[sunrico90]

FYI....

* Nickname: "The Sunshine State"
* State Motto: "In God we trust"
* State Bird: Mockingbird
* State Flower: Orange blossom - (Citrus sinensis)
* State Insect: Zebra Longwing Butterfly [16]
* State Song: "Old Folks at Home (Suwannee River)" by Stephen C. Foster
* State Tree: Sabal Palm
* State Reptile: American Alligator
* State Animal: Florida Panther
* State Marine Mammal: West Indian Manatee
* State Saltwater Mammal: Dolphin
* State Drink: Orange juice
* State Fruit: Orange
* State Shell: Horse Conch (The great band shell)
* State Saltwater Fish: Sailfish
* State Freshwater Fish: Florida Largemouth Bass
* State Pie: Key lime pie
* State Gem: Moonstone

[tallrick]

I think the state insect should be the palmetto bug!

[theqbaby]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I think the state insect should be the palmetto bug!

State bird: .... doesn't fly and usually in the middle of a persons hand.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

FYI....

* Nickname: "The Sunshine State"
* State Motto: "In God we trust"
* State Bird: Mockingbird
* State Flower: Orange blossom - (Citrus sinensis)
* State Insect: Zebra Longwing Butterfly [16]
* State Song: "Old Folks at Home (Suwannee River)" by Stephen C. Foster
* State Tree: Sabal Palm
* State Reptile: American Alligator
* State Animal: Florida Panther
* State Marine Mammal: West Indian Manatee
* State Saltwater Mammal: Dolphin
* State Drink: Orange juice
* State Fruit: Orange
* State Shell: Horse Conch (The great band shell)
* State Saltwater Fish: Sailfish
* State Freshwater Fish: Florida Largemouth Bass
* State Pie: Key lime pie
* State Gem: Moonstone

The state bird should be the construction crane

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I think the state insect should be the palmetto bug!

The palmetto bug came in in 2nd place

[sunrico90]

http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/facts/symbols/images/symbols/suwannee.jpg (broken link)

Stephen C. Foster wrote "The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)" in 1851. After Foster wrote the song, he sold it to E. P. Christy, a businessman who operated a series of minstrel shows.

Foster is reported to have chosen the term "Swanee" because its two-syllable cadence fit nicely into the music he had composed. The composer was not familiar with the Florida section of the Suwannee River, because he never visited the state. A memorial center at White Springs, Florida, honors Foster, who authored about 200 popular songs during his prolific career.

Representative S. P. Robineau of Miami introduced House Concurrent Resolution No. 22 in 1935, designating "Swanee River" as the official state song. It replaced "Florida, My Florida," which had been adopted as the state song in 1913.

The Suwannee River flows in a southerly direction from the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. The river separates the Florida panhandle from the rest of the state.

The Swanee River

Way down upon the Swanee River,
Far, far away,
There’s where my heart is turning ever,
There’s where the old folks stay.
All up and down the whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for the old plantation,
And for the old folks at home.

Chorus
All the world is sad and dreary
Everywhere I roam.
O brothers, how my heart grows weary,
Far from the old folks at home.

2nd verse
All ‘round the little farm I wander’d,
When I was young;
Then many happy days I squander’d,
Many the songs I sung.
When I was playing with my brother,
Happy was I.
Oh, take me to my kind old mother,
There let me live and die.

3rd verse
One little hut among the bushes,
One that I love.
Still sadly to my memory rushes,
No matter where I rove.
When will I see the bees a humming,
All ‘round the comb?
When shall I hear the banjo strumming,
Down in my good old home.

[elfyum]

Thanks for the lyrics sunrico! I could've googled 'em, but never would have bothered. But I always wondered them - I get that song stuck in my head alot! I like that song. (though it's actually kinda sad...didn't know that...)
Never been up to the Suwanee (correct spelling ) but sure will one day!!!

Oh - & the mosquito is WAAAAAAAAAY more prevalent than the palmetto! Are you kidding???!!! I actually got a mosquito bite the other day! Yes, in December! But I haven't seen a palmetto in ages...

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by elfyum

Thanks for the lyrics sunrico! I could've googled 'em, but never would have bothered. But I always wondered them - I get that song stuck in my head alot! I like that song. (though it's actually kinda sad...didn't know that...)
Never been up to the Suwanee (correct spelling ) but sure will one day!!!

Oh - & the mosquito is WAAAAAAAAAY more prevalent than the palmetto! Are you kidding???!!! I actually got a mosquito bite the other day! Yes, in December! But I haven't seen a palmetto in ages...

We got plenty of palmetto bugs up here. The mosquitos are way gone as soon as the cold weather showed-up they went south....

[Dennis P]

I could remember singing that song in elementary school in Orlando, along with my classmates. I know the melody but forgot most of the lyrics. Thanks for posting them, Sunrico! Brings back fond memories. Now I want a mint julep!

[LABRAT16]

I'm glad everyone is posting all this good info. I understood the Palmetto to be the state airline. I was told they are big enough to transport 8 passengers or a VW. Here in Mo we have alot of Snobugs. When it snows, it bugs everyone .