Another Salt Lake newspaper's Dec. 17 issue carries an editorial diatribe against the use of the beehive on the commemorative coin for Utah. Seems to me the writer was in the same obtuse frame of mind as those opposing the use of the traditional cross to commemorate fallen state troopers.
If we can't use a beehive on a commemorative coin, we'll have to change our state flag as well as all state highway markers and our state motto, not to mention re-educating the nation after a hundred years' use regarding our state's nickname. What does the Salt Lake Tribune suggest we advertise ourselves as? Pennsylvania has no trouble calling itself "The Quaker State." At least Utah doesn't formally advertise itself as "The Mormon State." Can't Tribune editorial writers — and so many others — give us a rest about the Mormon origins of modern Utah? These are facts of history. As some have recently been suggesting, let's take pride in our uniqueness.
David B. Timmins
Salt Lake City