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Did You Know…?
The Michigan State Flag
The current Michigan state flag is the third official state flag and was adopted by in 1911. The first flag displayed a portrait of Michigan's first governor, Stevens Thomson Mason on one side and the state coat of arms on the other side. In 1865, this flag was changed. Stevens Mason's portrait was removed and the flag displayed the Michigan coat of arms on one side and the United States coat of arms on the other side, perhaps in response to the end of the Civil War. Today the flag displays only the Michigan coat of arms on a field of blue.
Depicted on the shield is a lake with a yellow sun rising over the blue waters. A man is standing on a peninsula with one hand raised in a greeting of friendship and the other hand holding a rifle. An Elk and a Moose support the shield between them and a Bald Eagle grasping an olive branch and arrows in its talons is shown above the shield.
Three mottos are shown on the coat of arms: E Pluribus Unum (From many, one), Tuebor (I will defend), and Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you). These mottos are reflected in the coat of arms pictorially. E Pluribus Unum, also our national motto, aligns with the depiction of the Bald Eagle. Tuebor is represented in the arrows clasped in the eagle's talons and the gun held in the man's left hand. Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspiceis supported by the warmth of the sun, the man's friendly greeting from the peninsula and the olive branches held by the Bald Eagle.
The Bald Eagle represents the United States and the Elk and Moose represent Michigan.
Did You Know …?
- Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J. W. Westcott is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. It has been operating for 125 years and has it’s own zip code – 48222
- In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states. Founded by priests, it was originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit. The name was changed in 1821 and was moved to Ann Arbor in 1841.
- The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.
- Vernor's Ginger Ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.
- In 1872 Elijah J. McCoy, a black inventor raised in Ypsilanti, patented the first automatic lubrication system for locomotives and other machinery. The device was so effective it was difficult to sell imitations that were not "the real McCoy"; McCoy's name became synonymous with anything genuine or authentic.
- Michigan was the first state to provide in its Constitution for the establishment of public libraries.
- Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to a tax-paid high school education.
- The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. It spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.
- The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.
- In 1879 Detroit telephone customers were first in the nation to be assigned phone numbers to facilitate handling calls.
- The1849 Michigan State Fair was the first state fair in the United States.
- The world's first international submarine railway tunnel was opened between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in 1891.
- In 1909, the first rural mile of concrete pavement in the U.S. opened in Wayne County. It was constructed on Woodward Avenue between McNichols Road (Six Mile) and Seven Mile Road at a cost of $13,534.59.
- In 1920 WWJ began commercial broadcasting of regular programs. It was the first such radio station in the nation.
- In 1926 the nation’s first regularly scheduled air passenger service began operation between Grand Rapids and Detroit.
- The Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world in 1929.
- Daniel F. Gerber of Fremont, MI invented the first commercially prepared baby food in 1927.
- In 1971 Michigan was the first to complete a border-to-border interstate highway, I-94, that runs 205 miles from Detroit to New Buffalo.
Sources:
www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/mi_flag.htm
www.50states.com/facts/michigan.htm
www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17447_18630_22469-11896,00.html
www.history.com/states.do?action=detail&state=MI&contentType=State_Fun_Facts&contentId=54453
www.michiganlookup.com/michigan/facts.php
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