| Could you tell me the origin of the words "forget me not" |
| Forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris) is Alaska's State Flower. History has it that the Pioneers of Alaska formed a lodge and only men who had arrived in Alaska before January 1, 1900 could join. It and two other lodges were formed in 1907. In 1908, the merged into one grand lodge known as the Grand Igloo. The first constitution of the Grand Igloo, adopted in Nome in 1908, said ?The official flower of the Pioneers of Alaska shall be the Alaska For-get-me-not.? In 1912, the spelling was changed to ?Forget-me-not.? Five years later, women formed ?Auxiliaries? to the Grand Igloo. They immediately adopted the forget-me-not as their unofficial emblem. The tiny blue flower with the yellow center had clearly captured Alaskans? hearts. Later, members of the Grand Igloo decided the forget-me-not would make a fine symbol of the Territory of Alaska. The bill to adopt the forget-me-not included a poem written by Esther Birdsall Darling: . So in thinking for an emblem For this Empire of the North We will choose this azure flower That the golden days bring forth, For we want men to remember That Alaska came to stay Though she slept unknown for ages And awakened in a day. So although they say we?re living In the land that God forgot, We?ll recall Alaska to them With our blue Forget-me-not. Hope this answers your question! |
