United States and It's Fabulous 50

Did you Know?

Indiana

Did you Know?

Indiana (IN, Ind., US-IN) There were a lot of firsts in Indiana. The first professional baseball game in 1871 and the first long-distance automobile race, Indianapolis 500, was in 1911, with a car that went 75 mph. The latest winner averages 167 mph.

During WWII the P-47 fighter-plane was manufactured in Evansville at Republic Aviation.

Marcella Gruelle of Indianapolis created the Raggedy Ann doll in 1914.

Santa Claus, Indiana receives over one half million letters and requests at Christmas time.

 

Historic Parke County has 32 covered bridges and is the Covered Bridge Capital of the world.

More than 100 species of trees are native to Indiana. Before the pioneer's arrive more than 80% of Indiana was covered with forest. Now only 17% of the state is considered forested.

Although Indiana means, "Land of the Indians" there are fewer than 8,000 Native Americans living in the state today.

Many Mennonite and Amish live on the farmland of Northeastern Indiana. One of the United States largest Mennonite congregations is in Bern. According to Amish ordnung (rules) they are forbidden to drive cars, use electricity, or go to public places of entertainment.

Indianapolis grocer Gilbert Van Camp discovered his customers enjoyed an old family recipe for pork and beans in tomato sauce. He opened up a canning company and Van Camp's Pork and Beans became an American staple.

Before public schools families pitched in to build log schoolhouse and each student's family paid a few dollars toward the teacher’s salaries.

Indiana Origin of Name:   Indiana is a word that refers to the local Indians. Meaning “land of Indians”

Indiana Motto:   “The Crossroads of America”

Indiana Nickname:   Hoosier State

Capital City:   Indianapolis

State Area:   36,420 square miles

State Population:   6,376,792 (est. 2008)

Admission to Statehood:  December 11, 1816, 19^th state

Major Industries:  Agriculture (corn, soybeans, wheat), manufacturing, mining (coal, limestone), steel-making

State Environments:  Plains

State Bird:   Cardinal

State Tree:   Tulip Tree

State Flower:   Peony

State Stone:  Limestone

State Song:   “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away”, by Paul Dresser

Elevation: Highest Point – Hoosier Hill, Wayne County 1,257 feet above sea level
Lowest Point – Ohio River and mouth of Wabash River, Posey County 320 feet above sea level 

Time Zone: 80 counties Eastern UTC-5/-4
12 counties in Evansville and Gary Metro Areas Central UTC-6/-5

Average Annual Rainfall: 33.34 inches

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers out there. I enjoyed reading this short story by one of my favorite motivation speakers "Jim Rohn". I hope you enjoy it too.

"Invest in your family and they'll invest in you. Inspire them and they'll inspire you. With your inner circle take care of the details. When my father was still alive, I used to call him when I traveled. He'd have breakfast most every morning with the farmers. Little place called The Decoy Inn out in the country where we lived in Southwest Idaho. So Papa would go there and have breakfast and I'd call him just to give him a special day. Now if I was in Israel, I'd have to get up in the middle of the night, but it only took five minutes, ten minutes. So I'd call Papa and they'd bring him the phone. I'd say, 'Papa I'm in Israel.' He'd say, 'Israel! Son, how are things in Israel?' He'd talk real loud so everybody could hear - my son's calling me from Israel. I'd say, 'Papa last night they gave me a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean.' He'd say, 'Son, a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean.' Now everybody knows the story. It only took 5 - 10 minutes, but what a special day for my father, age 93." -- Jim Rohn

Did you Know?

Iowa (IA, Ind., US-IA)  Dubbed by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Iowa is home to the most crooked street in the world. Snake Alley in the city of Burlington is a winding hillside street that manages to pack five half-curves and two quarter-curves in a switchback design into just 275 feet.

If you like corn, you’ll love Iowa. About one-fifth of the country’s corn comes from Iowa’s rich farm lands.

Iowa has the highest literacy rate in the United States. More than 99 percent of Iowa’s citizens can read.

