Name Origins of the United States Part III

  By Tiffany Amber Stockton

In June, I shared the second set of state name origins. I'm splitting them up into 5 groups in the name of brevity, to avoid bogging down a long post. Besides, it's summer, and most of you likely are looking for a quick, entertaining read. :) You can read last month's post if you missed it.

Today, it's time for the next 10 state name history stories. So, let's go!

STATE NAMES and their ORIGINS

One thing I found interesting with this list is it's almost a 50/50 split of the state names starting with a letter of the alphabet from either the first half or second half of the 26 letters. Montana is the 26th state out of 50 and the last one with an "M." The remaining 24 states come from the latter half of the alphabet. It would have been fun to see 25 of the states start with letters in the first half of the alphabet and the other 25 from the second half, but we're close!

Massachusetts comes directly from the Algonquian word Massachusett that references the people living in the area, and means "at the large hill."

Michigan is also based on an Algonquin word, meshi-gami, meaning "big lake."

Minnesota, like many other Midwest states, comes from a Native American language. In this case, the Dakota word mnisota means "cloudy, milky water."

Mississippi literally means "big river" in Algonquin Ojibwa, although it’s based on the French variation of the word.

Missouri relates to the Algonquin word wimihsoorita, which translates to "people of the big canoes."

Montana has some Spanish flair that links back to the Latin mons, for "mountains."

Nebraska stems from the Sioux name for the Platte River, omaha ni braska, meaning "flat water."

Nevada comes from the Spanish name of nieve or nevara for the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountain range, which essentially means "snowy mountains," or "snowcapped."

New Hampshire is the first of many states and cities named as new outposts of other parts of the world. In this case, Hampshire was a county in Southampton, England.

New Jersey was coined by Sir George Carteret of the Channel Island of Jersey.

And that's all for today. If you're like me and LOVE puzzles, download this PDF for some puzzle challenge fun. You might be able to solve it on your own without reading the rest of the blogs in this set, or you can save it and add to it in future months. :)

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Which one of these states was the most fascinating to you?

* Do you live in any of the 10 featured states this month? If so, do you have any other unique tidbits about your state?

* What do you think might be the origin of any of the other 20 states? (You'll learn about them throughout the rest of the year.)

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Leave answers to these questions or any comments you might have on this post in the comment box below. For those of you who have stuck around this far, I'm sending a FREE autographed book to one person every month from the comments left on each of my blog posts. You never know when your comment will be a winner! Subscribe to comments so you'll know if you've won and need to get me your mailing information.

Come back on the 9th of August for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my "fictional" life as an author and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. Receive a FREE omitted chapter from my book, A Grand Design, just for subscribing!

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and four cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20 years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Turquoise Lands & Skies

“The temple I frequent is high, a turquoise-vaulted dome--the sky.” (Omar Khayyam)

Turquoise gem production depends on the whims of nature for its formation. There’s not a lot available.

The source of turquoise chemically is hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminum. Some think of it as petrified water. As water filters through rocks, it evaporates and dissolves minerals. After eons of this process of weathering and oxidation, at times veins of shades of blue and green stones materialize.

More than 2,000 years ago, Persia (Iran) mined this stone known in that region for its pure robin's egg blue color. Early American tribes such as the Aztecs, Pueblos, Navajos and Apaches cherished the stones for mystical protection and empowerment. Mexicans and Spanish explorers considered turquoise a worthless rock. The Navajo turquoise jewelry making inspired by Europeans and based on Pueblos mining skills increased its popularity.

Today turquoise worldwide is rare. Here in the States, it's hard to find. Deposits are usually not very large and may yield for only a few months or years. Most in the U.S. discovered in Nevada, mainly in Esmeralda, Mineral, and Nye Counties. Even there, mining as a rule is done on a small-scale operation. And mainly by families.

Nevada turquoise comes in various shades of blue, blue-green, green-blue, and green, all of which are

considered valuable. Unique shades of bright mint to apple to neon yellow green can also be found. Zinc and iron mixed in causes bright green to yellow-green shades.

Turquoise is a strange stone to value and depends on customer preferences, the region, culture and traditions. Some like them green. Others want blue. There are shades in-between and mottled varieties. Spider web markings display brown, black, red or gold webbing.

The small central town of Austin, Nevada claims to be the unofficial turquoise capital. It has several jewelry shops with rough and cut stones available. Many

bolo tie

modern day cowboys throughout the western states wear turquoise bolo ties.

