In my quest to lean more about the state, I figured I would write an entry on information I have gathered about Maryland. This search worked out perfectly for me because I really love state trivia. One of my favorite books is State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America. Each state is taken on by a different writer (usually, but not always the case, the writer lived in that state). It has a really impressive list of writers (including Sarah Vowell, John Hodgman, Dave Eggers, David Rakoff, Myla Goldberg, Susan Orlean, Jonathan Franzen, S.E. Hinton, Jhumpa Lahiri...). And I just loved that book. It was so great hearing about states' little quirks, trivia, history, and what that state means to the writer. And you learn so much about regional differences within the state that you didn't realize. It's great. Furthermore, this past weekend the history channel had a marathon of programs called "The States", where in each series they looked at 5 states. It was another perfect opportunity to hear interesting trivia and history about the states. I couldn't get enough!
So without further ado, I present you Maryland:
Capital: Annapolis (where the Naval Academy is)
Entered Union: 1788 (7th)
Nickname: Free State or Old Line State
State Bird: Baltimore Oriole
State Flower: Black-eyed Susan
State Tree: White Oak
State Song: "Maryland! My Maryland!"
Largest City: Baltimore (I hear Silver Spring is the second most populous)
Population: 5.6 Million. Ranked 19th in the U.S. (which makes sense that our Maryland license plate has 7 letters/numbers. The state has run out of letter/number combinations for 6 character license plates. The "old" license plates had 3 characters on one side, the seal of the state in the middle, and then three more characters on the other side. 
With our license plate there is no seal (because it's been replaced by a character) -- so there is no decorative nature to our license plate. Just a white background with black letters (boring). So I guess the license plates are a good indicator of how long someone has lived here. If you have a 7 character license plate, you probably haven't lived here that long. Elevation: Lowest point, sea level (0 ft) at the Atlantic Ocean. Highest point is Hoye Crest at 3,360 ft (Toto, I don't think we're in the West anymore...).
Maryland is considered part of the "mid-Atlantic" region (between the South and New England). It borders Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C. to the south and the west; Pennsylvania to the north; and Delaware to the east.
Maryland has a very distinct shape (it's not as easy to draw as, say, Utah, Wyoming, or Colorado) and the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state. .......
We live in Montgomery county. You see that almost diamond shape chunk taken out of Montgomery and Prince George's county? That's DC. That land was originally part of Maryland. We live at the top point of the diamond.
It's history as a border state had led Maryland to exhibit both Northern and Southern culture/characteristics. It borders Pennsylvania and Delaware (Northern states) and West Virginia and Virginia (Southern states -- well, excluding northern Virginia, which is not part of "real" Virginia, according to some people, including a McCain adviser). Maryland is actually south of the Mason-Dixon line (the Mason-Dixon line makes up the northern border of Maryland). And people have popularly considered the Mason-Dixon line as the line that separates the North and the South -- but that's not what the real purpose of the line is.
Maryland's history also exhibits both Southern and Northern elements. Maryland was part of the Chesapeake Colonies and grew tobacco and relied on slave labor. But Maryland fought for the Union during the Civil War. But they had southern sympathizers, including Marylander John Wilkes Booth (who assassinated Abraham Lincoln). In fact, the state song "Maryland! My Maryland!" (to the tune of "O Christmas Tree") was written in 1861 by a southern sympathizer. The lyrics express hatred towards Abraham Lincoln and a call to join the Confederacy. Here are some lyrics "The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland! My Maryland. His torch is at the temple door, Maryland! My Maryland...She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb - Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum! She breaths! She burns! She'll come! She'll come! Maryland! My Maryland!" There has been an effort to change the state song, but as of yet it still is the same.
Generally, the Western (Appalachia), Southern, and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland (which tend to be more rural) reflect Southern culture (including speaking in southern accents). And densely-populated central Maryland (where we live) exhibits characteristics of the Northeast.
As Myla Goldberg wrote:
"Picturing Maryland as a gun pointing west, I lived in the suburban portion of its trigger, along with most of the state's population. This area lies sandwiched between the rural areas that form Maryland's barrel and handle. The result is our national red-state/blue-state division writ in miniature. Montgomery County recently approved a school sex-ed curriculum that includes homosexuality, while forty miles north of Baltimore, Cecil County parents recently protested the adoption of a biology textbook that didn't include creationism. Someone driving north from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia on Interstate 95 will traverse these cultural poles in about ninety minutes"
Maryland has 8 U.S. representatives (which translates into 10 electoral college votes). Maryland is pretty much a Democratic (with a capital D) state. Democrats have largely controlled politics in the state for many, many years. That's because the most populous areas are the liberal ones. As a result, Baltimore, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County often decide statewide elections. Both senators are Democrats, the governor is a Democrat, and six of the eight U.S. representative are Democrats. In 1980, it was one of just six states to vote for Jimmy Carter. Maryland is often among the Democratic candidates' best states. In 1992, Bill Clinton fared better in Maryland than any other state except his home state of Arkansas. In 1996, Maryland was Clinton's 6th best, in 2000 Maryland ranked 4th for Gore and in 2004 John Kerry showed his 5th best performance in Maryland. Barack Obama won Maryland by a margin of 23 percentage points with 61.4% of the vote.
