Some of Maine’s (official) favorite things, clockwise from top left: Our official animal, treat, insect, vessel, soft drink, berry and bird.

Even though Maine already has 31 official state symbols — including a soil type, soft drink, fossil and insect — there seems to be a tendency to focus on what we don’t have.

Take for example two proposals before the Legislature this session. State Rep. Laurie Osher of Orono presented a bill to name the spring peeper as Maine’s official amphibian. Someone told her they had been scouring other states’ lists of official things, saw amphibians, and wondered why Maine didn’t have one. Osher, who taught soil science at the University of Maine, contacted some amphibian experts to see what a good state amphibian would be, and they suggested the peeper. Her discussions with other science-minded folks led to discussions about how Maine was also lacking a state reptile, so Osher ended up proposing another bill this session, calling for the wood turtle to hold that title.

Why Maine has so many state symbols and why these particular things have achieved the honor is a complicated question. With no rules governing how many state symbols Maine can have or what the parameters are, the ways they get proposed are pretty random. Sometimes it’s an attempt to celebrate an iconic state product or creature, other times it’s simple curiosity and sometimes it’s self-promotion.

DO WE NEED A STATE HERB?

As proposals for more official state things mount, including more than a dozen in the last 15 years, some politicians and taxpayers have wondered if this is worthy work for legislators, or if it’s a way for some to get publicity and get a bill passed easily. Osher’s bill is among three proposed this session to name new state things. The third would make the Seppala Siberian sled dog Maine’s official dog.

A sculpture of Togo, a famous Seppala Siberian sled dog who retired in Maine and has inspired the push for a state dog. The bronze sculpture was created by Maine artist David Smus. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

“I think it is driven by a desire to have Maine’s resources identified and celebrated, but I think also people are looking for bills that get a little attention from the media, something they can take credit for,” said Sawin Millett, a long-time state official and retired Republican state representative from Waterford, who was first elected to the Legislature in 1968. “I’m a little concerned.”

Osher says the fact that her two state symbol bills have gotten publicity just a few weeks into the session is a good thing, not just for the bills or for her, but because it might make people more aware of the workings of the Legislature.

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“A lot of people just assume that state government is not a big deal, but with 2,000 bills a session, there are a lot of things we are addressing that affect people’s lives,” said Osher, a Democrat. “So having bills like these, that draw attention to the fact that we are already starting to work, is a good thing. ”

The bill to declare a state dog was brought by Rep. David Boyer, a Republican, who says he was approached with the idea at a town event in Poland by Jonathan Hayes, a Maine musher who works with Seppala Siberian dogs, and by Cyndi Robbins, owner of Poland Spring Resort.

The breed is descended from the famous Alaskan sled dog Togo, who spent his last years at the Poland Spring Resort, in Poland Spring. Togo became famous after leading a dog team that delivered a life-saving diphtheria serum to sick children in Nome, Alaska, in 1925. You might have seen the Disney movie about him.

“I know some people have been critical of bills like this, but I think symbols matter — they help tell the story of our state,” said Boyer, an antiques dealer. “This dog is a symbol of bravery, courage and resilience. I think those are all things Mainers can identify with.”

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Most states have had emblems like flags, mottos or seals for as long as they’ve been states. But creating a myriad of other symbols seemed to become a trend after the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, when flowers from each state were showcased, according to Ryan Prager, who has kept track of state symbols for the website StateSymbolsUSA.org since 2000.

States adopted official flowers and later did the same with birds and trees. By the early 1960s, Maine had those three, as well as a state song. In the 1970s, a state mineral, insect and animal were added. They were followed in the ’80s and ’90s by a state fossil, cat, vessel, berry, herb and soil. (See the full list of Maine’s official state symbols below.)

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The Pink-edged Sulphur is Maine’s state butterfly. Photo by Mike Reese

Maine’s 31 symbols may seem like a lot but Texas has more than 70, while Tennessee has more than 60 and Massachusetts has more than 55, according to Prager. The state of Iowa lists only 14, the least of any state. New Mexico has an official state aroma, the scent of green chile peppers roasting. Ohio has a state rock song, the 1960s hit “Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys. Connecticut has a state polka. California has a state fabric: denim.

Prager thinks at least some of the increase in state symbols in the last 10 or 15 years has been fueled by students and their access to the internet. He finds a lot of students visit his site and often see a symbol another state has, that their state doesn’t. Then they research the topic and end up getting help from their local legislator.

