Great piece. Interesting that in Hanover County is a beautiful memorial to (maybe?) the first Presbyterian Church in America: Historic Polegreen Church – Inspired by the Great Awakening, the successful struggle for American religious and civil liberty began at this Hanover meeting house. Bricklayer Samuel Morris and his fellow Hanover Presbyterian dissenters were led in worship by Rev. Samuel Davies, known as the Apostle of Virginia. From 1747 to 1759 Davies became Virginia’s first licensed non-Anglican preacher. Davies’ oratory greatly influenced young Patrick Henry who attended Polegreen with his mother, Sarah. In 1864, Polegreen was destroyed by fire just before the Battle of Cold Harbor when Confederate artillery fired on the church to dislodge Union sharpshooters. Today the Site serves as a historical site, a wedding venue, and a gathering place. The site hosts community events and tours, and allows visitors to come and wander through the Church on their own. Jason Mraz got married in this church, and it has become a picturesque and memorable wedding venue for many couples. Take the guided cell phone tour.
Hey neat! That's a really cool local (VA) connection, and there's so much history around us here - we just need to know where to look.
I think there were earlier Presbyterian churches in PA, but this seems to have been the 1st in VA, and many of my ancestors and their "kin" lived in VA. I need to track down the specifics.
In high school, red necks were those who drank PBR while the dopers or dope freaks drank non PBR beer, smoked pot, with fewer doing chemicals like PCP or acid or mescaline. We were a rural school so none were known for shooting up or using syringes.
In general the red necks were fine being called red necks as were the dopers.
There was a cultural battle to claim the title where I grew up. What i mean is that it was very much an insult during the 80s, but by the mid-90s it was being embraced by the more "country" side of the dynamic. I frequently conflated hillbillies with rednecks as a kid simply because I didn't know that there was a difference, too!
Luckily we don't have any other potentially offensive names for entire groups of people that begin with "red"! And imagine having to name a sports team after one of those. That'd be awkward.
Given the Scottish, Irish and Welsh roots of many Southerners, I wouldn't count out the truth about the last idea, though I always associated it with the first meaning you gave...
As well as cultural figures who have made their living creating not necessarily positive images of these people, such as novelists Erskine Caldwell and William Faulkner and comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
Great piece. Interesting that in Hanover County is a beautiful memorial to (maybe?) the first Presbyterian Church in America: Historic Polegreen Church – Inspired by the Great Awakening, the successful struggle for American religious and civil liberty began at this Hanover meeting house. Bricklayer Samuel Morris and his fellow Hanover Presbyterian dissenters were led in worship by Rev. Samuel Davies, known as the Apostle of Virginia. From 1747 to 1759 Davies became Virginia’s first licensed non-Anglican preacher. Davies’ oratory greatly influenced young Patrick Henry who attended Polegreen with his mother, Sarah. In 1864, Polegreen was destroyed by fire just before the Battle of Cold Harbor when Confederate artillery fired on the church to dislodge Union sharpshooters. Today the Site serves as a historical site, a wedding venue, and a gathering place. The site hosts community events and tours, and allows visitors to come and wander through the Church on their own. Jason Mraz got married in this church, and it has become a picturesque and memorable wedding venue for many couples. Take the guided cell phone tour.
Hey neat! That's a really cool local (VA) connection, and there's so much history around us here - we just need to know where to look.
I think there were earlier Presbyterian churches in PA, but this seems to have been the 1st in VA, and many of my ancestors and their "kin" lived in VA. I need to track down the specifics.
In high school, red necks were those who drank PBR while the dopers or dope freaks drank non PBR beer, smoked pot, with fewer doing chemicals like PCP or acid or mescaline. We were a rural school so none were known for shooting up or using syringes.
In general the red necks were fine being called red necks as were the dopers.
There was a cultural battle to claim the title where I grew up. What i mean is that it was very much an insult during the 80s, but by the mid-90s it was being embraced by the more "country" side of the dynamic. I frequently conflated hillbillies with rednecks as a kid simply because I didn't know that there was a difference, too!
Luckily we don't have any other potentially offensive names for entire groups of people that begin with "red"! And imagine having to name a sports team after one of those. That'd be awkward.
It is a very *America* thing to do.
Given the Scottish, Irish and Welsh roots of many Southerners, I wouldn't count out the truth about the last idea, though I always associated it with the first meaning you gave...
As well as cultural figures who have made their living creating not necessarily positive images of these people, such as novelists Erskine Caldwell and William Faulkner and comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
Jeff Foxworthy definitely made a living off of the word itself!