By JAMIE PARSELL
BLUEFIELD —
Two holidays in one day? At least only one holiday requires a gift — a tie, shirt or power drill — for Father’s Day. The other holiday is an anniversary, a celebration called West Virginia Day. The two observances have nothing in common except one thing : Glitter and a lot of glue. As a child, I decorated many Father’s Day cards in glitter. It was a mess. And every time my Dad opened the card, a shower of glitter fell in the floor. It rained glitter for days, until the card was folded and stashed in the keepsake file.
I was hooked on glitter. It sparkled, shined and came in dozens of colors. Along with the glue, the two items ranked high on the creative arts list in childhood. For good reasons, the two items were always under lock and key, both at home and school. So, whenever a teacher mentioned glue and posters in elementary school, I always magically came back to life, out of deep sleep known as seatwork. I would sit up, fold my hands on the table and wait patiently for the creative juices to flow straight down to my fingertips.
Markers, glitter and finally, glue — oh, the possibilities, the mess — turned a boring day of pencil and paper into an art exhibit full of colors. My first poster, probably in the first or second grade, featured four photos, a bunch of glitter and globs of glue. In the center, I proudly drew — OK, most likely traced — an outline of the Mountain State, a tribute to home. The northern panhandle looked like a spoon and the bottom curve looked like a bumpy road somewhere between Mercer and McDowell Counties. I am not a good artist. In those days, my handwriting was sloppy; the letters crooked and shaky. The glitter smeared all over the posterboard and the glue bubbled under the thin magazine photos. But with a little parental guidance — they didn’t trust their 5-year-old daughter with scissors — I learned a lot about my state.
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In the right corner the rhododendron was named as the official state flower of West Virginia on Jan. 29, 1903, by public school students. There are more than 1,000 species of rhododendron. But only one of those grew along side my childhood home. Imagine the surprise when I discovered the state flower — our rhododendron looked more like miniature trees — grew in the yard. In the left corner, the black bear, sat alone, for good reason. This was an animal I did not want to see in the backyard. During 1954 to 1955, students, teachers and even sportsmen participated in a poll to name the state animal. It was officially adopted by Legislature in 1973. If given a chance as an elementary student, I probably would have chosen a kitten as a state animal.
In the bottom right corner, I glued a bright red cardinal to the posterboard. On March 7, 1949, the Legislature adopted the cardinal as West Virginia’s state bird. But I knew about the bright red bird. You see, my grandma’s house was a hot spot for birds, especially cardinals and blue jays. Her bird feeders hung from the branches of the apple tree and I would stand at the window, patiently looking for flashes of red. And in the top left corner, the sugar maple stood tall, underneath a gallon of glue. I was particularly fond of the tree because two of them stood in the yard. My parents had planted the two trees to symbolize the birth of their two children, my brother and I. Since I was the oldest, my tree was always taller than my brother’s tree. But the sugar maple belonged to West Virginia 30 years before my parents planted a tree in the yard. And just like the cardinal, the sugar maple became a state symbol in 1949.
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The glitter, markers and glue are the tools to hook a child into learning about history. And it worked. I have never forgotten the rhododendron, the black bear, the cardinal and the sugar maple. No matter the home, whether it be West Virginia or Virginia, a simple introduction to history encourages hometown pride. Hometown pride exists all across the nation, from Maine to California. And especially here in the two Virginias, where WVU and VT decals ride up and down the highways. We promote both sides of the Virginias by living life surrounded by state symbols. The Commonwealth is not left out; it shares the cardinal with West Virginia, while promoting the american dogwood and a lot of animals like the American Foxhound, the Brook Trout and even the Virginia Big-Eared bat. We are a proud Four Season’s Country, dedicated to teaching children about the symbols of history. As a resident of the Mountain State, I will always lean towards pretty rhododendrons and plant my own sugar maples in my backyard.
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I still like glitter. And I wouldn’t hesitate to make my Dad a homemade card out of thousands of sparkles and sticky glue. It would cause a smile, maybe even a laugh. West Virginia Day and Father’s Day don’t have much in common beyond glitter, except one small detail. I always had help with posterboards, science experiments and art projects. Beside my tiny hand, there was always a strong hand ready to guide the glue and clean up the glitter. Those days are gone, but the history lesson and memory still sparkles like new. The glitter may have worn off, but the values of both history and fatherhood are glued into the seams of my heart and soul — like a keepsake file.
Jamie Parsell is the Lifestyle editor of the Daily Telegraph. Contact her at jparsell@bdtonline.com.
