"Hometown is primarily used as a generic term for the city or town in which someone was born in or grew up in"
Today's headline is from Wikipedia, but their definition of hometown doesn't stop there. A hometown can also refer to a person's principal residence.
I have never really figured out the location of my "hometown," so I might have some difficulty when it comes to answering this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your hometown's claim to fame?"
MIKE D. -- The 1981 movie "Take This Job and Shove It!" characterized my hometown (Dubuque) as home to beer-drinking rednecks. Back then, our claim to fame was the nation's highest unemployment rate. My, how we've grown up since then! A diversity of population, employment sectors and entertainment and recreational opportunities. Our flagship is now the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.
BRIAN C. -- I was born in Alton, Ill., where in 1837 abolitionist publisher Elijah P. Lovejoy was murdered by a mob, which tossed his press (his fourth!) in the Mississippi River. The press was fished out, and it sits in the lobby of the Alton Telegraph. Not something you'd see on the "Welcome to Alton" signs. You can read the story here.
MIKE M. -- Not much to report from "Sportsman's Paradise" Savanna, Ill. Notables include an early director of the American Red Cross, a minor big-band leader and a NASA astronaut. The now-closed Savanna Army Depot is a footnote in U.S. military history. Biker rallies and festivals are held nearby today. Manny's Pizza is still a regional favorite. In sports, the Savanna Indians lost a high school football game by over 70 points, I think during the 1987-88 season. Luckily, I was banned from the team because I had been seen smoking a cigarette downtown the previous summer. Otherwise, the score would have been much worse.
RICK T. -- The Mighty Mississippi River and being a river town.
LISA Y. -- I am from Waterloo, Iowa, USA, and the claim to fame there is the Five Sullivan Brothers. The five went down on a battle ship, and since then it is a law that siblings cannot all serve together.
ERIK H. -- Based on Wikipedia's liberal definition, I could pluck any number of communities out of my past and call them "my hometown."
Here are just a few of my "hometowns," and what they are famous for:
1) OAKLAND, Calif. -- My birthplace is the 44th largest city in the United States and the eighth largest in California. Oakland is tied with Long Beach, Calif. as the most ethnically diverse cities in America. Rand McNally has determined Oakland has the country's best weather.
2) CONCORD, Calif. -- On the evening of July 17, 1944, a ship packed with munitions exploded at Port Chicago, near Concord. Two-thirds of the 320 men killed were African American, making the Port Chicago disaster the single incident with the highest number of African-American casualties during World War II. The military is no longer segregated. Rest in Peace, Port Chicago victims.
3) PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The city where I went to high school has produced an array of celebrities, including CeCe Peniston. Peniston moved to Phoenix at age 9 and attended Trevor Browne High School. She was named "Miss Black Arizona" in 1989. Three years later, Peniston's song "Finally" topped three Billboard charts and reached No. 2 in the UK.
4) LAKEVIEW, Ore. -- At 4,800 feet, Lakeview has earned the accolade "Tallest Town in Oregon."
5) DUBUQUE, Iowa -- University of Chicago football star Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Trophy in 1935. Berwanger was born in Dubuque and attended Jefferson Middle School (scholastic home for ROUTE 1 intern Kerstin) and Dubuque Senior High School.
I have never really figured out the location of my "hometown," so I might have some difficulty when it comes to answering this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your hometown's claim to fame?"
MIKE D. -- The 1981 movie "Take This Job and Shove It!" characterized my hometown (Dubuque) as home to beer-drinking rednecks. Back then, our claim to fame was the nation's highest unemployment rate. My, how we've grown up since then! A diversity of population, employment sectors and entertainment and recreational opportunities. Our flagship is now the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.
BRIAN C. -- I was born in Alton, Ill., where in 1837 abolitionist publisher Elijah P. Lovejoy was murdered by a mob, which tossed his press (his fourth!) in the Mississippi River. The press was fished out, and it sits in the lobby of the Alton Telegraph. Not something you'd see on the "Welcome to Alton" signs. You can read the story here.
MIKE M. -- Not much to report from "Sportsman's Paradise" Savanna, Ill. Notables include an early director of the American Red Cross, a minor big-band leader and a NASA astronaut. The now-closed Savanna Army Depot is a footnote in U.S. military history. Biker rallies and festivals are held nearby today. Manny's Pizza is still a regional favorite. In sports, the Savanna Indians lost a high school football game by over 70 points, I think during the 1987-88 season. Luckily, I was banned from the team because I had been seen smoking a cigarette downtown the previous summer. Otherwise, the score would have been much worse.
RICK T. -- The Mighty Mississippi River and being a river town.
LISA Y. -- I am from Waterloo, Iowa, USA, and the claim to fame there is the Five Sullivan Brothers. The five went down on a battle ship, and since then it is a law that siblings cannot all serve together.
ERIK H. -- Based on Wikipedia's liberal definition, I could pluck any number of communities out of my past and call them "my hometown."
Here are just a few of my "hometowns," and what they are famous for:
1) OAKLAND, Calif. -- My birthplace is the 44th largest city in the United States and the eighth largest in California. Oakland is tied with Long Beach, Calif. as the most ethnically diverse cities in America. Rand McNally has determined Oakland has the country's best weather.
2) CONCORD, Calif. -- On the evening of July 17, 1944, a ship packed with munitions exploded at Port Chicago, near Concord. Two-thirds of the 320 men killed were African American, making the Port Chicago disaster the single incident with the highest number of African-American casualties during World War II. The military is no longer segregated. Rest in Peace, Port Chicago victims.
3) PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The city where I went to high school has produced an array of celebrities, including CeCe Peniston. Peniston moved to Phoenix at age 9 and attended Trevor Browne High School. She was named "Miss Black Arizona" in 1989. Three years later, Peniston's song "Finally" topped three Billboard charts and reached No. 2 in the UK.
4) LAKEVIEW, Ore. -- At 4,800 feet, Lakeview has earned the accolade "Tallest Town in Oregon."
5) DUBUQUE, Iowa -- University of Chicago football star Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Trophy in 1935. Berwanger was born in Dubuque and attended Jefferson Middle School (scholastic home for ROUTE 1 intern Kerstin) and Dubuque Senior High School.
posted by erik hogstrom at 6:02 AM
1 Comments:
For the record, the Savanna football game mentioned above was Friday, September 11, 1987 at Forreston, Ill. The score was 75-0 in favor of Forreston.
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