Benny Benson Memorial, Alaska, United States

5jer b 5:00 PM Sep 25, 2018

Heartwarming story
Our driver stopped at the Benny Benson Memorial and told us the story about Benny Benson himself and his connection to the design of the Alaskan flag. The memorial is at mile 1.4 on the Seward Highway. The territory of Alaska had only flown the American flag after the Seward Purchase. But in 1927, members of the Alaskan American legion decided it was time for the territory to have a flag of its own and they held a design contest. There was a $100 prize for the winner. A 13 year old Benny Benson summited a design with a blue field, the North Star and the Big Dipper. His description was the blue was for the Alaska sky and the forget-me not, the North Star for the future of Alaska and the Big dipper for the Great Bear which represented strengthen and power. There were 700 entries and Benny Benson won. The story is made more heartwarming by Benny Benson's own personal history: his mother died when he was 3 years old and he was sent to an orphanage where he lived until young adulthood. He is well known and well thought of in the state of Alaska and this memorial is a wonder place to rest and reflect on his contribution to the state of Alaska.

4Maurene_K 5:00 PM Sep 4, 2017

FITTING MEMORIAL TO THE ORPHAN WHO CREATED ALASKA’S STATE FLAG
The Benny Benson Memorial is located in Benny Benson Memorial Park on Seward Lagoon and just off the Seward Highway that is the main roadway in Seward. The park contains a boardwalk and a court of flags as well as a large mock-up of his design that won the American Legion's contest for the Alaska State Flag in 1927. The flag has a blue background with Ursa Major and the North Star. The blue field represents the sky, the sea, and mountain lakes, as well as Alaska's wildflowers. The forget-me-not, the state flower, is blue. There is another structure there with what appears to be two wooden fish on either side of something. It was unclear to us what it represented. Benny Benson was an orphan who lived in a home in Seward. He was 13-years old when he entered the contest. His design won over 700 others submitted. He had to wait 32 years for Alaska to become a state in 1959. His design remained the chosen one for the state flag. Admission to this attraction is free. This is a fitting memorial to him and the state flag. We rate Benny Benson Memorial Park at 4.75. We recommend a visit to the park which is across the road and not too far from the Seward Boat Harbor and across Fourth Avenue and Alaska State Route 9 from the Seward Information office. If you found this review helpful, please click THANK below.