The Native North Carolinian

In 2005, the General Assembly adopted the Fraser Fir (named after a Scottish Botanist) as the official Christmas Tree for the state of North Carolina. It can take up to 12 years for one of these trees to reach a salable height, And has been chosen as the White House Christmas Tree 9 times since 1971. It was a group of students from at Harris Middle School in Spruce Pine that bought this tree up to the legislature as a potential state symbol. You can click here for more Fraser Fir Facts.

One of my sons went on a tour of the [tag]U.S.S. North Carolina[/tag] this weekend and had a great time. I’ve been meaning to post on it for quite awhile, and this has spurred me to do so. This great battleship served in the Pacific during WWII. She’s been docked in Wilmington since 1961, having been saved from the scrappers by a [tag]Save Our Ship[/tag] campaign by the citizens of North Carolina.

Check out the official site for more on this ship.

I guess it’s no great surprise that a state as tied to the water as our state is would have a state boat, and we do. In 1987 the shad boat was adopted as the official State Historical Boat. This type of craft originated on Roanoke Island. These Shad Boats have not been made since the 30s, because their construction was very expensive. The boats were originally made from native woods, and were prized for their maneuverability in shallow coastal waters. The Museum of the Ablemarle is currently involved in a Shad Boat Restoration Project.

Have you seen this magazine? I was at the bookstore awhile back, and bought [tag]Our State[/tag]. It’s all about North Carolina. It’s chock full of articles and pictures about the people, places and things that make [tag]North Carolina[/tag] a great place to be. I totally need to subscribe to this magazine! My mom did buy another issue, for me, she says. Funny, but she’s still got it, LOL!

The [tag]cardinal[/tag] has been the state bird of North Carolina since 1943. These birds are easy to spot in the forests, and their bright plumage makes them a treat. It’s one of the first birds that North Carolina children learn to recognize. The female is a much duller color, as is typical in the bird world. The cardinal mainly eats seeds, but will also eat insects and small fruits. Both the male and the female are excellent singers.

I was surprised to learn this little tidbit, and perhaps you will be, too. Since 1987, the official state beverage of North Carolina is milk. Over 143 million gallons of milk are consumed in the state every year. We are the the 20th ranked state in milk production, with 179 million gallons produced per year. We produce more milk than we drink.

I think the General Assembly has made an error here. Clearly, sweet iced tea should be the official state drink.

I know I planned to bring you a list of festivals for the weekend, but the truth us that there aren’t any big ones that I can track down info on. Instead we are going to talk about berries, red and blue.

In 2001, the General Assembly adopted the [tag]blueberry[/tag] as the state’s official Blue Berry. North Carolina ranks 5th in blueberry production among the 50 states, and that berry contributed over $18,000,000 to the state economy in 2000.

In the same year, the [tag]strawberry[/tag] was selected as the state’s official Red Berry. Our state is the 8th ranked in the nation for strawberry production, and the strawberry added $17,000,000 in revenues

Both berries are grown throughout the state, and you can pick your own berries at farms from one end of the North Carolina to the other. to bring this back around to festivals, I happen to know that there are festivals celebrating both berries, and I will be telling you about them when the time comes.

I am making this post also by request. I have to be truthful, and tell you that although wikipedia has some good things to say about the Longleaf Pine, and it is the state tree, it is a tree I really dislike. The first thing I did when I moved into my house was to clear it of pines, and this spring, I will be having to clear some saplings.

If you read the wiki, you will discover that this pine is very fire resistant. What they don’t add is that a pine tree, being so tall and straight is a lightening magnet. The trees may not combust when stricken by lightning; however, they are a very sappy tree, and that sap will get super hot, and the trees will actually explode. Picture that for a moment: boiling hot sap flying through the air, accompanied by large jagged chunks of tree. Yeah, not my favorite.

I’m posting this at my mother’s request. She even brought it over for me so I didn’t have to look online for it.

Here’s to the land
Of the long leaf pine,

The summer land where
The sun doth shine,

Where the weak grow strong
And the strong grow great,

Here’s to “down home”
The Old North State!

North Carolina was settled heavily by Scots, and I am in fact descended from Scot forebears. We have our very own state tartan (which I did not know about until today). This tartan was adopted in 1991.