The Modern 50 Star Flag has an Interesting Story Behind its Creation

In 1958, high school student Robert G. Heft of Lancaster, Ohio was assigned to create a new national banner for America that would recognize the statehood of Alaska and Hawaii as a history project.

Using his mother’s sewing machine, Heft spent 12 hours using a yardstick while applying his new design of 100 hand-cut stars on each side of the blue canton of an old 48-star flag.

His teacher, gave him a “B-” for the project, but promised he’d change the grade if his flag was accepted by Congress.

The project was submitted, and President Eisenhower made a personal phone call to the Heft to tell him that his flag design had been accepted.

With Executive Order No. 10834, signed on Aug. 21, 1959, Eisenhower selected Heft’s flag out of 1,500 designs that had been submitted for consideration.

Heft’s teacher made good on his promise and awarded him an “A.”