For #StoriesMW, we’re sharing the tale of Betty Ford’s “Bloomer Flag.”
After noticing the national flags flying on diplomats’ cars as they arrived at the White House as well as the American and Presidential flags displayed on the President’s car, Betty Ford had a question: “If the President gets flags, why shouldn’t the First Lady?”
In answer Dick Hartwig, then the head of Mrs. Ford’s Secret Service detail, and Rick Sardo, the White House Marine Corps aide, presented her with this specially designed flag on June 24, 1975. Hartwig’s friend Sarah Brinkerhoff handmade the pennant for the First Lady’s limousine.
Made of blue satin and trimmed in white lace with blue and red stars, the flag features a pair of red and white bloomers in the center as a play on Mrs. Ford’s maiden name, Bloomer. White text above the bloomers reads, “Don’t Tread on Me,” a slogan frequently used by the American colonists to garner up patriotism and morale during the American Revolution. The letters “E.R.A.” below stand for the Equal Rights Amendment, an indication of Mrs. Ford’s strong support for the proposed amendment. The ERA, an amendment which would give women equality under law through the United States Constitution, was first introduced to Congress in 1923 but was never given enough support to be ratified.
Although it had been designed for her car Mrs. Ford displayed the flag on her desk in the East Wing.
Betty Ford’s “Bloomer” Flag
First Lady Betty Ford Displaying Her "Bloomer" Flag with Agent Dick Hartwig, White House Marine Corps Aide Rick Sardo, White House Photographer David Hume Kennerly, and East Wing Staff Members Nancy Chirdon and Carolyn Porembka, 6/24/1975
