November 27, 2007
Hooker Street
In the small town (800 residents) of Whitewood, S.D., there is a quiet street named after a civil war general that is causing controversy. “Hooker” Street is named after Civil War General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker, who was a career U.S. Army officer and a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. However, if the Rev. David Baer has his way, the Whitewood City Council will change the name of the street to something less offensive. He doesn’t like the idea of changing it to “General Hooker” Street either. City council will discuss Reverend Baer’s request at its December 17th meeting.
This story is as bizarre as the one about the Australian Santa Clauses, who were banned from saying “ho, ho, ho” because it might be offensive to women.
Just because a local minister has his mind in the gutter, General Hooker’s good name has to go? It is not clear whether or not there is also a street named after Revolutionary War soldier and President of the Continental Congress of the United States of America, John Hancock.
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6 Responses to “Hooker Street”
Thanks for noticing our small town and the serious discussion we are having about our street names.
I’m the pastor you claim “has his mind in the gutter.”
The suggestion for the street name change came from a group of Whitewood citizens who have been meeting for several months to work to better our community. It is part of a program called Horizon’s that seeks to help small communities with a significant percentage of disadvanted citizens.
You can read about Horizon’s at
http://www.nwaf.org/Programs.aspx?pg=Programs/Horizons.htm
You can read about some of the local Horizon’s and other community activities at the Horizon’s Blog:
http://whitewood.communityblogs.us/
This group is working in many areas in our community. One thing they suggested was that this street name was not appropriate or helpful to our community. Among the reasons offered for changing the street’s name, people talked about the hurt caused to a young girl who might have to explain that she lives on Hooker Street.
We consulted our local postmaster and learned that only one person receives mail with a Hooker Street address. Like many small towns, most people receive mail at post office boxes. The postmaster said that the change could be made easily and with little disruption to that one customer.
I agreed to take the concern to the city council. I knew that folks might sensationalize and trivialize this matter — especially with a pastor asking that something called “Hooker” be changed. I felt it was worth the potential personal embarrassment to help our community improve itself. The news media certainly managed to sensationalize and trivialize this matter on a grand scale.
Suggestions for the street name change included using General Hooker’s first name and calling the street Joseph Hooker Street so that he would still be honored but any potentially offensive or embarrassing reference would be eliminated. Children might even learn that he was a general in the Civil War.
If you want to read an accurate portrayal of what is happening, check out this article from our local newspaper.
http://www.lawrencecountyjournal.com/articles/2007/11/27/lawerence_county/headlines/doc4743490cde09d963439868.txt
It may be fun to poke fun at a pastor and to use this opportunity to belittle traditional values and Christianity, but most of those in our community suggesting this change were not thinking from a Christian perspective. They were thinking about what living on a street called Hooker could mean for a young girl and whether a business would want to locate on a street with that name.
The experience in watching the news media and others misrepresent what is happening in Whitewood again shows the power of words to hurt others or to help them. That was the reason we started discussing the possibility of changing the name of the street because some words can be hurtful to others.
Pastor David Baer
Whitewood, SD
Good morning Rev. Baer, and welcome to clusterflock. First, a point of clarification: I am not the author of either of the articles linked in this post. Although I did not see your comments posted to the articles’ authors, I appreciate your thoughtful response here. If you wish to respond to the writer who contends that you have your “mind in the gutter”, follow the link in the post.
I followed your links to learn about Horizons, to read the Whitewood community blog, and to read the Tim Velder article in the Lawrence County Journal.
You stated, It may be fun to poke fun at a pastor and to use this opportunity to belittle traditional values and Christianity, but most of those in our community suggesting this change were not thinking from a Christian perspective. Who’s poking fun at your job or your values? I posted the links to this story to highlight yet another example efforts to DUMB DOWN Americans, which I believe is the one salient point of this story. Is the community really at a loss to speak to the little girl who lives on Hooker Street? Try this: EDUCATE HER. Education is a sure strategy to win the war on poverty. You might also ask her why she is receiving six water bills.
The Velder article states:
The street in question is called Hooker Street, one in a progression of Whitewood streets named after famous Union generals from the Civil War. As you approach Hooker from the north, one might see Sherman and Garfield. Fillmore Street used to be named Grant Street years ago.
Bravo!! Almost a historic district! If you add a Sheridan, a Burnside, and a Schofield you can begin to scratch the surface of Joseph Hooker’s story.
Again from the Velder article:
However, Baer said, the term “hooker” has only one meaning in this day and age. It’s a slang for prostitute. Only if you continue to participate in the DUMBING DOWN of Americans.
EDUCATE.
Abraham Lincoln wrote this letter to [then] Major-General Hooker:
Major-General Hooker,
I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know that are some things in regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not indispensable, quality.
You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside’s command of the army, you have taken counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes, can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship….And now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories.
Abraham Lincoln
Joseph Hooker gave his life to the U.S. Army, and he is woven in the fabric of our colorful history.
http://www.civilwar.com/
http://www.aotc.net/Hooker_home.htm
Respectfully,
Kathy Hilen-Smith
I have to say that, while I agree that education is always beneficial in situations like this, it’s simply a fact that a girl growing up on Hooker Street is going to take a lot of unnecessary teasing–no matter how educated she might be on the subject of Civil War generals. The suggested change to Joseph Hooker Street
strikes me as a good idea, and if I lived in Whitewood, I’d vote for it.
Now, if they’d just change the name to Hook ‘Em Horns, we’d be in business!
Kathy:
I appreciate the response and the quote from the Lincoln letter. I also appreciate that you took the time to read the local news story.
I agree that education is the answer.
In conversations prior to the suggestion that went before the city council, I suggested that in addition to changing Hooker Street to Joseph Hooker Street that the street signs all be changed to include the first names of the generals that have streets named after them in Whitewood.
I also suggested that it would be good to get photos and basic bios of the generals to post in the school or in the library to make the connection between the streets and American history.
I certainly learned more about the history of the civil war and about these generals in researching the street names.
I would guess that prior to this discussion many Whitewood residents would not have known that those streets are named for civil war generals. So folks are being educated in this process.
The problem is that the “dumbing down” of society means that sometimes changes must be made because learning and growing on topics like sex seem unreachable goals for many people. Sometimes the educated decision is to try to teach something else when you’re not making progress on one topic. Maybe we could learn about the Civil War better by talking about General Grant and having a street named after him rather than after General Hooker.
I appreciate that you have been willing to join the conversation. Since this story became sensationalized and trivialized, it has been nothing more than a joking matter. You are one of the few people online that have taken the discussion seriously even if you’ve disagreed. That reality also shows the need for education and reasoned discussion.
David Baer
were r the nakd pics!!!!!!!!!
Rev. Baer, I think adding the first name of each officer is a very reasonable solution. I would still argue that Joseph Hooker should not be removed from the list, however.
General Grant—good general, lousy president. Family lore has it that he was an ancestor of mine. Grant was a gifted horseman and a hard worker, but a notorious alcoholic. You might rethink General Grant if you’re looking for positive role models!
If we are going to protect all the children from words on street signs, we have a lot of work to do. A quick Google search turned up a Coke Road in St. Augustine Florida, and there is a Weed Road in Hartland, Vermont. There is a Quitter Road in Williamsburg, Ohio—something really should be done about that one. There’s a Dyke Street in Boston. What about Gay Street? Doesn’t every town have a Gay Street? We have one in Dayton, Ohio. We also have a Randy Sue Drive.
Hmm….
For Deron, I have found this:
Farfrompoopen Road in Tennessee (the only road up to Constipation Ridge)