Symbolmania: by statute or resolution, legislators continue to adopt symbols to represent their state. Do these gestures trivialize the process?

• Author: Rosenthal, Alan

The Ohio legislature recessed at the end of May last session without having resolved a number of not-at-all-urgent issues--whether the smallmouth bass or the walleye pike would be designated the state fish, whether the papaw or apple would become the state fruit, whether the bullfrog or toad would be named the state amphibian and whether the hamburger would make the grade as the official state food.

For about a century now, legislatures by statute or resolution have been adopting symbols or emblems to represent the states. Ohio's state flower, for example, is the red carnation. It was symbolized in 1901 after President William McKinley was assassinated. McKinley had worn a red carnation in his lapel every day since entering politics in Ohio, and this seemed to be a way to honor him.

As of today, there are 75 different categories of state symbols, including the obvious ones, such as birds, trees, flowers and fish, and the not-so-obvious ones, such as cookies, pastries, snacks, soils and meals. Every state has its symbols. Texas, (with 25) has the most, followed by Massachusetts (20), South Carolina (19), Alabama (19) and Georgia (18). Some states, however, are symbol-deprived; Indiana and Iowa have only four and Hawaii has six.

WHY THEY DO IT

With so many major matters with which to deal, why should state legislatures pay any attention whatsoever to matters so minor? Who could possibly care whether the honeybee or ladybug wins the title of state insect? The fact is, some constituents do care.

Every state has some industry it wants to acknowledge and promote. And such industries lobby the legislature in order to be promoted. About 20 states have adopted milk as the official state beverage, hoping to advance the interests of their dairy farmers. Florida, however, chose orange juice, Ohio tomato juice, and Massachusetts cranberry juice.

Both Kentucky and Maryland celebrated one of their prized industries by honoring as the state horse the Thoroughbred. Washington's fruit is the apple, one of the largest industries in the state, while the sweet potato is the vegetable of choice in North Carolina, which is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation. Oregon has the distinction of growing 99 percent of the entire U.S. commercial crop of hazelnuts, so no one should be surprised that it's the state nut.

Senator Kevin Coughlin of Ohio may have taken the promotion of a state industry one step farther. He introduced a bill to make the hamburger the official state food, not because Buckeyes produce or consume more hamburgers per capita than anywhere else, but in acknowledgment that both Wendy's and White Castle are headquartered in Ohio. It would not be fair to accuse Coughlin, or others like him, of simply trying to promote business in their states. As representatives, legislators respond to their constituencies whenever the opportunity arises.

"I got a constituent that, for the last couple of years, has asked me to do this," Coughlin explained. Competitive speedeater Dave "Coondog" O'Karma made a powerful case with research and evidence he brought to Coughlin. Two brothers...