From today, June 21, in the neighborhood of Balloërveld, the books will go into the books as a historic day. Residents have their own flag for the first time and are planning to have the new tradition return every year, on June 21, the longest day.
“The Balloërveld is an area to be proud of, you can show that as residents through a flag,” says resident Jan Lammers. “A flag is more than a piece of fabric on a mast. It has a story and tells a piece of history.”
Gasteren, Taarlo, Balloo, all villages in the area have their own beautiful flag, according to Lammers. “Every self -respecting village in the area has a flag. We actually felt a bit disadvantaged. During a barbecue it was discussed and then we said: do you know what we are going to do? We are going to make a flag with each other and we did that.”
The hamlet of Balloërveld consists of eight houses and borders the well -known nature reserve with the same name. Every house now has the brand new flag. It contains Drenthe heath sheep of the herd on the Balloërveld. The color purple refers to the color of the heathland and the yellow color symbolizes the sandy plains nearby. “Just as with wages and at Gasteren, this flag also not only refers to what there is to see, but also those who lived, worked and slept here; shepherds, farmers, walkers, soldiers and nature lovers.”
They did the design themselves. “With the help of AI,” laughs Lammers. “The great thing about that is that you can indicate what you want. You make some adjustments and at some point you have something that you think: wow that’s him!”
Lammers is proud of the flag and his surroundings. “The Balloërveld is a beautiful area, it is always busy here with walkers and cyclists. There are only eight houses, but there is plenty to do here. I will never leave here again, yes between six boards,” he says.