Las Vegas Sun

November 22, 2009

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On Nevada Day, how well do you know Nevada?

Residents give their answers: Right, wrong and creative

Image

Steve Marcus

UNLV students Christine Conti, left, 19, and her sister Katharine, 18, ponder a question during the Las Vegas Sun’s Nevada Day quiz.

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Related Story

THE QUIZ

Answer these questions correctly and rejoice in being able to call yourself a native. Get them wrong and … Well, you did just move from California, right?

  • 1. What year did Nevada become a state?
  • 2. Who was president of the United States at the time?
  • 3. Why is one of Nevada’s nicknames “Battle Born?”
  • 4. Which states border Nevada?
  • 5. What is the state bird?
  • 6. What is the state song?
  • 7. What is Nevada’s highest peak?
  • 8. Las Vegas has the state’s largest population. Which cities come in second and third?
  • 9. How often does the state Legislature convene?
  • 10. Which professional sports teams call Clark County home?
Click to enlarge photo

Steve Marcus

Brent Ashton, 30, takes the Nevada Day quiz Thursday at the DMV office in Henderson. His motto for Nevada: "The land of opportunity."

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THE ANSWERS

  • 1. Nevada entered the union in 1864.
  • 2. Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States when Nevada achieved statehood.
  • 3. Nevada entered the union during the Civil War, leading to one of its nicknames, "Battle Born," as well as the state’s motto -- "All for our country."
  • 4. Five states border Nevada — Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Utah.
  • 5. The state bird is the mountain blue bird.
  • 6. The state song is “Home Means Nevada.”
  • 7. The highest peak in Nevada is Boundary Peak in Esmeralda County.
  • 8. Henderson is the state’s second most populous city, followed by Reno.
  • 9. The state Legislature convenes biennially. The next session is in 2011.
  • 10. The professional sports teams in Las Vegas are the 51s (AAA baseball), the Wranglers (minor league hockey), the Locomotives (United Football League). Also playing in Nevada are the Reno Aces (AAA baseball).

Less than a month after moving to Nevada in fifth grade, Katharine Conti impressed her school’s music teacher by learning all the words to the state song.

Now she’s 18, and Conti not only can’t remember the words to the song, but doesn’t even recall its title (“Home Means Nevada”).

“I can’t believe it,” said Conti, a freshman studying computer engineering at UNLV. “I remember my teacher giving me extra candy because I knew the whole song!”

How unfortunate for Conti that she was one of dozens of Nevadans approached Thursday at the DMV in Henderson by a reporter armed with questions about the Silver State. Nevada Day, which falls on Saturday and commemorates the date the state entered the Union, will be observed as a state holiday today.

Questions ranged from basics about history, geography and politics to the open-ended (What do you think the state’s motto should be?).

Conti’s 19-year-old sister, Christina, fared better, successfully naming Nevada’s border states (California, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Oregon) and knowing that the Legislature meets every two years. But both sisters struggled to recall the year the Silver State entered the union (1864) and who was president at the time (Abraham Lincoln).

“I feel like a failure,” joked Christina Conti, who is studying criminal justice at UNLV and planning on law school. She said she hasn’t been faced with Nevada history questions since middle school.

Robert Sullivan, a 29-year resident and native of Massachusetts, knew the history of Nevada’s statehood as well as the state’s population (2.6 million in 2008), largest cities (Henderson and Reno follow Las Vegas) and most of the professional sports teams (the 51s, the Wranglers, the Locomotives and the Aces in Reno).

Sullivan, 73, also offered a smart-alecky side.

How often does the Nevada Legislature convene?

“Not often enough.”

And the state bird?

“The cuckoo.”

DMV spokesman Kevin Malone scored well, missing only the name of Nevada’s highest mountain (Boundary Peak in Esmeralda County) and guessing incorrectly that Washington borders Nevada. Asked to name the state’s bird, Malone reached into his pocket and unfolded his wallet.

There he found a cheat sheet where you’d least expect it — the back side of his Nevada driver’s license.

Printed there are illustrations of the mountain blue bird, alongside the tule duck decoy, the state’s official artifact, as well as one of the state’s nicknames (“Battle Born”).

