell, New Mexico,
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On the afternoon of June 13th, 1997, the new flag of the City of Roswell was raised over city hall. Mayor Thomas E. Jennings read a proclamation officially dedicating the City Flag for the pride of all the citizens of Roswell.
The competition for the flag's design and the subsequent design process took over a year to complete. The flag's designer, Stephen Fleming, offers the following description of the flag's emblematic symbolism.
x"The design of the flag for the City of Roswell is inspired
by the land, water and sky that surround us here in southeastern New Mexico. The blue
field of the flag is representative of the vast sky above us and this same blue forms the
mountain of Capitan, our ever-present companion in the west. The sun is represented by the
Zia symbol of the New Mexico state flag reminding us that we are all part of the
"Land of Enchantment". The stripes in the lower portion of the City of Roswell
Flag are yellow for the plains of the Pecos Valley; green for the agriculture of our
region; blue for the Pecos River; red for earth beneath our feet. This pattern of stripes
also symbolizes the various strata of our subsurface geology and the precious resources,
including water, which are so vital to life here. The green and red stripes also
acknowledge our historical and cultural ties with Mexico and our vibrant Hispanic
heritage. The small white circle in the upper left, positioned along with the stripes at
the bottom are reminiscent of the Stars and Stripes of Old Glory, but also symbolizes the
enigmas of the heavens above us, the challenges of the future and the wonder we all
experience when we contemplate the mysteries of the universe."
While the above gives an accurate accounting of the symbolism of the flag it says little about my own feelings regarding the design of the flag and those things that led me to participate in this small part of Roswell's history.
I entered the flag design competition because I had an idea, a computer and a belief that symbols still can and still do bring people of diverse situations together. The year preceding the summer of 1996, when the competition was announced, was full of images and events that spoke of people rejecting the idea of a common sense of national community. Perhaps because of this I felt a civic flag should help to both celebrate our individual character and to help remind of us of how we are bound together as a state and as a nation. I was struck (and intimidated) by the beauty of the New Mexico State Flag which I knew would be just above the new City Flag. Above the Flag of New Mexico, in contrast, would be the Stars and Stripes. I wanted to find a design for Roswell that would visually unite all three flags and that would symbolically acknowledge our unique place within the fabric of our United States. But I also wanted to connect the new flag with a flag that wouldn't be flying above it. The Flag of Mexico. As a boy I lived in a small Mexican village on the Pacific Coast. I attended the local elementary school and watched the raising of the Mexican Flag every morning. Because of my experiences as a child and because our land here is also a part of the history of Mexico I felt it important to include some reference to the red, white and green of Mexico.
Because I am a visualist by nature and because nature is the most obviously visible thing here in southeastern New Mexico, it's no surprise that I might settle on Capitan mountain and our unique perspective of it, (appearing to be a pyramid only when viewed from around town) as the central theme for my design. I thought that by reminding our citizens of our unique place in nature, as Roswell grows, its leaders will be sensitive to the balance between mankind and land on which we live.
I would like to mention a few individuals and institutions that were part of this project. The faculty and staff of the Art Department at Eastern New Mexico University, Portales. Particularly Greg Erf, the Chair and Jim Bryant for their patience teaching me the finer points of computer graphics and the numerous copies from their color printer. My wife Nancy who entered me in the competition even though I had forgotten about the deadline and who encouraged me to stick with it when I got fed up with the umpteenth revision. Finally, I feel a special thanks should go to Don Anderson and the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program who brought me to Roswell for the first time ten years ago.
Stephen Fleming
June 1997