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Re: What do you say? esp for C&U archivists



Since I'm eager to hear the rest of Holly's story, I'll relay on
this Friday one of my similar favorites.    I get a phone call from
a local lady asking how a certain Spanish street name in Pensacola
got its name, principally what does the name mean.

Beginning with Spanish dictionaries of the time, I quickly discover
the street name is a derivative of "caballo"  and has two meanings,
one of which can be "horse"  or a "certain type of plant."

I call the lady back and begin saying it has two meanings, the first
is a kind of plant -- she quickly interjects saying, that must be it!
She did some amateur archaeology on the site and found these
round "nodules" deep in the ground that had been preserved and
upon tasting them, found them "quite tangy."  That must be it,
she cries, "Thanks" and <click> goes the phone.

This, of course, before I can tell her about the horses, which often
leave certain ground deposits as well.    I'm fairly certain the street
housed stables for the Spanish troops and would have been the
"street of horses" in that language.

I have not told the lady the story, but I see her at least every two
months and cannot stop thinking about .... what DID this lady eat?

Dean

Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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