When I first saw this canoe, an OT HW, I thought the hole and brass plate on the bow deck was for a painter. Now I have been reading the history of OT and saw a reference to flag pole sockets, and after looking through the book and seeing photos and illustrations it seem that that is what I have. I'm curious if anyone knows about the history of them? Were the flags purely decorative or were they used for identification? This canoe originally went to a boat house so I wonder if it identified the house or even numbered their canoes ? Did different clubs have their own pennants? If I wanted to restore it , would the flag pole have been of brass or wood? Thanks in advance for any info. I'm glad the site is back up and running so I have an outlet for my curiosity.
Flag pole socket ?
- Thread starter Wetweasel
- Start date
I don't know of any detailed analysis of the use of flags on canoes. A similar question came up at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=1150 which offers answers to some of your questions. It appears that the flags were usually decorative and brass poles with the United States flag were the most common.
Benson
Benson
