Welcome to Awakenings

Life IS history in the making. Every word we say, everything we do becomes history the moment it is said or done. Life void of memories leaves nothing but emptiness. For those who might consider history boring, think again: It is who we are, what we do and why we are here. We are certainly individuals in our thoughts and deeds but we all germinated from seeds planted long, long ago.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

New Jersey: Industry, Immigrants & Innovation

This Day in History: December 18, 1787

New Jersey, The Garden State, The Clam State, The Jersey Blue State

New Jersey State Motto: Liberty and Prosperity

A Bit of Trivia...

http://www.hobokenbaseball.com/
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet - the American classics with the first officially recorded baseball game being played in Hoboken, NJ in 1846. The "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings. With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century. 

http://kachkaandbaumgart.ourwedding.com/view/9895330783674603/25547638
Red Mill, Clinton, New Jersey
Those who lived and worked in the 1800s and early 1900s at the site of the 200-year-old mill Red Mill did dangerous jobs, including blasting limestone and using large belts to grind grain.
How did New Jersey get its name?
New Jersey was named for the Channel Island of Jersey in honor of Sir George Carteret (one of the two men to whom the land was originally given). New Jersey was the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1789 and the first state to sign the Bill of Rights.
The official nickname for New Jersey is The Garden State. The origin of the nickname is hazy at best. [Check out the Origins of the Nickname at the official New Jersey website.] New Jersey is also referred to as The Clam State referring to the clams taken off the coast and in the Delaware Bay. New Jersey is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The historical nickname The Jersey Blue State recalls the blue uniforms of the New Jersey Revolutionary War soldiers. New Jersey, like other states with mountainous areas, has been referred to as The Switzerland of America. This reference, made by early settlers, was to the western part of the state and the Kittatinny range and to the Watchung, Sourland and Pickle mountains in the southeast. Perhaps the most famous are the Palisades along the Hudson River.
http://www.stevegreerphotography.com/blog/2011/08/wildwood-boardwalk-and-moreys-pier-amusement-rides/
The Garden State boasts a history of agriculture and fertile soil with awe-inspiring sights of sunny shores and city views. New Jersey is the leading producer of cranberries, blueberries and tomatoes. Summertime invites each child (or the child in all of us) from New Jersey and beyond to stroll Wildwood’s boardwalk - "a two mile long human circus of noise, honky-tonk, and amusement rides." 
The first board walk in the world was built in 1870 at Atlantic city. From the Jersey Shore to the City of Hoboken, from Camden to Cape May, from the Miss America pageant to hit the jackpot at the slot machines in Atlantic City, there is never a dull moment.
One of the original thirteen colonies, New Jersey was an important battleground during the American Revolution. On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the 3rd state to ratify the United States Constitution, which was overwhelmingly popular throughout the state, as it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging and keeping tariffs on goods imported from Europe. On November 20, 1789, the state became the first in the newly formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights. The capital of New Jersey is Trenton.

[The thirteen colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and
Middle Atlantic
regions of the United States.


New Jersey State Flag

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/New_Jersey/stateSEAL.html
New Jersey State Seal

New Jersey State Animal: Horse

 New Jersey State Bird: Goldfinch

New Jersey State Bug: Honeybee
The honey bee was designated official state bug of New Jersey in 1974. Honeybees are not native to the United States. They are European in origin brought to the US by early settlers. Fifteen states have designated the Honeybee as their State Insect: Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
New Jersey has a State Dinosaur!

New Jersey State Dinosaur: Hydrosaur 
New Jersey designated hadrosaur as the official state dinosaur in 1991. Seven states have declared a state dinosaur: Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming.
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/New_Jersey/NJ_flower_violet.html
New Jersey State Flower: Violet

New Jersey State Tree: Red Oak

New Jersey State Memorial Tree: Dogwood

New Jersey State Fruit: Highbush Blueberry

For all State Symbols of New Jersey click HERE! 


New Jersey's Unofficial State Song "I'm From New Jersey," passed both Legislative Houses in 1972. However it was not signed into law by the Governor. It remains popular statewide and on the Web. Copyright © 1961, 1989 By Red Mascara-All Rights Reserved
New Jersey American Folk Dance: Square Dance
Joint Resolution No. 1 was approved on January 19, 1983. Because it was approved by Joint Resolution rather than an Act of the New Jersey Legislature, the square dance is not officially documented in the New Jersey Statutes as the American folk dance of the State of New Jersey. Twenty-two states have passed legislation to declare the square dance as the state folk dance and more than thirty bills have been introduced at the federal level proposing the square dance as the national (folk) dance of the United States.

Industry, Immigrants & Innovation

http://blog.thunderbaybooks.com/2011/11/picture-of-the-day-atlantic-city-boardwalk/

Industry on the horizon
Spans what was and what's to be
An end and a new beginning
From inner cities to the sea



An industrial center
Breweries to condensed soup makers
Copper mining, electric lighting
Remain in Jersey as first placers


Immigrants on the horizon
Brought dreams to America's shores
An end and a new beginning
Opening windows, closing doors


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rogers_Locomotive_and_Machine_Works_New_Jersey_Railroad_and_Transportation_Co_no_36.jpg

Foreign-born, American vested
From steam locomotive to robot engineered
On land, in the air, under the sea
First after first after first appeared


Innovation on the horizon
Brilliance of genius at hand
An end and a new beginning
Where failure changed the plan

New Jersey is Innovation

Innovation and innovators
Frank Sinatra to Count Basie
Rich heritage, unique resources
Shaped America like crazy
http://njbmagazine.com/monthly_articles/we-are-the-birthplace-of-american-innovation/

Industry, immigrants & innovation
 Bound together like a suture
An end and a new beginning  
Look past the horizon into the future

©2014 Sharla Lee Shults


http://recruiterpoet.com/2012/08/30/jersey-shore-canceled-now-we-can-reclaim-the-pride-of-jersey/

A State with a Barrelful of Firsts

New Jersey Facts and Trivia

Next state by month: #29 Iowa - December 28, 1846

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