The New Year marks my sixteenth year
as a Washington state resident. And each day, I continue to learn about our gorgeous
Evergreen state. As examples, I now know its unofficial main dish is planked
salmon, while the official state foods are the apple, and our oh-so-delicious
Walla Walla sweet onions. And the decision to select the coast rhododendron as
our state flower? It turns out it was a
most contentious matter over one hundred years ago. Many folks advocated for
the ordinary clover. But 53% of Washington women voting chose the rhododendron.
That’s right – no men were allowed in this election. Who knew?
And since we are located but a whisper
from the Idaho border, I decided to see what facts and fun I could find out
about our neighboring Gem State. Huckleberries and potatoes are the official
state foods of Idaho (both delicious, but no surprise there). But I was both impressed
and delighted to read women were given the right to vote almost a quarter of a
century before the nineteenth amendment was passed. Way to go, Idaho!
Since I’ve lived in a number of other
states, I decided to continue my search for the new, the interesting and the
“how about that” information across the USA. Here are a few nuggets of my new knowledge:
The artist who embroidered the first Minnesota state flag studied tapestry
weaving at the Gobelins manufactory in Paris. My home state of Illinois has
popcorn as its official food (which helps explain why it was such a popular staple
in my childhood home). And residents of New Mexico can take great pride that
their enchanted state has three of the top ten cities in U.S. with the cleanest
air.
How did I find out these interesting
facts? It was incredibly easy and 100% free to use. And this amazing resource
is available to you too. Simply go online to www.neill-lib.org and click on “databases.”
And there it is – A to Z the USA – “the world’s largest database of U.S. State information, including U.S.
territories and the District of Columbia.” The sheer amount of information it
contains is truly mind boggling. State reports and articles, recipes, photos,
postcards, flags, specific information about each state’s culture, history,
geography, economy, indigenous people, famous residents, rivers, lakes, parks,
historical figures and on and on and on.
It’s incredibly thorough and just two clicks away.
It’s
perfect for school reports, state projects, cozy armchair traveling and so much
more. From soup to nuts, “A to Z the USA” is a free, easy library resource that
has it all. I encourage you and yours to explore it today and often!
Kathleen Ahern
Youth Librarian
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