August 10, 2010.
Batavia, IL:

Back in 1972 the Village of Wheeling had a competition for the design of a flag for the Village sponsored by the Jaycees. I won that competition as a Wheeling High School Sophomore and I am proud to see that my design still flies over the Village Hall. I recently, "unearthed" the art of my original design (submitted in the competition) and brought it to the Village Hall in case anybody was interested in a tiny bit of history.

Here are the basics about the design. The blue shapes represent the DesPlaines River with the offshoot Buffalo Creek in relation to the white which is the crossroads of Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue. At the time of designing the flag this was my understanding of the geographical birthplace of the village, the importance of its place on the map, and why the town was christened with the name Wheeling. The green was a popular color in the mid-70s as it is now for the same reasons. The nation was focused on ecology and the environment. We were trying to communicate the notion of Wheeling being a clean and green (ecologically aware) community.

You are welcome to copies of all the articles my proud parents clipped from the local papers back in 1972.

You also may be interested in the story behind the story. Read on…(to the right)

For My Old Home Town,
Dan van Loon
Owner, Design Corps. Batavia, IL.
http://DesignCorps.US

Welcome to Wheeling Illinois

A history of the Village Flag, Sign, and Logo through the years.
( Click on the pictures below for a larger view. )

The Village Flag
Dan Van Loon's original winning design for the Wheeling flag is being held by Curator Pat Steilen. See the column to the left for more inside information about the design and competition for the flag.. The winning documentation was donated to the Historical Museum.




	May 23,1972 Ted Scanlon the mayor of Wheeling invites Dan Van Loon to the June 25th Village Board Meeting for a ceremony commending Dan for his winning entry in the Village Flag Contest.
Wheeling Ordinance 1972-6 that created Wheeling's first Village Flag on June 4th, 1972
*The story behind the story of our village flag...* (In the words of Dan van Loon, Designer) Among the requirements for submitting an entry in the competition was the design had to incorporate the village seal, or part of it. I thought the village seal was used on the village vehicle stickers. That design was appropriately a big silhouette of a wagon wheel. So, my original submission did not have the Illinois map and banner image which was (and is) in the old village seal. It had a nice big and simple black silhouette of a wagon wheel, like the one in subsequent village logos. A representative of the Jaycees came to my house after they had decided to award 1st prize to my design, but they requested that I replace the wagon wheel image with the village seal. I really did NOT want to do that, as I considered the simplicity, visual strength, and meaning of the wagon wheel FAR better. I wished I had been around when the village seal had been created. (In fact, I believe that was also a Jaycees sponsored design competition back in the 1960s.) But, I acquiesced and gave 'the client' what they wanted. "It turns out that was a valuable lesson in client relations, as today I am the founding partner of Design Corps (designcorps.us), a design firm in Batavia, IL and Colorado Springs. Winning that competition fueled my passion for design and had a positive impact on my life." --Dan Van Loon
	This is the template that was created from Dan's submission, and is used to create today's flags.
Did the Village have a flag before 1972? The answer is: No The first Wheeling Flag was created in 1972 per Ordinance 1972-6
	The current Village Flag has not changed at all in almost 40 years.
The United States and Village Of Wheeling flag as they existed for many years in the old Village Hall Council Chamber which was converted into the Police Department communications control room in 2010.
	The United States and Village Of Wheeling flag as they fly over the new Village Hall that was completed in 2009.
	We need a picture of the flag park over at Milwaukee and Dundee.

Village Entrance Signs
when was this
	when did these start late 80's ?

The Village Logo


The 2010 logo

The Village Newsletter http://www.vi.wheeling.il.us/ReferenceDesk/VillageViewsArchiveOverview.asp
1994
	1999
2001
	2004
2005
	2009
2010

Wheeling Historical Society and Museum

Welcome to Wheeling Illinois

A history of the Village Flag, Sign, and Logo through the years. ( Click on the pictures below for a larger view. )

A history of the Village Flag, Sign, and Logo through the years.
( Click on the pictures below for a larger view. )