The South is known by many names: “Southland,” “Sunbelt,” “Bible Belt,” “Heaven,” etc., but until a half-century ago “Dixie” was most often used by natives to denote the South.

Until the term went into disrepute during the upheaval of the Civil Rights Era, you could pick up any telephone book in the South and find firm after firm with the name “Dixie”— including Dixie Laundry, Dixie Drive-in, etc.  But when somebody decided that the term was racist, the word faded from fashion.  I suppose it was because of the song by the same name that some folks associated the name Dixie with disfavor.  But such is the logic of a few people. I suppose it is just another example of politically correct judgment dictating history.

I remember a few years back when local folks were trying to come up with a designated team color for a new high school, and blue was suggested.  One member of the community said publicly that the color was “racist.”  When queried, he opined the The Citadel's team color was blue and sometimes the college band played “Dixie” at ballgames, therefore, it followed that blue was a racist color.  I never did figure the logic behind that one out. I suppose, in his view, the sky and ocean are also racist.

At any rate, “Dixie” became associated with racism by some farfetched reasoning and you don't hear it much any more.

So where did the name come from?

There are basically three versions of the origin of the name:

Many folks think it came from the name of one of the two men who surveyed the Mason/Dixon line which came to delineate American South from the North.  If that's true, the region could have just as easily been called “Masie” after Mr. Mason, but who can imagine listening to a lively rendition of “Masieland?”  Sounds a little sissy to me.

Another version has to do with bank notes issued by a New Orleans bank.  A large portion of the bank's customers were French-speaking Creoles, so the bank printed ten dollar notes with the French for ten (Dix) instead of the usual “Ten” designation. Sounds a little far-fetched because I hesitate to believe that native Carolinians would adopt anything French.

And the final story of Dixie's origin has to do with a Yankee, Manhattan slave owner whose last name was Dixy.  When slavery fell from grace in New York, he freed his slaves.  It is reported that he was a kindly master and many of the freed slaves wanted to return to “Dixy's land.”

So, it appears that there is no finite answer to the question regarding the origin of the name.  We will probably never know but as the name falls further from usage; it probably won't make any difference in a few more years anyway.

One final question, “Where is Dixie?”  The answer to that query is also disputed.  Most folks think of it as the original Confederate states but citizens of several more states want to be included while a couple of original states want to distance themselves from the term.

I suppose that years ago a North Carolina legislator, Ham Horton, had the best answer. He said Dixie was within the “Hell, yes!” line.  He contended that the boundaries of Dixie are determined by the answer to the question, “Are you a Southerner” and the answer is emphatically, “Hell, yes!”  So, he designated the boundaries of the South as being within “Hell-Yes” territory.

WALMART TO CHARGE FOR BAGS?

Will we soon be asked to pay for the bags to put our purchases in at Wal-Mart?

The nation's predominating chain of retail outlets has started charging for bags at three California stores as part of a reusable bag test program. Customers can grab a reusable bag for 15 cents at the checkout station or purchase a larger reusable bag for 50 cents. Or, you can bring your own bags and not face a charge. According to Wal-Mart officials the program is being checked out as part of the firm's commitment to reduce its plastic bag waste by 33 percent by the year 2013.

The test program started in January and the practice of bag purchase could eventually spread to other areas.

Californians will do just about anything — especially if it seems hip and stylish.  But, somehow, I don't think South Carolinians are going to take too kindly to paying for a container to put their purchases in.  Nor are they going to dig through yesterday's garbage to pluck a previously used bag from the kitchen trash can.

If local customers are going to be asked to pay for bags at the time of check out, well, I suspect that they just might … ah….checkout of the premises and make their purchases at another establishment.

John Brock is a retired college professor and, newspaper editor/publisher, who lives in Georgetown County.  He can be reached by mail at this newspaper, or my e-mail at brock@johnbrock.com