OOPS!: We feel pretty embarrassed to learn that Pennsylvania
never even had a governor named Bradford.
The other day, we had wondered aloud how Bradford had been named
since one of its early residents had that surname. Bradford’s
original name was Littleton, we know, and that definitely was named
for an early resident.
We were OK going only that far but then went on to say we had
always believed it was named after a governor by that name.
Close, but no cigar, as it turns out.
McKean County was named after a governor, not Bradford.
Jim Flynn of Erie gives us the scoop: “Thomas McKean was the
governor for which McKean County was named. According to an old
sign that was placed at the city limits on South Avenue, Bradford
was named for Bradford, England, though it was originally named
Littleton.”
“There has never been a ‘Gov. Bradford’ in Pennsylvania.”
Bradford, England, has always been considered our “sister city”
– whatever that means – but we were blissfully unaware that it is
also the name sake.
We also have a “sister” in Florida – Bradford County, Fla.,
whose main city is Starke, Fla., home of the state’s electric
chair. (We’re not sure how that is relevant to anything but have
known that little tidbit for awhile and have been waiting for an
opportunity to share it.)
NEW JOKE: Now that’s we’ve done our own mea culpa, we have to
pass along an error that amused us to no end.
An individual from the Pittsburgh area sent us an announcement
of upcoming “admission” testing for Western Pennsylvania Mensa to
be held in St. Marys. Those are the high IQ people – genius level –
who tend however innocently to make us feel, well, dumb.
But get this: The announcement of the testing we received this
past Monday said the test would be given on “Saturday, Aug. 20.”
Not only was Aug. 20 in the past but there ain’t even a Saturday,
Aug. 20, this year! No doubt, they meant Saturday, Sept. 20, but
who are we to point it out?
“American Mensa, Ltd. is the High IQ Society, whose only
requirement for membership is a score at or above the 98th
percentile on a supervised standardized intelligence test,” the
release said. We aren’t in that category but we do own a
calendar.
