The Big Dipper is one of the most recognizable constellations in the Northern Hemisphere. For millennia people have used it as a means of Navigation; a way to orient themselves in an ever changing world. This series of caches pay homage to the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper.
Featured on the Alaska State Flag, the Big Dipper has a special tie-in with the Northern-most state in the Union. The final two stars in the constellation, Merak and Dubhe, serve to orient the navigator to Polaris and point a direct line to that northerly star.
This series of caches will offer a variety of puzzles to give some variety to local and visiting cachers alike. The caches are spread out over multiple trail systems and urban environments.
Solve these celestial puzzles to collect each cache in the series. May the stars guide you on your journey!
"Eight stars of gold on a field of blue-
Alaska’s flag, may it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flowers 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,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska’s flag to Alaskan’s dear,
The simple flag of the last frontier."
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.
The contest winner was Benny Benson a thirteen year-old 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 flag was flown for the first time on 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.
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.
This cache honors Benny Benson and the legacy he left on the 50th State. To find this cache simply use the following:
N 58 AB.CDE', W 134 FG.HJK'
- A - Number of legs amputated
- B - Benny's age at his death (second digit)
- C - (K-F)
- D - Benny's age when he designed the flag (second digit)
- E - The month that the flag design was unanimously adopted
- F - The year the flag was first flown (third digit)
- G - The year his brother Carl died (fourth digit)
- H - How many thousands of dollars Benny won
- J - The grade Benny was in when he won the contest
- K - The year he met his second wife (fourth digit)