|
New Hampshire State Quarter Doesn’t Mince WordsThe New Hampshire State Quarter displays the craggy face of the late Old Man of the Mountain rock formation.The Old Man was known to most of the humans that ever inhabited the land that became New Hampshire, whether Native American, early American colonial, or modern tourist. Sadly, the Old Man succumbed during a late Spring storm in May of 2003. One could say that he lived free and died – if one was given to ham-handed segues. Guilty. The New Hampshire motto – Live Free or Die – was always startling to me as a kid. Wending our way north to New England for a summer road trip vacation the NH license plates with this sort of “in your face” statement were an immediate hit. How cool of these people to be so direct! But how did this slogan win out over “Famous Maple Sap” or the like? It turns out that the motto emblazoned upon the New Hampshire State Quarter is an abbreviation of a toast offered by General John Stark, a famous soldier of the American Continental Army, and a hero of the Battle of Bennington. The full version was: “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” General Stark had been invited to an 1809 reunion of his comrades from the Revolution, but was too ill to attend. He sent his toast to the group in a letter, declining the invitation, but admonishing them as to how they should conduct their lives, just the same. When it came time to devise a state motto, Stark’s toast was remembered, and enacted. It’s a fine motto. Next time you’re driving on the Interstate, look at the license plate mottos from other states. You’ll see -- it could have been worse.
|
