HISTORY OF THE FLAGS OF ZONTA COLLECTION

By Ann McNallen-Makowski (edited)

In 1957 President Eleanor Phillips saw the beautiful flag collection of the Pan American Round Table organization and decided that a collection of flags from the countries represented in Zonta International would be a prized possession of the Zonta Club of West Hidalgo County.  She purchased the materials and commissioned the flags to be hand-sewn by Myrtle Hembrock, a sister Zontian.  With the materials and a book of flags, Myrtle went to work. 

The original nineteen flags were first presented to West Hidalgo County Zonta Club in October of 1957 at the Casa de Palmas Hotel, a historic building still in use as a hotel and meeting place.  Betty Nichols (a Past District 10 Governor) took great interest in the flags and had flag poles and stands custom made.  Betty kept the Flag Collection complete and up to date.  By 1986 there were 48 Zonta countries.

Lillian Ranz, a Past District 10 Governor, was the official narrator for the Flag Ceremony for more than a decade.  Her oratorical talent, combined with her Zonta enthusiasm made a memorable impact on everyone who heard it.  Pat Gordon, a Past District 10 Governor, followed as narrator for a few years; then Ann McNallen was chosen to do the presentation. The District 10 Governor has permission to choose someone to read the narration, but it is the duty of the Zonta Club of West Hidalgo County to have a member prepared.





 Betty Nichols was the caretaker of the flags as long as she lived, then the job was given to Dina Trevino, assisted by Ann McNallen-Makowski and Jeanette Hawkins. Ann took charge of the flags in the 1990’s, assisted by Karen McNallen and Mariella Gorena, both 2^nd generation Zontians.

Dina sewed several of the flags that needed to be added or replaced until 1964, but with the expansion of the Zonta International world, it became necessary to purchase the flags.  One big exception:  When the design for the Zonta  Flag was introduced, and before it was available for purchase, Dina painstakingly hand sewed our elegant one, fringe and all. 

Our club owns and maintains the only complete set of current Zonta International Flags.  A full sized flag from each country with a chartered Zonta International Club is displayed in the order of the date of its country’s club charter.

The Collection is displayed locally each year at the Shining Stars of Hidalgo County Awards Banquet.  At each biannual District 10 Conference, the Parade of Flags, with accompanying narration,  is the opening ceremony. The Collection was transported to Dallas in 1990 for the Zonta International Convention and twenty years later it was paraded and displayed at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Zonta International Convention in San Antonio.