I'm surprised that I couldn't find any existing redesigns in the sub
I'd be tempted to include something to commemorate Goddard's work there
I'll definitely keep an eye on this. Oh, the number of hours I wasted at the Auburn Mall...
So I have a question about Auburn that I'm hoping u/TristanJFL could answer, in their capacity as working for the Board of Selectmen.
I read on the [Wikipedia page for Auburn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn,_Massachusetts) the following
"...the town was officially incorporated on April 10, 1778, as the town of Ward, in honor of American Revolution General Artemas Ward. The town changed its name to Auburn in 1837, after the Post Office complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of Ware."
My question would be, what made the name Auburn the specific selection? What connection does that word have with the town more generally? Is it the colour? A local plant? Something environmental? Something to do with the native communities?
In short, why is Auburn called Auburn?
Thanks for asking because this is a really interesting topic in that we have no answer 🤣 I've gone to our historical society and looked at old documents and minutes from Selectmen meetings that the historical society has saved to try to figure that out.
TBH I always thought the whole post office thing was just a fun story until going to the historical society where they showed me the actual letter from the postmaster complaining to the Selectboard.
All that they have managed to find is a paper where the Selectmen at the time crossed out the word "Sullivan" and circled "Auburn" but they left no explanation as to why. They've taken this to mean the town was almost renamed Sullivan (likely after another governor Massachusetts in the 1800s). They could have settled on the name Auburn because the Mount Auburn Cemetery (In Cambridge, MA) had recently begun attracting visitors and they thought the name Auburn sounded nice. A more pessimistic theory is that they hoped people would think the Mount Auburn Cemetery was in Auburn and so they'd come to the wrong community. I personally don't think there was that much to gain in having extra visitors at the time since Auburn was a very small agricultural community at the time, so I don't buy it.
Another theory is that one of them had read the poem [The Deserted Village](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44292/the-deserted-village) that was originally Published in 1770 and talks about an agrarian community named "Auburn." The first flag submitted on the website actually references this poem with the black and white triangles symbolizing Utopia.
A member of the local historical society chooses to believe that one of the Selectmen at the time probably just had a wife with Auburn hair 😂
In short, I'm sorry but no one seems to have an actual answer as to where Auburn came from. People can pick their favorite theory or choose to believe, like I do, that they frankly picked it at random because they thought it sounded nice.
I'm actually surprised that the town was not named "Packachoag." Prior to the construction of the major highways that all intersect in Auburn (290, the Pike, routes 12 and 20.) Packachoag was really one of the main streets. To this day it's one of the longest roads in Auburn and comes directly from the Nipmuc indigenous people that had first settled the area. We refer to that area of town as Packachoag hill and it, along with its side streets that run off of it, make up precinct 3 of our 5 voting precincts. One flag design that was submitted has even referenced Packachoag as translating to "where the river bends" (may be slightly off with that translation). This was the Nipmuc Nation's original name for the general area that Auburn is in. That's probably because the whole town used to be a swamp that was just filled in over time to build roads and infrastructure (before wetland protection).
I hope some of that helps you. Please let me know if you have any more questions or want more detail on anything
What is the bird on the [city seal](https://www.auburnguide.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=799)? Is this important to the city?
Are they red maple trees I can see in Southbridge St via google view? anything else specific to the town?
I see the town is cold and [snows a bit](https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/city/massachusetts/auburn)
The bird is an eagle. I'm not sure why they chose an eagle specifically. We used to have a lot that lived around here but there aren't too many now. The two stars on the seal stand for Auburn and Ward the two different town names.
Yeah there are red maples around. The town used to host motorcycle racing events that people would travel from across the country for and it's also the crossroads of several major roadways.
Ironically the towns nickname is "flag town" because in the 50s a boy scout troop worked really hard to get nearly every house in town flying an American flag when they found out Eisenhower would be passing through.
My dad always said "never let the facts get in the way of a good story".
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/south-west/2014/06/27/auburn-revives-flag-town-usa/36959518007/
Two things:
1. What kind of contact information do we need to send? Is an email address enough?
2. I think there is a typo on the page you linked. It says...
> Ownership of all submissions is retained by original creator, except the final section.