While most turquoise jewelry crafted is set in silver, in my WIP Wind in the Wires, a squash blossom necklace made of gold and turquoise has almost priceless value and plays a prominent part of the mystery and intrigue in the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly has authored and co-authored 31 fiction and nonfiction books. She is the widow of award winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons finished Stephen's last novel, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot. Read about their story here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/

Website: www.BlyBooks.com

Her current and first solo adult novel project, Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is scheduled for November 15th release. Sign up for her newsletter for more details and opportunities for giveaways on the blog tour: http://bit.ly/1i82Kah All new subscribers will also receive by email a preview of Chapter 1. Below is a photo of a turquoise and gold squash blossom necklace similar to the one featured in Wind in the Wires...

squash blossom necklace

A Virtual Paradise

CFHS blog's new name...September 8th

 "As soon as a peep of light shined, I climbed on my horse and led the burros to the trail that veered up the mountain past some old buildings and a stone oven and prospectors who weren't the friendly sort. All day I watched for signs. A shaggy head shaped boulder. Stubby pines like a miniature forest. The ground turning red. A triple crown from the Silver Peak mountain range. I knew I was close.”

(quote by Seth Stroud, an excerpt from Wind in the Wires, Book 1, A Trails of Reba Cahill Novel, by Janet Chester Bly)

The very first novel research trip I took alone was to the remote, high desert location of Silver Peak, one of the oldest mining communities in Nevada. Several of the characters in the novel I'm working on, Wind in the Wires, take a fateful journey there. A climax of discovery in the story happens in that area.

Cinder Cone

From Tonopah, I saw a panorama of multiple layered mountain ranges like washboard. Clouds of dust could be seen thirty miles away. Black cows roamed around small, scruffy sage.

Out of Goldfield off Highway 95 on Road 265, I traveled on a road across marsh flats. The route littered with miles of bottles, whole and broken, and beer cans. And water mirages. And open range cattle. I spotted a small herd of camels next to burros. Tiny sage grew barely high enough for a desert rat.

Just outside of town, Alcatraz Island, a marshy area with huge tailings mounded against the base of the mountains. A city sign announced, "Welcome to Silver Peak...A Virtual Paradise.” At least one resident had a sense of humor in the population of 107.

Another on the road warned, “Caution: Minimum Maintenance Only.” Very few side roads exist because a) terrain too rough, and b) no place to go.

A man on a horse with bedroll in back, tarp in front, entered the village ahead of me. Out in the dirt, young men raced pickups like hot rods. Wild horses roam all over. Hearing tales of a "Wild Horse Johnson” in the 1940s and 50s gave me an idea for a character.

From a hill north of town I could see all of the town and the marshy surroundings.

Silver Peak, Nevada

Like most modern mining camps, trailers and single-wide mobile homes in varying degrees of quality and repair replace tents. Residents can still pick up and leave in a hurry. Also, small adobe shacks with sheet metal patched roofs. The desert harshness draws them, them repels them, and sometimes destroys them.

A local told me, “When this place was humming the whole mountain range vibrated.”

Silver Peak has been a mining town off and on since 1863. Remains of at least five mills still are visible among the more recent structures. Olympic Games organizer Avery Brundage once operated one of the mills.

The town boasts an elementary school - Grades K-8 - and several children's parks and play areas. There’s an Esmeralda County school bus. A power company substation. A fire department and phone booths. A saloon is a former schoolhouse. There’s also a church.

Silver Peak has a resident deputy and volunteer EMTs. The nearest hospital is in Bishop, California, more than a hundred miles away.

The oldest structure was a store and stage stop in 1864. The original one-room post office still stands next to a modern replacement, a single-wide mobile home. When I was there, I saw four mules lounged in front, tied, tethered, and loaded with bundles. When I first visited in 1991, the postmaster had served since 1939. A wealth of local history.

Out on the marsh they mine for lithium, a soft silver white metal, by extracting it from the brine evaporating in

Lithium operation

the pond system. This is the only lithium recovery process of this type in the U.S. Lime deposits nearby found in 1868. At first, processing difficulties discouraged major silver mining, but high grade horn silver was discovered in 1908. The last silver mine closed down about 1992.
There used to be mineral hot springs and bathtub sized ponds. Springs even ran into houses. But drilling dried it all up. Wood litter at old houses exposes former wooden tubs.

A dark brown-black cinder cone grows sagebrush along the sides. It looks like a huge decaying beast and

Lithium sample

could be mistaken for a gorilla's head. A memorable climb to the top with quite impressive view. I almost got stuck in the sinking cinders.

Ten miles south a large sand dune area visible. Can hike over it but driving on the soft blow sand not advised. I declined the hike after the cinder cone adventure.

