CHINCOTEAGUE -- John Jester realized younger generations on Chincoteague Island have forgotten about some of Chincoteague's neighborhood names and their origins. Jester, a 67-year-old town councilman, is a native of Chincoteague who moved back in 2006. Soon after, he saw this first-hand when he asked a youth if he lived in the neighborhood called "Up the Neck."
"The young guy didn't know what I was talking about so I could tell that the culture was disappearing," said Jester.
Today, placed throughout Chincoteague are small aluminum signs adorned with the names of the island's oldest neighborhoods.
Since the 1930s, locals have been referring to neighborhoods by their quirky and legendary titles -- "Snotty Ridge," "Chicken City" and "Tick Town." They now are designated with signs that serve as a testament to the town's rich history.
During his 2008 term as chairman of Chincoteague's 100th Anniversary Committee, Jester came up with the idea of putting up neighborhood signs as a way to offset the island's lost folklore.
"I thought the signs would be a good way to promote the history and culture of the island," said Jester.
Jester contacted Ollie Reed, a sign designer who works with the town, and they discussed a design for the neighborhood signs.
Jester and Reed agreed upon having an illustration of a Chincoteague pony and the Chincoteague lighthouse right above the name of the neighborhood.
They felt that the famous symbols of Chincoteague would "tie the signs to the community."
In 2009, the town and many locals, including Jester, bought signs to place in some of the neighborhoods.
Jester bought the sign for his neighborhood, "Mad Calf," located on Clark Street.
According to Jester, the neighborhood's name derived from an old tale, just like some of the other neighborhood names.
One night, a boy was walking down Clark Street heading toward his girlfriend's house. As he was walking, he tripped over what he thought at the time was a stump. But to his dismay, it turned out to be a small calf.
The calf quickly jumped up and knocked the young boy down in a frenzy, hence the name "Mad Calf."
Other names, like "Tick Town" and "Chicken City," describe some of the largely populated inhabitants of the area long ago.
For Jester, the signs not only help spread the history of the island, but they also help to remind locals and tourists of what it used to be like on the island many years ago.
"(The signs) bring memories back to people. They take you back to a different era," said Jester.
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