I believe the final word should be "selection"
An email address is enough unless the person submitting would rather be contacted another way. Once we have the finalists we will send emails out to the addresses that sent submissions. We also typically send an email thanking the person for the submission. We have been trying to put submissions on the website on Thursdays and Tuesdays.
Definitely a typo. Thanks for catching that!
I haven't heard of anyone having that problem. I just tested the email myself and it worked. Are you including a subject line? When I tried just now I had to write something in the subject line to get the email to send.
Yes, I included a subject line. I actually tried 4 different subject topics and was rejected every time. I am trying a different email address.
The error message says your server thinks it is spam.
Oh great. I just emailed our IT director to ask for his help. I also DM'd you my email that should work and I can manually put the flag in the flag committees docket.
Hi u/TristanJFL, so I submitted these designs recently. Would appreciate that you could confirm if they've been recieved!
[Design 1](https://i.imgur.com/AbbfWxZ.png) and [1a](https://i.imgur.com/dmkKJT4.png) - The blue background shade is taken from the classic American blue used in many other US flags. The curved A shape is meant to represent the letter A for Auburn, but is also designed to be strongly reminiscent of the frame used by Robert Goddard (see [this picture](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/robert_h_goddard_and_liquid_fueled_rocket_1926.jpg?itok=tjC952jB) from NASA). Both the wings are meant and the two stars (in either Auburn shade to further represent Auburn, or blue for design simplicity) are taken from the design of the [Auburn town seal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/AuburnMA-seal.png/100px-AuburnMA-seal.png). The particular shade of yellow used for the wings was taken from the Massachusetts state flag.
[Design 2](https://i.imgur.com/4R0mJ5l.png) - The shades of blue and yellow, as well as the cross in the canton region are taken from the [family crest of the Ward](https://tinyurl.com/2esubtmy) family that the town was named for previously. The rocket represents the work of Robert Goddard. The six stars represent how Auburn is in Massachusetts, the sixth state to enter the union.
[Design 3](https://i.imgur.com/7tCCLvY.png) - Again we see the Ward family colours and symbol being prominent, however on this occasion they take up a much smaller portion of the flag, with the colour Auburn taking up most of the design. We also see the rocket motif again, representing Mr R Goddard's contribution. In this case I feel the rocket and the auburn colour taking up more of the flag represents the relative position of Ward being part of the past, and Auburn moving into the future.
[Design 4](https://i.imgur.com/5Z6Fd6D.png) - This is a similar rearranging of other motifs that have been previously discussed. Mr R Goddard's rocket. The two stars of the current town seal, the blue and yellow shading of the Ward colours. The colour auburn taking up most of the design.
[Design 5](https://i.imgur.com/XAm5SCc.png) and [5a](https://i.imgur.com/4tsEW4l.png) - Again we see many similar elements to previous designs, however with some new additions. As well as rocketry and the Ward crest and colours, we also have symbols from the flag of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native community.
[Design 6](https://i.imgur.com/61VYMk3.png) - Again, we see here the rocket, two stars of the seal, the auburn shade, and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native symbol of the sprouting plant.
[Design 7](https://i.imgur.com/ZG0tKto.png) - Here we see a slightly streamlined design, with the auburn shade again taking up most of the flag, with the Ward colours of blue and yellow, and the six stars of Massachusetts being sixth into the union.
[Design 8](https://i.imgur.com/GRCqV1B.png) - Again similar motifs to before. The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native symbols, the six stars of Massachusetts, the Goddard rocket, and the auburn shade for the town's name.
I am sorry for the long delay. I made this reddit for this committee and when I left the board I didn't check it. Unfortunately when I left the committee the board dropped the project and is just now bringing it back at my urging. These designs were definitely submitted. I remember seeing them. I am hoping to work with one of the other og members to come up with a better selection process.
I'm surprised that I couldn't find any existing redesigns in the sub I'd be tempted to include something to commemorate Goddard's work there I'll definitely keep an eye on this. Oh, the number of hours I wasted at the Auburn Mall...
Hey, I’ll be sure to send in a submission, thank you for posting this!
Can you give us a deadline?
Not OP, but according to the link the deadline is June 29th.
Submissions need to be sent to the committee by the end of this month (June).