Flash floods can be an extreme problem for the alkali ground. Water stands even a week after rain, leaving a sticky, slimy gumbo. So, of course, a flash flood occurs in Wind in the Wires.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

Janet Chester Bly is the widow of award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Together they published and co-wrote over 120 fiction and nonfiction books. Wind in the Wires will be her first solo adult fiction. For news of its soon release, sign up for the Bly Books Almost Monthly Newsletter: http://www.blybooks.com/contact/stephen-bly-books-newsletter/
And ‘like’ Bly Books on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlyBooks
For more info about the Blys, to read the blog and check out the bookstore: http://BlyBooks.com

Bouncing Betties and Leaping Lenas

Lin Thomas's dusty 1913 Model T

The Model T Tin Lizzie by Janet Chester Bly

The last few months I have been hard at work on my WIP (work-in-progress), my first solo fiction attempt after losing my husband and writing partner. I needed an old car for a contemporary character in 1991 who could have lived in the times of the West’s last gold rush at Goldfield, Nevada, 1900-1919. At the peak of the gold mining, auto cars buzzed around plodding burros. Deputies chased speeders on horses.
I chose a 1913 Model T.
My daughter-in-law Michelle’s antique car buff father, Lin Thomas of Fillmore, California, happened to own one. But he hasn’t driven it in a while, so it’s pretty dusty (see photo). He prefers his Model A for parades and touring. But I grilled him for info for how to drive the Model T. I’m hoping for a drive soon, too, compliments of a local Crankers Club.
Ah, the fun of research!

1908 Model T

About the Model T

Conceived by Henry Ford, his Ford Motor Company built the Model T from 1908 to 1927.

About 1905, Mr. Ford proclaimed, “I am going to make a motor car that will be light and strong and clean so that women can drive it. And it will have enough power to do any kind of work called for, and will be sold so any man who can own an average horse and buggy can afford to own a car.”

Revolutionary at the time, Model Ts provided practical, affordable transportation for the common man. Low cost. Durable. Versatile. Easy maintenance. The T could grind through mud, snow or sand, climb steep grades and ford deep streams.

Assembly-line production allowed the price to be lowered from $850 in 1908 to less than $300 in 1925. Ford factories produced more than 15 million of them.

Ford wrote in his autobiography, in 1909 he told his management team in the future “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”However, grey, green, blue, and red original colors can be found too.

Popular nicknames for the autocar included Tin Lizzie, Flivver, Bouncing Betty, Leaping Lena, the Spirit of St. Vitus, and the Mechanical Cockroach.

Most models started with a hand crank. After 1920, some models included battery-powered starters. The transmission consisted of two forward gears and one reverse, controlled by foot pedals. A hand lever on the steering column controlled the spark and throttle.

A 10-gallon tank tucked under the front seat. Top speeds amounted to 40–45 miles per hour (65–70 km/h).

1917 Model T

Because the reverse gear offered more power than the forward gears, the Model T often had to be driven up a steep hill backward, at fifteen miles per hour. Such deficiencies, plus its noisiness at higher speeds and its homely appearance made the Model T the butt of humor in innumerable jokes, songs, poems, and stories.

Q. Why did the salesman call his Model T "Baby"?
A. Cause it wouldn't go anywhere without a rattle.Q. Why is a Ford Model T like a bathtub?A. You know you need one, but really don't want to be seen in it.
Another told about the man looking sadly up a tree. When asked why, he said, “I was cranking my Ford and it flew off the handle.”

          Insufficient roads and lack of enough gas stations and hotels remained one of the main drawbacks to owning a Model T back in the early 1900s.

From left: Aaron, Mike, Janet & Russ Bly

My Fiction Project

I’m thinking about my ninety-one-year-old character taking a journey from northern Idaho to Goldfield in his Model T. He’ll have to bump along on plenty of side roads to keep from annoying modern day drivers. But he should have plenty of gas stations and hotels, that is, if he can drive far enough up and down the hills each day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a video link that gives you a flavor of what's it like to ride in a Model T:

http://youtu.be/BQ-obAO-tJE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another video showing the parts of a 1925 Model T, How to Start & How to Drive, a charming presentation done in Australia, about 17 minutes long:
http://youtu.be/QxfHMtgg2d8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Janet Chester Bly is the widow of award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Between them, they published over 120 fiction and nonfiction books for adults and kids. She lives in Winchester, Idaho at 4,200 foot elevation on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and travels down the mountain to the river valley of Lewiston to visit her three married sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Website: http://www.BlyBooks.com

~~~~~~~~~
Janet and her three sons finished Stephen Bly's last novel, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot.

Stuart Brannon's Final Shot

Click here to read about the story of this family project: http://www.blybooks.com/2012/03/coping-with-loss/