TOOOksbury (was: Woe-Burn)

[Bill O'Neill]

> Maybe we should also remind Boston TV stations there's no 'g' in
> Hopkinton.  Fully half the time I hear the town mentioned on the air,
> it's mispronounced 'Hopkington'.
>
> Paul

Growing up in the "Town-a-Dracut" and then working Lowell radio it amazed me how
many ways people could mess up local towns.  Tewksbury is "tooks" as in, "Yo!
Vinnie!  He tooks that book and then he's talkin' like I'm blind or something.
Ya know what I'm sayin'?  Then you ad a very quick "bury" almost b'ry, with
emphasis on the first syllable.  Not TOOOOksbURY.  Then, Chelmsford.  The locals
will say it's "CHEMPS-fid."  I have to agree, but, once started cracking a mic,
I lost my nerve.  Even too over the top, ya know what I'm saying?  The good
balance of that name is to drop the "L" and call it Chemsferd.  That will bring
customers to the dry cleaner, not laughing hysterically at the big-boy-isdn-guy
without a clue.

As for the HAM towns, I used to do an occasional poll of the locals on "Pelham"
NH, in WCAP's local contour.  Usually a split between "Pel' im" and Pel-ham
(evenly voiced).  Windham, the same way.  (I live in Shoreham, Vermont, where
there is full agreement that it's as the Brits would have it, "Shore' em".
Useless tid-bit, the Shoreham Hotel in D.C. was actually named after this hamlet
of 1,100 by the founder of that landmark having either hailed from here or
developing a fondness for same.

Bill (Ham, cheese, slaw, extra Russian) O'Neill