Alabama

 

 

 

 By:Destine Smith

 

 

I Picked Alabama because

 

I like it there ...it is very

 

 

 

pretty and peaceful...

 

and did you know that.On

 

 

 

December 12, 1819 the

 

state of Alabama, also

 

 

 

known as the "Heart of Dixie

 

" became the 22nd

 

 

 

state admitted into the

 

United States of America.

 

 

 

The Alabama state flag has

 

a white background with

 

 

 

a St. Andrews cross (large red X)

 

 in the foreground.

 

 

 

The word Alabama comes

 

from a Native American

 

 

 

language, believed to be Choctaw,

 

which translates

 

 

 

to, "I clear the thicket." Alabama

 

sits on the Gulf of

 

 

 

Mexico and has several popular

 

tourist destinations

 

 

 

along and coast and in further

 

inland as well.

 

 

 

 

Alabama played a significant

 

role in the development

 

 

 

of the space program. The

 

rocket used by Apollo 11,

 

 

 

the first successful flight to

 

the moon, was designed

 

 

 

and built in Alabama. The first

 

 NASA Space Flight

 

 

 

Center was built in Alabama

 

and the first director of

 

 

 

the center was an Alabama

 

native. His name was Dr.

 

 

 

Wernher Von Braun and he

 

led the U. S. Space

 

 

 

program until June 1972.

 

There are still many places

 

 

 

throughout Alabama with

 

ties to the Space Program

 

 

 

including a Space Camp facility.

 

 

 

 

Although many people

 

associate Mardi Gras with

 

 

 

Louisiana, it was actually

 

the state of Alabama that

 

 

 

brought the tradition of

 

the Mardi Gras Festival to

 

 

 

the U.S.

 

 

 

 

In 1703, the city of Mobile

 

 was a French Colony. The

 

 

 

solders of this colony had

 

just survived a particularly

 

 

 

 

bad yellow fever epidemic

 

 and decided to celebrate.

 

 

 

 

So they paint their faces

 

and partied! It became an

 

 

 

annual event. 1840 a group

 

known as the Cowbellion

 

 

 

de Rakin Society transformed

 

the party into a

 

 

 

celebration and parade. Since

 

 then the Festival of

 

 

 

Lent, or Mardi Gras, has just

 

 continued to grow.

 

 

 

Every year during the months

 

of February and March

 

 

 

the streets of Mobile come

 

alive with music, color

 

 

 

and fun

 

 

 

                                                                                          State Flag Alabama