That’s what happened when Oscar Stanton and Tate Graham were studying ecosystems at Loranger Memorial School in Old Orchard Beach a few years ago. The two fifth graders decided to write to their state representative, Lori Gramlich, a Democrat, and ask why Maine didn’t have a state butterfly when other states did.

Oscar Stanton, left, and Tate Graham, fifth graders at Loranger Memorial School, led an effort to designate the Pink-edged Sulphur as Maine’s state butterfly. Gillian Graham/Portland Press Herald

With help from state officials and a wildlife biologist, they narrowed down qualified Maine butterflies and then had the whole fifth grade vote to choose one: the Pink-edged Sulphur. The bill passed the Legislature and became law in May 2023, and the butterfly became official.

Griffin Sherry of the Portland folk band The Ghost of Paul Revere had written a song called “The Ballad of the 20th Maine” more than a decade ago, about the regiment famed for playing a critical role in the Union victory at Gettysburg in 1863. But it was proposed as the state ballad in 2019 largely because lobbyist Amy Regan Gallant, a friend of the band’s members, began mentioning it to legislators. Rep. Scott Cuddy of Winterport, a Democrat, liked the idea and put the bill forward. It passed.

Members of the Portland band The Ghost of Paul Revere — from left: Griffin Sherry, Sean McCarthy and Max Davis — perform on June 7, 2019, in the Hall of Flags at the Maine State House in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Terry Swett, a guitar player and singer from Bridgton, decided to write a song in 2020 for the state’s bicentennial. He called it “My Sweet Maine” and the lyrics read like a love song to the state where he grew up and returned to as an adult. He recorded it at a studio in Bethel and played it for a friend. His friend suggested he play it for some local legislators and get it proposed as a new state song. Reps. Walter Riseman of Harrison and John Andrews of Paris ended up co-sponsoring the bill.

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Swett learned that Maine already had a state song, “State of Maine Song,” written in the 1930s in response to a Maine Publicity Bureau contest but not widely known today. So his composition was proposed, and approved, as the state song of the 21st century. Maine also has a state march, besides a ballad, a song and a song of the 21st century.

The various state symbol bills over the years have featured a little bit of political bickering, and compromise. In 2011, there was a bill to make whoopie pies the state dessert, partly prompted by a New York Times story which dubiously reported the baked confection originated in Pennsylvania. But as the legislators debated the whoopie, it became clear there was strong support for honoring blueberry pie, too.

So in the same session, whoopie pies were declared the state treat and blueberry pie the state dessert.

MAINE’S STATE SYMBOLS

Butterfly: Pink-edged Sulphur (2023)
• Rock: Granitic pegmatite (2023)
Song of the 21st century: “My Sweet Maine” (2021)
• Ballad: “Ballad of the 20th Maine” (2019)
• Crustacean: Maine lobster (2016)
• Sweetener: Pure Maine maple syrup (2015)
• Military History Museum: Maine Armed Forces Museum (2013)
• Dessert: Blueberry pie with wild Maine blueberries (2011)
• Treat: Whoopie pie (2011)
• March: “Dirigo March” (2011)
• Heritage fish: Eastern brook trout and Arctic char (2007)
• Soft drink: Moxie (2005)
• Soil: Chesuncook soil series (1999)
• Herb: Wintergreen (1999)
• Language of the Deaf community: American Sign Language (1991)
• Berry: Wild blueberry (1991)
• Vessel: The schooner Bowdoin (1987)
• Cat: Maine coon cat (1985)
• Fossil: Pertica quadrifaria (1985)
• Animal: Moose (1979)
• Insect: Honey bee (1975)
• Mineral: Tourmaline (1971)
• Fish: Landlocked salmon (1969)
• Flower: Pine cone and tassel
• Song: “State of Maine Song”
• Bird: Chickadee
• Tree: White pine
• Merchant and marine flag: A pine tree and anchor with the words “Dirigo” and “Maine”
• Motto: “Dirigo” (“I lead”)
• Seal: Shield featuring a pine tree and moose, flanked by a farmer and a sailor, with the words “Dirigo” and “Maine”
• Flag: Maine seal on a blue field

Note: Symbols with no dates have been official since at least 1964.
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 9: Seal, Motto, Emblems and Flags.

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