May it mean to you The blue of the sea, the evening sky, The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby; The gold of the early sourdough's dreams, The precious gold of the hills and streams; The brilliant stars in the northern sky, The "Bear," the "Dipper," and, shining high, The great North Star with its steady light, O'er land and sea a beacon bright.

[1] Alaska's official flag is based on Benny Benson's design, which was submitted in a Territory-wide contest for schoolchildren sponsored by the American Legion in 1926.

At that time Benny was a thirteen-year-old seventh-grader of Russian-Aleut and Swedish descent, studying at the Territorial School at Seward and a resident of the Jesse Lee Mission Home.

The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.”[2] Alaska Department of Education employee Marie Drake echoed Benny Benson's explanation of his design in a poem she wrote in 1935.

The wife of the Commanding Officer of the Chilkoot Barracks at Haines from 1933 to 1936, she had fallen deeply in love with Alaska, but she left when her husband was transferred.

In the summer of 1938, Dusenbury visited Juneau and played her setting of the poem for Marie on the piano at the Baranof Hotel.

[4] Benny Benson chose the background color of the flag to represent both the blue sky and the forget-me-not.