American Legion. Designs Submitted by School Children for Alaska’s Flag, 1927
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of the entries and color slides of 36 entries created in 2002 for the Museum exhibit. The entries at one time numbered 142. Of those, 11 are missing and one (Benny’s winning design) is now housed separately in the Alaska State Museum. The collection is arranged by number of entry, presumably assigned by the American Legion judges. In 2001, tape that had covered the names of students who entered the contest was removed.
The inventory lists the location, the physical measurement of each entry, the student’s name and town and whether a slide of the entry is in the collection. The slides are housed in Box 1. Each item’s full number includes the MS # followed by the Box # and then the entry number. Example: The drawing by Charles Lange, from Seward, is number 14-1-2-17.
Dates
- 1927
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available for viewing, but photocopies are not allowed.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.
Biographical / Historical
At the request of Governor George A. Parks, the Alaska Chapter of the American Legion conducted a contest among the Territory’s school children to choose Alaska’s Flag Design. Benny Benson, a thirteen-year-old who lived in the Jesse Lee Home in Seward, submitted the winning design of the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper, set against a field of blue. The design was adopted by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1927.
In 2002, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its adoption, the contest entries and Benny’s winning design (now separated from the Library’s collection and housed in the Alaska State Museum) were featured in the Museum’s exhibit: Eight Stars of Gold: the Story of Alaska’s Flag. The exhibit catalog of the same name by guest curator, India M. Spartz, details Benny Benson’s life, the Jesse Lee Home, the American Legion contest, the origin of the state song, and its relevance to Alaska’s search for statehood.
Extent
10 boxes : 130 drawings ; 36 color slides
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Alaska Territorial Historical Library and Museum received this collection after the contest in 1927.
Existence and Location of Copies
Collection digitized and available for viewing via Alaska's Digital Archives.
Processing Information
In 2001, the drawings were re-matted and re-housed under the direction of Alaska State Museum conservator Scott Carroll. Tape that had covered the contest entrants’ name on the verso of the drawing was removed. An inventory of entrants’ names was then compiled.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the American Legion. Designs Submitted by School Children for Alaska’s Flag, 1927
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Processed by: Kay Shelton, Feb. 2002; Revised by: Jacki Swearingen, Sept. 2014; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Jacki Swearingen
- Date
- 2019 June
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Alaska State Library - Historical Collections Finding Aids Repository
PO Box 110571
Juneau AK 99811-0571 US
907-465-2920
907-465-2925
907-465-2151 (Fax)
asl.historical@alaska.gov