Mount Hood… or should I say “Empty Hood”?
December 9th, 2007
Below is a letter that I wrote today. I thought of submitting it to the local paper.
The letter should explain everything. What do you think? Am I nuts?
Mount Hood… or should I say “Empty Hood”?
There are times when one might obsess over seemingly irrelevant issues when there are so many more important issues to face and deal with using that energy. My own little pet peeve is the disturbing proliferation of the use of the abbreviation for our much loved mountain, Mount Hood.
It has gotten so bad that most all, if not all, of our local businesses and representative organizations don’t even use the mountain’s full name anymore. I choose not to name any in fear of being accused of singling out one or a couple when practically everyone is using the abbreviation Mt. Hood.
In my mind, it seems that most of these organizations are so close to the “Mt.” they don’t see the “Mount”. I feel that they should spell out the name of our mountain unless there is no room for the complete spelling.
Historically speaking, the trend for abbreviation has come about in the latter years and most recent history of the mountain. I collect and research the local history, including books, articles and other written history, and disregarding the present trend, Mount Hood has traditionally been spelled Mount Hood.
Like I said, this may be a minor issue but sometimes the minor issues are indicative of mindsets that affect major issues. These businesses and local governments use of the abbreviation reflects their focus on everything but the mountain that gives them their identity, and I feel it deserves more of their attention, and one good way to start is to call our mountain by her full name.
Gary Randall
Brightwood, Oregon
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Just to see if there is any relevence to your peeve
NO RESPECT
I googled MT. Hood and then Mount Hood, the results were interesting
mostly institutions used Mount and mostly bussineses used Mt.
Googleing Mt. you had more Mt,s which is understandable
Googleing Mount you had more Mount,s which is understandable.
personally if I had a bussines I would try very hard to respect the grand
beauty that we use and abuse for profit and use Mount in any exhibit of the Mountains title. Show a little respect instead of little or no respect
What a beautiful site to see Towering above us and wacthing over us is
Mount Hood
Richard
February 8th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Here, here.
I agree. A name like Mount Hood is a proper noun and needs to be treated as such 100% of the time. We have something special and unique in our mountain, and we share that with thousands of people across the globe every day. Keeping our mountain’s name consistent throughout the century has created a sort of “brand” that everyone is familiar with. Lets promote that “brand” in a respectful and consistent manner.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Gary, this is a topic that has mystified me. I agree with you. But I live on the slope of Mt. Tabor, in Portland. See, I’ve been trained by my neighbors so that I just typed “Mt.” automatically. Here, the sentiment is that the name should always be abbreviated — the Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association, etc. I can’t imagine why.
More generally, I find myself irritated by unnecessary or (worse) unexplained and confusing abbreviations. I don’t like seeing postal codes used in prose (like Portland, OR) — if there is a compelling reason to abbreviate (which there usually isn’t), there are perfectly good English abbreviations like “Ore.”
For me, I think the root of the irritation is that text seems easier to grasp when it’s simple. But simple doesn’t mean “short,” it means that very little interpretation is required on the reader’s part. Using full words just seems like the most sensible way to go, in the absence of a specific reason to abbreviate.
September 12th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Gary,
Is it not true that the historical name given to the mountain you call Mount Hood actually is Wy’east? Should no respect be paid to the original settlers of this land?
Sincerely,
Brian
October 15th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Hi Brian.
I time, I will be writing more of the heritage and lore of Mount Hood from the eyes and story tellers of the native people that were here prior to the white man’s incursion.
Wy-east and the legends of the Klickitats and the Multnomahs will be written about here in time.
Thank you for taking the time to post a message. I apologize for taking so long to reply, I somehow missed noticing that you had.
Please check back every now and then.
Gary =0)