Symbols of North Carolina
IVlial Mr. Sharp»* lias lo sav about tlioin is
strietl.y hisoun opinion anil not necessarily
that of (lie editor or any of the other reg¬
ular employees of this puhlieatioii.
North Carolina has
adopted a number of "sym¬
bols." if you want to refer
to them as such. Among them are
our state Hag, bird, song, motto,
colors, seal unci flower. Some have
been in use for a long time; others
have been adopted only recently.
Let’s take a look at some of
them.
The State Bird
By popular choice the cardinal
was selected for adoption as our
state bird during the 1943 session
of the General Assembly. In ad¬
dition to North Carolina, four
other states have adopted it as
their state chick— Kentucky. In¬
diana. Illinois and Ohio.
There’s nothing you can say
against the cardinal, but some
would prefer the Canada honker,
or the partridge, often called bob-
white. The cardinal is sometimes
called the Winter Redbird because
it is most conspicuous in winter
and is the only "redbird" present
at that season. It is an all-year-
round resident and one of the
commonest birds in our gardens
and thickets.
The State Flower
For many years the goldenrod
was known unofficially as the
state flower. The daisy also was
mentioned in this connection. How¬
ever, it wasn't until the 1941
session of the General Assembly
that a definite decision was
reached. The law-makers at that
time decided to bestow the honor
upon the dogwood, and the choice
met with general approval. It is
statewide in its blossoming, but it
is not peculiar to this state. Rhodo¬
dendron already had been appro¬
priated by Washington and West
Virginia, but some thought the
distinctive flame azalea, the Venus
fly-trap or that rare and delicate
flower, the shortia, might have
been chosen.
Oregon Lacks a Motto
A state seal apparently is man¬
datory. and Oregon is the only
THE STATE. StPTCMDtO 16. 1950
B> bii.i. siiakpi:
state that has managed to survive
without a motto. Our own. “Esse
Quam Videri," is highly inspira¬
tional. It is usually translated "To
Be Rather Than to Seem," and
Ralph McDonald used it as his
campaign slogan. But it has a con¬
notation of the unnoticed under¬
dog and might also be translated
"I ain’t much to look at. but I'm
really full of virtue.”
The General Assembly of 1893
adopted the motto and directed that
the Latin words, together with the
date "May 20. 1775.” should be
placed with our coat of arms upon
the Great Seal of the State. The
two female figures on our state seal
are Liberty and Plenty. Liberty
has in her right hand a scroll
with the word "Constitution” in¬
scribed thereon. Plenty is shown
sitting down with three heads of
wheat in one hand and with a
cornucopia in the other.
The State Song
Our state song really puts us in
an apologetic position. This ditty is
strictly introvert, both in the
mournful tune and in its defensive
lines. At that, the tune probably is
no more funeral than that of
"Maryland. My Maryland." which
is about as sad a hymn as I’ve
heard.
The facts seem to lx* that Judge
Gaston attended the jx'rformance
of a troupe of Swiss bell-ringers
and came home with the bells
ringing in his ears. He appro¬
priated one of the tunes and. being
in that famous vale between two
mountains of conceit, he sot him¬
self down and wrote lines to fit it.
We might well wish he had
stayed home that night. I’ve never
heard an exuberant Tar Heel
spontaneously singing this song: it
makes its presence known only
under the stern compulsion of as¬
semblages or other formal cere¬
monies. It is somewhat short of a
battle-cry.
flooo-ranaw! Ilooo-raaaw!
Some years ago we talked Ben
Swalin's State Symphony into
making a recording of this song
for use on the radio, using a
Raleigh group for the voices. You
never in your life saw a more
painful attempt to get a- listenable
recording. Even the talented and
energetic Swalin found it impossi¬
ble lo get a vigorous rendition of
that calamitous “hooo-raaaaw!
hooo-raaaaw! The Old North State
for-evvvverrrr!"
Well, we sent those platters to
a gentleman in Atlanta to have
cuttings made, but he informed us
that he could not gel anything
decent from them. I know just
what he meant.
About the only thing that holds
our state song together is the senti¬
ment that is attached to it.
Before this business of trying to
get a good recording of the state-
song took place. Governor Brough¬
ton tried to get Kay Kyser to make
a peppy platter of it. It was sug¬
gested that we somehow change
the depressing and negative lines
. . . ."while cynics may sneer at and
witlings defame her. . . ." into
something less defensive. But our
amateur song-writers bit their
fingernails in vain, and the project
fell through.
The State Toast
But I like our state toast. It has
some good Coue stuff in it. It starts
ofl with a bang and is full of pep
all the way through. "Where the
weak grow strong and the strong
grow great." In other words:
"Every day in every way I am
getting better and better."
When a bunch of Tar Heels get
together in a foreign state some
evening at about milking time,
when the talk is of "Down Horne."
when one of our football teams is
playing a formidable foe, when a
nostalgic atmosphere is in evi¬
dence, you can always gel a tre¬
mendous reaction if you raise
your glance and your glass toward
the ceiling, assume a beatific ex¬
pression and start off with "Here's
to the land of the long leaf pine;
(C*oii(in«ed on page 36)
ii
