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'Hometown' rates catchy nickname
(by Barbara Christian - June 17, 2009)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
'Hometown' rates catchy nickname
We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. That name is just too hard to remember. The subject once again is Your Hometown Chagrin Falls, the new moniker for the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls.
No sooner had the June 4 Times had hit the mailboxes than former Downtowners called the paper to "remind" us we had the name wrong. We called it Everyone's Hometown Chagrin Falls.
Getting it wrong just proves the original point. If it ain't broke, don't rename it.
Just to be sure our take on the name was valid, we asked some other people to say the new name for the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls.
We got "Everyone's Hometown" and "Our Hometown," but no one ventured "Your Hometown."
As mentioned previously, the new name was the way the group chose to issue a proclamation that Chagrin Falls is all-inclusive. "Your Hometown" was supposed to do that. Just how is not quite clear.
One jaded individual suggested it was disingenuous, and what was really meant was, "It's 'Your Hometown,' as long as you spend some money." We have to believe the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls is more altruistic.
It also appears the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls is not going to rethink its cumbersome new name.
But then a very smart person we know came up with the perfect solution. He suggested a nickname for the unwieldy "Your Hometown Chagrin Falls." How about: "YoHo." It's snappy and suggests the famously and stylish SoHo districts of New York and London.
We love it, and, yes, we know that some wag will call it by that other neighborly greeting, "Yoo-Hoo," or worse, "Yay-Hoo" or "Yo-Yo."
"YoHo" could help that new name go from unmemorable to unforgettable. Here's an example. A few years ago, folks who lived off Miles Road near the sewage-treatment plant decided they were fed up with that image and came together to call their neighborhood "The West Village."
Once it got out, that part of town enjoyed rising property values, and home buyers were knocking each other over to live there. Well, that's the urban legend anyway. But I digress.
This "YoHo" nickname could become something just as special. And the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls might even adopt a motto to go with it. How about: "With a name like 'YoHo' it has to be cute."
Just a thought, but, if the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls feels the town needs a more welcoming image, it's not going to happen by name alone.
Visitors feeling they are truly embraced by our town is something that has to be demonstrated by everyone.
Smile and say hello to people we don't know. Ditto that for our merchants, whom we trust will continue to greet everyone who walks through their doors with good old hometown friendliness.
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