Niles makes name for itself in new book of appellations

Photo

Members of the Niles Historical Society view the city’s “Nickname” books as they work on the next printing. George John, left, and Frank Burke are on the committee preparing for the third installment of books that contain hundreds of informal tags that identify hundreds of Niles residents.

The Niles Historical Society has decided to reprint the Niles Nickname Booklet, which was first published in 2002.

It seems that back in the day, almost everyone had a nickname. As some members of the class of ’43 were reminiscing about “the good old days,” they began recalling nicknames of their classmates.

Remembering nicknames of Niles residents got to be a popular pastime, and Bill Sullivan, Bill Jensen and George John decided that others might enjoy reading them. The historical society collected names and published a booklet.

The first printing contained more than 700 nicknames, but three months later, 540 more names prompted the printing of a second booklet. Both booklets have long since been sold out.

Nicknames are not unique to Niles, but the number of names and their familiar use over the years seem to have bonded the residents.

The historical society is inviting people to submit nicknames for the new book. Many names, old and new, have not been published, so the society asks for your help in listing as many as you can. This is how:

Print the nickname you wish to submit.

Print the first and last names of the person belonging to the nickname

Send your name, address, telephone number and list of nicknames to Niles Historical Society, P.O. Box 368, Niles, Ohio, 44446, or e-mail to curator@nileshistoricalsociety.org.

The deadline to submit names is March 1.