Our Motto!

Here at KHT, we love our motto (thanks, Dad!). It’s a call, and a promise, to all of our customers, to send us those pesky (I really like the word pesky!!) thermal processing jobs that keep you up at night, so we can “do our thing” providing amazing solutions, production, and delivery. Driving this summer, I noticed some of the state flags and mottos. (Make time to watch the TED Talk below about flag design featuring Roman Mars of 99% Invisible podcast – it’s awesome, and the ending will have you howling!). Here in Ohio, our motto – “With God, All Things Are Possible”– reflects a faith-centric vision of perseverance and hope that resonates deeply with many Ohioans. But we’re not alone, and that nearly half of U.S. state mottos are in Latin, chosen by early leaders to give their words a sense of permanence and prestige. From Kansas’ bold “Ad Astra per Aspera” (“To the Stars Through Difficulties”) to Missouri’s “Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto” (“The Welfare of the People Shall Be the Supreme Law”), these phrases carry so much history and meaning. Others, like Florida’s “In God We Trust” and South Dakota’s “Under God, the People Rule,” share Ohio’s faith-based tone, while mottos like New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” and California’s triumphant “Eureka!” are simply great. Together, they are a fascinating portrait of America’s values, dreams, and identity, and paint a fascinating portrait of our country. I hope you find some of these as interesting and uplifting as I did (honestly, some I think are clunkers), but nonetheless, thought provoking (in full openness – I don’t like Chicago’s flag!) I tried to sort them by theme and included the Latin (sometimes it sounds better than the translation) and English (and four “other” languages), and starred some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Roman Mars TED Talk on Flag Design:

God-Centric / Faith-Based

Arizona – “God Enriches” (Ditat Deus)
Colorado – “Nothing Without Providence” (Nil Sine Numine)
Connecticut – “He Who Transplanted Still Sustains” (Qui Transtulit Sustinet)
Florida – “In God We Trust” (English original)
Kentucky – “Let Us Be Grateful to God” (Deo Gratiam Habeamus – secondary motto)
Ohio – “With God, All Things Are Possible” (English original) *
South Dakota – “Under God, the People Rule” (English original)
Hawaii – “The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness” (Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono – Hawaiian)

Spiritual / Hopeful

Rhode Island – “Hope” (English original) *
South Carolina – “While I Breathe, I Hope” (Dum Spiro Spero)
Washington – “By and By” (Alki — Chinook word)
New Mexico – “It Grows as It Goes” (Crescit Eundo)
Idaho – “Let It Be Perpetual” (Esto Perpetua)
Oregon – “She Flies With Her Own Wings” (English original)

Inspirational / Aspirational

Kansas – “To the Stars Through Difficulties” (Ad Astra per Aspera)
New York – “Ever Upward” (Excelsior) *
North Carolina – “To Be, Rather Than to Seem” (Esse Quam Videri)
Maine – “I Direct” or “I Guide” (Dirigo)
California – “I Have Found It” (Eureka – Greek origin) *

Freedom / Liberty / Justice

Delaware – “Liberty and Independence” (English original)
New Jersey – “Liberty and Prosperity” (English original)
Pennsylvania – “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence” (English original)
New Hampshire – “Live Free or Die” (English original) *
West Virginia – “Mountaineers Are Always Free” (Montani Semper Liberi)
Nebraska – “Equality Before the Law” (English original)
Wyoming – “Equal Rights” (English original)
Virginia – “Thus Always to Tyrants” (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
Missouri – “The Welfare of the People Shall Be the Supreme Law” (Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto)
District of Columbia – “Justice for All” (Justitia Omnibus)

Unity / Strength in Numbers

Kentucky – “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” (English primary motto)
Louisiana – “Union, Justice, Confidence” (English original)
North Dakota – “Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable” (English original)
Vermont – “Freedom and Unity” (English original)
Arkansas – “The People Rule” (Regnat Populus)
Indiana – “The Crossroads of America” (English original)

Work / Industry / Prosperity

Utah – “Industry” (English original)
Oklahoma – “Work Conquers All” (Labor Omnia Vincit)
Tennessee – “Agriculture and Commerce” (English original)
Texas – “Friendship” (English original, from Caddo “Taysha”)
Georgia – “Wisdom, Justice, Moderation” (English original)
Nevada – “All for Our Country” (English original) *

Geography / Discovery / Identity

Montana – “Gold and Silver” (Oro y Plata – Spanish)
Michigan – “If You Seek a Pleasant Peninsula, Look About You” (Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice)
Minnesota – “Star of the North” (L’Étoile du Nord – French) *
Alaska – “North to the Future” (English original)

Miscellaneous / Unique Phrases

Illinois – “State Sovereignty, National Union” (English original)
Maryland – “Strong Deeds, Gentle Words” (Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine – Italian)
Massachusetts – “By the Sword We Seek Peace, But Peace Only Under Liberty” (Ense Petit Placidam Sub Libertate Quietem)
Wisconsin – “Forward” (English original)