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Life IS history in the making. Every word we say, everything we do becomes history the moment it is said or done. Life void of memories leaves nothing but emptiness. For those who might consider history boring, think again: It is who we are, what we do and why we are here. We are certainly individuals in our thoughts and deeds but we all germinated from seeds planted long, long ago.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Alaska: Wolf in the Wilderness

This Day in History: January 3, 1959 

Alaska, The Last Frontier
aka Land of the Midnight Sun


L is for Last Frontier - An Alaska Alphabet Book
Alaska's nickname is The Last Frontier. The state motto of Alaska is North to the Future, which was adopted in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial. The motto is meant to represent Alaska as a land of promise. Another nickname for Alaska is Land of the Midnight Sun. This nickname refers to Alaska's northern locations where, for a period of time in the summer, the sun never completely dips below the horizon. The sun is visible at midnight!

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/701/aerial-america/3399507/alaska
 
Starting in the 1890s and stretching in some places to the early 1910s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was officially incorporated as an organized territory in 1912. Alaska's capital, which had been in Sitka until 1906, was moved north to Juneau. Alaska is in the farthest northwest extremity of the North American continent. It was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867 for $7.2 million, which equates to approximately 2 cents per acre. Alaska became the 49th state in the USA on January 3, 1959.
Alaska is located in the northwest extremity of the North American continent.

Alaska's size compared with the 48 contiguous states.
Alaska State Flag
This beautiful flag was chosen from a flag-designing contest.
It was designed in 1926 by a 13-year-old Native American boy named Bennie Benson.
Bennie was from the village of Chignik;
he won a 1,000-dollar scholarship and a watch for winning the contest.
Alaska Great Seal
U.S. State Birds en.wikipedia.org
Alaska State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Alaska/AlaskaStateDogMalamute.html
Alaska State Dog: Alaskan Malamute
The Alaskan Malamute was designated the official state dog of Alaska on April 18th, 2010, thanks to the efforts of students at Polaris K-12 School in Anchorage (guided by teachers Terry Powers, Jamie Rodriguez, and Carol Bartholomew). Dog mushing was recognized as the official state sport of Alaska in 1972.
In the Alaskan Malamute’s 5000 plus years in North America, it's been involved in every important era of Alaska's history.
 Alpine forget-me-not; photo by Mike65ie on Flickr
(noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike).

Alaska State Flower: Forget-me-not

The Forget-me-not is the state's official flower and
bears the same blue and gold as the state flag.
Source: en.wikipedia.org

For all State Symbols of Alaska click HERE!

 A contemporary version of the state song of Alaska. Lyrics by Marie Drake - Melody by Elinor Dusenbury - Sung by Adele Morgan. Alaska Flag Day (July 9th) was established to pay tribute to our state's flag designer, 13-year old Aleut orphan Benny Benson, and his two-colored flag. It celebrates the first time Alaska's flag was unfurled over the Jesse Lee Home (orphanage) in Seward. Benny was living at the orphanage when he designed the eight stars of gold on a field of blue as part of a state-wide contest for school children. Buildings, roads and schools are named in his honor.

Wolf in the Wilderness

http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
  "north to the future"
a land of extremes
boasts bitterest of winters
most splendid of scenes

http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
 boreal Alaskan tundra
stumpy shrubs, velvety moss
yield patches of green
over, under, and across


http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
sheer euphoria
opens the mind's eye
drawing upon memories
of days long gone by

http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
  no streetlights
no man-made sounds
silence amid solitude
awareness abounds

http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
   a wolf in the wilderness
ne'er abandoned nor alone
watches, waits for its prey
without fear of the unknown

http://bucktrack.com/Alaska_Photos.html
 ©2014 Sharla Lee Shults

Alaska is the wolf in the wilderness —
loyalty among her own within an affectionate, playful nature.


Arctic portal on the way to the North Pole has amazing auroras.
These Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, shine above
Eielson Air Force Base, Bear Lake, Alaska.
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/akland.htm

 Alaska Facts and Trivia

Next state by month: #45 Utah - Jan 4, 1896

 

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