Wannaskan Almanac for January 25, 2022 Coast to Coast

We all know that Chicago (the Windy City) got its nickname due to the “full of hot air” politicians that have made their home there.  But maybe you didn’t know how New York City earned the moniker the “Big Apple”.  You certainly couldn’t have possibly known that centuries before it was called the “Big Apple” that it was known as the “Big Orange”…well, actually not “Big Orange”.  In 1673, the Dutch captured New York from the English and dubbed it “New Orange” in honor of William III of Orange. However, the following year, the city reverted to English control and its former name.

So how did New York become the “Big Apple”?  New York state is America’s top apple grower, after the state of Washington, but New York City’s nickname has nothing to do with fruit production. Calling New York the “Big Apple” can be traced back to horse racing around the year 1920.  New York City newspaper reporter John Fitz Gerald heard African-American stable hands in New Orleans say they were going to “the big apple,” in reference to New York City.  This was because New York horse racing tracks were some of the biggest venues at the time. Fitz Gerald soon began referring to New York as the Big Apple in his newspaper columns. Later on, in the 1930s, jazz musicians began using the term to describe the big-league music clubs which were located in New York.

The nickname faded from use and wasn’t used again until the early 1970s.  At the time, the city was experiencing economic troubles and high crime rates. As part of a tourism campaign to spiff up New York’s image a man named Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, was a jazz enthusiast who knew that the New York had once had the nickname of “The Big Apple”.  Pins, T-shirts and other promotional items featuring apples were soon everywhere, and visitors were invited to take a bite out of the Big Apple.  The name has been in continuous use ever since.

So has anyone ever reclaimed the title of the Big (or New) Orange?  I didn’t know this until I researched, but apparently a village called Los Angeles is also known as the Big Orange.  Which pretty much is where the comparison of apples to oranges ends.  

I miss orange Julius