The importance of "e"
Posted by Chap at 5/17/2007 7:55 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
Ox Road South got a little love in the Washington Post's Fairfax Weekly today. Here's the link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600711.html
I appreciated the mention and the fact that the writer read up on me. However, can the Post please spell my last name correctly? Despite the fact nobody asked, here is the importance of "e" as in "Petersen."
My grandfather Earle Alfred Petersen grew up in Marquette which is a speck of town on the Great Plains of western Nebraska (Big Red fans holla at your boy!)
Grandfather Earle's parents were immigrants from Denmark. Arriving at Ellis Island, their last name was anglicized to "Petersen," the standard name given to all incoming Danes. From there, they migrated out West, although Earle's father did return to Europe as a soldier with the AEF in World War I.
Immigrant Danes inundated Nebraska in the early 20th century. That's why "Petersen" is one of the most common names in the state. It is distinctly different from "Peterson," which are the Swedish immigrants that settled in Minnesota and other points north.
Back to our story .... Earle left Marquette to see the world. He met a widow in Louisiana and married her, adopting her son George Chapman Gilbeau (nicknamed "Chap"). My father John Petersen was born soon after.
My dad went to high school in the suburbs of Chicago. In college, where he worked weekends for a long-haul trucking company, he met a Virginia belle named Mary Livingston. They married and moved back to Virginia a couple years later. And it's all been downhill from there!
I'm proud to be a "Petersen." We stick together.
That's the importance of "e."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600711.html
I appreciated the mention and the fact that the writer read up on me. However, can the Post please spell my last name correctly? Despite the fact nobody asked, here is the importance of "e" as in "Petersen."
My grandfather Earle Alfred Petersen grew up in Marquette which is a speck of town on the Great Plains of western Nebraska (Big Red fans holla at your boy!)
Grandfather Earle's parents were immigrants from Denmark. Arriving at Ellis Island, their last name was anglicized to "Petersen," the standard name given to all incoming Danes. From there, they migrated out West, although Earle's father did return to Europe as a soldier with the AEF in World War I.
Immigrant Danes inundated Nebraska in the early 20th century. That's why "Petersen" is one of the most common names in the state. It is distinctly different from "Peterson," which are the Swedish immigrants that settled in Minnesota and other points north.
Back to our story .... Earle left Marquette to see the world. He met a widow in Louisiana and married her, adopting her son George Chapman Gilbeau (nicknamed "Chap"). My father John Petersen was born soon after.
My dad went to high school in the suburbs of Chicago. In college, where he worked weekends for a long-haul trucking company, he met a Virginia belle named Mary Livingston. They married and moved back to Virginia a couple years later. And it's all been downhill from there!
I'm proud to be a "Petersen." We stick together.
That's the importance of "e."
I was lucky enough to get a letter printed in Charlotte's newsweekly. Now the folks off-line will know what we know!
http://c-ville.com/index.php?cat=141404064423910&ShowArticle_ID=11041105073694100
Yeah, but tell that to the folks who spell MY name "Amundsen."
True enough, Kris. But that's what you get for being from the wrong side of the Baltic
My grandfather came to Washington, D.C. as a boy from Denmark. His name was Charles Larsen. I've always felt very connected to my Danish heritage. People still look at me strange when I toast with "Skol" instead of "Cheers"!
One other thing. The "e" that you are really referring to has a slash through it.
I think you are correct on that, Matt.
Congrats on the Wash Post mention. That will certainly drive traffic your way.
Yeah, it's hard to judge. Some days it's slow and some days it's pretty heavy. I need to bookmark your site, Andrea. Put it out there so my readers know it ...
It's a tough call, but both Denmark and Sweden are awesome countries that truly care for their people, the environment, and about being good neighbors in the world community.