Crazy Town Names

I was reading a friend's, Billy Victor, blog the other day and he had been through Toad Suck, Arkansas which I had been through before when I was in college. So it inspired me to remember some of the unusual city names that I have heard of in the five different states I have lived in my 36 year life. We will start with my home state of Texas and progress through the states in the order I have lived in them.

Frognot, Texas--this town, somewhat, in Collin County near my home town of McKinney. I have never been able to find the reason for the name, but I think it is one of the best. It now consists of one unoccupied building.

Earth, Texas--located in the panhandle near the New Mexico border. The name says it all.

West, Texas--Located between Hillsboro and Waco on I-35. It is 669.52 miles from El Paso and according to Mapquest it is 9 hrs 37 min drive time to El Paso.

Cut n Shoot, Texas--Located near Conroe, North of Houston. It was apparently named after a 1912 community confrontation that almost led to violence. According to the different versions of the story, the dispute was either over the design of a new steeple for the town's only church, must of been Baptist. The issue of who should be allowed to preach there, or conflicting land claims among church members. A small boy at the scene reportedly declared, "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" The boy's phrase apparently remained in residents' minds and was eventually adopted as the town's name.

Gun Barrel City, Texas--Located on Cedar Creek Reservoir between Ennis and Canton. Founded when Cedar Creek Reservoir was created. Named after Gun Barrel Lane. The city's motto is, "We Shoot Straight with You."

Uncertain, TX--Located on Caddo Lake, the only natural lake in Texas, near Karnack, yes I should do this one in honor of Johnny. It is northwest of Shreveport, LA. There is no reason found for the name of this little town of 150, but if you know the area you will understand.

Ding Dong, TX--Located 8 miles south of Killeen, which should be on the list but is not because of the way most people in Texas pronounce it...Kuleen. Funny thing about Ding Dong, is that it is found in Bell County. Bell County is name after Peter Hansborough Bell,the third governor of Texas. That has nothing to do with Ding Dong. It was named this after Zulis Bell and his nephew Bert Bell who owned a country store on the Lampasas River between Killeen hired C.C. Hoover to paint the sign for their new store. When Hoover went to get paint Stokes-Blair Hardware Company in Florence Fred Foster told him to be creative. "Why don't you do something original with this sign," he suggested to Hoover. "How about drawing two Bells with the name Zulis in one and Bert in the other. Then print 'Ding Dong' on the sign." The little community around the store took on the name of Ding Dong, and there you have it.

Notrees, TX--Located between Odessa and Kermit, no not named after the frog. Growing up going to West Texas, most of my family is from there, I understand why it is named what is named. It became a town after Shell Oil built a gas plant near there in the 40's. The first store built by Charlie Brown named the town Notrees since there were some many other towns that already existed with Brown, Brownfield and Brownwood to name a few.

For more funny Texas town names go to one of these two websites

Town Names

How Great is Texas

On to the second state of Arkansas. This state and post has inspired a future post about funny mascot names (let me just say, Wampuscats). I lived in this state for four years during college. What do you expect from a state that gives you Ouachita Baptist University (class of 93) on the Ouachita River. Oh, and Ouachita is not pronounced how it looks, it is pronounced Washitah. I digress, onto the cities.

Turkey Scratch, Arkansas--Located in Northeast Arkansas, southwest of Memphis. I could not find a story behind the name.

Smackover, Arkansas--Located in Southeast part of the state between Camden and El Dorado. The name Smackover is an anglicization of the French "Sumac Couvert." Which translates to "covered in sumac."

Toad Suck, Arkansas--Located northwest of Little Rock near Conway, the town Conway Twitty is named after, host a three day festival called "Toad Suck Days." Legend has it, that it was named for the local boatman and gamblers who sucked whiskey like a toad. Suck can also refer to a channel of water.

Possum Grape, Arkansas--Located between Newport and Searcy in the north central part of the state. I could not find a story behind the name.

Greasy Corner, Arkansas--Located southwest of Memphis. I could not find a story behind the name.

Piggott, Arkansas--Located north of Memphis near the Missouri/Arkansas line. It is the home of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer House. Pauline Pfeiffer was Earnest Hemingway's second wife and grew up in Piggott. The family converted the barn into a writing studio. The name was the last married name a sister of the founder.

After a return to Texas for Seminary I then moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Pagosa is the Ute Indian word for bubbling. Which makes sense, because Pagosa has many hot water springs.

No Name, Colorado--Located south of Glenwood Springs, which is on the way to Grand Junction from Denver. The town of Rifle is to the east of Glenwood Springs on I-70. No Name is named after No Name Creek and No Name Canyon which are near there.

Last Chance, Colorado--Located due west of Denver in the plains of Colorado. You guessed it, it gets its name because it was the last chance to get provisions in either direction.

Parachute, Colorado--Located on I-70 between Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction. The name comes from the appearance on a map of several streams converging on the town as do the shroud lines of a parachute combined with the arc of the ridge line above the streams which resembles the canopy of a parachute. The town was previously named Grand Valley.

Purgatory, Colorado--Located north of Durango on the way to Silverton. It is well known for its skiing. They have tried to change the name. In fact what was Purgatory Resort when I was a kid has changed its name to Durango Mountain Resort at Purgatory.

The fourth state I lived in was Pennsylvania. My wife and I lived there from 2000-2005. There are many town names that have sexual connotations in Pennsylvania and I will not deal with those.

