Nicknames

Growing up in the small town of Lowry in the 50's was a pretty insulated environment. But you had to learn to get along with people.  A civil society.  As kids, we bonded through mutual interests and by 'following the leader'. Tubba was that leader  Now "Tubba" seems like a derogatory, bully-like nickname, but for us it was a term of affection. Everyone liked Tubba. And, point of fact, we all had nicknames. Nowadays, nicknames seem to have gone out of style. For us, it was a bonding thing.

In the 50's and before, nicknames were more common in society in general, particularly among sports figures. Baseball, the national game at the time, in particular was awash in colorful handles. Babe, of course. And Shoeless Joe made famous by Field of Dreams;  The Barber whose shaving implement was a fastball under the chin; Three-Finger,  whose mangled hand made for nasty pitches; Rapid Robert with his hundred mph fastball; Yogi, master of the malaprop; The Splendid Splinter; Say Hey Kid; Hammerin' Hank; Joltin' Joe; Duke; Killer; Big Train; Big Poison; Little Poison; Pee Wee; Scooter; Charlie Hustle; Mudcat; Catfish; Dizzy; Preacher; Satchel; Puck ... you get the idea. (bragging rights to the first to identify all these players :-)

I was "Hoppy", a rather dull moniker derived from my surname. However, I identified with Hopalong Cassidy, the black hat hero, so I didn't object too much. Hi-yo Topper. Others in the "gang" had more interesting alter egos.  

• We had "Utta" (derivation unknown) who lived in the Molander Apartments above the International Harvester dealership and regularly fired his 22 at the water tower a block away from his bedroom window. 
• Big Time was a load, especially on the ice rink. I know of no one brave enough to try to take the puck away from him when he got up a head of steam.
• Dubshay is Bohemian for Tak, so that seems like a pretty nice honorific.
• Mucka (derivation unknown).  What the heck is a mucka?  Muck is not a nice place to find yourself.
• Engie, another derivation from a surname. Not everyone is creative.
• King - a mystery.
• Tonto - The Lone Ranger sidekick, but we had no Lone Ranger.  go figure
• Butch - perhaps the most common nickname of the day.  Leland the Barber's specialty.
• Bumpy earned his nickname.
• Bubby. No clue although he was Bumpy's brother and Bubby & Bumpy has a nice ring to it.
• Speed was Tubba's brother. Slightly different frames.  I remember playing touch football on the skating rink and Tubba was running back a kickoff straight up the middle.  As Speed was closing in, Tubba faked a pitchout and Speed bit, tearing off to the supposed receiver.  Tubba motored on and Speed circled around from 20 yards back and caught him about the 30 yard line.  Nice move tho.

I'm sure I've missed a few. Lowry oldtimers - help me out.

You've probably noticed there are no females in the list. Rare, except for a shortening of the given name:  Dort, Maggie, Abby, ... I thought that with all the Mabels, Esthers, Leonas, Hilmas, Agnes, Clarices and Gertrudes in town, you'd think they would have welcomed a clever handle. 

Nicknames for men on the other hand were common, perhaps a legacy of WWII. 

• Captain: Anzio vet
• Happy: And he truly was. 
• Fluke: A rare lucky happenstance so someone must have liked him.  
• Spook: Just take a long look into those eyes. 
• Slim: Don't tell me we didn't understand irony. 
• Wimpy: From the cartoon character I'm guessing.  
• Goose: I could guess but I'll defer. 
• And an assortment of Buds', Andy's, Hank's, Punky's.

I realize I am suffering from stage 3 nostalgia but those were the days my friend.

Copyright © 2020 Dave Hoplin