As I watched my Grandson’s baseball team at a recent game, I noticed something interesting. As you might expect, all the players had a number on their shirts. They also had their name in bold letters across the back.
As I watched this American of all games, I was interested by the ethnicity of the last names (surnames for my UK friends) I saw on the uniforms as individual players walked past for their turn at bat.
It seemed America and specifically in this case, Wichita, really is in fact a ‘melting pot’. I was curious about the origin of the term ‘melting pot,’ so I turned to The Google.
“In 1782, the French-American writer St. Jean de Crevecoeur first invoked the idea of “individuals of all nations … melted into a new race of men,” germinating the idea of America as a melting pot.”
And then I wondered about the boys and their names. Here’s what The Google came up with..
Balthazor: The roots of the distinguished surname Balthazor lie in Austria.
Elliott: is of Scottish origin. Some believe the surname Elliott may have originated from the town and river Elliot in Angus, Scotland. (I have lived near there)
Mull: The last name “Mull” originates from Scottish Gaelic.
Johnson: The name is of English and Scottish origin.
Wright: Is “Old English.”
LaFay: The surname was first found in Auvergne in south central France.
DeGarmo: The surname is believed to have originated in France.
Fasig: The surname likely has German origins.
Moore: The name is Middle English.
Absetz: Is of German or possibly Central European origin.
Borrego: The name has Spanish and Portuguese origins.
So, as Camden’s Scottish born Grandma and I continued watching the game, I thought of how seamless this melting pot process had been at one time in our nation’s history.
I was happy to see these boys were concerned about the game, not the names