Iowa gets more tornadoes than any other state. A tornado is a mighty twisting windstorm. At the center of the storm, the wind can travel as fast as 300 miles per hour.

Strawberry Point is the home of the world’s largest strawberry.

Can’t decide between a chocolate bar and ice cream? Get both! The “Eskimo Pie” – a chocolate-covered ice cream bar was invented in Iowa by Onawa native Chris Nelson.

Elk Horn is the largest Danish settlement in the United States.

Kalona is the largest Amish community west of the Mississippi River.

Fenlon Place Elevator in Dubuque is the world’s steepest and shortest railway.

Wright County has the highest percentage of grade-A topsoil in the nation.

Quaker Oats, in Cedar Rapids, is the largest cereal company in the world.

Cornell College is the only school in the nation to have its entire campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Born Marion Robert Morrison (aka John Wayne) in Winterset on May 26, 1907 was the son of a pharmacist and grew up to become one of Hollywood’s most popular movie stars.

The town of Fort Atkinson was the site of the only fort ever built by the U.S. government to protect one Indian tribe from another.

Campers and motor homes are manufactured in Winnebago County. They’re called Winnebago’s.

Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are 100% formed by water. Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Iowa is the only state that starts with two vowels.

Iowa Origin of Name:  From the Iowa River which was named after the Ioway, French word for the Bah-kho-je Indian tribe that lived in the area.

Iowa Motto:  Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.

Iowa Nickname:   Hawkeye State

Capital City:   Des Moines

State Area:   56,276 square miles

State Population:   3,002,555 (est. 2008)

Admission to Statehood:  December 28, 1846, 29^th state

Major Industries:  agriculture (corn, soybeans, hogs, pigs), food manufacturing, insurance

State Environments:  Plains, Prairie

State Bird:   Eastern Goldfinch (aka Wild Canary)

State Tree:   Oak

State Flower:   Wild Rose

State Stone:  Geode

State Song:   “Song of Iowa”

Elevation: Highest Point – Hawkeye Point in Osceola County in northwestern Iowa 1,670 feet above sea level
Lowest Point – Where the Mississippi River and Des Moines River meet; 480 feet above sea level 

Time Zone: Central UTC-6/DST-5

Average Annual Rainfall:   34.71 inches

by Denis Waitley

By re-energizing and renewing yourself frequently, you will avoid burnout and become much more motivated and productive. Don’t keep your nose to the grindstone for years and wait for retirement to travel. Balance and consistency are the keys. Enjoy the process, not just the result. Don’t fight the passing of time. Don’t fear it, squander it, or try to hide from it under a superficial cosmetic veil of fads and indulgences. Life and time go together. Do enjoy each phase of life. Do make the most of each day, and draw maximum joy from each moment.

Many people today are concerned with quality time – time generally defined in part as that spent on recreation, personal pursuits, time with children, spouses and friends. While I certainly believe quality time is important, I believe two other aspects of time are equally important.

First, one must also spend quantity time. The average father spends less than 30 minutes each week in direct one-on-one communication with each of his children. How can we possibly expect good family relationships with so little communication?

Second, one must spend regular time. Many supervisors and company presidents go for weeks, even months, without seeing many of their employees. There’s no substitute for regular meetings and open forums in which managers and team members can share ideas.

Time has a dual structure. On one hand, we live our daily routines meeting present contingencies as they arise. On the other hand, our most ambitious goals and desires need time so that they can be assembled and cemented. A long-term goal connects pieces of time into one block. These blocks can be imagined and projected into the future as we do when we set goals for ourselves. Or, these blocks of time can be created in retrospect as we do when we look back at what we’ve accomplished.

It’s not in the image of our big dreams that we run the risk of losing our focus and motivation. It’s the drudgery and routine of our daily lives that present the greatest danger to our hopes for achievement. Good time management means that you maximize the daily return on the energy and mental effort you expend.

