Saturday, August 25, 2012

(18) Utah

Capitol: Salt Lake City.

Yay, I'm back! Every summer I have all these grand plans to bead 3-4 hours a day while why kids entertain themselves. HA! This year I just admitted defeat, realizing that I would not be beading until school started. Made for a much less stressful summer. But now the devil-children are back in school, and I finally have some time to myself.

I have been having a hard time figuring out what to do for many of the remaining states. Finally jumped back in with Utah. My first thought was bicycling, since we love to go to Moab, Utah mountain biking. Hard to make a little, teeny bike out of beads though. However, another thing I like about Utah is the beehive on the state highway signs. I also get a kick out of that fact that Utah's state emblem is the beehive. Makes me giggle thinking that the state that is home to the Mormon faith --- a religion that accepted polygamy in the early days (but they do not now, just the crazy fundamentalists who broke from the church over their beliefs) has an emblem that supports female polygamy.... since the queen bee mates with several males. OK, I know it is a stretch, but it still makes me giggle.

I decided to do a little research on the whole beehive thing.

So, why is Utah the beehive state? According to States.com: "The beehive became the official state emblem on March 4, 1959. Utahans relate the beehive symbol to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance. The beehive was chosen as the emblem for the provisional State of Deseret in 1848 and was maintained on the seal of the State of Utah when Utah became a state in 1896. "

According to "Salt Lake Magazine", "...few native and resident Utahns know the reason Utah is called "The Beehive State." It has nothing to do with insects-the state ranks 24th in the U.S. in honey production-and everything to do with ancient symbolism. But I'm surprised how few native and resident Utahns know the reason Utah is called "The Beehive State." It has nothing to do with insects-the state ranks 24th in the U.S. in honey production-and everything to do with ancient symbolism.

"The beehive has been used as a symbol for thousands of years," according to historian Mark Staker, an expert on early Mormon anthropology at the LDS Church's Family History Center. "The Bible refers to the Promised Land as "the land of milk and honey." "

This article had lots more interesting info. If you are interested, go to http://www.saltlakemagazine.com/blog/2010/07/behind-the-beehive/.

While researching the Utah-beehive connection I stumbled upon another interesting fact about Utah: On May 10, 1869, two steam locomotives met at Promontory, Utah, for the "Joining of the Rails Ceremony," at which the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads completed the transcontinental route. The event was crucial to the development of the American West because it made cross-country travel more convenient and economical.

Soooo... I decided to use both a beehive and a railroad track in this pin. The background symbolizes the beautiful red rock landscape in Moab, Arches, etc.

No comments: