Melody's comment about "Booger County" got me to thinking about the origin of the name. Google is great. One quick search & I got this:
The "Booger Man " is the reason it was attached to Douglas County.
Back to Douglas County, it seems that after the Civil War on the outskirts of Ava, Missouri which was and is still is the county seat for Douglas county there was a sign posted that read as follows. "If your black don't let the sun set on your head or the Booger Man will get you. ". I learned this from a lifelong resident of Douglas county and I believe it to be the true origin in That county at least. He goes on to tell how the federal government some time later came and took the signs down. Of course He was adamant about the fact that it was over 140 years ago and attitudes where different back then. I also learned that others felt it had a more general application to any outsider after the Civil War. It was said that any suspicious activity by an outsider in the time after the civil War could result in the stranger simply disappearing. People would say "the booger man got him" .
Mike, Melody. I can't seem to keep my aliases straigght! Anyway, thanks for investigating this. Mystery solved!
ReplyDeleteI first heard the term when me & Sean were crossing the line between Webster and Douglas on Z south of Fordland as we were heading toward Dogwood, Mo on 14. He said something to the effect "Well I'll be... we are in Booger County!" His wife Kim is from Ava. He didn't know where the term came from either.
So it would seem that even though the term's original meaning may have morphed into something a bit more benign, I am going to consider it an ugly term. Or is this too harsh?