Seafood is really huge here. Especially crabs (and especially crab cakes). There's even a picture of a crab on the state drivers' licenses. I heard that in the 1940s, crabs were so plentiful that bars in Baltimore offered them for free. One important staple of Maryland cuisine, and a Maryland icon, is Old Bay Seasoning (known for its yellow can) 
Additionally, Maryland has a lot of crab spice potato chips based on the Old Bay Seasoning. There's even a Lays brand of crab spice chips here (I find the regional differences in chips interesting. Lays has crab spice chips in Maryland, and ketchup chips and curry spice chips in Canada). Potato chip manufacturer "Utz" created the original crab spice chips based on the Old Bay Seasoning. 
Utz is a company that originated in Pennsylvania, and they currently distribute chips from Maine to South Carolina. I love these chips. The sour cream and onion chips are so great. I noticed on last week's episode of The Office they had Utz chips in the vending machines! I never would have noticed that before. That's cool that they did that and considered that detail, considering the show is supposed to take place in Scranton, Pennsylvania (though it's filmed in California).
Assateague Island (about 3 hours from here) has herds of wild horses. 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland has the highest median household income of any state at $68,000 in 2007.
Maryland has two professional sports teams: The Baltimore Ravens (NFL) and the Baltimore Orioles (MLB). Though my "loyalties" (that just started) are for DC teams. Though I live in Maryland, I live in the D.C. metro area. I'm about 30 minutes from Baltimore and 5 minutes from D.C. I can't go against the "home" team. In fact, I watched, with disappointment, the Redskins-Cowboys game. They are long-time rivals and the Cowboys won (despite the Redskins starting out stronger). It's still so weird watching Chris Cooley play for the Redskins (Chris Cooley is from Logan High School and Utah State University. His mom was even one of my high school teachers.) 
Maryland has a lot of famous residents. Too many to name, in fact. Some notables include Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall, Nancy Pelosi, Upton Sinclair, Babe Ruth, Billie Holiday, Ira Glass, Spike Jonze, Frank Zappa, Lisa Loeb, Tori Amos, John Waters, Michael Phelps, Cal Ripken Jr, and David Hasselhoff. Edgar Allan Poe was not born in Maryland, but he lived here. He married his 13 year old cousin here, died here, and is buried here. Lewis Black and Ben Stein actually grew up in Silver Spring. Furthermore, Goldie Hawn, Connie Chung, and journalist Carl Bernstein went to the local high school here in Silver Spring. Sylvester Stallone also attended law school in Silver Spring for a semester.
Finally, the state sport is jousting..
2 comments:
Thanks for the post! I didn't know 99% of the information.
For example, I thought Maryland was a pure Yankee state! I had no idea there were so many Southern sympathizers. It's crazy how much diversity there can be in one state. It reminds me of Ithaca. The city was uber-liberal, with their Nader signs and Impeach Bush signs and eco-friendly everything. But just driving like 20 to 30 minutes outside of the city you would see Amish farms! I think growing up outside of the East, you assume the East is pretty uniform. But there is a lot of variation.
Sea level?! Your lungs must feel loose-as-a-goose (I bet in your mind you are following "loose-as-a-goose" with a word very unrelated to sea level, aren't you?) ;)
I never knew there were wild horses outside of the west! Especially near ocean?! whaaa?
How awesome that you live in an area with several professional sports teams! What's that like? Sheesh. Me and Davis would love that.
Heather, I can't help but think Mrs. Reeder would be proud of this post.
I'm glad you liked the post! I was worried that other people might not be as interested in state trivia as I am.
Although Maryland has Southern elements, I'm guessing that most Southerners (like from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, etc.) would consider Maryland a Yankee state. That's just a guess though. If the state doesn't vote Republican, it can't be a Southern state (you hear that North Carolina and Virginia, you're out!)
Luckily, my lungs aren't loose-as-a-goose (wink, wink) because Vancouver is actually sea-level as well (though we were higher because we lived at the top of a "mountain"). Who would have thought I'd be living by the Pacific Ocean one year and the Atlantic Ocean the next? Crazy.
It is really cool having so many professional sports teams here. It's neat seeing so many dedicated sports fans. I see so many home-team jackets, jerseys, bumper stickers, license plate holders, hats, etc. People are very dedicated to their teams here. When you and Davis come out, we can go to a sporting event and have a grand-old time!
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