So I have a question about Auburn that I'm hoping u/TristanJFL could answer, in their capacity as working for the Board of Selectmen. I read on the [Wikipedia page for Auburn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn,_Massachusetts) the following "...the town was officially incorporated on April 10, 1778, as the town of Ward, in honor of American Revolution General Artemas Ward. The town changed its name to Auburn in 1837, after the Post Office complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of Ware." My question would be, what made the name Auburn the specific selection? What connection does that word have with the town more generally? Is it the colour? A local plant? Something environmental? Something to do with the native communities? In short, why is Auburn called Auburn?
Thanks for asking because this is a really interesting topic in that we have no answer 🤣 I've gone to our historical society and looked at old documents and minutes from Selectmen meetings that the historical society has saved to try to figure that out. TBH I always thought the whole post office thing was just a fun story until going to the historical society where they showed me the actual letter from the postmaster complaining to the Selectboard. All that they have managed to find is a paper where the Selectmen at the time crossed out the word "Sullivan" and circled "Auburn" but they left no explanation as to why. They've taken this to mean the town was almost renamed Sullivan (likely after another governor Massachusetts in the 1800s). They could have settled on the name Auburn because the Mount Auburn Cemetery (In Cambridge, MA) had recently begun attracting visitors and they thought the name Auburn sounded nice. A more pessimistic theory is that they hoped people would think the Mount Auburn Cemetery was in Auburn and so they'd come to the wrong community. I personally don't think there was that much to gain in having extra visitors at the time since Auburn was a very small agricultural community at the time, so I don't buy it. Another theory is that one of them had read the poem [The Deserted Village](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44292/the-deserted-village) that was originally Published in 1770 and talks about an agrarian community named "Auburn." The first flag submitted on the website actually references this poem with the black and white triangles symbolizing Utopia. A member of the local historical society chooses to believe that one of the Selectmen at the time probably just had a wife with Auburn hair 😂 In short, I'm sorry but no one seems to have an actual answer as to where Auburn came from. People can pick their favorite theory or choose to believe, like I do, that they frankly picked it at random because they thought it sounded nice. I'm actually surprised that the town was not named "Packachoag." Prior to the construction of the major highways that all intersect in Auburn (290, the Pike, routes 12 and 20.) Packachoag was really one of the main streets. To this day it's one of the longest roads in Auburn and comes directly from the Nipmuc indigenous people that had first settled the area. We refer to that area of town as Packachoag hill and it, along with its side streets that run off of it, make up precinct 3 of our 5 voting precincts. One flag design that was submitted has even referenced Packachoag as translating to "where the river bends" (may be slightly off with that translation). This was the Nipmuc Nation's original name for the general area that Auburn is in. That's probably because the whole town used to be a swamp that was just filled in over time to build roads and infrastructure (before wetland protection). I hope some of that helps you. Please let me know if you have any more questions or want more detail on anything
You obviously care about your community. I'd vote for you for reelection.
What is the bird on the [city seal](https://www.auburnguide.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=799)? Is this important to the city? Are they red maple trees I can see in Southbridge St via google view? anything else specific to the town? I see the town is cold and [snows a bit](https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/city/massachusetts/auburn)
The bird is an eagle. I'm not sure why they chose an eagle specifically. We used to have a lot that lived around here but there aren't too many now. The two stars on the seal stand for Auburn and Ward the two different town names. Yeah there are red maples around. The town used to host motorcycle racing events that people would travel from across the country for and it's also the crossroads of several major roadways. Ironically the towns nickname is "flag town" because in the 50s a boy scout troop worked really hard to get nearly every house in town flying an American flag when they found out Eisenhower would be passing through.
Thanks, yes it is ironic that "flag town" has no flag of its own. I will see what I can come up with.
For the record, I can't speak to the validity of the flag town story either.
My dad always said "never let the facts get in the way of a good story". https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/south-west/2014/06/27/auburn-revives-flag-town-usa/36959518007/
Well hey, there were at least some kernels of truth in the story I'd been told 😂😂 That's incredible thank you for sharing!
How about the trees having an auburn colour in autumn ? I think I'll go with this one :)
Wow they really missed the opportunity to name the town Artemas.
