COOLEEMEE, N. C. 1« h«
28 Wiiiiiliy, My 17. IBM « Cwti
Edgar Bowers
Is Wound
In Viet Nam
Spacialirt Edfar Bowers, soa of Mr. aod Mis. Overt W. Bowers
of No. 1 Cfcorch Street, Cool—mea, has bam seriously weooded
by a mortar fragment la the right temple whie serving ia Vietnam.
A picture, oiort detais and a copy of tflio telegram sent to In
parents wfll be foaad 00 Pegs 18 of today's Jaoraai.
Where Cooleemee
Got Its Name ...
(Editor's Note: We've often wondered where
the name "Cooleemee" originated. As a boy, the
story was that an Indßan chief, hot and sweaty,
came to the banks of the Yarikan or to a near-by
spring, splashed his face with water and exclaimed,
"Cooleemee." Thus, when searching through The
Poet files recently, I came across this interesting
article, written by Bill Snider who is now editor
of the Greensboro Daily News. It was written
January 4, 1942, while Mr. Snider was working
for The Post just before being sent overseas in
World War 11. We thought all of our readers would
enjoy a reprint even if they recall the original
story. Jim Hurley.
Cooleemee Means
Welcome To A Friend'
By BILL SNIDER
The weary Indian brave
Hashing river water in his face
and sputtering "Coolee-mee" to
a passerby is nothing more than
an appropriate Piedmont myth,
a white man's fanciful in
terpretation of the Indian
language.
This confidential piece of
legend debunking comes to us
cn the high authority of Chief
Red Wing, of the Chippewa
tribe, who has asserted in a
round-about fashion, that the
Davie community's name is
derived, rather, from a friendly
greeting among redm en.
"Cooleemee" means "Welcome
to a Friend."
Chief Red Wing's information
reached a Cooleemee family, the
Zacharys, shortly before
December 0 in the torn of
a Christmas card from Mrs.
Bertti Harwood Arrowood, a
Southern writer. Mrs. Ar
rowood's letter was addressed
to the late J. W. Zachary,
general manager of the Erwin
cotton mill for SO years.
Mrs. Zachary died eight years
ago. Sometime before, perhaps
maqy years before, he asked
Mrs. Arrowood, apparently an
avid historian, to search for the
source of Cooteemee's name. In
her Christinas letter Mrs. Ar
rowood wrote: "I received my
information direct from Red
Wing, chief of the Chippewa
Indians a finely educated and
refined Indian. He came east
to find the grave of Kaska Koba,
bringing his feathers with him,
and found the grave in Con
necticut near where I was liv
ing."
KICKING LEGENDS
Thus an Indian chief helps
foil the legend-makers. In the
past they have managed to in
corporate in the folklore many
an imaginary tale woven mom
nothing more than a word
like Rowan, for instance.
The story goes, among the
custodians of myth and fancy,
that this county received its
christening in a rowboat on the
Yadkin, there, a young lady
named Ana, who, perhaps, while
being pursued by blood-thirsty
Indians, failed to utilise a paddle
with the required dexterity, was
admonished thusly by her
husband: "Row, Ann; row,
Ann!"
The tale spielers never pro
gress far beyond that point,
n is presumed that Ann and
L»avie Library 5-3-66
Mocks vi'lle, N C 27028
9* ' *9^9
Gr a'
By -
ÜBHI|
The Good Humor Mon
More pictures on page 3.
No on is mon rnehoms to Cooleemee or these hot, mvgjf days than Gearys Butts, the Saa-
Koae man. A smia is his trademark, and he rsaihlss through team six days a week. The Sae-Keae .
hastness is just a sideline for Georje. A resideat af Lands, he werks fail-time at Fiber Industries. At
Press time the Journal learned that Mike Jardaa wiM take over this route Friday.
her spouse were so thankful
upon reaching dry land that they
immediately stopped what they
were doing and proclaimed the
nine "Rowan" for the blessed
terra firma. Historians record
no further information about the
pursuing redmen.
In reality, according to the
best sources, Rowan County was
named for Matthew Rowan, a
leader in North Carolina before
the Revolution.
Yadkin, a name first used
for Rowan's principal river, is
cnother two-syllable word con
siderably tossed around by the
legend-makers. A bulletin
released by the Salisbury Cham-*
ner of Commerce- states it
thusly: "The Yadkin river got
its name from the taunting jeer
of the Indians on the other side
who cried "Yee-ad-a-keen,"
meaning "Come on over, you
cowards."
Another story seeks to make
the yelling Indians friendly.
"Adakin" or "Attkin," they said,
which merely meana "Come on
over."
No further clarification having
been brought to light, Rowan's
principal body of water remains
the "Cmne on Over, you
Cowards" river or more
politely, the "Come on Over"
river.
In the case of Cooleemee, the
Indian legend failed to suffice
for Mr. Zachary. Sane historians
and students of language know
very well Piedmont Indians
never roamed over the coun
tryside jabbering in a pig
latinish dribble resembling en
American's conception of
Chinese. Mrs. Arrowood's letter
establishes the genuine source
"Cooleemee" (Welcome to
a Friend) a fact which the
populace of that community
should not fail to publicise.
THE LETTER
Information about Mrs. Ar
rowood -is scarce. Her
permtneni home is at
"Cooleemee," John's Island,
Greenwich, Conn. T. M. Zachary,
of Salisbury, son of J. W.
Zachary, says his family is
unaware of Mrs. Airowood's
connection with this section of
the country. Apparently she was
drawn to the Davie county com
munity by the similarity of its
name with that of her Con
necticut home.
Mrs. Arrowood's letter to Mr.
Zachary, establishing the new
source, reads in part as follows:
"Deer Mr. Zachary:
"Quite a few years have
elapeed since I promised yen
that if I ever found out the
meaning of 'Cooleemee' I would
let you know. I have been ill,
traveled much and not until now
could I get my data and myself
in a position to give you that
information. I receive my in
formation direct from Red
Wing, Chief of the Chippewa
Indians a finely educated and
refined Indian. He came East
to find the grave of Kasa Koka,
bringing his feathers with him
and found the grave in Con
necticut near where I was living.
After the ceremony, which was
quite elaborate, 1 had a long
talk with him The name
'Cooleemee' is a friendly
greeting, and means 'Welcome
to a Friend.'
I am here in Atlanta for the
winter placing my nearly SO
scrap-books in the Atlanta
Carnegie library as a gift. They
are in the historical and
research department and are
known as the Bertha Harwood
collection . . . Trust you will
have many blessings this
Christmas. We cannot hope to.
be merry or happy with so much
man-made misery in the world,
but we can bupe that oat of
the chaos of the past few years
a brighter and more Christ-tike
condition will dawn . .