The "States That Never Made It" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Telling my wife about the seven states that never made it as members of the United States of America.  I'm sure many of you were alive when Hawaii gained statehood in 1959 and may still be alive when Puerto Rico is named our 51st State sometime in the near future.  Oh!  You didn't know that?  Well, you heard it here first!  Their effort to gain statehood has been going on for years, but yet they haven't been close to being accepted.  I suspect that people who lived in the continental United States weren't too sure about adding Hawaii in 1959, but look how that has worked out for all involved.  Probably would be the same for Puerto Rico if they were given the chance.  Carol and I made a visit to Puerto Rico along with our traveling friends Jere and Just Sue close to 10 years ago and had a great time visiting all the tourist attractions in San Juan.  I, for one would certainly welcome them into the United States.  There were also seven other proposed states that never did make it into the Union and more than likely never will.  

Delmarva and the Assateague Island National Seashore.

The first was an area known as Delmarva which is the peninsula off the coast of Maryland that stretches across Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.  Those living on Delmarva didn't care for the inconsistent government throughout the peninsula with all three states proposing something different and wanted to become a state.  Never happened.  Today the Delmarva Peninsula is home to the Assateague Island National Seashore which is famous for its wild horses.  Neat place to visit if you've never been there.  

The beautiful state of Deseret.

Another prospective state was Deseret which was a state proposed by Mormons who lived in the Great Basin desert in the mid-1800s.  The area where they migrated to due to religious persecution encompasses today's Utah, Nevada and a large part of New Mexico and Arizona.  At the time the Federal government thought the area was too big an area so it divided it into what we call today New Mexico and Utah.  Forgottonia, yes that was supposed to be a state at one time begun as a joke since the citizens of a 14 county area felt neglected by the state of Illinois.  So the Forgottonia was begun.  It did draw the attention of the Federal government who provided needed funds to repair the local infrastructure.  Hey, making up a fictious name for a new state really did work to solve this problem.  

What at one time was going to be the State of Superior.

And then there was the state of Superior which was to be today's Upper Peninsula of Michigan which was repeatedly proposed as its own state.  Thomas Jefferson wanted to call the area Sylvania while other wanted it called Ontonagon.  But, being it is close to Lake Superior, it should be called Superior.  Then, along came the Civil War and the Mackinac Bridge was built so the area is no longer as isolated as it once was.  Therefore the new state idea was forgotten.  Then, shortly after the Revolutionary War ended, residents in the area of eastern Tennessee wanted to form their own government and have their own state known as Franklin.  But, the residents of what would have been Franklin fears the United States government would sell Franklin to France or Spain to pay off war debts, so the state idea was forgotten.  Yet another idea for a state was the state of Scott.  It was during the Civil War that Tennessee became a Confederate southern state.  But, Scott County, Tennessee, seceded from the south to support the Union troops of the North.   After the war ended, it was sort of forgotten what Scott County did.  It wasn't until 1986 that Scott County requested readmission to Tennessee.  They were welcomed back into the state at that time.  

The state to be known as Transylvania.

And finally, the state of Transylvania, which means "pleasant woodsy area" was proposed with parts of western and south- eastern Kentucky and Northern Tennessee.  The name came from a land speculator and pioneer Richard Henderson, who intended to purchase the area in 1775 and apply for statehood.  But then, Virginia and North Carolina claimed the land and killed the deal.  Actually, the Continental Congress refused to recognize the new state anyway.  So, anyone have any idea for a new state?  Better be a good name or it will be laughed off the federal calendar.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "You Can Call Me 'Woodsie' Or You Can Call Me 'LDub!'" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife Carol is busy looking up the nicknames of some of the most memorable characters that appeared on The Seinfeld Show.  Hey, you have to remember Yet Kassem, the "Soup Nazi" and the guy whom Elaine gave Tic-Tacks to so she could keep track of him, the "Sidler".  How about the name that George's boss gave him, "Coco", even though he wanted to be called "T-bone".  Then there was the nickname that Kramer called himself and had on his car license plate; "Assman".  And then there was "The Bubble Boy" who lived in a bubble; "Art vanDelay", the George Costanza importer/exporter character; "Buck Naked", who was George's name as a porn star and Elaine's name given to her after she had a Christmas card made, "Nip".  How could anyone whoever watched Seinfeld forget these memorable nicknames?  Do you remember some of the nicknames you gave your friends in high school?  For me there was my neighbor Leon whom we called "Bugsy", because he was...well bugsy and classmate and football player Bob See whom we called "Big Daddy" since he was over 300 pounds and took up two positions on the football field line of scrimmage.  How about nicknames for some of your favorite musicians over the years.  Names like "Piano Man" (Billy Joel), "King of Rock and Roll" (Elvis) and "The Fab Four" (The Beatles) will never be forgotten.  Same goes for those in a variety of sports such as: "The Babe" (George Herman Ruth, Jr.), the "Say Hey Kid" (Willie Mays), the "Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams), "Sweetness" (Walter Payton), "The minister of defense" (Reggie White), the "Iceman" ( George Gervin), the "Golden Bear" (Jack Nicklaus), "The Answer" (Allen

George Herman "Babe" Ruth

Iverson), "Iron Mike" (Mike Tyson), "Mr. October" (Reggie Jackson), "Stretch" (Willie McCovey), "The Great One" (Wayne Gretzky) and the list goes on and on.  How about nicknames for cities in the USA such as: "The Big Apple" (New York City), "The Windy City" (Chicago), "The City of Brotherly Love" (Philadelphia), "Space City" (Houston), "Chocolate Town" (Hershey, PA) and even "The Red Rose City" (Lancaster, PA).  How about members of your family who might have a special nickname?  We called our daughter Brynn (Brynner), my Aunt Lillian (Tut), my father Paul was known as Hen, our son Paul (Tad), my brother Steve (Little Stevie Woo-Woo) and even my mom Dorothea, whom everyone called Dot.  Hey, I had two nicknames in "Woodsie" and "Biglar".  But, nicknames seem to be on the way out.  Such a shame since a good nickname can tell an entire story about a person or be an endless source of delight or amusement; sometimes good and sometimes bad.  I'm sure you don't recall a pilot whose name was Douglas Corrigan who in 1938 was scheduled to fly from New York to Long Beach, California, but instead ended up in Ireland.  He instantly gained the nickname: Wrong Way Corrigan.   Every generation has popular names to call their children and in my high school class there were quite a few Larry's, so to make it easier to remember, we were all given nicknames.  I instantly became "Woodsie" when I entered Jr. High School one September!  And, you may remember performer Caryn Elaine Johnson who couldn't stop from passing gas on stage so she was given the nickname of Whoopi, as in a whoopee cushion, thus Whoopi Goldberg was born.  Then there was Destiny Hope Cyrus whose father called her Smiley which later morphed into Miley.  And, you can't be a rap star without a nickname.  How about Snoop Dogg whose real name was Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.  No way would he have been a successful rap star if he was called Calvin!  Same thing for sports stars such as the ones I already listed above.  And then there was pitcher Marc Rzepscynski whose consonants-clogged name caused his teammates to call him Scrabble.  Fits across his uniform jersey much easier!  Same goes for politicians.  When "The Terminator", Arnold Schwarzenegger, became Governor of California, he became known as "The Governator."  How about when President William Henry Harrison died and John Tyler, the Vice-President, became President.  He became known as "His Accidency."  Think you are ready to be called something different?  How about coming up with a nickname for someone you may know.  I still remember when someone called me "Woodsie" for the first time.  During a game of basketball in my back alley.  The name never went away!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.