Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/09/2010 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB43 | |
| SJR24 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 43 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SJR 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 43-SECOND VERSE OF ALASKA'S STATE SONG
9:02:41 AM
The first order of business to come before the committee was SB
43. Chair Menard passed the gavel over to Vice-Chair Meyer.
SENATOR MERNARD said SB 43 adds an official second verse to the
Alaska Flag song. SB 43 has a zero fiscal note and will
implement something music lovers and Alaska history buffs have
wanted for years, as well as paying homage to the woman who
wrote the second verse out of love for Alaska and its Native
population. The flag song was adopted by the territorial
legislature in 1955. The song was written by Juneau resident
Marie Drake, who worked for the Department of Education. Carol
Beery Davis wrote the second verse, the subject of SB 43, in
1987. The recent 50th anniversary of statehood makes this the
appropriate time to add the second verse. Passing SB 43 would be
a long overdue honor to Carol Beery Davis and pay homage to
Benny Benson, who designed the Alaska Flag and is mentioned in
the second verse. Senator Menard pointed out that both houses of
the Legislature heard the second verse when the Alaska Youth
Choir sang just before the opening of the 2010 session.
9:05:36 AM
CONSTANCE DAVIS, 3rd daughter of Trevor Davis and Carol Beery
Davis, gave a short history of the relationship between the
song, the flag and her family. Her mother [Carol Beery Davis]
played the organ for the silent movie theatre and was good
friends with Elinor Dusenbury and Marie Drake, who worked for
the Commissioner of Education.
9:06:49 AM
MS. CONSTANCE DAVIS said that Governor Parks, after seeing the
Rotunda of Flags in Washington DC, worked with the American
Legion to start a contest [to design an Alaska flag]. She said
her father was on the committee that chose the flag. The
Commissioner of Education thought it would be a good idea for
the school children to have a little flag and a copy of the Flag
Act. Marie Drake thought the children should have a jingle
instead; she wrote it and travelled to schools all over Alaska
to introduce [the jingle]. Elinor Dusenbury had to leave Alaska
and go to Omaha with her husband; she was very homesick for
Alaska. She saw a picture of the flag and the jingle and she
wrote the music to go along with it.
9:09:10 AM
SENATOR KOOKESH asked for clarification as to who wrote the
music for the verse.
MS. CONSTANCE DAVIS replied that Elinor Dusenbury wrote the
music.
SENATOR KOOKESH said they then turned it into the official song.
MS. CONSTANCE DAVIS replied yes.
SENATOR KOOKESH said he is amazed no one has written this
history down; he never saw it in history books during his
schooling and would love to see it in the history books.
MS. CONSTANCE DAVIS said her mother [Carol Beery Davis] wrote
the first little booklet on it and the City Museum has put out a
booklet about it too. She said her mother originally came to
Alaska for a temporary job but stayed 70 years; when she wrote
the second verse she was 95 years old.
9:11:44 AM
CONSTANCE MONRO commended the Senate for taking leadership on
this and stated that she has received joyful emails from around
the state. She mentioned that the late Senator Ferguson and the
late Representatives Alfred Widmark and Alvin Osterback worked
diligently to try to get someone to donate this second verse.
MS. MONRO said she is representing Alaska Sisterhood Camp 2 and
Dorothy Wallace who was the first person from the camp to come
and speak to the Legislature in support of the second verse
right after Carol Beery Davis wrote it. Ms. Monro said she is
the chairperson for the Juneau Unitarian Universalists
Fellowship which endorses SB 43 and would not be here without
the help of the Native Alaskan population. She explained that
they helped her get her first job, got her into the University
and took care of her family when she lost a son. She thanked the
Native community for sharing their lives' treasures.
9:14:22 AM
CHAIR MENARD asked Ms. Munro to share how Native people wanted a
white person to write the second verse.
MS. MONRO said the Native Coalition had discussed having a
contest for the second first. Alvin Osterback and others were
concerned that a contest would cause stress, cost money and
would not be appropriate. Frank Ferguson said it would be nice
if the second verse was a gift. They waited. In 1987 when Ms.
Monro lost her job and was going to move to Boston, she talked
to Carol Beery Davis about how a second verse had never been
gifted. She received a phone call the next day from Ms. Davis
who had stayed up and wrote the second verse in one night.
CHAIR MENARD asked how old Carol Beery Davis was when she wrote
it.
MS. MONRO answered that Carol Beery Davis was 95 years old. She
explained that they gave the second verse to interested
legislators right away and Fairbanks accepted the verse into
their archives.
SENATOR KOOKESH asked how many years Ms. Monro has worked on
making the second verse official.
MS. MONRO replied since 1987. She explained that the House
sponsored a similar bill three times but it never got out of
committee in the Senate. She spoke to the Pioneers of Alaska at
their state convention and they did not want to add anything to
a piece of history. She could not convince them that Carol Beery
Davis was a part of that history; she wrote the Alaska Flag book
and was a pioneer of Alaska.
9:17:53 AM
MS. MONRO explained that support from the Pioneers of Alaska was
needed for a bill to make it through the Senate at that time.
SENATOR KOOKESH said he has known Ms. Monro for many years and
always thought she was an Alaska Native.
MS. MONRO said she is adopted and a life member of Alaska Native
Sisterhood Camp 2.
LORRAINE HAUSMAN, Kodiak, said she came to Alaska in 1952 and
Benny Benson was a great friend of her parents. Mr. Benson's
family took her family in when they first arrived until they
built permanent housing. She said it hurt her heart when she
heard people wanted to add a verse to the Alaska Flag song. The
second verse is beautiful but the song itself is a work or art
that was created at a certain time and accepted by the people of
Alaska.
9:20:30 AM
MS. HAUSMAN said that everything Benny Benson said about his
flag design is already in the song. She felt it should stay a
simple jingle about a simple flag. She felt it is disrespectful
to add something to a work of art; changing a simple, beautiful
part of Alaska history would hurt many people. She said she
remembers singing the song with Benny Benson and a big smile on
his face. She explained that the song means a lot to her
personally and she would like to see it stay the way it is. She
hoped the song did not gain an addition; another song would be
good, but she would hate to see this one changed.
9:23:17 AM
SENATOR KOOKESH commented that over the years he has seen people
look at the Alaska Native differently than when he first started
in politics. He said an Alaska Native designed the flag and
Alaska Natives need to be recognized for their contribution to
the state and its people. If the second verse is not included
the non-Native people won't be hurt, it is the Alaska Natives
[that will be hurt.] He explained that the state seal depicts
stacks of wheat, a sailboat, a powerboat, sunshine and trees but
not one depiction of the Alaska Native community. He said he did
not think anything was wrong with adding a second verse with one
statement about the Alaska Native community. As an Alaska
Native, he felt he could say that Benny Benson would agree that
the Alaska Native community needs to be recognized for its
contributions to the state and people. The Alaska Native
Brotherhood has records of Benny Benson participating in an
Alaska Native community. Senator Kookesh said it would be a
dishonor for him not to stand up and say he wants some
recognition for Benny Benson and other Alaska Natives.
SENATOR KOOKESH pointed out that singing the second verse would
not be required. He said people use the second verse already and
will continue to. The legislature would just be recognizing the
use of the second verse and making it official.
9:26:17 AM
SENATOR MEYER closed public testimony.
SENATOR PASKVAN moved to report SB 43 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, the motion carried.
9:27:29 AM
At Ease from 9:27 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
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