BS: Favorite Town Names Part II

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 23 May 02 - 05:03 PM

Been away a week... I've enjoyed all the posts, and especially enjoyed yours, Ranger Steve. Did you have a children's tv show in the 50's? I think you've singled out the reason why American towns sound different than those of the British Isles (other than all the examples of towns that were named AFTER British Isles towns. So much of our "American" heritage comes from native americans. We did an exhibit at the Museum where I worked for many years about place names in the United States, and almost every state is an indian name that was corrupted over the years.

Wisconsin, like most states, has a wealth of indian town names.. repeat after me, Manitowoc,Menomonie,Minoqua,Muckwanago, Muskego, Oconomowoc, Waukesha, Waunakee and Waupaca. I grew up in a boringly-named town, Janesville... named after the Janes family who were the first settlers. Yawn...

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: RangerSteve
Date: 23 May 02 - 06:00 PM

No Jerry, I was a child in the 50's. Thanks for adding the above names. Muckwanago is my favorite.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: BassBoater
Date: 23 May 02 - 07:18 PM

There's an island in Croatia called Krk

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Genie
Date: 24 May 02 - 01:34 PM

Well, Jerry R, as long as were on Wisconsin, how about that old favorite Oshkosh?

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: alanabit
Date: 25 May 02 - 01:22 PM

Two I particularly like in Cornwall are Zelah and Indian Queens.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 25 May 02 - 01:38 PM

Genie: Oshkosh... I always think of Oshkosh bib overalls with the slogan, "They're Oshkosh, by Gosh!" There;s also a small town called Gehrke's Corners. There was an old Dorothy Day musical where someone asks her where she's from, and she answers produdly, "Gehrke's Corners, Wisconsin." :-)

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Haruo
Date: 25 May 02 - 02:47 PM

In eastern Washington there is a town called Zillah, which is nothing special (namewise or otherwise) except for its local Church of God, which does indeed capitalize on it. It is probably the only Church of God with a Japanese movie lizard as its mascot. Here's a link on The Church of God—Zillah.

Liland

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Genie
Date: 27 May 02 - 02:40 AM

Jerry, do you mean Doris Day? [And are you young enough not to know her name? That makes me feel REALLY OLD! : ) ]

LMAO, Liland!

Genie §:- )

Subject: Lyr Add: SHAFTED IN SHAFTSBURG (Ipcar, Parshall)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 May 02 - 05:43 PM

Some of my favorite towns from my 12-year stay in Michigan:

SHAFTED IN SHAFTSBURG

G
I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----C--------------------G
Been lynched in Lynchburg town;
---------------------------
I've been sharpened in Flint,
----A-----------------D
And Highland's got me down;
---G
I'm all washed up in Bath,
C----------------G
Impaled in Lansing too;
------------------------E
Yes, I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----A----------D-----G
Come on and get shafted too!
------------------------E
Yes, I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----A----------D-----G
Come on and get shafted too!


I got fed up in Eaton Rapids,
In Custer I made my stand;
I got crocked in Potterville,
In Mason I was canned;
Reformed in Westphalia,
Benton Harbor straightened me out,
But the shafting I got in Shaftsburg
'Twas dreadful there can be no doubt!
But the shafting I got in Shaftsburg
'Twas dreadful there can be no doubt!

I lost my bearings in Wheeler,
Hamburg ground me down;
I was given the bird in Pigeon
And Fowlerville's a chickenshit town;
I got riled up in South Riley,
Ran amok in Menominee, Menominee, Menominee,
But when you come to Shaftsburg,
You'll be shafted I guarantee!
But when you come to Shaftsburg,
You'll be shafted I guarantee!

I got mixed up in Cement City,
Muskegon raised a stink;
You can't get high in Lowell,
Hart's got no soul I think;
I've been glum in Lum,
Taken for a ride in Cadillac;
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're never coming back!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're never coming back!

I lost my head in Bad Ax,
And Hell it wasn't so hot;
I got f***ed over in Climax,
And Hillsdale left me flat;
I've been socked in Argyle,
Swamped in Grand Marais,
But when you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're gonna stay that way!
But when you're shafted in Shaftsburg,You know you're gonna stay that way!

I put up my dukes in Ellington,
Got locked in the Kalamazoo;
I got the trots in Flushing
And see-sawed at the Sault;
I got stoned in Petoskey,
Balmed in East Gilead;
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as bad!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as bad!

I was polished off in Brighton,
In Lyons I lost my pride;
I was fleeced in Shepard,
In Frankenmuth I got fried;
I was blown away in Galesburg,
And Howeled all the way home;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time to roam!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time to roam!

I was cast out of Eden,
In Paradise I was lost;
I was damned in Holland,
In Thunder Bay, tempest tossed;
Tehquamenon (note: a waterfall) was my downfall
But, Eureka, I saw the light;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time for flight!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time for flight!