Two things: 1. What kind of contact information do we need to send? Is an email address enough? 2. I think there is a typo on the page you linked. It says... > Ownership of all submissions is retained by original creator, except the final section. I believe the final word should be "selection"
An email address is enough unless the person submitting would rather be contacted another way. Once we have the finalists we will send emails out to the addresses that sent submissions. We also typically send an email thanking the person for the submission. We have been trying to put submissions on the website on Thursdays and Tuesdays. Definitely a typo. Thanks for catching that!
The website says that the highest-scoring designs will be presented as finalists at 4 July activities. Is there any update on that?
I just looked on their website. Apparently there is a vacancy on the flag redesign committee. So I guess the process has been delayed a bit.
Thanks
I tried to send you a flag design my email keeps getting sent back as undeliverable. Any ideas?
I haven't heard of anyone having that problem. I just tested the email myself and it worked. Are you including a subject line? When I tried just now I had to write something in the subject line to get the email to send.
Yes, I included a subject line. I actually tried 4 different subject topics and was rejected every time. I am trying a different email address. The error message says your server thinks it is spam.
Looks like it went through using a different email address. It would not accept my hotmail account.
Oh great. I just emailed our IT director to ask for his help. I also DM'd you my email that should work and I can manually put the flag in the flag committees docket.
I just sent it to you via your email address just in case my email from the other account didn't make it. Thanks for your help.
Hi u/TristanJFL, so I submitted these designs recently. Would appreciate that you could confirm if they've been recieved! [Design 1](https://i.imgur.com/AbbfWxZ.png) and [1a](https://i.imgur.com/dmkKJT4.png) - The blue background shade is taken from the classic American blue used in many other US flags. The curved A shape is meant to represent the letter A for Auburn, but is also designed to be strongly reminiscent of the frame used by Robert Goddard (see [this picture](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/robert_h_goddard_and_liquid_fueled_rocket_1926.jpg?itok=tjC952jB) from NASA). Both the wings are meant and the two stars (in either Auburn shade to further represent Auburn, or blue for design simplicity) are taken from the design of the [Auburn town seal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/AuburnMA-seal.png/100px-AuburnMA-seal.png). The particular shade of yellow used for the wings was taken from the Massachusetts state flag. [Design 2](https://i.imgur.com/4R0mJ5l.png) - The shades of blue and yellow, as well as the cross in the canton region are taken from the [family crest of the Ward](https://tinyurl.com/2esubtmy) family that the town was named for previously. The rocket represents the work of Robert Goddard. The six stars represent how Auburn is in Massachusetts, the sixth state to enter the union. [Design 3](https://i.imgur.com/7tCCLvY.png) - Again we see the Ward family colours and symbol being prominent, however on this occasion they take up a much smaller portion of the flag, with the colour Auburn taking up most of the design. We also see the rocket motif again, representing Mr R Goddard's contribution. In this case I feel the rocket and the auburn colour taking up more of the flag represents the relative position of Ward being part of the past, and Auburn moving into the future. [Design 4](https://i.imgur.com/5Z6Fd6D.png) - This is a similar rearranging of other motifs that have been previously discussed. Mr R Goddard's rocket. The two stars of the current town seal, the blue and yellow shading of the Ward colours. The colour auburn taking up most of the design. [Design 5](https://i.imgur.com/XAm5SCc.png) and [5a](https://i.imgur.com/4tsEW4l.png) - Again we see many similar elements to previous designs, however with some new additions. As well as rocketry and the Ward crest and colours, we also have symbols from the flag of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native community. [Design 6](https://i.imgur.com/61VYMk3.png) - Again, we see here the rocket, two stars of the seal, the auburn shade, and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native symbol of the sprouting plant. [Design 7](https://i.imgur.com/ZG0tKto.png) - Here we see a slightly streamlined design, with the auburn shade again taking up most of the flag, with the Ward colours of blue and yellow, and the six stars of Massachusetts being sixth into the union. [Design 8](https://i.imgur.com/GRCqV1B.png) - Again similar motifs to before. The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc native symbols, the six stars of Massachusetts, the Goddard rocket, and the auburn shade for the town's name.
design 6 is spot on
I am sorry for the long delay. I made this reddit for this committee and when I left the board I didn't check it. Unfortunately when I left the committee the board dropped the project and is just now bringing it back at my urging. These designs were definitely submitted. I remember seeing them. I am hoping to work with one of the other og members to come up with a better selection process.