WHY I LOVE ME: SHOW ME THE MONEY

By now you all have seen the Maine state quarter. Perty, huh? It was the 23rd quarter released in the US Mint's 50 State Quarters Program.

Go pull out that Maine State quarter you've been hoarding the past six years and take a look.

Let's see...there's a lighthouse on a cliff, a pine tree, a schooner and a couple of seabirds. Yup. Sounds about right for a quarter representing Maine except there's no lobster. That's OK. They're creepy ugly things.

Maine became a state in 1820, so that explains the date on the top of the quarter. The pine tree is supposed to represent a white pine, the official state tree. Yeah, we've got pines, baby. Lots of 'em! But do you know the significance of the white pine to Maine?

Figures.

Maine is know for it's forestry industry with mills making paper, pulp and even toothpicks. Maine was actually the toothpick capital of the world until China (damned China) got their tiny little nimble hands in the mix. Now you know why those suckers are so flimsy (the Chinese toothpicks, not the Chinese. Wait. Never mind).

The white pine is also the largest conifer in the northeast United States. Some of the tallest trees in eastern North America were found right here in Maine and this is what made them so valuable as they made great ship masts. Maine's nickname is The Pine Tree State and almost 90% of Maine is forested. Yup. More trees, less people. Yay!

The lighthouse on the coin is based on Pemaquid Point Light, which marks the entrance to Muscongus and John Bays. If you ever come this way, be sure to go to Pemaquid for the day. Great little park with benches and picnic tables for the wusses, and very easily walkable flat ragged shoals for the rest of you. About 10,000 people visit Pemaquid a year. Bring a lunch and your camera and hope the fog doesn't roll in like it did for me in the photo below. Stinkin' fog.






That sailing vessel you see on the right of the coin is the schooner Victory Chimes. It is the last three-masted schooner of the Maine's windjammer fleet. "Windjammer" is a term for a large sailing vessel. Victory Chimes was built in Delaware in 1900 to carry lumber through the shallow bays and rivers of the Chesapeake. It's 132' long, the last three-masted schooner on the whole east coast and the largest passenger sailing vessel under US flag. It is registered as a National Historic Landmark. You can take a week-long Maine coastal cruise on the Victory Chimes after your day at Pemaquid.

The design for the quarter was open to all full-time and part-time Maine residents. Four designs were submitted to the US Mint and put before the Maine people for a vote. Over 100,000 people voted with the Pemaquid Lighthouse design winning because the other three sucked. Well, I thought they did.

Out of all the state quarters, you've got to admit, this is one of the nicest.

Now do you love ME?






Photo of Pemaquid Light in the fog: Me. I sacrificed a good hair day to get that shot.

Netstate.com

Victory Chimes