State Symbols

UTAH STATE SYMBOLS State Symbols State Seal The official State Seal was adopted on 3 April 1896. The seal was, according to the most accurate accounts designed by Harry Emmett Edwards. Edwards was born in Ottawa, Canada in about the year 1862, and lived in Chicago for three years before moving to Utah in about 1893. After moving to Utah he worked as a bartender and also for a bank. He reportedly had no formal art training, but was a member of the National Society of Artists. How he came to design the seal is not know. He joined the Argenta Chapter of the Masonic Lodge on 3 November 1897 and he listed his occupation as "artist." He left Utah in about 1898 for the Klondike where he supposedly accumulated a fortune but lost it all in a fire. He died 24 January 1930 in California. The seal is described in the Utah Code 1953 67-2-9: "The great seal of the state of Utah shall be two and one-half inches in diameter, and of the following device: The center a shield and perched thereon an American eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "Industry"; beneath the motto a beehive the figures ′1847′ and on each side of the shield an American flag; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words "The Great Seal of the State of Utah," with the figures "1896" at the base. State Flower 1 of 9 The Sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii) was made the official State Plant of Utah on 18 March 1911 when Senate Bill 225 was signed into law by Governor William Spry. The bill was introduced by William N. Williams after a census was taken of the state′s schoolchildren, as to their preference for a state flower. The sego lily grows six to eight inches high on open grass and sage rangelands during the summer months in the Great Basin. This member of the Mariposa family typifies lilies, with its sepals, petals, and stamens in combinations of three, and ivory colored petals which may be tinted from yellow to pink. A horizontal bar of darker color crosses the base of each petal within the flower cup. The flower is important to Utah not only for its beauty, but because the bulbs were eaten by the early Mormons settlers during their first year in the area, when food was scarce. The bulb, which is walnut-sized, was also eaten by the Indians before the Mormon settlers turned to it for sustenance, and serves today as food for rodents and other animals. State Flag The Utah State Flag, as we know it, was made the official flag of Utah when Governor William Spry signed House Joint Resolution 1 in 1913. The original state flag was presented to Governor Heber M. Wells in 1903 by the Utah State Society Daughters of the Revolution. According to the organizations′s minutes, Governor Wells asked the group to make a state flag. It was made out of Utah silk and embroidered by Agnes Teudt Fernelius. Each member of the USDR contributed one dollar to help pay for the flag. On 16 October 1903 it was reported at their meeting "that a mistake had been made in drawing the seal of our state on the flag which had been presented to the Governor of Utah in May last. The matter was then discussed at length after which a print of the state seal was examined to see where corrections should be made." It was found that "the flag made by Our Society which had been presented to and accepted by the Governor and his staff was in reality only the Governor′s regimental flag. A state flag would in compliance with an act of the State legislature have to be made under direction of or by approval of said legislature." They then took the flag to H.L.A. Culmer, a local artist, who drew in the state seal, which was then embroidered. This flag was used until 1913. In 1912 a second flag was made by the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers to be presented to the battleship Utah. It was made by an eastern firm, and when it arrived it was found that it had a gold circle around the design. Through the efforts of Annie 2 of 9 Wells Cannon the new flag was adopted by the State Legislature. According to Utah Code (63-13-5): "The state flag of Utah shall be a flag of blue field, fringed, with gold borders, with the following device worked in natural colors on the center of the blue field: The center a shield; above the shield and thereon an American eagle with outstretched wings; the top of the shield pierced with six arrows arranged crosswise; upon the shield under the arrows the word ′ Industry,′ and below the word "Industry" on the center of the shield, a beehive; on each side of the beehive, growing sego lilies; below the beehive and near the bottom of the shield, the word ′Utah,′ and below the word ′Utah′ and on the bottom of the shield, the figures ′1847′; with the appearance of being back on the shield there shall be two American flags on flagstaffs placed crosswise with the flag so draped that they will project beyond each side of the shield, the heads of the flagstaffs appearing in front of the eagle′s wings and the bottom of each staff appearing over the face of the draped flag below the shield; below the shield and flags and upon the blue field, the figures ′1896′; around the entire design, a narrow circle of gold. State Tree The blue spruce (Picea pungens) was chosen by the Utah State Legislature on 20 February 1933 to be the official Utah State tree. Adoption of the blue spruce as Utah′s official tree was made in record time after the bill, sponsored by the Utah Federation of Women′s Clubs, had been introduced with the urgent request that it be passed before the Colorado legislature could pass a similar bill making the blue spruce that state′s official tree. While the blue spruce is not plentiful in Utah, it is found in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains at elevations between 6,000 to 11,000 feet. It can be transplanted successfully and is widely used as an ornamental tree. It′s foliage is generally silvery blue in color, and the tree has the ability to withstand temperature extremes and drought. The blue spruce is not a large tree: it ranges from eight to one hundred feet in height and grows to two feet in diameter. Under optimum conditions, a blue spruce may reach a maximum of 150 feet in height and four feet in diameter. The brittle and knotty wood of the tree is of little commercial value. The chief use of the tree is for ornamental landscaping of homes, schools, and public buildings. 3 of 9 State Song "Utah We Love Thee" was first selected as the official state song in 1917 when Senate Joint Resolution 4 was signed by Governor Simon Bamberger. "Utah We Love Thee" was written in 1895 by Evan Stephens to be sung at the inauguration exercises when Utah became a State on 6 January 1896 after Utah became a state. Evan Stephens was born 29 June 1854 in Pencader, South Wales and emigrated to Utah with his parents in 1866. A competent musician he was asked to be the chairman of the music committee for the statehood program. UTAH WE LOVE THEE by Evan Stephens Land of the mountains high, Utah, we love thee! Land of the sunny sky, Utah, we love thee! Far in the glorious west, Throned on the mountain′s crest, In robes of statehood dressed, Utah, we love thee! Columbia′s newest star, Utah, we love thee! Thy lustre shines afar, Utah, we love thee! Bright in our banner′s blue, Among her sisters true, She proudly comes to view, Utah, we love thee! Land of the Pioneers, Utah, we love thee! Grow with the coming years, Utah, we love thee! With wealth and peace in store, To fame and glory soar, Godguarded evermore, Utah, we love thee! State Bird The California gull (Larus californicus) was made the official State Bird of Utah on 14 February 1955 when House Bill 51 was signed into law by 4 of 9 Governor J. Bracken Lee. The bill was introduced by Richard C. Howe. The gull was protected under Utah statute as it is an insectivorous bird (feeds on insects). It also was credited with saving the pioneer crops from complete destruction in the summer of 1848. Masses of crickets descended on the pioneers first crops and the threat of disaster was thwarted by seagulls which swooped in from the Great Salt Lake and ate the crickets. Often found in the interior regions, the California gull breeds on inland lakes from Canada south to Mono Lake, California, Great Salt Lake, Utah, and Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. It winters along the Pacific Coast and inland in Utah, Oregon and California. The mature California gull grows from twenty to twenty-three inches in length and has greenish yellow feet, a medium gray mantle, and a gray mantle, and a bill with a orange spot near the tip of the lower mandible. The outer primaries are black, tipped with white, the first two with subterminal white spots.

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