German tourist kids in creek by Robstephaustralia
There is power in names. There is respect in a name. When we name something, we give it power over us. We acknowledge a connection. We give the person, place, or object a position in our life.
Do you have names in your garden? Have you named that big oak tree in your neighborhood? Names are for communication and community.
When you were young, did you name the tree you climbed and clambered in? How did you feel about that tree? Down at the creek did you dabble at Stony Flat, or at “that place where we dabble”? Which sounds better, which connects, acknowledges your place in nature?
Kansas is a place with few names, at least few names known to most that live here. Did Lewis and Clark name each bend in the Missouri River? If they did, I have not heard it.
When children play together outdoors, names are passed down or invented. In Scotland every hill has a name. Now we learn names of dolls and pop stars and video games instead of hills, bridges, trees, and creeks. Seems we need as many names as ever but the way we use them has changed.
Naming things might seem like unnecessary work. But which would you rather visit – Squaw Patch or Field 2, The Meadow or Field 1? Which would you want to protect, care about, nurture? Which gives you a sense of place?
Do not call me “That Blogger from Kansas”, my name is Alison; name the places, trees, and natural features you love, or lose them.
Have you ever named a tree, rock, hill, field, pond or creek? Do you agree that there is power and sense of place in names?
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We live very close to the town I grew up in, and when we drive by the sledding hill that we named “Dead Man’s Hill” as kids, my boys always crack up. There’s nothing dangerous about it, but it’s the place where all the kids in town would go to sled, and there’s no cooler hill to sled down than one named “Dead Man’s Hill.”
I’ll have to ask my boys if they have names for places in our town.
“Dead Man’s Hill” – I love it! Doesn’t that sound like a place you’d want to protect from development, a place to revisit, somewhere to connect great memories with? Kids give things the best names.
Alison- I love this post what a great reminder and yes, we have the “party tree”- where the children have a tea party almost every day, we have “the climbing tree” and yup you guessed it, the children climb on it. We went on a walk yesterday to a new corner of the yard, and I can’t for the life of me remember what they called it, but it has a name too. One unsung benefit of this naming process is that it also teaches children their local geography. I might write a post about this this week just to build on what you have written here- but at each stage of development children become increasingly connected to their community. It’s a wonderful and natural process to name these places. Yeah! Thanks for the post! Love it!
Shannon ´s last blog ..Free as a Bird
Alison – we have a rock down by the street that juts out and looks like a pulpit…I call it Pulpit Rock
In New England it seems that every field or woods has a name which evokes a sense of history and links us to our community and past. Many of these names are not on the map, so they live on only in oral history. It’d be a shame to lose that history…
Shannon, I wish I’d had a party tree when I was little. You are doing great work with kids. Thanks for sharing.
Ellen, it’s interesting that areas of the country which have been ‘civilized’ for longer have this kind of history of place and object name. I’m guessing it’s to do with names being really useful when foot transport was common and maps less so. I can only imagine that the first Americans who were here when Europeans arrived had many names for places and landmarks which have been lost. I agree with you, names link us to our community and our past. Sadly, there seems less use for field names once we have a comprehensive system of road names. I think it’s a loss.
[...] was inspired to write this post after reading Don’t Call Me “That Blogger from Kansas” and I want to share with you a part of our [...]