Scalp Level, PA--Located near Johnstown, PA. Johnstown is home of the Johnstown Chiefs hockey team that the movie "Slap Shot" is based on. It is also where the film "All the Right Moves" with Tom Cruise. This is a term used by teens of the Johnstown Area for cruising on the strip on Friday and Saturday nights.

Gobbler's Knob, PA--Located near Punxsutawney, northeast of Pittsburgh. Gobbler's Knob is the home of Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog.

We moved to Maryland in 2005.

Frostburg, MD--Located in western Maryland east of Morgantown, WV. Frostburg is the city I live in and is named after its founder Mesach Frost. The crazy irony in the name is that it fits. In the winter it is cold and there is lots of snow.

Assawoman Bay, Maryland--Located between Ocean City and Delmavra. Could not find a story behind the name.

Accident, Maryland--Located in Western Maryland in Garret County near Deep Creek Lake. This little town is speed trap. The town's founder, George Deakins, had been given 600 acres of land by King George II of England. The two surveyors he hired to pick out the best plot of land used the same tree as a starting point, and selected the same plot of land, hence the name Accident.

Crapo, Maryland--Located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay across the bay from Solomon's Island a great little place to hang out. Could not find info on the story behind the name.

Cockeysville, Maryland--Located north of Baltimore. Cockeysville was named after the Cockey family which helped establish the town.

That is the end. There are so many other towns that I could have come up with along the way, but those are just a few.

Needed Updates

Obviously from dates on my blog I have not had much time to post. I have made a resolution to try to post at least once a week from now on to keep things going. I already have an idea of a post on funny city names. I have lived in five different states in my 36 years and I have visited over half the states in the US. There are some funny names out there, so I will highlight some of those names from the states that I have lived. This post is inspired from a friend and fellow former seminarian Billy Victor and his blog at Bill V's Quick Hits. He made a comment about going through "Toad Suck Park" recently on his way through Arkansas. Well, actually Toad Suck is a town in Arkansas, but in my opinion not the funniest one. You will have to read my post later this week.

Today is the last day of July and I cannot do a post without telling my two kids that God has blessed my wife and I with so far. Happy Birthday to both Riley (6 on the 16th) and Carson (2 on the 22nd). We are breaking one pattern for our kids birthday's this September. Hudson will be born on September 10th as of right now. Kind of glad we don't have all three in one month.

Riley has grown so much and is such a beautiful girl. Her smile can light up a room so easily. Trust me I am trying to do everything I can do to turn her into a daddy's girl. She makes our lives very interesting. She is such a compassionate person. Anytime she sees someone hurting she tries to help. She loves to swim, play and she is my little daredevil. She will be entering the 1st grade this year and our prayers for her will ever increase. She also is the only girl on my side of the family. My brother has three boys and our next one is a boy.

Carson is my giggle box. I think I can make him laugh at any point and time. He was standing in his crib tonight crying but every time I walked by the door and made a face who would start giggling. Then he would start crying again when he could not see me anymore. He loves playing and is all boy. His smile just makes me laugh because I know he is up to something. He loves his big sister and looks for her all the time. He is sympathetic to all. When Riley gets hurt and falls down and cries, Carson comes over and falls down next to her and cries. He is definitely into the fun two's.

God has richly blessed Michelle and I with two wonderful kids. As a dad I could not be more proud. Michelle is such a wonderful mother to our kids and I am glad to share this journey that God has given us with her.

Sanitized Christianity?

Have we created a Christianity that has become sanitized? Before I get into what I am thinking on that question let me give you a definition of the word sanitize. It means, “To make more acceptable by removing unpleasant or offensive features from”

God calls us as follower of Christ to be sanitized when it comes to sin in our life. We are to get rid of those things that entangle us and keep us from being what God wants us to be and from having the type of relationship with him that He desires.

But with original question I am not talking about sin, but what I am talking about is have we removed the unpleasantness and uncertainty that comes with following God. I was studying today for our Wednesday evening Bible Study about Isaac. He was the child God had given to Abraham that would continue the line of promise. When he reaches his mid twenties or early thirties, God tells Abraham to take Isaac to Moriah and sacrifice him there.

For some of us if God were to ask us to do something radical like that it would grate against everything that we believe about Christianity, because most followers of Christ have sanitized their life from unpleasantness even when it comes from God. To think about God calling us to do something that is as unpleasant as killing an only child does not line up with most people’s view of who God is in their life.

God has called us to a radical faith, a transformed faith. It is a faith that calls people to step out of a comfortable boat onto a raging sea and walk on water. For most people their faith in God is the absence of anything that would disturb their comfortableness.

What if we are missing God’s greatest blessing because we have developed a faith of conformity to “Christian norms” and not a faith of transformity? I know that is not a real word but I like it anyway.

Romans 12:1-2 calls us to a different kind of faith that radically changes the way we think, talk and live. Read what it says, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Eugene Peterson in The Message paraphrases those verses this way, “So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

So, have you laid every aspect of your life out before God and said, “Here it is God do what you want, even if things don’t go the way that I want them to.” Or have you sanitized your Christian faith so that you have created a god in your own mind that is not really the God of scripture. A.W. Tozer said it best when he wrote, “If we create God in our image we create a God who can never surprise us, never astonish, never overwhelm us, never transcend us.”

If we have sanitized our Christian faith to get rid of unpleasantness then what a feeble and worthless God we have created for ourselves. I challenge you to allow God to be the God that empowers you to not conform but transform the world around you.

Been a While

Wow almost three months since my last post. What a shame. Well I will give you the article I wrote from our newsletter in a post.