I got plastered in Paris,
In Rosebush I got ripped;
I got tanked in Sherman,
In Beacon I was lit;
Fell off the wagon in Temperance,
In Brunswick I got stewed;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as crude!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as crude!

I drifted through Grand Rapids,
At Big Rock I was sunk;
Coldwater was a chilling experience,
Hemlock had a lot of punch;
Saginaw was a big letdown,
And Paw Paw's a fruity place,
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You've known real disgrace!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You've known real disgrace!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 May 02 - 07:59 PM

"Shafted in Shaftsburg" was composed by Charlie Ipcar and Maxine Parshall, © 1975, after an inspiring road trip to the "thumb" of Michigan. It has been recorded by Michigan's Lady of the Lake and was rumored to have been the theme song of a 1980's road show with Kitty Donohoe. Somehow this information got left out in the above posting.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Teribus
Date: 28 May 02 - 10:29 AM

The one that always used to make me smile driving up and down from Aberdeen was a place called "Boggindollo".

I liked the island called Krk - must have been a bad day on the Scrabble board. Which reporter was it who referred to the combatants in the Balkans as "The unpronouncable versus the unspellable." - Think it was the BBC's John Simpson? anybody know?

Cheers,

Bill.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Genie
Date: 21 Oct 02 - 02:09 PM

En route to SunnyCamp this weekend, driving down the coast of Washington, I passed through (or by) a little burg called " Toketown ." I figure it must be a sister city to Weed, CA.

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: jimmyt
Date: 21 Oct 02 - 03:39 PM

Jerry Rasmussin beat me to the name Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, but he did not point out that EVERY OTHER LETTER IS AN O! Great name, if you ask me!

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Genie
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 03:49 AM

Correction:
It's Tokeland, Washington, not "Toketown."

Driving north from the Bay Area, there's a kind of natural progression of towns:
Weed , California
then you go through
Zigzag , Oregon,
and finally you get to
Tokeland , Washington.

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:00 AM

There's a place in Denmark called Ahs. Not far away another called Klit. I don't know the name of anywhere inbetween.

Woolfard = Wulfheard. Old English personal name.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Mr Happy
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:12 AM

liland, you've changed your name to haruo. why?

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:16 AM

And to expand on Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: you start out in Bird in Hand, and you keep going through Mount Joy and Intercourse, until you get to Paradise. But watch out: if you make a wrong turn, you might wind up in Blue Ball!

Aloha,
Mark (who went to medical school right down the road, in Hershey)

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Mr Happy
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:18 AM

r the pubs there called hershey bars?

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: GUEST,Bewildered in Bend
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:28 AM

Genie,
Lets see if I got this right.

You gather your stuff together in Weed ,
drive straight till you get to
Zigzag ,
then roll on down the interstate and up the coast till you get to
Tokeland .

Right?

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: songs2play
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 04:34 AM

With being born in Wales, I always get asked to say "What's that place that ends in go go goch ?"
its
llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Nice place to live.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Gurney
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 06:23 AM

How about those villages in England on the river Piddle, Piddletrenthide for one. That's how the Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra used to pronounce it, anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: ballpienhammer
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 06:23 AM

Cut'n'Shoot, TX
Dime Box, TX
Turkeyfoot, PA

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Bagpuss
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 06:46 AM

My brother used to live in No Place (County Durham) and there is also a *Pity Me* there. I also like the sound of Once Brewed and Twice Brewed in Northumberland.

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: sian, west wales
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 07:04 AM

Isn't there a Piddle-in-the Middle? Or is that apocraphal? I'm quite partial to Weston Under Lizard (in the West Midlands?). With places like those, I don't see why the English think the Welsh names are so unusual. Penisarwaun tends to send them through various shades of pink, of course. I like Aberhafhesp (Estuuary of the dry summer) - always think of hot hay-making summer days. (When we get them.) And if someone asks me for directions, I always hope that I can direct them through Pontrhydfendigaid or Eglwyswrw ... just to confuse them. (I've got to do something about this mean streak ...)

The Welsh settle a bit of Alberta south of Edmonton when the Canadian West was opening up - three townships of Magic, Climax and Eureka. Apparently there was a Welsh Calvinistic Church of Magic ... which I kinda like the thought of.

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Favorite Town Names Part II
From: Snuffy
Date: 22 Oct 02 - 09:15 AM

Sian, I like the story of the man whose car broke down in the valleys. He phoned the RAC to come and fix it.

The RAC operator asked where he was and he said "Ynysybwl"
"Can you spell that?"
"Y - N - Y - S - Y - B ..."
Make your bloody mind up, which is it?"

WassaiL! V