Regards,
Dellanar Vistanfloriy
The Pride of Florida
While Florida is one of the hottest vacation spots in
America, as a result of the impact that Disney World has
made on its tourist trade, there~s much more to Florida
than just Mickey Mouse. The Sunshine State offers a rich
history that goes well beyond tourism. The people, citrus
crops, wildlife, beaches and various cultures are just some
of the many facets of the Florida lifestyle, woven
together to form a warm, welcoming seaboard community.
Consider Florida~s state flower ~ the orange blossom. This
fragrant plant is not just symbolic, it's also a very real
representation of the citrus industry that has made
Florida what it is today. The orange crop yields delicious
Florida orange juice that is sold all over the country--
and the globe. But this is only one aspect of the state's
intriguing culture.
Most people don~t know that there~s a bit of interesting
history involving Florida~s State Seal. Originally
establish by the Legislature in 1868, the state~s
Constitution initially declared that the seal ~shall not
again be changed after its adoption by the Legislature~.
Yet, a number of things have changed in the intervening
years. The original design contained a scene depicting the
sun~s rays shining over mountains in the distance, as well
as a cocoa tree; a steamboat on the water and an Indian
woman distributing flowers on the ground. In 1970,
however, the Florida Legislature made one change: the name
of the tree must be changed from ~cocoa tree~ to ~Sabal
palmetto palm~. Other changes were soon on its heels
regarding the illustration of the Seal, including the
portrayal of the steamboat in a variety of ways, a change
in the scenic background and the Indian female.
The mountainous background, while aesthetically pleasing,
actually had nothing to do with real Florida landscape,
which has no such mountains. The image changed to reflect
this. Moreover, changes sought to resolve concern over the
Native American woman's dress, which included a headdress
normally worn only by males.
Florida now has a lovely seal. It also has a number of
objects and creature that represent the character of this
unique, diverse state. The state bird is the mockingbird,
and the state animal the Florida panther.
For its state tree, Florida has chosen the sabal
palm, and its state reptile is,
as you might expect, the alligator. Other
changes to Florida's cultural history involve
the shift from the original state
song ~ ~Florida, My Florida,~ selected in 1913 -
to a version of "Suwanee River,"
by Stephen C. Foster, in 1935.
Dellanar Vistanfloriy is the webmaster and operator of
"http://www.floridasights.com florida sights, inc.
which is a premier resource for Florida information. For
questions or comments, go to: www.floridasights.com