Ways to maximize your time productivity:

• Write down in one place all the important contacts you have and all of your goals and priorities. Make a back up copy, preferably on CD, DVD or Zip disc. Write down every commitment you make at the time you make it.

• Stop wasting the first hour of your workday. Having the chat and first cup of coffee, reading the paper, and socializing are the three costliest opening exercises that lower productivity.

• Do one thing well at a time. It takes time to start and stop work on each activity. Stay with a task until it is completed.

• Don’t open unimportant mail. More than a fourth of the mail you receive can be tossed before you open or read it, and that includes e-mail.

• Handle each piece of paper only once and never more than twice. Don’t set aside anything without taking action. Carry work, reading material, audiotapes and your laptop computer with you everywhere you go. Convert down time into uplink time.

• Spend twenty minutes at the beginning of each week and ten minutes at the beginning of each day planning your to do list.

• Set aside personal relaxation time during the day. Don’t work during lunch. It’s neither noble nor nutritional to skip important energy input and stress-relieving time. Throughout the day, ask yourself, “What’s the best use of my time right now?” As the day grows short, focus on projects you can least afford to leave undone.

• And as we said at the beginning of this message, take vacations often, mini-vacations of two or three days, and leave your work at home. The harder you work, the more you need to balance your exercise and leisure time.

Action Idea: Plan a relaxing 3-day vacation within the next three months without taking any business work with you. Reserve it on your calendar this week.

-- Denis Waitley

Did you Know?

Kansas(KS, Kans., US-KS)  Kansas is famous for its prairies and wheat. In 1997, Kansas wheat farmers produced a record 506 million bushels of wheat. That’s enough to make 35.9 billion loaves of bread, or six for each person on Earth!

At Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine waterbeds for horses are used in surgery.

Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States.

At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.

The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in “Gone with the Wind.”

Kansas inventors include Almon Stowger of El Dorado who invented the dial telephone in 1889; William Purvis and Charles Wilson of Goodland who invented the helicopter in 1909; and Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville who invented the first frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.

Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.

Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the world. Salt is still actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.

The Hugoton Gas Field is the largest natural gas field in the United States. It underlies all or parts of 10 southwestern Kansas counties as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. The gas field underlies almost 8,500 square miles, an area nearly 5 times as large as the state of Rhode Island.

Kansas has the largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.

Holy Cross Shrine in Pfeifer, was known as the 2 Cent Church because the building was built using a 2 cent donation on each bushel of wheat sold by members of the church.

The graham cracker was named after the Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851). He was a Presbyterian minister who strongly believed in eating whole wheat flour products.

The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson was built in 1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar of the original building’s foundation.

A hailstone weighing more than one and a half pounds once fell on Coffeyville.

The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita.

Kansas Origin of Name:  From a Sioux word meaning “people of the south wind”.

Kansas Motto:  Ad astra per aspera (To the stars through difficulties)

Kansas Nickname:   Sunflower State, Jayhawk State

Capital City:   Topeka

State Area:   82,282 square miles

State Population:   2,802,134 (est. 2008)

Admission to Statehood:  January 29, 1861, 34^th state

Major Industries:  Agriculture (wheat and other grains), aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing

State Environments:  Plains, Prairie

State Bird:   Western Meadowlark

State Tree:   Cottonwood

State Flower:   Sunflower

State Animal:  Buffalo

State Song:   “Home on the Range”

Elevation: Highest Point – Mount Sunflower 4,039 feet above sea level
Lowest Point – Verdigris River 680 feet above sea level 

Time Zone: Central GMT-6
Some 4 counties in the far west portion of the State (Sherman, Wallace, Greeley and Hamilton) are in the Mountain Time Zone.

Average Annual Rainfall:   28.61 inches

What are You Listening For? . . . . Sunday Sermon Masterpiece Collection, Vol. I

It was high noon in midtown Manhattan. The streets were buzzing with activity—crowds of people scurrying to lunch, car horns honking, brakes screeching, a siren wailing. Two men were making their way through the throng of noon-time lunch-goers. One was a native New Yorker, the other a Kansas farmer on his first visit to see his city cousin. Suddenly, the farmer stopped and said to the city dweller, "Hold on! I hear a cricket!"

