Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
Well, this week on March 15th, Maine will celebrate Statehood Day. This year marks 205 years since Maine formally became an independent state separated from Massachusetts.
Of course, it's important to recognize our collective history actually began long before statehood when the Wabanaki people first hunted, farmed, fished, and occupied much of the land that we call our home.
Maine has a proud and storied history and Statehood Day offers us the opportunity to honor it and to recommit ourselves to the values that shape us as a state and as a people. Our little state, jutting out of the northeast corner of the country with a population of only 1.4 million, with four fulsome seasons of the year, with its secret waterfalls, its forests, hills, and table lands, its fields, shores, and mighty rivers. This unique place we call home offers so much to so many.
I mean, hey, what other state can boast of unusual place names and natural phenomena like Thunder Hole or Nonesuch River, the Useless Road, Pollywog Gorge, or Misery Gore, the Cataracts, Angel Falls, Swift River, Big Niagara Falls, Gulf Hagas, the Beehive, Merrymeeting Bay, the Whalesback, magnificent Moosehead Lake, Old Speck, Tumbledown, and Quoddy Head?
But Maine is not just places, it's also its people.
For more than 205 years, Maine people with courage in their souls and kindness in their hearts, steely grit, iron resolve and an unshakable independent spirit, have built this state and have led the nation.
There are so many in this state who are "the unsung" folks, as poet Wes McNair has called them. Those are the firefighters and teachers, the techies and hotel workers, farmers and fishermen, the servers, the loggers, the barbers, and the millworkers of our towns. They are our friends and our neighbors. They are immigrants, laborers, veterans, people with disabilities, people from away, people we rely on every day, and many who rely on us.
Our state was born out of a compromise that allowed slavery to endure during the darkest days of our nation in another state. But when it came to crafting our own constitution, Maine refused to bow to the demands of others. We chose to enshrine, originally, voting rights for all men at the time, regardless of race, and provided for absolute freedom of religion and suffrage in the guiding principles of our state.
As we gather to celebrate our 205th Statehood Day, and to reflect on the history of Maine, let us remember the values our state was founded on. Let us always commit to a future where every Maine person can live and work in the state they love with boundless opportunity for themselves and for their family.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, whoever you are with, tell them what a great place you come from. Tell them of the strength and spirit of the people who live and make their living here on the rocky coast, the rolling hills, the wide farms, and the clean rivers. Tell them about the fresh foods and the coolest of lagers, and the jobs, the excitement, and the friendships here in this state.
Wherever you roam, if roam you will, upon your return, as upon your first arrival, and even if you never leave, we will greet you with a hearty hug and a loud “Welcome home.”
This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening. Happy Statehood Day, Maine.