Today marks the anniversary of the day the great state of Missouri joined these United States of America. Missouri was officially admitted as the 24th state on August 10, 1821. That means that The Show Me State is 194 years old today. (Funny, she doesn't look a day over 176). I wonder if there will be a huge party in 2021 to celebrate the bicentennial?
Today I officially end my 51 part series "These United States." (The 50 States and Washington, DC)
I started last April 28 with Maryland and just finished on March 4 with Vermont, which I updated today.
Now, you might be thinking, "Wait, in what parallel universe is Maryland first and Vermont last??" Well, let me tell you! I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" last year; it's about a woman named Julie who challenged herself to try every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook within a set amount of time (a year, I think). I thought of doing something similar, and hit upon writing about each of the States.
At first I thought of going in alphabetical order, but I would have to figure out how often I would post (once a week? four a month?). Then I thought of going in chronological order by year.....but that would be the same issue as the alphabetical listing: how often would I do it? Then I happened to hear that March 1 was my current state Ohio's "birthday." What if I linked my posts to each state's "birthday"? Of course, if I did that, I would either have to start with the next state, whichever it would be, or wait until January of 2013 to start with Alaska. Obviously, I didn't wait. :-)
So here is how I organized it....I listed the states in chronological order, then re-copied them into a calendar notebook. That is how I can tell what order they joined ("Ohio joined seven years after Tennessee (June 1796) and nine years before Louisana (April 1812)"), but could see that Florida (3-3) was one day before Vermont (3-4)!
One last thing...when I decided to write these I wanted to do something different besides the State Bird, the State Flower, etc etc blah blah blah. I hit on the idea of Famous People, but unfortunately, I really don't know a lot of recent sports figures. I gave it the old college try, but you may have noticed that "Sportsmen from (whichever)" fell by the wayside about five months ago. Sorry!!
I don't know if YOU learned anything exceptional by reading this series, but I know I had a blast doing the homework for it. Four states were independent countries before they joined the Union!? Virginia used to be the majority of the East Coast? Amazing. Plus, I realized (again) that we live in a wonderful, blessed place. There are SO many places in America I want to visit now!! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed doing it. :-)
Lastly, here's the list of the Fifty States of the USA in chronological order. The first thirteen states are in order of when they ratified the US Constitution. Delaware signed first, on December 7, 1787, so it gets to claim The First State. The other States are in order as to when they were admitted, ending with Hawaii on August 21, 1959.
1. Delaware
2. Pennsylvania
3. New Jersey
4. Georgia
5. Connecticut
6. Massachusetts
7. Maryland
8. South Carolina
9. New Hampshire
10. Virginia
11. New York
12. North Carolina
13. Rhode Island
14. Vermont
15. Kentucky
16. Tennessee
17. Ohio
18. Louisiana
19. Indiana
20. Mississippi
21. Illinois
22. Alabama
23. Maine
24. Missouri
25. Arkansas
26. Michigan
27. Florida
28. Texas
29. Iowa
30. Wisconsin
31. California
32. Minnesota
33. Oregon
34. Kansas
35. West Virginia
36. Nevada
37. Nebraska
38. Colorado
39. North Dakota (or vice versa)
40. South Dakota (probably)
41. Montana
42. Washington
43. Idaho
44. Wyoming
45. Utah
46. Oklahoma
47. New Mexico
48. Arizona
49. Alaska
50. Hawaii
Today is the anniversary of Maine being admitted to our United States of America.
Date of Admittance: March 15, 1820
Parentage:There is some question as to where the name came from. Some say that the name is from a French province. Others say that it is a mis-spelling of the word "main," as in "main-land." Either way, Maine started out as part of Massachusetts until they disagreed with Boston's policies one too many times and petitioned for separation.
Place in the Family
Number 23
Maine was admitted three months after Alabama (Dec 1819) and one year before Missouri (Aug 1821).
Motto
"I Direct"
Which is why Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford both retired to Maine after they left Hollywood.
Nick-Name
The Pine Tree State
Little known fact: 75% of all pine trees were from Maine until Washington and Portland joined the Union and displaced Maine's pine tree ranking.
On the License Plate
Pine trees, what else?
State Flag
A blue flag with the state symbol in the center. Yes, another one. However, this is the LAST one.
First City You Probably Think of
When You Think "Maine":
Portland
Actual State Capital:Augusta
State Size (Area) is 39th of 50 Population is closer to 40th of 50
(per 2000 Census figures)
Maine Sports: There are NO professional sports teams in Maine.
Anybody From Maine Ever Grow Up To Be President? No! 41st Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller was as close as Maine has ever gotten.
Maine Celebrities
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
poet, "Paul Revere's Ride"
L. L. Bean
outdoors-man & entrepreneur
Reta Shaw
character actress,
"Mary Poppins," "The Ghose & Mrs. Muir" etc.
Stephen King
author, "The Shining," etc.
Linda Lavin
actress, "Alice"
Andrea Martin
actress, comedienne
Judd Nelson
actor, "Breakfast Club"
Christopher Daniel Barnes
actor, "Little Mermaid"
David E. Kelley
writer/producer, "Ally McBeal," "Boston Legal," etc.
Patrick Dempsey
actor, "Enchanted"
Fictional Mainers
Dark Shadows
Collinsport, ME
Hawkeye Pierce
Crabapple Cove, ME
Carrie
unnamed town in Maine
Pete's Dragon
Passamaquoddy, ME (an actual town, believe it or not!)
Casper
Friendship, ME
The Iron Giant
Rockwell, ME
A Song For You.... "There's A New Girl In Town" I couldn't find any famous singer or band from Maine,
so here's the theme from ALICE as sung by its star, Linda Lavin!
Today is the anniversary of Vermont being admitted to our United States of America. Vermont was the first "Newbie" to join the Original Thirteen Colonies. Way to go, Vermont!
Date of Admittance: March 4, 1791
Parentage: The
name is from the French term "Vert Mount" which means "Green Mountains."
Place in the Family
Number 14
As mentioned above, Vermont was the first State to be admitted after the Original Thirteen had organized as a new nation. In fact, Vermont was The Republic of Vermont immediately prior to joining the US. It is one of only four other States that were independant nations before joining the US. Rhode Island was one year earlier (May 1790) and Kentucky joined one year later (June 1792).
Motto
"Freedom & Unity"
I kind of like this. Sounds like something a bunch of free-thinkers would come up with. Nick-Name
The Green Mountain State
At the time Vermont joined it would have been the greenest state. Other possibilities for that tile (such as Tennessee and Kentucky) had not joined the US yet.
On the License Plate
Who wouldn't guess that it would be green? ;-)
State Flag
A blue flag with the state symbol in the center.
Here's another one, cut fromt he same...er...cloth.
First City You Probably Think of
When You Think "Vermont"
Burlington?
Actual State Capital:Montpelier
State Size (Area) is 45th of 50 Population is closer to 49th of 50
(per 2000 Census figures) Which means that if not for Wyoming, Vermont would be the least-populated State.
Vermont Sports: There are no professional sports teams in Vermont.
Personal Russell Fact: My grandparents used to live in North Troy. My uncle and his family still does. So I have been to Vermont half-a-dozen times. It's beautiful, but cold in the winter!
Anybody From Vermont Ever Grow Up To Be President? Believe it or not, Yes! 21stPresident Chester A. Arthur was born in Vermont before making a name for himself in New York City.
30th President Calvin Coolidge grew up in Vermont before becoming Governor of Massachusetts and eventually President.
Oddly enough, both of these men became President after the untimely deathes of two men, both from Ohio!
