NY Times: Ukrainian flags are on display all over Maine. Why? (No paywall)

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WALDOBORO, Maine — Clam diggers visit Elaine and Ralph Johnston’s hardware store in the coastal town of Waldoboro for shellfish rakes and waders. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, they have also been able to pick up a more unusual item: the Ukrainian flag, sold for $15.99.

Across Maine, the yellow and blue banner — yellow symbolizing the plentiful wheat fields of Ukraine, blue, the sky overhead — flutters from flagpoles. It decorates lobster buoys and barn doors, clapboard houses sprayed with sea salt and cabins nestled in pine forests.

Unlike in cities like New York and Chicago, where symbols of Ukrainian pride in part reflect a large diaspora community, there are few people of Ukrainian heritage in Maine. But the flag’s widespread presence in the state shows another kind of solidarity. Mainers like to say theirs is a flinty spirit, born of enduring harsh winters and an equally harsh economy.

“People over there are doing a good job fighting for their land and their survival, and we in Maine, we like that,” Ms. Johnston said. “We sell flags to people who feel the way we do.”

Ukrainian Flags Are on Display All Over Maine. Why? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/us/ukrainian-flags-are-on-display-all-over-maine-why.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhlSVUZBSbIRp86rQePhP7Oybp5iHv3IzPQQCxPiuMTRoSB4F_JbLsmbt83mjOFScUENbYuQvE30e9OeUxxTg3i6r21pKM4GQRn44SiQjFxmJvXQbEz9TKtYDXjdrolmLD64EjcYX3tD6yJzSYjd1568pU0dVv70SNYxvrFAfc1joclpYopAZpwQzYEYCWY7bK_W1glZoLwPlyL4RI2WupZRTnQgdWYjroDew1WAljEJ2httSd-sJgPfYNKY9usakIoa8H8gr4OCmd3LI7PB5U5R4fclb0Coqf5ZF_4N2J9zCqNw7r4ZTgt

Mine flies in CT.