Brian Safier, a seven-year resident who relocated to Clark County from Washington, D.C., learned from the quiz that “Nevada” comes from the Spanish word “nieve,” which means snow-capped.

“I guess that makes sense — if you’re living in the valley and looking up at the mountains in the winter,” said Safier, 45.

Raymond Paki, accompanying his daughter for her first road test, offered a more pragmatic state motto than “All for our country”: “Keep Nevada green — bring in more money.”

Don’t ask John Groom, 43, to hum “Home Means Nevada” but he’s ready for a new state motto: “Live and Let Live.”

After five years as a full-time resident of Nevada, Brent Ashton considers himself a pretty good citizen, even if he didn’t know the answers to most of the quiz’s questions. More important for the state economy, he nailed the area’s professional sports teams, whose games he sometimes attends.

And does he have a suggestion for a new Nevada motto?

“The land of opportunity,” Ashton said.

A 2008 graduate of Silverado High School and a lifelong Clark County resident, Jennifer Stattman apologized for being uncertain about most of the questions on the quiz. She’s a student of the University of Phoenix majoring in … elementary education.

“I know, right?” Stattman said with a laugh. “That’s not good. I’m going to have to study.”

Discussion: 16 comments so far…

  1. By RollingPassion
    10/30/09 at 6:20 a.m.

    Comment removed by staff. Off topic.

  2. By LVPaco
    10/30/09 at 6:34 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Happy Nevada Day! I am so glad the SUN wrote this article and do hope that all the newbies who have moved here in the last 10 years read it carefully and study it. Nevada is a fabulous state and one with a rich history.

  3. By justjoe
    10/30/09 at 7:51 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Got all but the last one. Mrs McMillan taught us well out in old Henderson's 8th grade civics.

  4. By atdleft
    10/30/09 at 8:15 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    WOW! I know more than I thought I did. I didn't know the state bird or motto or song, but I did know that Nevada achieved statehood in 1864 (when Lincoln was President during The Civil War, hence the "Battle Born" nickname). I also know Boundary Peak is our highest mountain top, and that our legislature is only part-time and meets once every two years (except for occasional special sessions).

    For a newcomer who moved here less than 4 months ago, I think I'm getting to know my new home state pretty well. Happy Nevada Day! :-)

  5. By doubledown_deadender
    10/30/09 at 9:32 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Who declared the War in Iraq LOST while American troops remained on the ground?
    Who believes a carpet bagger named Joseph Smith was a prophet sent by God?
    Who has done the most damage to Nevada in the last decade?
    Who was corrupt dating back to the Nevada Gaming Commission days?
    If you answered Harry Reid 4/4 then you know all you need to know about Nevada come voting day in 2010.

  6. By redneck43
    10/30/09 at 11:59 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Funny...Columbus Day is not celebrated..but nevada days is...classic

  7. By GrandmaCrabby
    10/30/09 at 3:10 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    That was a fun article. Thanks.

  8. By info4you2see
    10/30/09 at 3:35 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    This was a good article! Thanks Emily.

  9. By casinokid
    10/30/09 at 5 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    Columbus was a tyrant he and his men enslaved over 5000 people and was responsible for the extinction of a tribe of indians...........
    And we celebrate him.

  10. By environprotector
    10/30/09 at 5:50 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    Nevada probably has the most interesting history that I have ever studied. The best part is the birth of Las Vegas 100 years ago forward. There is a lot to fill in there!

  11. By stevem
    10/30/09 at 11:55 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    katharine is a CUTIE!

  12. By Phargo
    10/31/09 at 5:34 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Lech!

  13. By LV_Tom
    10/31/09 at 8:58 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Casinokid.....get over it! what explorer didn't wield a heavy hand. You do know that most blacks in Africa were sold into slavery by......... wait for it........ BLACKS

  14. By ol66
    10/31/09 at 10:28 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    Take a closer look at the lyrics of "Home Means Nevada."

    It makes no mention of anything that has to do with Clark County or Las Vegas.

    It deals with images only from Northern Nevada...the Kit Carson Trail and the Truckee River.

    Some state song.

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