What’s in a Name

“It’s nice to see the name in the paper a lot.”

Florist in Romney, West Virginia

Sometimes a town’s name says it all . . .

Drain, Oregon

Photo by Gordon Wrigley

The heavy rains that lashed Oregon last Thursday didn’t spare the small town of Drain, Oregon (population 1,026). In fact, in Douglas County, Drain was the hardest hit by flood waters. Schools and roads were closed, and some residents had to be evacuated from their homes. But a mere 24 hours later, the flood waters were gone, schools and most roads were reopened, and evacuees were moving back home. Drain is bracing for the next round of rain storms expected this week and hoping to live up—or should I say down—to its namesake again.

And sometimes it doesn’t . . .

Romney, West Virginia

Photo by Gage Skidmore

You might expect the folks in Romney, West Virginia (population 1,907) to take a personal stake in the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney. You’d be wrong. It’s not that folks in Romney the town don’t think much of Romney the candidate—it’s just that most of them don’t think of him at all. Residents are more interested in the upcoming local elections for sheriff, country commissioner, and county assessor than in a guy who shares their town’s name. In this conservative-leaning town there are a few who support Mitt Romney, but it has more to do with his politics than his name. As one resident says, there’s a lot more to a candidate than his name, or at least there should be.

Read more:

■  David Anderson, Hardest hit by flooding in Douglas County, Drain recovers overnight, KMTR, January 20, 2012.

■  Dan Amira, Citizens of Romney, West Virginia, not particularly excited about Mitt Romney, New York Magazine, January 20, 2012.