Note however that this is pre-statehood, by 7 years.
That's likely a technicality, as these abbreviations for state names persisted right up to late 1963. The two-letter didn't become the 'pun' it is today until then; in the Rodgers & Hammerstein book for "Oklahoma!", it's OK as in the abbreviation for 'fine' -- you even find Pete Townshend of the Who quoting it.
Funny that I can't remember using anything but the two-letter codes now. It's jarring to see evidence of the older system as in "Arklatex" or ... a bit more tacitly ... in Cordwainer Smith's location for Earthport.
Mike adds this to the conversation!
The great song from the musical!
"Oklahoma is OK" has been on the state's license plates since at least the mid-1960's, probably earlier. My guess is that it came from the musical.
Dominion Day is a far better name to commemorate Confederation than Canada Day is. In fact Confederation Day would be better but it's a bit clunky.
From Mark Steyn:
" As Dominion Day became Canada Day, a nomenclature unsurpassed by any other nations holiday in its yawning nullity."
I agree.
....speaking of yawning nullity Oklahoma license plates say " Oklahoma is OK".
Advertisement for their zip code? Approved late Friday afternoon of a long weekend by a handful of remaining legislatures?
Fear not, the fix has arrived.
Oklahoma is “better than OK” and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell wants everyone to know. Oklahoma’s second-in-command is leading the charge to craft a cohesive brand for Oklahoma that includes a new state logo, slogan and selfie-worthy “Welcome to Oklahoma” signs on major state highways. Pinnell, who also doubles as the state’s secretary of tourism and branding, also wants to ditch the widely criticized scissor-tailed flycatcher license plates Gov. Mary Fallin unveiled in 2016.
Oklahoma is “better than OK” and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell wants everyone to know.
Oklahoma’s second-in-command is leading the charge to craft a cohesive brand for Oklahoma that includes a new state logo, slogan and selfie-worthy “Welcome to Oklahoma” signs on major state highways.
Pinnell, who also doubles as the state’s secretary of tourism and branding, also wants to ditch the widely criticized scissor-tailed flycatcher license plates Gov. Mary Fallin unveiled in 2016.
Yep, it’s official. Oklahoma is… “Better Than OK!” Boy, that instills some confidence. Maybe we should just go ahead and make that our new state motto. Turn it into a logo, plop it on a license plate inspired by the Instagram logo and Ayipioeeay, I think I just saved our state a few million bucks.
From an article from the LostOgle a website about Oklahoma City News.
By the way Oklahoma cowboys are doing well at the Calgary Stampede, bull riding, bucking broncos and barrel racing with the gals. That's better than OK. That's great!.. Miningman
MiningmanPosted by AgentKid on Monday, July 01, 2019 12:52 PM ... My Dad's first station was at Hatton, SK, 37 miles farther ahead from where the video stops… http://www.ghosttownpix.com/sask/towns/hatton.html A fascinating story
A fascinating story
I wanted to add this for the benefit of our US readers.
Hatton is in the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek. The population of Maple Creek itself was 2,084 in 2016 which is counted separatly from the RM.
The Rural Municipality, which is just over 200 sq. mi. larger than Rhode Island, had a population of 1,068 living in 538 dwellings, in 2016.
The colour photos in the link depict that fairly well.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Sorry Peter, I thought you'd get it.
Those three classes of RF&P 4-8-4's were called "Governors," "Generals," and "Statesmen," being named after famous Virginians who were the same.
Wayne
Flintlock76 You know Peter, if your new Governor General down there in Australia who was a general, then a governor, turns out to be a statesman as well he'll be in the same august company as some fine 4-8-4's once operated by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad here in Virginia! http://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=4-8-4&railroad=rfp By the way, there was NO WAY a good Southern railroad was going to call a 4-8-4 a "Northern!"
You know Peter, if your new Governor General down there in Australia who was a general, then a governor, turns out to be a statesman as well he'll be in the same august company as some fine 4-8-4's once operated by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad here in Virginia!
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=4-8-4&railroad=rfp
By the way, there was NO WAY a good Southern railroad was going to call a 4-8-4 a "Northern!"
I am not sure what the N&W called its beautiful 4-8-4's; to me, they were simply engines to be admired, especially as they were waiting in Bristol for #42 to arrive from New Orleans. Every now and then, I would go into town after supper, just to admire the one waiting to go to work, taking #42 at least to Roanoke, if not to Monroe--pulling three or four headend car (mail and express), a combine, at least three coaches, a diner, and four or five Pullmans.
Johnny
The immediately preceding Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove was very well liked. He had been in charge of the operation in East Timor when we supported that country's independence from Indonesia, and subsequently Chief of Army and later Defence. The new GG, Peter Hurley, doesn't have such a high profile but will presumably make a good job of it.
I hadn't made the connection with the RF&P locomotives. I remember seeing the grey RF&P EMDs running through Alexandria on my visits to Washington DC.
Peter
MiningmanThis is for Bruce/Agent Kid and all from Mike
Thank you to Mike and Miningman for bringing this information forward.
