FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

West Virginia Day is a state holiday in the US state of West Virginia. Celebrated annually on June 20, the day celebrates the state’s 1863 admission to the Union as a result of the secession of several northwestern counties of Virginia during the American Civil War.

HISTORY

During the Civil War, the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond chose to join the Confederate States of America, much to the chagrin of many Union loyalists in the counties bordering Pennsylvania and Ohio in the trans-Allegheny region of the state. They created a Unionist state government in Wheeling, which began to call for the creation of a new Union state in western Virginia, but the inclusion of many Confederate counties in the new state complicated their efforts. After two years of legal maneuvering, West Virginia was formally admitted to the United States of America on June 20, 1863.

June 20 had been informally celebrated across West Virginia over the next six decades until the West Virginia Legislature gave the holiday formal recognition in 1927. The day has traditionally been celebrated with festivities at the state capitol complex in Charleston and at other locations across the state.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

West Virginia Day

West Virginia Day celebrates the statehood of West Virginia. The 35th state was formed when several northwestern counties of Virginia objected to that state’s decision in 1861 to join the Confederacy during the Civil War. These counties worked for two years to form their own state and join the Union. They succeeded on June 20, 1863. Since 1927, West Virginians have officially celebrated this event on June 20 each year.

Question of the Day

Where did the phrase “scotch the top” come from when it pertains to moving the top of a boiling pan slightly so that some of the steam can escape?

To make a scotch is to cut with a shallow incision or to slash. Scotch is also the line marked on the ground in certain games, like hopscotch. The origin of its use in cooking is unknown.

Advice of the Day

To keep your true love, eat potatoes, tomatoes, or hot spices.

Home Hint of the Day

Keep a bucket of sand, sprinkled lightly with kerosene or oil, in the shed where you store your garden tools. After using the tools, scour them with the sand to keep them clean and rust free. (Because of hazardous fumes, do not use this technique inside your house.)

Word of the Day

Arachnophobia

Fear of spiders

Puzzle of the Day

Hard case (Change these words into a single word.)

Charades

Born

• Errol Flynn (actor) – 1909
• Martin Landau (actor) – 1928
• Brian Wilson (singer) – 1942
• Anne Murray (singer) – 1945
• Bob Vila (handyman) – 1946
• Lionel Richie (singer) – 1949
• John Goodman (actor) – 1952
• Nicole Kidman (actress) – 1967
• Josh Lucas (actor) – 1971
• Shefali Chowdhury (actress; plays Parvati Patil in the Harry Potter movies) – 1988

Died

• Bugsy Siegel (gangster) – 1947
• Jack Kilby (the man who pioneered the development of the microchip and helped to create the first hand-held calculator) – 2005

Events

• Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States– 1782
• Queen Victoria gained the British throne– 1837
• A patent for the telegraph was granted to Samuel Morse– 1840
• West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the 35th state– 1863
• Queen Victoria’s 2-day Golden Jubilee celebration began– 1887
• First Baby Bonus” checks were sent to Canadian families”– 1945
• The microgroove, long-playing, Vinylite record, called the LP, was formally introduced at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City by CBS (Columbia Records)– 1948
• Fred H. Howard received a patent for a hybrid tea rose with clear rose red color which does not fade or turn blue”“– 1950
• The U.S. and the Soviet Union signed an agreement in Geneva to establish a so-called hot line emergency communication system, linking Washington and Moscow– 1963
• New National Library of Canada building officially opened in Ottawa, Ontario– 1967
• The first oil from Alaska’s frozen north slope began flowing into the trans-Alaska pipeline system (TAPS)– 1977
• In Russia, Sir Paul McCartney performed his 3,000th gig– 2004
• A minor earthquake (magnitude 1.0) shook the New Hampshire seacoast– 2007

Weather

• Tornado hit Fargo, North Dakota, destroying 1,364 homes and killing 10– 1957
• Baseball-sized hail was reported in parts of New England– 1995
• Lightning from Friday night storms (June 20) sparked more than 800 fires in northern California. Storms on Friday night produced an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes. Thousands of firefighters, including those from neighboring states, worked to put the fires out from ground and air over the next few days. Tens of thousands of acres were consumed over several days. On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard helicopters performed an emergency airlift of 8 endangered California condors (7 juveniles, 1 adult) from a wildlife center to the Monterey airport. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared state of emergency for Monterey and Trinity Counties on Monday.– 2008
• Newark, New Jersey, had a record high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit– 2012
• Burlington, Vermont, had a record high temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit– 2012
• New York City had a record high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit– 2012
• Hartford, Connecticut, had a record high temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit– 2012
• Danielle formed, setting a record for the earliest fourth tropical storm in the Atlantic basin– 2016

COURTESY www.almanac.com