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DeRidder, Louisiana (U.S.)

Flag Competition
City Centennial Seal

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Louisiana

Flag Competition

The city of DeRidder (9,758 inhabitants in 2003; 22.1 sq. km), incorporated in 1903, is the seat of Beauregard parish since 1912. The city is named after the Belgian sister-in-law of a financier involved in the building of the nearby railway. Quoting the municipal website:

"In 1893, railroads were being built in the United States, and one of their builders was Mr. Stilwell. There was an international financial crisis that year, and Mr. Stilwell could not raise the $3 million needed to finish constructing a railroad from Kansas City down to the Gulf, about 800 miles. Since he could not raise the money in the United States, he decided to go to Europe for aid. He first tried England, but failed. He then went to Holland for assistance. He was at a loss while in Amsterdam, and then remembered a young coffee merchant he had met while on a previous trip to Europe with his wife. Mr. Stilwell went to the Coffee Exchange for their list of members, and found the name of the young merchant, Jan Dehouyen. Mr. Stilwell found Jan Dehouyen and told him about his plans for building the railroad in the United States. These plans intrigued Jan Dehouyen, so he raised the $3 million needed for this Kansas City Southern Railroad. Then Mr. Dehouyen decided to change careers from coffee to railroads, and traveled to the United States with Mr. Stilwell Jan Dehouyen kept an office in Amsterdam, Holland, and there was a map in his office showing Kansas City in the north and the Gulf in the south. Occasionally, Mr. Dehouyen would be asked to name a place, which might be of interest in the future, which was located along the railroad. Mr. Dehouyen had a sister-in-law named Ella DeRidder Dehouyen. She was a beautiful girl from Belgium, and was a favorite relative of Jan Dehouyen. He named our city “DeRidder”, in honor of his sister-in-law."

On 31 December 2006, Julie B. Robinson, staff writer at the local "Beauregard Daily News" reported:
"[...]
DeRidder is sponsoring a flag design contest, open to students in grades third through 12th. Suggested themes include: history of DeRidder; landmarks of DeRidder; people of DeRidder; and vision for the future of DeRidder. The contest will be divided into three groups: third-fifth grades; sixth-eighth grades; and ninth-12th grades.
[...]
Deadline is March 1, 2007.
The Partners in Education at each participating school will review all submitted designs and select the top two entries in each group, based upon the following criteria: 50 percent creativity and 50 percent relevance to the theme picked by the student. Prizes will be distributed at each school; each entrant will receive a certificate of appreciation. DeRidder City Council will choose the overall winner. His/her design will become the City of DeRidder flag, the first in its 103-year history. The new city flag will be given to each DeRidder school. The flag will also be flown at city hall and in city parks. Inspiration for the contest came from a conversation between DeRidder Mayor Ron Roberts and Marietta Jenkins, Beautification Committee chairperson of the New Broom program. They were speaking about the state flag of Alaska, which was designed by a 13-year-old Native American boy who won a statewide contest.
[...]
http://www.deridderdailynews.com/articles/2006/12/31/news/news1.txt

Ivan Sache, 3 January 2007

City Centennial Seal

image located by Ivan Sache, 3 January 2007

The municipal website shows the centennial seal of DeRidder, which shows a locomotive crossing a flat landscape with two pines.
Ivan Sache, 3 January 2007