"Strange Names"

 

“Strange Names”

 

In 1948 Alex and Joan Whitney Kramer wrote these words which have been sung by many artists:

 “Faraway places with strange soundin’ names, Faraway over the sea….”

I’ve discovered many cities and towns whose names look like an eyechart in my ophthalmologist’s office—Aberdyfi, Wales (Population 1200); Uusikaupunki, Finland (15,000); and Bydgoszcz, Poland (345,000) to name a few. These make me glad I live in Lakeland, FL!

As we’ve traveled and checked routes in the trusty Rand McNally Road Atlas we’ve seen a lot of strangely named towns. Here are a few with the stories or legends of how they were acquired:

*Muleshoe, TX (Population 5200) is named after Muleshoe Ranch established in 1877 after the owner, Henry Black, found a mule’s shoe on his property.

*Between, GA (400) is equidistant from Atlanta and Athens as well as Monroe and Loganville.

*Ninety Six, SC (2000) came from the mileage to the nearest Cherokee settlement.

*Halfmoon, NY (25,000) was Henry Hudson’s ship in which he sailed up the Hudson River in 1609.

*Frostproof, FL (3000) was coined as a marketing ploy to attract northerners and citrus farmers (a killer frost occurred within a couple of years but the name stuck).

*Medicine Hat, Alberta (60,000) is a translation of a Blackfoot term referring to the headdress of the tribal medicine man.

Another interesting tidbit: East Aurora, NY is 100 miles west of Aurora, NY. Go figure!

In the early church a strange sounding name appeared: Christian. Followers of Christ and His teachings were first viewed as a sect of Judaism (Acts 28:22) and were opposed and persecuted by those who embraced the “true” Jewish faith. About ten years after Jesus completed His earthly ministry a church made up largely of Gentiles was established in Antioch of Syria where, under the teaching of Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus (aka The Apostle Paul), “The disciples were first called Christians….” (Acts 11:26), probably in derision. But as His people imitated their Master it became a term of respect by the mid-‘60’s of the first century (1 Peter 4:16).

Christian is no longer a strange-sounding name in our society but those who so identify themselves have a standard to live up to in order to make God look good (“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”—John 15:8). How am I doing in uplifting my Savior’s name?

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan