Cover Story

‘You can call me ... ’

Sometimes the real you is found in an assumed name

By Edith C. Webster

ROCKFORD WOMAN

Apr 25, 2008 @ 12:01 AM

What’s in a name?

Contrary to Romeo’s blinded-by-love philosophy, we believe that names, especially nicknames, do matter.

Sometimes the origin is silly, like for Roxann J. Burren. Her brother called her Rocket J because the initials for her maiden name were RJS, like Bullwinkle’s buddy, Rocket J. Squirrel.

Sometimes it’s sweet, as with Carrie Ellis. The 85-year-old widow of Rufus Matthews cherished the term of endearment, “Little Flower.”

Always, a woman’s nickname is telling.

‘Punpkin’
Thelma Braxton of Rockford was just an infant when she got her nickname, but today, more people know her as the variation on pumpkin than by her given name.

“According to my mom, when my aunt first saw me, she said I was so cute that she had to call me ‘Punpkin’, and I’ve been answering to it every since,” she said. “All of my family and friends and some co-workers call me that.”

‘Lucy and Ethel’
With Mary Ann Smith (above, right) and her husband trying to drum up support to restore the historic Coronado Performing Arts Center, and Sarah Bell and her husband working as preservationists, the two women’s paths were bound to cross.

Their lives intersected many times in the 1990s, but after Gordon Smith died, and Mary Ann moved in next door in 2002, in a house the Bells owned, the women became more than acquaintances.

They don’t have wacky, stomping-in-the-grapes type of adventures, as portrayed on the TV classic, “I Love Lucy,” but their cozy friendship led to their nicknames.

“I always wanted a neighbor where I could just walk in and open the refrigerator door, or just have coffee, just like Lucy and Ethel,” said Bell, better known as “Lucy.”

Bell’s the cook, so Smith stands at her kitchen peninsula, enjoying a drink and chatting, while Bell does her thing. Smith is the gardener, so she drops off bouquets for Bell.

They don’t keep tabs on each other constantly, but with keys to each other’s homes, and front porches just a stone’s throw apart, they are the closest of neighbors.

“We just sit out there for hours,” Smith said, pointing to Bell’s sunroom. “This is the like the neighborhood I grew up in, and I thought this kind of neighborhood was gone.”

Things get a little amusing when they take the nicknames on the road, like at community events, where someone’s just learned their real names and then hears Lucy or Ethel.

“People get really confused sometimes,” Bell said.

‘Bunnie’
Her parents had the name “Henry” picked out for the baby boy they were expecting.

Bunnie Dall’Osto of Rockford never did care for Henrietta. She went through lot of nicknames, until she and friends saw the 1945 movie, “Weekend at The Waldorf.”

“The leading lady’s name was Bunny. She was energetic and lively, and my friends quickly saw the similarity between us, and from that day on, I was Bunnie,” she said.

She made it “ie,” instead of “y,” to differentiate from the cotton-tailed animal, but she’s collected an array of bunny keepsakes over the years. She even includes “hare” in her e-mail address.

“It is sometimes difficult living with a nickname that everyone knows you by,” Dall’Osto said. “Especially with formal documents that require a proper name, it gets confusing. But I wouldn’t change mine for the world.”

Edith C. Webster may be reached at 815-987-1394 or ewebster@rockfordwoman.com. In the next issue of Rockford Woman, she’ll ask: What does your favorite drink say about you?