Thursday, August 2, 2018

Three on Thursday

Joining Kat and Carole for Three on Thursday, and today it's with three things that I saw around Elkton this week. We went to MD last Sunday night, and are just beginning to find our way with this living in both NJ and MD thing. We decided to drive only one car down, which meant that John drove it to work, and I didn't have a car during the day. That's okay because Elkton is a fairly walkable town, so I set off on my errands and took a few photos along the way.


My first stop was the Elkton Municipal Building to submit an application for a building permit. We're not really building anything; John just wants a garden shed because the garden is going to be in MD next year, and we need a permit. I dropped off the application, and they called to say it was ready only an hour later. That does not happen in NJ!

This elk insignia is everywhere, but there are definitely no elk around. I'm going to have to do some research and find out how and why Elkton got its name.

Right across from the Municipal Building I was surprised to see this castle.


It's really the Elkton Armory for the Maryland National Guard and was recently declared "surplus property" by the state. That means it will soon be for sale. I wonder if I could convince John that a castle would be much cooler than the little house we just bought?!

And then there is this:


Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine is the state motto of Maryland. I wondered what it meant, but we didn't yet have internet, so I stopped at the library to look it up. It's Italian from 1776 and the accepted legal translation is "Manly deeds, womanly words". In 1975, the government of Maryland decided to tone down the sexism and cite the official translation as "Strong deeds, gentle words". One of the librarians asked if I needed help and we had an interesting conversation. She told me that her Italian grandmother always said that the real translation from Italian is “men do things, and women just talk about things". None of these translations make a decent state motto! We looked up other state mottoes and decided that maybe Maryland should take a lesson from Wyoming or Oregon. Their mottoes are "Equal Rights" and "She Flies With Her Own Wings". Way to go Wyoming and Oregon!

Head on over here to read more (and less sexist) Three on Thursday posts.

15 comments:

  1. It looks like you're settling right in to your "new" town, Bonny! I love your state motto research. Oregon's "alis volat propriis" is my favorite -- in fact, I have a bracelet with those words inscribed. (Michigan's motto is completely geographic: "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.")

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  2. A walkable town sounds wonderful (and not just because "walking" sounds wonderful to me right now ;-) I was almost afraid to look up Georgia's motto ... turns out we don't have one - but on our state seal are the words Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation - "Actually, the qualities of wisdom, justice, and moderation with reference to government were first mentioned in chapter 4 of Plato’s Republic. In that work, Plato analyzed four cardinal “virtues” associated with government: wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice." (whew, that's pretty good!)

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  3. A fun post Bonny! I've driven thru Elkton a number of times on my way to Chesapeake City to visit a friend, but have only been on the "main drag" and have not seen any of those things. Very cool. Glad you seem to be settling in and getting used to living in two States! (And, I've NEVER heard of a permit being approved that quickly!!)

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  4. Well, this is fascinating! PA's motto is "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence" however, my favorite forever will be Michigan's!

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  5. It's great that you can walk around easily. I can walk to our Town Hall, too, and that's very convenient when I need to go sign warrants and checks. You got me curious about the state motto of Massachusetts so I looked it up: "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem", Latin translation; "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty".

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  6. Oh, I hope you'll share more as you discover & explore your new town! Fascinating!! Wisconsin's state motto is simply FORWARD.

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  7. Well Im glad I ready Vicki's comment. I had no idea our state motto was FORWARD. Hmmmmmmmm. I always learn things from your blogs!

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    1. Like I told Vicki, I like Wisconsin's motto; it's plain, simple, and forthright. If you're ever on Jeopardy I hope one of the categories is state mottoes!

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  8. Oh, I wish I could walk’about to my little town, but it is 3 miles away. Wish it had a castle - though there is an old VFW building turned into the city hall and then . . . unsure.
    TN motto is “agriculture&commerce” though all I see in these rural areas is corn and soybeans. And hay fields. And more hay fields with occasional cattle roaming all over and escaping to our field.

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    1. Corn, soybeans, hay, and roaming cattle certainly sound like your area of TN is doing agriculture and commerce pretty well! I was just driving in an Amish area of PA and their corn and soybean fields were really beautiful.

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  9. It sounds like a friendly place to land, Bonny. I predict you will enjoy some things about your new town, especially since you have an open mind and are receptive to new things. I think I would have to check out that castle from the inside. I bet it's interesting. TN's motto is "Agriculture and Commerce". Yawn. Interesting post!

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  10. Thank you for the move to look up our state motto...as Carole shared. I immediately thought you should buy the castle! I have a feeling you may have found a new MD friend today!

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  11. How nice that your move has taken you to a walkable town. Aren't librarians just the best people in the world? The castle is interesting. Now I need to remember what out state motto is - it is somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

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  12. welcome to your second home where you will have some fun memories. I love walkable towns to get things done and to sight see :)

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  13. I didn't have to look up Utah's motto as I already new it. INDUSTRY! Seriously. The beehive is the state motto, because bees are (you guessed it) industrious! Utah lives up to its motto by destroying the beauty of the state in the name of everything Industry! (stepping from my soup box). Yeah, don't get me started. Anyway, your downtown area looks interesting and the people you've met are courteous. I'll be interested to see/hear more about Elkton!

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