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| July 22, 2002 |
Storyville, USA
Dale Peterson
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For someone who spent the majority of her childhood summers trapped
in the backseat of a rented car with her brother, alternately watching
the landscape of America roll by and trying to kick the crap out of
said brother, this book was a wonderful way to vicariously road trip.
Dale Peterson set out on a cross-country journey with his two research
assistants (i.e. children), a AAA road map, and the intention of
rooting out the stories behind some of the stranger names US citizens
have seen fit to bestow upon their cities and towns. Two words: Bug
Scuffle. Peterson succeeds in dishing out some fascinating local
history as well as in cataloguing intriguing place names. However,
the stories, as funny as they can be, aren't nearly as interesting as
the storytellers. My hands-down favorite was Wolfgang Bauer, the
enthusiastic beekeeper of Climax, New York. I wish more people in
this country were like Wolfgang.
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