His cousin replied, "Are you kidding? Even if there was a cricket around here, which isn’t likely, you would never be able to hear it over all this noise."

The farmer remained quiet for a few moments, then walked several paces to the corner where a shrub was struggling to grow in a large cement planter. He turned over several leaves and found the cricket. The city dweller was flabbergasted. "What great ears you have," he said.

"Not at all," the farmer replied. "Your ears are as good as mine. It’s a matter of what you’ve been conditioned to listen for. Here, I’ll show you." Whereupon, he pulled a handful of coins from his pocket and let them clink to the sidewalk. As if on signal, every head on the block turned. "You see," said the farmer, "you hear what you are tuned in to listen for."

Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!

Maine

 

   Maine's official flag was adopted in 1909. The flag has a deep blue field with the state coat of arms in the center. The coat of arms pictures a farmer and a seaman (representing agricultural and maritime industries). A shield is between them, upon which is a pine tree, a moose (the state animal of Maine), green grass, a blue sky, and deep blue water. Above this is a yellow star (representing the North Star - Maine was the northernmost state when it entered the Union) and a red ribbon that reads, "DIRIGO," which means "I direct" in Latin.

Did you Know?

Maine (ME, US-ME) Eastport, Maine is the most eastern city in the U.S. West Quoddy Head lighthouse is the most easternly point. It is the first place to raise the flag at sunrise, 4:45 a.m. every morning.

 

What is now the state of Maine used to be the District of Maine and belonged to Massachusetts.

 

Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has one syllable.

 

In 1641 America's first chartered city was York.

 

Maine has in excess of 60 lighthouses dotting the 5,550 miles of coastline including Portland Head Light commissioned by George Washington.  It has about 2000 islands off the coast.

 

 

Approximately 40 millions pounds (nearly 90 percent) of the nation's lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine.

 

Maine produces 99% of all the blueberries in the country making it the single largest producer of blueberries in the United States.

 

90% of the country's toothpick supply is produced in Maine.

 

  Author Stephen King (1947 - ) is a resident of Bangor.

 

 Freeport is the home to the L.L. Bean Company, founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean (1872-1967). 

 

Patrick Dempsey (1966 - ), known as an Actor, Philanthropist is a Lewiston native. He is the founder of The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing.

 

 

Moose-vehicle crashes occur every year in every Maine county – in any setting, on any type of road: about 700 crashes annually; 150 of these crashes result in human injury; average of 2 to 3 fatalities a year; 90% of the crashes occur between dusk and dawn; moose crashes represent 14% of Maine’s large animal crashes, but lead to 80 of the resulting fatalities; peak crash season May through July, but can happen anytime of the year.

 

Maine Origin of Name:  First used to distinguish the mainland from the offshore islands. It has been considered a compliment to Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I of England. She was said to have owned the province of Mayne in France.

 

Maine Motto:  “Dirigo” – I direct or I lead.

 

Maine Nickname:   Pine Tree State

 

Capital City:   Augusta

 

State Area:   35,387 square miles

 

State Population:   1,316,456 (est. 2008)

 

Admission to Statehood:  March 15, 1820, 23^rd state

 

Major Industries:  Agriculture (potatoes), shipbuilding, fishing (lobster), footwear, machinery, electronic, tourism

 

State Environments:  Coast, Mountains

State Bird:   Black-capped Chickadee

 

State Tree:   Eastern White Pine

 

State Flower:   White Pine Cone and Tassel 

State Gemstone:  Tourmaline

 

State Cat:  Maine Coon Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Song:   “State of Maine Song”  (Words and Music)

 

Elevation: Highest Point – Mount Katahdin, 5,268 feet above sea level
Lowest Point – Atlantic Ocean, 0 feet above sea level 

 

Time Zone:  Eastern: GMT (GreenwichMeanTime) GMT – 4

 

 Average Annual Rainfall:   59.74 inches

Did you Know?

