MEMOIRS OF SCHOOL STREET VILLAGE

Thanks so much for the great response to this blog!
A special thank you to those who have passed it on to others. We are heading quickly to amazing page visits to this blog! Welcome to folks from all over the country and other countries as well, including Lisbon!!

The "Village", as it was called, is located in the northwest corner of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts U.S.A. It covers about 1 square mile with the center being School Street. A large portion of the Village population was Portuguese when I was growing up.

This blog covers a lot of the history of the Village, much to do with my years as a child there: 1940 through the late 1950's. I do have many wonderful photos and information prior to that that and will share those as well. Always looking for MORE PHOTOS AND MORE STORIES TO TELL.

If you would like to send photos or share a memory of growing up in the Village
e-mail me at spinoart@comcast.net
feel free to comment on the posts. Directions are on the right side of the blog posts. Jump in, the water is fine and it is easy!!!


I will be posting photographs but not identifying individuals unless I have permission or they are a matter of public record. It you wish to give me permission, please let me know.

I am looking for any and all photos of the Village...

Please note: the way blogs work is that the latest post is first. It you would like to start from the beginning of the blog, check out the post labels on the right of the blog and go from there. Thanks.


Monday, February 4, 2013

WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME...

The words from the well-loved sitcom Cheers rings in my mind....
(composer Gary Portnay)
                                       


                      With the theme as background, I hope you enjoy reading this post as much
                                                                  as I did writing it.

The litany of nicknames in the Village echoes in my heart.  It is as if I am reciting a kind of nursery rhyme..remembering them.  Portuguese folk were fond of anointing one another with pithy ones.The reasons for these nicknames were often lost in the past somewhere: the names just took root and stayed attached to that person, usually for a lifetime.  Here are a few to tickle the strings of your memory. Perhaps they will stir up more for us to share.

                -chicken without eggs....or galinha sems ovos
                     (who knows why)
                           
               -49-50 - cadence for a man who limped, said in english.
-Red Sox
-Squeaky
-Conga
-Sassy
-Mailbox
-Tony Hikey
-Baron
-Flapper
-BooBoo
-Jumbo
-The Bishop
-Snowball
-Twinney (?x2)
-Cozy
-Too Tall
-Chocolate
-Buddha
-Babe
-Jimmy Pierre
-Sebula (onion)



This is what happens when your lives continually meet and intertwine in the cultural kind
of bubble that is a village. 




Meanwhile as the song goes:


" Be glad there's one place in the world

where everybody knows your name".

                                                         
  

4 comments:

  1. Sandy,I really enjoyed your list of nicknames.Loved seeing my brother listed.My husband and I had a ball coming up with the following list.Some go way,way back.Only seven are still alive.I was always fascinated where they came from and what they meant.Some had to spelled phonetically.I hope I came close!
    Pepper Twan Bibber Red (2) Fling
    Joao Bota Bo Bo Kerchie Canary Crow
    Pinky Peckum Doogy Moochy Frenchy
    Pug Cheese Bucky Lefty Cockerroach
    Flordas Chummy Chipper Jigger Fat Man
    Big John Bernardick Favaseca Bidgy
    Pee Wee Joe Papea Jiggy Bunny Flash
    Horse Teddy Champ Chip Butchy
    Cappy Pingingah Bedah Fahring Jug

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  2. Sandy, I know where our families' nicknames came from.Flordas, this is the name of the Rose family.It came from my grandmother whose name was Flora,so the kids became Floras. My father was Joe Florda and etc.
    Pug was my Uncle Frank's name. He was a pugalist thusPug. He would fight anyone anytime! He even tried it once when he was in his eighties.
    My husband,John's father always played the triangle when he and his Madeira friends serenaded neighbors on Christmas Eve.The triangle is a fahring in Portuguse,so he and all his kids were called Fahring.John's friend, Louie Gouveia americanized it to Fling,so John became Fling.One fellow called my husband and his brothers Fling Flang.
    My brothet was never calledCozy by our family and John is never called Fling by my family.These names remained forever with their friends and maybe that's the way it should be. I'm sure everyone really liked their names because it was an expression of affection.

    ReplyDelete
  3. By the way all the Reds really had red hair. One was my father's uncle.

    ReplyDelete