Thursday, December 1, 2016

Flag Company Inc And Alaska Flag

By Ernest Long


The largest state (in the area) of the United States, Alaska was admitted to the union as the 49th state in 1959 and lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent. Acquired by the United States in 1867, the territory was dubbed "Seward's Folly" after U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, who arranged to purchase the land from Russia.

But in 1926, Territorial Governor George Parks thought having a flag would help Alaska become a state. He persuaded the Alaska American Legion to hold a contest open to all Alaskan children grades 7 Ć¢€" 12 to design AlaskaĆ¢€™s new flag. By January of 1927, the contest rules were circulated to schools throughout the territory. One of the students participating in the contest was thirteen-year-old Benny Benson.

In 1926, the American Legion held a territorial contest for school kids in Alaska, for designing the official Alaska flag. Out of the overwhelming work of numerous contestants across the State, the innovative concept of Benny was selected.

Where others chose to represent the state with the help of polar bears and icebergs on the flag, Benny used his imagination in an unusual way. His Alaska flag had a blue background symbolizing the sky as well as the Forget-me-not flower. The 8 gold stars stood for the Big Dipper and the Pole star.

The blue background represents the sky, sea, mountains and the beautiful Forget-Me-Not flowers of Alaska. Eight gold stars are then placed to represent the Big Dipper star group and the North Star. The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major constellation, otherwise known as the Great Bear which represents strength. The biggest and brightest star farthest on the flag embodies the North Star and signifies Alaska being the most north while also looking forward to the future of the state.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior California flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of California flag for the future.




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