| "Alaska" - 49TH STATE FLAG HISTORY |
Benny Benson was born in Chignik, a small village on the south shore of the Alaska Peninsula on
October 12, 1913. John Ben Benson, Jr. was his full given name.
His father, John Ben Benson, was a Swedish fisherman and his mother, Tatiana Schebolein, was an
Aleut-Russian. During these years Alaska Native villages were being hit with waves of devastating
epidemics and at the age of 3, Benny, his younger brother and older sister lost their mother to
pneumonia and lost their house to a fire. This series of events caused Ben Benson, Sr. to split up his
family. Benny and his brother Carl were sent to an orphanage in Unalaska and Elsie was sent to
Oregon.
The orphanage was called the Jesse Lee Home and it served hundreds of Aleut orphans. The
orphanage provided for the children in Unalaska until 1925 and then was moved to a larger facility
having a more central location in Seward.
The Flag In the first months of 1926, Territorial Gov. George Parks was working hard for the cause of
statehood. During a trip to Washington, D.C., he saw the flags of the 48 states flying outside the old
Post Office Building and after conversing with the postmaster general he was convinced that Alaska
also needed a flag to fly alongside the others. He persuaded the Alaska American Legion to hold a
contest open to all Alaskan children grades 7-12 to design a flag for the state.
By January of 1927, the contest rules were circulated to schools throughout the Alaska territory. The
rules called for 8½ x 11-inch paper, color or plain ink. The first stage of the competition was to take
place at the local level and each town was to organize a panel of judges sending only the 10 best
designs on to Juneau. By the deadline of March 1, 1927, 142 designs were forwarded from around the
state .
Benny actually drew more than one entry. One had a dogsled and two huskies on a bright green
backdrop. A second was a massive mountain rising in front of a yellow sun. And the one that won, had
the number 1867 under the Big Dipper on a royal blue background.
The contest winner was Benny Benson, a seventh-grader at the territorial school at Seward. His design
of eight stars to represent the Big Dipper, placed on a blue background to represent the sky, and the
forget-me-not flower, was a unanimous winner by the panel of judges. By May of 1927 the flag design
was unanimously adopted by the two houses of the territorial legislature.
On his design submission, Benny had also written some words of explanation: “The blue field is for the
Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska 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 strenth (sic).”
The original flag, made of blue silk and appliquéd gold stars, was first flown July 9, 1927. During this
ceremony in Seward, Benny was awarded a watch with the flag emblem on it and a $1,000 educational
scholarship. The watch he donated to the Alaska State Museum in 1963.
Since the year 1927 was only four years after Native Alaskans received citizenship and the right to
vote, this event became a source of great pride to native Alaskans. Natives throughout the state hailed
Benny as a hero for winning the contest.
After graduating high school in 1932, Benny left the Jesse Lee Home. He returned to the Aleutians to
work with his father on a fox farm at Ugaiushak Island. The price received for furs began to decline so
Benny moved to Seattle in 1936. He used his scholarship money of $1,000 to enroll in the Hemphill
Diesel Engineering School for diesel engine repair, and in 1938 married Betty Van Hise. The couple's
first child,Anna May, was born in October of 1938. Their second daughter, Charlotte Abbot, was born
in June of 1940. Benny was divorced in 1950, and he moved with his daughters to Kodiak where he
became an airplane mechanic.
Benny had the opportunity to meet up with his sister in the mid 1950s, 30 years after their separation;
she died soon after. His brother, Carl, also died in 1965. Due to an old injury, Benny's right leg had to
be amputated in 1969, and shortly after, he met and married a former Jesse Lee resident, Anna
Sophie Jenks in 1972. He died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 58.
October 12, 1913. John Ben Benson, Jr. was his full given name.
His father, John Ben Benson, was a Swedish fisherman and his mother, Tatiana Schebolein, was an
Aleut-Russian. During these years Alaska Native villages were being hit with waves of devastating
epidemics and at the age of 3, Benny, his younger brother and older sister lost their mother to
pneumonia and lost their house to a fire. This series of events caused Ben Benson, Sr. to split up his
family. Benny and his brother Carl were sent to an orphanage in Unalaska and Elsie was sent to
Oregon.
The orphanage was called the Jesse Lee Home and it served hundreds of Aleut orphans. The
orphanage provided for the children in Unalaska until 1925 and then was moved to a larger facility
having a more central location in Seward.
The Flag In the first months of 1926, Territorial Gov. George Parks was working hard for the cause of
statehood. During a trip to Washington, D.C., he saw the flags of the 48 states flying outside the old
Post Office Building and after conversing with the postmaster general he was convinced that Alaska
also needed a flag to fly alongside the others. He persuaded the Alaska American Legion to hold a
contest open to all Alaskan children grades 7-12 to design a flag for the state.
By January of 1927, the contest rules were circulated to schools throughout the Alaska territory. The
rules called for 8½ x 11-inch paper, color or plain ink. The first stage of the competition was to take
place at the local level and each town was to organize a panel of judges sending only the 10 best
designs on to Juneau. By the deadline of March 1, 1927, 142 designs were forwarded from around the
state .
Benny actually drew more than one entry. One had a dogsled and two huskies on a bright green
backdrop. A second was a massive mountain rising in front of a yellow sun. And the one that won, had
the number 1867 under the Big Dipper on a royal blue background.
The contest winner was Benny Benson, a seventh-grader at the territorial school at Seward. His design
of eight stars to represent the Big Dipper, placed on a blue background to represent the sky, and the
forget-me-not flower, was a unanimous winner by the panel of judges. By May of 1927 the flag design
was unanimously adopted by the two houses of the territorial legislature.
On his design submission, Benny had also written some words of explanation: “The blue field is for the
Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska 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 strenth (sic).”
The original flag, made of blue silk and appliquéd gold stars, was first flown July 9, 1927. During this
ceremony in Seward, Benny was awarded a watch with the flag emblem on it and a $1,000 educational
scholarship. The watch he donated to the Alaska State Museum in 1963.
Since the year 1927 was only four years after Native Alaskans received citizenship and the right to
vote, this event became a source of great pride to native Alaskans. Natives throughout the state hailed
Benny as a hero for winning the contest.
After graduating high school in 1932, Benny left the Jesse Lee Home. He returned to the Aleutians to
work with his father on a fox farm at Ugaiushak Island. The price received for furs began to decline so
Benny moved to Seattle in 1936. He used his scholarship money of $1,000 to enroll in the Hemphill
Diesel Engineering School for diesel engine repair, and in 1938 married Betty Van Hise. The couple's
first child,Anna May, was born in October of 1938. Their second daughter, Charlotte Abbot, was born
in June of 1940. Benny was divorced in 1950, and he moved with his daughters to Kodiak where he
became an airplane mechanic.
Benny had the opportunity to meet up with his sister in the mid 1950s, 30 years after their separation;
she died soon after. His brother, Carl, also died in 1965. Due to an old injury, Benny's right leg had to
be amputated in 1969, and shortly after, he met and married a former Jesse Lee resident, Anna
Sophie Jenks in 1972. He died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 58.
| Thirteen-year old Benny Benson holds a handmade flag shortly after winning theflag design contest.Photo courtesy of Alaska State Library |
| Benny Benson Memorial Seward Alaska |
