February brings to mind of course Valentine’s Day, but also patriotic things such as President’s Day, which leads to patriotic symbols. One of my favorite symbols is Uncle Sam. I’m old enough to remember those July 4th parades with someone dressed as Uncle Sam walked on stilts. Those long legs thrilled me as a child.

I remained interested in this symbol. The story goes that it started in Troy, New York with a meat packer named Samuel Wilson, who supplied rations for the soldiers. The label read “E.A.-US”. 

Someone as curious as I wanted to know what this meant. It actually stood for “Elbert Anderson” (the contractor) and “United States” The worker either didn’t know or was making a joke, saying it was “Uncle Sam”, since he knew Sam Wilson.