I’d seen the Alaska state flag, of course, and thought it was a pretty flag, but I didn’t know the sweet origins of the flag until a recent trip to Seward. Here’s what I learned.
Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. As a territory, it was controlled by the federal government and flew only the US flag. But in 1926, the Territorial Governor George Parks thought having a flag might help Alaska become a state. A contest was held open to all Alaskan children in grades 7 to 12 to design Alaska’s new flag.
Benny Benson’s roots came from all over. His father was a Swedish fisherman and his mother an Aleut-Russian. A series of tragedies struck his family, and when Benny was three years old he was sent to an orphanage in Unalaska, which later relocated to Seward.
Benny was in 7th grade at a territorial school when he entered his flag design. It was the unanimous winner. He described his entry in his submission:
The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.
Benny was awarded a watch with the flag emblem and a $1,000 educational scholarship, which he used to study diesel mechanics,
When Alaska became the 49th state in 1959, Benny’s territorial flag became the official state flag.
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