Whats in a name?

One of the most universal conversation points of remote coal towns in West Virginia are their names. Many will debate the name origin of a town. Many are proud and loud about it. I personally do not blame them. There are however times when I must admit, I would LOVE to scream these town names......Before I go on about these place names, keep in mind, these places are named in such a way as to reflect their fiercely independent nature. I like that. To those that have a name that defies immediate convention, I say GOD BLESS YOU SIR!  So...how about:

ORGAS, WEST VIRGINIA

Orgas derives its name from the Orange Gas Coal Company. It is NOT as many people think populated by hordes of moaning people with their eyes rolling back biting their lower lip...Nope, sorry.

CUCUMBER, WEST VIRGINIA

Cucumber derives its name from the Cucumber tree. It is not a secret supply for pickles, or salt shakers.....There was at this time a small active underground coal opeartion there. Yes, its a coal town.

LEFT HAND, WEST VIRGINIA

Left Hand, actually has a normal naming origin, left hand of a creek tributary. How about that. I do not know if the post master is left handed...and NO there is no Right Hand WV...

ODD, WEST VIRGINIA

Odd West Virginia has so many naming origins, I just wanted to say, the folks there are rather nice and NO they are not odd.....

BLOOMING ROSE, WEST VIRGINIA

Bloomimg Rose West Virginia was indeed named for a persons love of the rose. How about that? A town named because someone liked something. I like that. I like that people can identify with their likes and stand by a name....

UNEEDA WV

.....YES, Uneeda was named after the cracker. Apparently, when naming the town, a box of Uneeda crackers was spotted on a shelf. NO I am not kidding.

 

BIM, West Virginia

AND I had to keep in Boone County and see BIM, West Virginia......I just loved the name..BIM. Bim was named after the cartoon character Bim Gump, a main character in the cartoon series, The Gumps.

Jumping Branch, West Virginia

SO, what do these names tell us? They tell us we can be happy, proud and yes, I am jealous...I have always wanted to say, YES, I grew up in ORGAS, West Virginia.....BUT I can dream..

I dream of walking on tracks for miles, in a fog finding all of those places.......