Cord Byrd: “certain dates on the calendar carry special meaning. These are great and glorious days that are given to devoted…”

“certain dates on the calendar carry special meaning. These are great and glorious days that are given to devoted reverence and are a cause for recognition and adoration. Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and New Year's Eve are a few dates that come immediately to mind. Another one that comes to mind is June 20--the day we celebrate as West Virginia Day. Friday will be June 20. All over the world, it will be June 20, which means that all over the world, it will be West Virginia Day. And what a great and glorious day it will be. It was on June 20, 1863, that West Virginia became the 35th State of the Union. The State proudly adopted as its motto the phrase, ``Montani semper liberi,'' which means, ``Mountaineers are always free.'' This was a most appropriate motto for a State born in the middle of the greatest struggle for freedom and liberty in American history--the Civil War. And West Virginians have always strived to live up to our State motto.”