9/10/18
Mottoes, nicknames and flags, oh my!

In Kentucky, where I grew up, the state motto was “United we stand, Divided we fall”. The state seal had a frontier man (leather fringed jacket, moccasins and all) shaking hands with a city slicker/politician type in a frock coat. As a child, I thought the motto had to do with the two guys, but maybe not.  One source says the frock coat guy represents England while the leather stocking guy represents the new world frontier. Whatever.

The state seal has always had the two guys, but apparently the first version had them in a fierce hug.  Look left to see the original seal.  Imagine how popular that would be in a conservative place like Kentucky today!  Maybe we could do one in rainbow colors?



That was modified to an image of two guys standing awkwardly holding hands.  One wag said it was because they were so drunk on bourbon that they had to hang on to each other just to stand up.  At any rate, since the current version (in the flag above) was always around when I was growing up, I didn’t pay too much attention to the details.

The state nickname is The Bluegrass State. Why blue?

This common nickname for the Kentucky is given because of the vast expanses of Bluegrass across parts of the Commonwealth. Bluegrass is not really blue. It's green. In the spring, however, when seen from a distance, the blue-purple buds of Bluegrass lend a bluish tint to the landscape.

Sounds nice, doesn't it?  I spent 10 years of my life in bluegrass country, and I have to tell you, it’s not blue. Not even close. Sure is pretty country, though.

And no, I have no idea why it's a commonwealth instead of a state. Don't ask.

As I’ve moved from place to place, I was never very interested in the state seals and mottoes and nicknames.  I just this minute looked up West Virginia, where I lived for awhile. It’s got the cousin of the Kentucky frontier guy leaning on a rock next to what is probably a coal miner. Actually, the frontier guy might be a farmer. He’s got an ax and is growing corn and wheat.  Who knows.  The motto is great though: Montani Semper Liberi:  The mountains are always free. That’s pure West Virginia right there.  

California’s seal has Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom, overlooking what is apparently the Sacramento River. The state motto is Eureka! in honor of the discovery of gold in the 1840s.  I may have uttered the same word when we moved there from Kentucky…

However, what brought about this entire essay is the motto that appears on the state flag of my new home in Nevada:  Battle Born.  That piqued my curiosity.  Was it a battle that finally allowed the territory to become a state?  Was it a battle to get the state accepted into the Union? Nope. Wikipedia will tell you it’s simply because Nevada was admitted to the Union during the Civil War, but it was really political chicanery at work.

The year was 1864.  The Civil War raged in the east and south with devastating battles at Spottsylvania, Wilderness and Cold Harbor. Abraham Lincoln was running for his second term, and the Republicans were desperate to ensure his re-election.  Nevada was happy to help donate its electoral votes to the cause, but they weren’t a state yet.  So in a rush to be admitted to the union before the first Tuesday in November, the legislature created a constitution and telegraphed it in its entirety, in Morse code, to Washington for approval by congress in time.  It remains the longest telegram ever sent. And expensive! It cost almost $3,500 then, which would be over $56,000 today. It turns out Lincoln didn’t need the votes, but we were there for him, just in case. Anyway, we were and are Battle Born. Sadly, the OFFICIAL state motto is the wimpy "All for our Country".

They should have stuck with Battle Born. Oo-rah!