deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Prince Edwards Island. One of three Maritime Canadian provinces. It is the smallest province, but the most densely populated. It is named after Queen Victoria’s father, Prince Edward.

“The aboriginal Mi’kmaq (Micmac) people called the island Abegweit—popularly translated “Cradled on the Waves”—which aptly describes the slender crescent of land nested in the surrounding waters. As part of Acadia during the French regime (1720–58), it was called Île Saint-Jean, but when the British took over they first Anglicized the name to St. John’s Island, then attempted to call it New Ireland, and finally, in 1799, named it for Edward Augustus, the duke of Kent and Strathern, commander of the British forces in North America and one of the sons of King George III of Great Britain. The island became a separate colony in 1769 and has remained what some scholars characterize as a “subnational island jurisdiction” ever since. In 1873 Prince Edward Island became the seventh province of Canada.

The flag is modeled after the provincial arms. The crowned Blue Jay is holding a sprig of red oak, both symbols of the island. The upper 1/3 is the English Heraldic Lion. This appears in Prince Edwards’ coat of arms. The lion is passant – walking with the right paw raised and all others on the ground. The supporters of the shield are sliver foxes on each side – rare animals native and important to the fur trade. The lower 2/3 depicts an island with 3 small oak saplings (The 3 counties – Prince; Kings and Queens). The saplings are protected by a great Oak tree: Great Britain. [The provincial motto of PEI is ‘Parva sub ingenti’ – ‘The small under the protection of the great’.] The thistles represent Scotland. The red rose represents the house of Lancaster while the white rose is for the house of York. The red and white boarders are the colors of the Canadian flag. This flag was adopted in 1964.