End of ADS-L Digest - 12 Dec 1997 to 13 Dec 1997
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Subject: ADS-L Digest - 13 Dec 1997 to 14 Dec 1997

There are 3 messages totalling 105 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

 1. 'Mudville" (3)

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Date:  Sun, 14 Dec 1997 11:07:38 -0500
From:  Gerald Cohen <gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UMR.EDU>
Subject: 'Mudville"

  I recently received a request from _Boston Globe_ writer Robert Smith
for help in locating the original town Mudville (assuming it existed) that
inspired E.L. Thayer in his poem "Casey at the Bat." I replied that the
town is almost certainly mythical, like "Dogpatch" of the Li'l Abner comic
strip. I quoted from Paul Dickson's baseball dictionary and also referred
Mr. Smith to onomastics scholar Leonard Ashley.

  Mr. Smith replied: "I still hold hope of finding the mythical Mudville,
so I would appreciate you querying your learned friends [at ads-l].  E.L.
Thayer never pinpointed the place, but he grew up in central Massachusetts
and some in these parts are convinced it is here."

 A definitive answer might be available from the Massachusetts Historical
Society (I'll check the address tomorrow). Meanwhile, are any ads-l
subscribers able to help out Mr. Smith by shedding any light at all on
"Mudville?"

--Gerald Cohen

gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu