The Honey Bee

In 1977, the third grade class of Holy Family School in Marinette was studying the legislative process, hands-on. With encouragement from the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, they asked the Legislature to select the honey bee (Apis mellifera) as the state insect. The news got the school community abuzz. Attempts to get other elementary school students to help choose a state bug by popular ballot failed. The monarch butterfly, dragonfly, ladybug and mosquito were contenders for the title, but the honey bee won out.

The Wisconsin Geological Society proposed a state fossil in 1985 to encourage interest in our geological heritage. The trilobite (pronounced "TRY-low-bite")(Calymene celebra) is an extinct marine arthropod that was common in the warm, shallow salt sea that periodically covered Wisconsin hundreds of millions of years ago. The three-lobed creature had a tough, furrowed exoskeleton that was shed as the animal grew and molted. Many specimens ranging from less than an inch to 14 inches in length have been preserved in rock formations throughout the state. This fossil put up a good fight against the mastodon, a large prehistoric, elephant-like creature for first place in the history books.

Red granite became the state rock in 1971. Granite is an igneous rock made up of a variety of minerals -- typically quartz, feldspar, mica, and hornblende. Granite is commonly used as a building and decorative stone.

The Kenosha Gem and Mineral Society proposed red granite as a state symbol to help promote awareness of Wisconsin's geology. It was selected because of its abundance, uniqueness, economic value, historical significance, and because it is native to our state.

The state mineral became Galena at the same time red granite became the state rock, thanks to the proposal put fourth by the Kenosha Gem and Mineral Society in 1971. They wanted to promote awareness of Wisconsin's geology. Galena was selected because of its abundance, uniqueness, economic value, historical significance, and because it is native to our state. Galena is the most important mineral source of lead. It grows in cubes or square crystals and is dark gray.

The dairy cow was added to the statutes as Wisconsin's official "domestic animal" in recognition of its many contributions to the state. This made sense since Wisconsin already promoted itself as "America's Dairyland," as seen on our license plates. This also lead to the designation of the state beverage, milk. Wisconsin has been a leader in the nation's milk production for many years. Agriculture remains an important part of Wisconsin's economy

Wisconsin's state flag includes the Coat of Arms which represents many of our valued natural resources and the contributions of early pioneers to the state's development. Notice the sailor and the "yeoman" or miner. They symbolize the type of work that people did in 1863 at the time the flag was made. The tools of the important trades of the times lie within the shield: the symbols for agriculture (plow), mining (pick and shovel), manufacturing (arm and hammer), and navigation (anchor). The badger, which is the state animal, sits above the shield. It represents the name given to the lead miners. At the base of the shield, is a cornucopia, or horn of plenty, standing for prosperity and abundance, while a pyramid of 13 lead ingots represents mineral wealth and the 13 original U.S. states. In the center lies the U.S. coat of arms symbolizing Wisconsin's loyalty to the Union.

The flag was first designed in 1863 at the request of Civil War regiments who wanted an official flag to fly during the war on the battlefield. The flag was later revised several times to add more distinctive features. The last change was made in 1981 to add the word "Wisconsin" in white capital letters above the Coat of Arms and the year of statehood, 1848, centered below it.

All of the symbols on the flag represent a richness in our natural resources, including the lakes and waterways, mineral riches under ground which provide useful products, and rich soil which provides abundance in crop production and food for people. We are very lucky to have such rich resources today.

For those who simply must know why the polka was recently given official status over the Chicken Dance, the Twist or the Hokie Pokie, that's a tale best left to another teller...the decision was too recent (1993), and the cloggers, waltzers and Irish jiggers still aren't happy.