Two official flags from the Organizing Committee of 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, from the collection of Rev. J. Bernard Fell, president of the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee (LPOOC): a blue-and-white flag featuring the official logo flag of the Games, measuring 59″ x 34″, reading, "XIII Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid, 1980"; and a gold-fringed white official International Olympic Committee flag, measuring 62″ x 35″, featuring the Olympic rings. Flags like these would have flown all over Lake Placid during the Games, though these were evidently preserved indoors, given their fine condition.
These two flags originate from the collection Rev. J. Bernard Fell, president of the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee, who dedicated much of his life to sport in the Lake Placid region. He first served as chairman of the 1961 World Bobsled Championships in Lake Placid, and was an organizer of the Lake Placid Winter Sports Council, serving as its first chairman from 1961 to 1964. He worked tirelessly to bring the Olympic Games to his hometown, chairing the committees that offered bids for the 1968, 1976, and 1980 Olympic Winter Games. He was ordained a deacon in the United Methodist Church in 1966 and an elder in 1971; one of the highlights of his ministry was preaching the sermon at religious ceremonies of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in February 1980. The flags are accompanied by a letter of provenance from his son, Steve Fell.
