Southwest shorthand

When newcomers and visitors chat with long-time McCook residents, they sometimes get a bewildered look in their eyes. The look of wonderment happens when McCookites use one of the community's many "localisms." That's a home-grown term, used to describe a familiar place in short form.

For example, here in McCook, "The Reservation" is a description of the residential area in northeast McCook where streets are named in honor of Indian tribes. Another local term is "The Willow," a handy short way of referring to Red Willow Dam and Hugh Butler Lake, the irrigation, recreation and flood control reservoir located 11 miles north of McCook.

There's more. "The Y" is how locals refer to the Ed Thomas YMCA, and "On the Bricks" is an increasingly popular way to describe McCook's downtown business district.

With the passage of time, additional localisms are making their way into the lexicon of the McCook area. One describes the Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut businesses, which are now under one roof. Brought to McCook from elsewhere and popularized by the young staff at the three-in-one restaurant, the condensed title is "Ken-Taco-Hut."

Still another local nickname is used to describe the Republican River Valley Event Center. That's a lot to say, so many are shortening the title by simply saying, "Event Center."

Although frequently used locally, other business nicknames are more familiar because they are used in other areas as well. As examples, a couple of the names in that category are "Wally World" for Wal-Mart Super Center, and "Co-op," which in McCook means Frenchman Valley Farmers Cooperative.

There are many more localisms. If you have favorites, please share them with us. You can drop us a note at Editorials, McCook Daily Gazette, P.O. Box 1268, McCook, NE 69001, or you may e-mail us at publisher@mccookgazette.com.

If you prefer, you also may stop by "The Paper." As locals know, that's the McCook Daily Gazette newspaper office on the northeast corner of the West First and E Street intersection.

That's all for now, but keep those localisms coming. Write us, e-mail us or maybe we'll run into you at the reservation, on the bricks or out at the Willow.