Things we say: June 2009 Archives

First, if you're visiting for the first time today to vote in the "what do you call that veggie" poll that appeared on the front page of the York Daily Record's Living section, you can do that by clicking here. Heck, even if you are a longtime reader, if you haven't voted yet - please do!

So far, "string beans" are beating out "green beans" as the name for the veggie in question. But I've had some interesting conversations about this that I'd like to share.

First, I asked my brother-in-law Mike, who reads faithfully but never comments, what he voted for. He said string beans, which is fine. But we started talking about, IF you were to pick green beans, what do you do when confronted with the yellow version of said beans? He says those are called wax beans, which I admit I have heard of but didn't realize what they were. (There are some pictured here. I think all the pictures make them look like very yellow french fries, but that's beside the point.)

Cubby, my virtual friend and a columnist for the Hanover Evening Sun, said she was raised calling them string beans and had kind of gotten away from that.

Melanie also votes for string beans; "snap them in two and you immediately see why," she wrote.

Jim Fahringer, a new commenter, said he also calls them string beans, but adds, "perhaps the real name is green beans or pole beans depending on whether they were grown on vines that grew up poles or grew on bushes."

He's also got a point that I think Jo (who hasn't weighed in yet - where are you, Jo?) would appreciate. He says: "By the way, if they are the kind that grow on bushes and hang down close to the ground, picking them is one of the most difficult back breaking jobs I ever had and are tied with picking strawberries as a back breaking job!" Jo, if you'll remember, said the strawberries she picked at Dover's Barefoot Farm really did her back in!

Anyway, there's still time to vote. For all the commenting seems to suggest "string beans" is far and away the name winner, it seems close. Those of you who picked green beans - leave some comments! :)

Yes, I know you all love reading my blog. And we even get a little multicultural when we get comments from Mark, who tells us hello from Austria.

But here's a real multicultural blog experience for you, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group's newsletter from earlier this year.

Check out "Nau loss mich yuscht eppes saage! En Blog uff Deitsch", billed as the only blog on the Internet written entirely in Pennsylvania Dutch.

Here's what I can tell, with my VERY limited "Dutch" knowledge: The author is Douglas J. Madenford; he lived or lives in Reading; and he has degrees from Lock Haven University and - I think - is pursuing a Master's degree at Millersville.

The second part of the title of the blog I translate as "A blog in Dutch." The first part, though, completely escapes me. I tried translating it kind of word-for-word and came up with "Now leave me just (???) say."

Anyone have any insight to offer? Or have any other Penna. Dutch sites to recommend?

Many thanks to my friend and fellow YDR staffer Sue, who commented on my recent question about why we call it "The Brogue."

Sue says: My guess is that people in York just love certain articles (unlike their hatred of "to be" constructions). It's the only explanation for why a certain route stretching from Manchester Township all the way to Fairview Township is called "The Bull Road".

(Editor's note: This is not "the Bull Road," which I really like driving, but another road I've traveled on fairly recently.)

Well, how fortunate that Sue brings this up, because I blogged on these exact topics. Here, in case you missed them, are posts from last July about hitting "the" road and from last October about the "to be" or not "to be" debate.

Those of you who read all the way to the end of my long post about Cracker Barrel Sunday dinners should have seen my pop quiz about what vegetable pictured in the post has two names. None of you answered, but you're still obligated to vote in my next poll!

Extra credit: Leave me a comment about why you prefer one name over the other!

You might remember that last fall, I mentioned an unexplainable Yorkism just briefly.

I was reminded of it again today, when I received a photo and story about a family that produced several generations of Eagle Scouts. The release states they are from Troop 152, The Brogue.

I hear a lot of people say this. In fact, I would say that more people call it "the Brogue" than call it Brogue.

But I still have no idea why this is. Can anyone shed any light?

And, to thank them for being the source of a good blog question, here are the aforementioned three generations of Davis family Eagle Scouts, from left, Rob Davis ('78); Rob's son Bobby Davis, who earned the Eagle award on May 23; Dr. Bob Davis ('49); Bobby's grandfather; and Dr. Tom Davis ('52), Bobby's uncle. For his Eagle project, Bobby widened and re-located a section of walking path in Spring Valley Park.

Well, I promised Monday that I had a great Yorkism to share, and I haven't forgotten.

This one was shared by deskmate Cathy during a recent editorial meeting. She was talking about WellSpan's role as York County's biggest employer, and she came out with this gem:

"Yeah, you can't swing a dead rat in York County without hitting a WellSpan employee!"

Wow! That was new to me totally, then someone mentioned that they thought the phrase was supposed to be "dead cat," which is NOT any better.

Am I the only one who'd never heard of swinging dead things?