The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

TOURIST NAMING

THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY RUN VARIOUS TOURS THROUGH ITS ROUGE
PLANT, MR. BARRY IS THE SENIOR GUIDE ON THE STAF.
OF COURSE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE TAKEN THE FORD TOUR.
THE GUIDE STAFF TENDS TO GIVE THE VARIOUS GROUPS PET NAMES.
ONCE MR. BARRY HAD A FARM PARTY FROM INDIANA, AND THEIR NAME
WAS HERMAN, WELL THE NAME STUCK, AND WHENEVER ANYONE WITH A
FARM OR BUMPKIN APPEARANCE TAKES A TOUR, THE GUIDES REFER TO
THEM AS HERMANS.

Submitter comment: THUS THE INFORMANT INVENTED THE TERM AND IT HAS BECOME A
TRADITIONAL WORD.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DEARBORN