Thursday 15 October 2009

Wednesday 14th October 2009 - What's in a (Post Office) Name?

          My morning paper, in the diner, has a picture, covering most of the front page, of geese in formation, presumably flying south.  A reminder that I should be thinking of doing the same.  Well, not flying, actually, but you know what i mean.  I still see the occasional Florida licence plate on the road, so it's not quite time yet.  I'm told it's cheaper to tax a vehicle in Florida, so the "snowbirds", who spend the winter down there, usually have Florida plates.  I wonder if Florida-plated vehicles go through some "flocking" process when they meet on the highway?  Does one suddenly sweep off south, seeing if the others follow?  Do they find themselves in gradually-increasing numbers on the interstate, and somehow just know it's time?  When there are no more Florida plates, I will know it's time to go.
 
          John Mc Bane/Bean was appointed postmaster in Glasgow in 1839.  William McBean/Bane platted out the little village of Glasgow in 1852.  If the Post Office was already called Glasgow, then the village name would not be open to question.  So my theory is that the village was named after the Post Office.  Why the Post Office was called Glasgow will probably not have been written anywhere.
          Post Office records are kept in Washington DC.  I shall have to have a look as I pass.  There were no rules then about what a post office name could be, although, obviously, duplicates weren't allowed.  This Glasgow is considerably older than the other Ohio Glasgow, so that wouldn't have been a problem.
          Getting appointed Postmaster would probably have involved a lot of political lobbying, so I guess it would have taken some time.  So the name must have been decided on some time before.  West Point, about four miles north, got a post office in 1836.  I reckon the "Scotch Settlement" must have wanted one for a long time, and carried a lot of political weight.   And, if most of your mail came from Scotland, what would be easier that to tell your friends and relatives "just send it to 'Glasgow, Ohio'"?
 
          Later that night I found a nice local bar which serves a real zinger of a tomato juice.  Of course, I say "tomatto" and they say "tomato"', and since it's the dominant syllable that's different, and I never remember to say it right, it all starts off with a misunderstanding.  I think I could make it easier by ordering a "virgin mary" (or, as the Australians like to call it, a "bloody shame"), but I never remember that either.  They probably think of me as an 'ugly Brit'.
          I sat beside a keen amateur woodworker.  He likes to make clocks.   Well, the cases, actually.  It sounded like really absorbing fun.  He starts with a tree, and prepares the wood all the way.  He has several acres of trees in his back garden.  And, it turns out, he's a local judge.  Puts a new slant on "doing time", doesn't it?

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