Kathy-jo Wargin - V Is for Viking: A Minnesota Alphabet

A Minnesota Alphabet

Written by Kathy-jo Wargin Illustrated by Karen Latham and Rebecca Latham

This book is dedicated, with love, to all my Minnesota friends.

KATHY-JO

For our family, Bonnie and Ted, and our friends with whom
we share our deep love of wildlife and wild places everywhere.

KAREN & REBECCA

The Lake Superior Agate was adopted as Minnesotas official state gemstone in 1969. Recognized by their brilliant colors and intense striped patterns that appear when polished, these stones are mostly comprised of quartz, and their reddish and orange color comes from iron. Lake Superior Agates are some of the oldest stones in the world, perhaps dating back to a billion or more years ago! They can be found throughout Minnesota near riverbeds and lakeshores.

A is for Agates one billion years old, each one has layers of red, orange, and gold.

The Bundt pan revolutionized the way we vision cakes, and was created by H. David Dalquist of Nordic Ware in 1950. Since that time, more than 40 million Bundt cake pans have been sold throughout the world. Imagine all those cakes!

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a beautiful and pristine area of more than one million acres. Mostly comprised of lakes, islands, and untouched wilderness, only nonmotorized boats are allowed. It is located in an area of Minnesota called the Arrowhead country and is part of the Superior National Forest.

B is for Bundt panWe must always mention, this round baking pan is a famous invention!

And please dont forget B is for Boundary Waters, a place to protect for all sons and daughters.

Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000) grew up in St. Paul and was one of the most successful artists and storytellers ever. His cartoon strip Peanuts was about a boy named Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and friends Linus, Lucy, Pigpen, and Schroeder. Prior to his Peanuts success, Charles Schulz drew a cartoon strip for the St. Paul Pioneer Press called Lil Folks, which appeared from 1947 to 1950.

Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) was born in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up on a farm near Little Falls, Minnesota. On May 20-21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in his airplane named The Spirit of St. Louis.

Charles Schulz is letter C, he drew the Peanuts strip.

And Charles Lindbergh took up flight in a famous solo trip!

Duluth has been an important shipping harbor since the 1880s, when flour was shipped from Duluth to Buffalo, New York. As one of the largest inland seaports in the world, Duluth is part of a common harbor shared by its neighbor city, Superior, Wisconsin. Also known as the Twin Ports, ships navigate the icy waters from late March until mid-January. This shipping port averages approximately 40 million metric tons of cargo per year, making it the largest shipping port on the Great Lakes. Ships travel from Duluth to the ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Duluth is also home to the Aerial Bridge that lifts to allow large ships and boats to pass.

Now the letter D is for Duluthits harbor fills with motion as cargo ships make many trips both to and from the ocean. Toot! Toot!

Minnesotas first people were Native Americans who lived amidst the lakes, rivers, streams, plains, and prairies of this state. The Ojibwa and Dakota are only two of many Native American cultures that made this area their home. Today, Native American influence can be seen in many ways. Their place names, ideas, and inventions are important to the lives of all innesotans; for instance, the word Minnesota is derived from a Dakota word minisota, which means sky-tinted waters.

E is for the Early people and Early Minnesota.

We must not forget the footsteps of Ojibwa and Dakota.

More than one-third of Minnesota is covered in forest, and Minnesotans depend on these vast forests for many reasons. In recent years, state forest industries have harvested more than three million cords of wood fiber annually, almost as much as during the peak of the white pine era in 1900. Forestbased industries such as lumber, wood products, furniture, pulp and papermaking contribute heavily to the economy. However, forest growth and maintenance is important to the health of our woods, and each year, far more trees are planted and grown by natural means than are cut down.

Minnesotans enjoy their forests and many outdoor recreational activities such as camping, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing, hunting, dogsledding, and more.

And Forest starts with letter F, it gives us many goods.

Paper, pulp, and furniture are products of our woods.

Minnesota is often referred to as the Gopher State, a nickname resulting from an 1857 satirical cartoon showing nine gophers with the heads of local politicians. They were pulling a locomotive, and satirizing legislative action for a five million dollar railroad proposal. The nickname remained, and later, the University of Minnesota picked it up as well, by naming their mascot, Goldie, the Golden Gopher.

The letter G is Gopher and we think its really great, a silly drawing long ago made us the Gopher State.

In 1849, Minnesota became a territory with the Missouri and White Earth Rivers forming its western boundary. At that time, Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891) was serving as a delegate to the Minnesota Territory. When Minnesota became a state in 1858, he was elected as its first governor. He served from 1858 to 1860. There are many places in Minnesota that are named after Henry Sibley. How many can you name?

H is also for hockey. The United States Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth. It is a shrine of national importance honoring the legacy of United States ice hockey.

H is Henry Hastings Sibleyit was 1858 when he became the governor and we became a state.