 

Maryland (MD, US-MD) In 1813, Maryland found out that the British were planning an attack on the coast. The people hung lanterns from ship masts and trees. The British cannons aimed for the lights and overshot Maryland’s coastal towns completely.

 

The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10, 1845 at Annapolis.

 

During revolutionary times Rockville was known as Hungerford's Tavern the name of its most familiar landmark. One of the first calls to freedom from British rule was heard at the tavern in 1774.

 

The Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered a masterpiece and one of the finest 19th century buildings in the world. The basilica is the first cathedral in the United States. Baltimore represents the first Roman Catholic diocese.

 

King Williams School opened in 1696 it was the first school in the United States.

 

St. Francis Academy, the first dental school in the United States opened at the University of Maryland.

 

Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, was born in Baltimore and attended Saint Mary's Industrial School.

 

Tilghman Island is home to the Skipjacks, the only commercial sailing fleet in North America.

America's national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key  a Maryland lawyer. It is believed Key wrote the anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.

The 1,200 foot Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is the second longest continuous truss bridge in the nation.

 

Samuel F.B. Morse reportedly received the first telegraph message in Bladensburg, in 1844, before his famous "What Hath God Wrought" message between Baltimore and Washington. His telegraph wire had been strung along the railroad right of way. Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University, lived in Bladensburg and is said to have invented the telegraph pole.

 

Maryland was first to enact Workmen's compensation laws in 1902.

 

Friendship International Airport - now Baltimore/Washington International Airport - began operations on June 24. 1950.

 

The Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace is the oldest continuously operated lighthouse in the State of Maryland.

 

The Methodist Church of America was formally organized in 1784 at Perry Hall.

William Goddard inaugurated the first Post Office system in the United States in Baltimore in 1774. Baltimore is A City of Firsts.

 

Maryland is a prominent producer and processor of seafood and a national leader in the production of blue crabs and soft clams.

 

Sixteen of the 23 Maryland counties border on tidal water. The combined length of tidal shoreline, including islands, is 4,431 miles.

 

The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge in Savage is made of both cast iron and wrought iron. It is the only open railroad bridge of its type anywhere in the world.

 

Clara Barton National Historic Site commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. The house in Glen Echo served as her home and headquarters for the American Red Cross and a warehouse for disaster relief supplies.

 

The Community Bridge mural project in Frederick transformed a plain concrete bridge into the stunning illusion of an old stone bridge. The entire structure was painted by hand by an artist and his assistants, using advanced trompe l'oeil ("deceive the eye") techniques.

 

Maryland Origin of Name:  Maryland was named to honor the Queen concort Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), the wife of King Charles I of England

 

Maryland Motto:  “Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine” Manly Deeds, Womanly Words

 

Maryland Nickname:   Old Line State, Free State

 

Capital City:   Annapolis

 

State Area:   12,407 square miles

 

State Population:  5,633,597 (est. 2008 U.S. Census Bureau) 

 

Admission to Statehood:  April 28, 1788, 7^th state

 

Major Industries:  Farming (corn, soybeans, tobacco, poultry and dairy products), Mining (coal), steel products, communications equipment, fishing (crabs and oysters), government services.

 

State Environments:  Coast, Plains

 

State Bird:   Baltimore Oriole

State Tree:   White Oak. The Wye Oak (a huge, 460-year-old white oak is the official state tree)

State Flower:   Blacked-eyed Susan

 

State Boat:  Skipjack

 

State Song:   Maryland, My Maryland

 

Elevation: Highest Point – Backbone Mountain in Garrett County. 3,360 feet above sea level 
Lowest Point – Bloody Point Hole, the area is located approximately 1 mile west-southwest of the southern tip of Kent Island in Queen Anne's County.  174 feet below sea level.

Time Zone:  Eastern: GMT (GreenwichMeanTime) GMT – 4

Average Annual Rainfall:   59.74 inches