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Prairie du Rocher, Illinois (U.S.)

image located by Valentin Poposki, 11 November 2005
Source: www.pdrbank.com/pdr2.htm

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Village of Prairie du Rocher in Illinois is in Randolph county. Flag is shown here: www.pdrbank.com/pdr2.htm. The website reports:

"The basic flag design is of a patchwork pattern. This was inspired by the hundreds of quilts the ladies of the community have painstakingly created over the years.

The background of the flag is white. This represents the white limestone bluffs, which are the background of Prairie du Rocher. Believing they contained gold and silver, the bluffs were one of the lures, which attracted the French to the area.

The gold with blue fleur-de-lis represents Prairie du Rocher’s French colonial past and the pride the residents have in their French heritage. Originally, a gold fleur-de-lis on a blue background represented the king of France and the royal family. The settlers who came to the area were not royalty, but were common people (farmers, trappers, etc.). The fleur-de-lis colors have been reversed to represent the difference.

The blue with white stars represents Prairie du Rocher’s present day allegiance to the United States and the pride the residents have in being Americans. In times of crisis or war, the residents have always been there to give their service and, in some cases, their lives for their country. Besides representing the United States, the stars are representative of that service.

The bars are equally interlinked representing the community’s equal pride in past and present.

Surrounding the flag is a gold border. This border represents the agriculture and the farms, which surround Prairie du Rocher. The early settlers were drawn to the area by the fertile bottom land soil. Corn and wheat are the two crops represented by the gold color.

The blue also represents the waters of the Mississippi River. The river was the “interstate highway” of the colonial era allowing both travel and exploration. The undesirable marshy area near the river was partly what prompted settlers to move to higher ground near the bluffs, thus beginning Prairie du Rocher.

The religious affiliation of the residents and Prairie du Rocher’s two churches are represented by the three colors. White and gold are the Papal colors of the Catholic Church. White and blue are the main colors of the Christian flag of the Baptist Church.

Education is represented by the blue and gold colors. They are the school colors of Prairie du Rocher Grade School where the children receive the educational foundation upon which all their future high school and college studies are built.

Valentin Poposki, 11 November 2005