The in basket: Lillis King writes, “Now that there is a light at Levin Road (in Silverdale), would you remind your readers that the road’s name is pronounced — le VEEN?
“You may know the history of the Swedish immigrant who settled in the Clear Creek Valley and whose house still stands on the Gerald Peterson property<” she said. “Parts of the old Levin (le VEEN) Road can still be traced from Silverdale to almost Poulsbo because it was the main road from Silverdale to Poulsbo, according to Gerry Pederson, once my neighbor.
“You can find more about John Levin on page 468 in the “KItsap County, a History,” published by the Kitsap Historical Society,” she said.
“It drives me crazy to hear people call the road — LEH vin. I hope you can reach many people to know who this pioneer was and how he pronounced his Swedish name.”
The out basket: I’m among the offenders who have called in LEHvin Road and Lillis’ e-mail is the first I’d heard that I was wrong.
But it’s not the first assertion I’ve heard that the common pronunciation of a road in Silverdale is wrong.
Back in the days when Harlan Beery was a sportswriter for this paper, he told me that the road that runs between Harrison Hospital’s Silverdale campus and the complex where Costco sits is not MY-REE road. It, too, is named for a Silverdale pioneer and the name is pronounced MIRE, he said.
I’ve been saying Mire ever since. I don’t know why My-REE has become the pronunciation of choice for so many. The defunct Myhre’s restaurant in Port Orchard, which was a fixture there for decades until its second fire and closure, may have something to do with it, but I’m guessing there’s some other reason.
Your article about LaVEEN and MIRE prompts me to write about two other frequently mispronounced roads. RI-ddell (not a puzzle) and FU-son (not a nuclear reaction. You’d be doing a good dead to clear that up. I know old man Fuson, were he still alive, would appreciate it. Thanks.
Enjoyed reading how road names should be pronounced. Here’s another Norwegian street name that Bainbridge Islanders mangle: Bjune, which they pronounce BahJOON instead of Byoon, which is how Norwegians would say it.
Excellent points in this article. I knew how Myhre Road was pronounced because I lived next to them when I was growing up. But Levin road was a bit of a mystery to me. I always thought it was LEHvin road as a play on words because it is in the same spot that used to be County Road Eleven.
Great article. I’m new to the state and trying to learn all of the counties while pronouncing them correctly… Kitsap is one that looks like it should be easy but I’m not sure if I’m saying it correctly. Is it KITSAP with a short A or do people say KITSUP? ….or something completely different? Thanks!
It’s KIT-sap, with the A as in apple