A friend sent me an email today that gives a reason why each state in America is special. I have listed that below. However, I would like to know what makes your village, town or city special to you.
As for where I live in Hamilton, Ontario, the city is special to me because it is active in the area of history and the arts. We have the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Arts Hamilton, several writer's groups and many more small, private galleries. Historically, Hamilton was once home to some of the most notorious gangsters during the first half of the 20th century. Stories still abound about their adventures, misadventures and even murders. Hamilton also has its own football team - the Hamilton Tiger Cats (although they are doing abysmally this year). As well the city sits on the edge of Lake Ontario, which has a long stretch of beach and a water park. There are also several conservation areas where people can camp or visit to go swimming, play sports and/or just relax. Hamilton also has a number of museums that tell our history, as well as the historic Dundurn Castle.
Now tell me about where you live.
Here is the item sent to me. I thought you might find it interesting.
ALABAMA . Was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.
ALASKA ... One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.
ARIZONA ... Is the only state in the continental U.S. that doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.
ARKANSAS ... Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.
CALIFORNIA . Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.
COLORADO ... In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.
CONNECTICUT ... The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University.
DELAWARE . Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.
FLORIDA . At 759 square miles, Jacksonville is the U.S.'s largest city.
GEORGIA ... It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the firs t vat of Coca-Cola.
HAWAII ... Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.
IDAHO ... TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.
ILLINOIS ... The Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patrick's Day.
INDIANA ... Home to Santa Claus, Indiana, which get a half million letter to Santa every year.
IOWA ... Winnebagos get their name from Winnebago County. Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.
KANSAS ... Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.
KENTUCKY ... Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.
LOUISIANA ... Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.
MAINE ... It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.
MARYLAND ... The Oujia board was created in Baltimore in 1892.
MASSACHUSETTS ... The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.
MICHIGAN ... Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.
MINNESOTA ... Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.
MISSISSIPPI ... President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here ... that's how the teddy bear got its name.
MISSOURI ... Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.
MONTANA .. A sapphire from Montana is the Crown Jewels of England.
NEBRASKA ... More triplets are born here than in any other state.
NEVADA ... Has more hotel rooms than any other place in the world.
NEW HAMPSHIRE ... Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.
NEW JERSEY ... Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.
NEW MEXICO ... Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.
NEW YORK ... Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.
NORTH CAROLINA ... Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.
NORTH DAKOTA ... Rigby, North Dakota, is the exact geographic center of North America.
OHIO ... The hot dog was invented here in 1900.
OKLAHOMA ... The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.
OREGON ... Has the most ghost towns in the country.
PENNSYLVANIA ... The smiley, :) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.
RHODE ISLAND . The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673
SOUTH CAROLINA ... Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.
SOUTH DAKOTA ... Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.
TENNESSEE ... Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.
TEXAS . Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco back in 1885.
UTAH ... The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.
VERMONT ... Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.
VIRGINIA ... Home of the world's largest office building ... the Pentagon.
WASHINGTON ... Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.
WASHINGTON D.C. ... Was the first planned capital in the world.
WEST VIRGINIA ... Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870.
WISCONSIN ... The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sundays.
WYOMING ... Was the first state to allow women to vote.
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Comments: 32
The beautiful landscape and the people both past and present. I love the Southern hospitality, the manners and all the silly southern sayings.
I love the way our neighborhoods are like big families and no one has ever met a stranger. I like how when you're walking down the street people say Howdy and smile at you, doesn't matter if they know you or not.
I like sitting on my porch in the middle of the 'city' and watching the squirrels, birds and rabbits. I like that we have a porch and rocking chairs and people still sit out in the evenings.
I love that I can get to the seaside in about 1 1/2 hours and to the mountains in about 3.
I could go on and on. :) I love it here.
I don't know what's really special about my town. I like it here because everything is so convenient. I can literally live within 5-mile radius and have everything I need.
I am in Fairfax, VA.
You're right though, New England winters are brutal and even after 5 years, I'm still not used to them.
However, I remember visiting Maine with my parents when I was 12 and we had some of their fresh lobster at that time.
We have a large mall for shopping, which has enough stores, so you won't need to do any traveling for items.
Many of my friends are surprised to see celebrities walking down the street and I have talked to some of them.
Sadly, we do have earthquakes; however, the damage in this area has been small.
Weehawken, NJ's claim to fame is that it was the site of a duel between a sitting Vice President, Aaron Burr, and a former Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton died as a result of his wound, but his name lives on in a part overlooking the Hudson River and NYC. My neighborhood is known as the best kept secret in Hudson County -- quiet streets with elegant Victorian homes, only 10 minutes away from Manhattan. It's a piece of the countryside right next to the city.
We have lots of beautiful mountains surrounding us, and when it gets hot, you take a thirty minute drive into the mountains and enjoy a thirty degree drop in temp (plus beautiful scenery).
I used to live in Phoenix, and after five years in Tucson, it's still a breath of fresh air in comparison.
Jiya: It sounds like you live in a lovely area.
Jackie: There are far too many busy highways around here. I would love to see a lot less traffic. The mountains must be a very refreshing retreat. Do people ski there in the winter?
Brooklyn Dodges...is the only thing that comes to mind there...Bergenfield very quiet town, a family kind of raising town. Not much happens....Ft Lauderdale what can you say is where the boys are...Soring Break...was around my birthday so to find a restaraunt that wasn;t crowded was a miracle for my birthday. The time I moved there back in 75 the city moved into a Arts and Sciences with lots of up to date museums.
I live now in the Shawnee National Forest, surrounded in nature and protected by enviromentalists. For any stores or shops it take me 30 miles to get there from my house. Dirt roads and corn fields lay of the land. Lots of Cows, Horses, Goats and camp grounds are around me. It does offer a get away for those that want peace and quiet and those that want to hunt and fish. Very layed back far cry from the big city life of Brooklyn NY.
Carol: Montreal sounds like a pretty exciting place to be.
Just kidding. It has grown here unbelievably fast in the last 10 years or so, and starting to get crowded around here. I moved here because there weren't that many people 21 years ago, and money went much farther than in California. Not to mention work was minutes away with no freeways. I may have to move further out now though, ha ha.
I love the Geography, it varies so much in such a little distance. Most people unfamiliar only think of desert, although even that is great if you really get out and look. In a fairly short drive I am surrounded by tall pine trees, Elk, Deer, Bears, Turkeys, Antelope, etc. I like the open outdoors, and miles of nothing but the west.