1966... thats a darn shame. The Eastern railroads did a terrible job of preserving steam. Group think!
This is for Bruce/Agent Kid and all from Mike
MiningmanThose RF&P 4-8-4's were exceptionally beautiful locomotives. You mean that one of them could somewhat easily been saved but that it did not happen?
Worse than you think. One survived (in auxiliary boiler service, as I recall) as late as 1966!
Seeing those Mounties makes me realize why the British Army kept those red coats for as long as they did. They just look so GOOD!
Those RCAF Air Cadets look pretty squared away too! My compliments!
Overmod, take it from me there's a lot of people here in Virginia mourning the demise of those RF&P 4-8-4's. It's a shame they didn't save at least one, either the "General Robert E. Lee" or the "George Washington."
It shocked a lot of people here that they didn't. It would have made a great display piece at the old Broad Street Station, God knows there was plenty of room for one.
Those RF&P 4-8-4's were exceptionally beautiful locomotives. You mean that one of them could somewhat easily been saved but that it did not happen? Astonishing how many stories there are like that.
Those names on them would never fly today. The mob would see to that.
Dude-- Despite the formalities it was a fun day!
Don't get more Canadian than this:
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Miningman w sjtix--- Swift Current eh? Pic here from yesterday's Canada Day celebrations in Swift Current
w sjtix--- Swift Current eh? Pic here from yesterday's Canada Day celebrations in Swift Current
Very respectful, truly Canadian.
If not for the green leaves and lack of snow this could easily be mistaken for Rememberance Day.
I see the double posting problem is following you from forum to forum (and on RYPN as well).
CN initially called their 4-8-4's 'Confederations' (was this the original "We the North" moment?). Can't be out-northerned by a American road! But of course they eventually adopted the more common name for them.
You American folks on this forum may as well be Canadians, our shared love of steam knows no boundaries.
Besides, if someone was ever dumb enough to build a wall along the 49th parallel we'd just bust through it with 6060 or 4449 pushing a plow!
Flintlock76some fine 4-8-4's once operated by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad here in Virginia!
These need to be better recognized as some of the very most attractive of all American 4-8-4s.
How they ever managed to scrap 551 is still a mystery to me.
(Of course this has little if anything to do with Canada, let alone Dominion Day, even as the 'stretch' FireFlintlock76 invoked. But they're still beautiful engines! And while we're at it ...
... I might point out that Canadians quite neatly solved this quandary for all 'good Southern railroads' with the name THEY adopted for 4-8-4s ... it gains some further 'cred' by being the name Cantlie adopted for his excellent Chinese locomotives of that wheel arrangement.)
.
You're right Johnny, the author of the article was probably a Yankee, or just too lazy to proofread!
It's a good thing General Albert Sidney Johnston was a Kentuckian and not a Virginian. That would have been another "Johnston" name on a locomotive for the author of that article to louse up!
I first visited Canada during the centennial year, 1967. The Canadian govt put out a lot of advertising about Expo '67 and such, and my folks decided taking a vacation to Canada would be fun. We started out by going to Port Arthur - Ft. William Ontario, which became Thunder Bay in 1970, and visited there often in later years. By the time I turned 15 I had been in all the provinces from B.C. to Quebec.
Turns out there were some other Canada connections too. My grandfather came from Norway in 1903 and became a fur trapper in Saskatchewan. He had to snowshoe in to 'town' carrying a rifle the whole way, he said sometimes wolves would hide behind one of the few buildings in the settlement to jump on someone carrying supplies out. Now that tiny village is a pretty big city - Swift Current. Turns out one of his brothers that he lost track of ended up living in Vancouver, but we didn't find out about it until after he died.
Funny now to think about those trips up to Canada and seeing those "foreign" CP and CN trains, since now I drive past CP trains every day going to and from work - CP's former Milwaukee Road yards in St.Paul along the Mississippi.
Agent Kid/Bruce-- Luv those stories, please keep them coming. Eight passenger trains a day! How have we managed to fall so far? Pecking order determined by water needs.. you see we need to know that stuff. All the steam is gone, all the passenger trains are gone, a heck of a lot of track is gone, what the heck? You sure we won the war?
You are probably just smart enough to never walk near their nests.
Timmies has shipped everything frozen to the stores for years now (so much for "always fresh"), so you could always hold up the truck and get a year's supply all at once. I wonder if the Last Saskatchewan Pirate ever tried that...
Anyway, here's another song that describes us perfectly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOK9tkE8Db0
That's a beaver hat from Robertsons here in town. The bear is our friendly albino black bear. The Timmies Timbits are from my last trip to Prince Albert, I freeze 'em. Displayed our colourful money for our American cousins to see.
Canada Geese never bother me but they seem to dislike certain people.
Now, now, you're not nearly that far north. Better change the colour of that bear to brown or black.
Was that Davy Crocket cap imported, or have raccoons started to colonize the muskeg?
Those geese really do like to push their luck, I know a bunch of golfers who definately would not slow down if one walked in front of their car.
They're wee vicious beasties too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMdhAFPWzFw
Me ....on the Forum
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