An occasional series on local culture
I spend a lot of time in the Baltimore area and recently I heard some commentary on WYPR (NPR Baltimore) regarding telephone culture of the past. My ears perked up because this was something I wrote about on my last Local Post which you can find here. The commentator talked about telephone exchanges in Baltimore and how they also were an indicator of a person’s social status since the exchanges was based on the neighborhood you lived in or worked.
So playing off of social status, the next thought that wanders into my mind are names, which are another indicator of local culture. Belk is a well known name where I currently live in North Carolina that is associated with a local department store. Van Every (Lance Crackers – Yum!) is another name of note here in North Carolina. Every city, town, and small borough has it’s local famous families. In the Pittsburgh area, those people were the Carnegies and Mellons. Girard is a Philadelphia family as is Rittenhouse. Often these people started in industry and then entered politics directly or had great influence on politicians. Many became great philanthropist but also were quite despicable! What are some of the famous local names where you live? What are those people known for?
Diane Podolsky 
Diane, There are several family names that come to mind that live in my county. But because the population is so small, and getting smaller, I hesitate to name them especially since everyone seems to be related. Generations go back to the seventeenth century. Since I am a relative newbie, yet have been befriended by some of them, I will refrain from naming them.
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Hi Sheldon. Yes, I understand that in smaller communities that could be a problem.
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My husband is from a small town and his dad was sort of the local celebrity and known as “The Judge”. He was long since retired from his judicial duties but it was just how people referred to the family. Maybe he was a badass or a softie back in the day, or maybe everyone was thinking about an outstanding parking ticket or other misdeeds.
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Hi Julie, Yes I remember you mentioning that Joe’s father was sort of a local character. I think local characters are far more interesting than very famous people.
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