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Show THE SAN JUAN RECORD, Thursday, March 27, 1980 - Page 15 Everything you wanted to know about the West pike - eyed son of put on his fried and went to pick up heart and hand woman The a gun shirt his who just came in ' on the St. He said he'd Louis boat. drunk as a sheepherd-e- r get if she turned to be a four -- eyed school ma'am. Wonder what that means? Ask the University of Utah professor who's working on a Dictionary of Western Am- erican. Dr. Don Walker, prof- essor of English, and Thomas former university assistant professor, have spent the last two years scrutinizing old letters, journals, newspapers, novels and autobiographies searching for words peculiar to the western United States. Toon, P.irt of the cast of The Wizard of Oz at Whitehorse High School. Left to right are: Toto, Gregg O'Dell; Clown, Fergus Jackson; Cowardly Lion, Eno Bacca; Dorothy, Lorraine Toh- tsoni; Scarecrow, Jason Eddie; Tin Man, Michael Phipps. Whitehorse High presents The Wizard of Oz Whitehorse High School recently put on the drama proThe Wizard ofOz. duction, excellent job They did an and the audience really enjoyed it, Miss Lott, structor said. the drama their drama talent. Their acting ability was excellent with The Wizard of Oz', the instructor said. in- We have put on two produ- ctions this year, and the students have really developed Classified Ad Deadline Monday 5 p.m. WdwwmtsM wan as While it may sound like fun to sit around reading old westerns all day, Walker the work is quite tedious. says must note each new Readers word and its context, then type the sentence or paragraph on a card. Walker estimates the compilation will take years. Other research keeps Walker as he'd from working as much like on the project, but he and Toon, now at the University of Michigan, have had help from university graduate students and from a few other schools familiar with the i? with the one-piec- e frame, sideshift backhoe, and a hydraulic system capable of driving a roadbreaker and a variety of other plug-i- n ms, specializes in the literature and history of the cattle trade. Researchers began their work in this area but will include the Mormon West, the homesteading West and the mining West. should be of book The great help to Western historians, who in writing narrative, must avoid using words not used during a given use of impropThe period. er words might impose on the past an image associated with another era, he says. Researchers have learned, for instance, that the word --t- leather he pants called wore--we- re The heart and hand woman was a mail order wife whose picture, seen only in a cata-ogu- e, was often misleading. The cowboy might end up with a four - eyed school ma'am -- -a homely woman who wore Drunk as a glasses. a new loader backhoe this year from somebody else. Because during 1980, Wheeler Machinery Company is offering an all expense paid trip to England with the purchase of a new JCB Loader Backhoe. Its the machine ing. Walker west-ernis- leggings during the 1800s. The word schaps or chaps, came later from the shaps Mexican chaparejos. Lasand buckaroocame so, lariat directly or indirectly from Spanish words, Walker says. Now, what is the translation of the first paragraph? Pike-eye- d son of a gun is a derogatory term with an unknown meaning at this point. A fried shirt is heavily starched and stiff bosomed. ooft JCB is new to Utah and to us. But, JCB is the world leader in sales with a track record thats 30 years long. produce the first dictionary of but Walker says it will be the most academic. rather Others have been loosely done by people who were amateurs on the point he contends. of language, One such book is interesting but, according to Walker, it is of little help historically because it is limited to salty terms. We want to know the speech in its other flavors, too, hs says. Similar to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Western dictionary will give historical examples of the word usage and will show changes in spelling, and regional pronunciation researchers The meaning. to compile 300,000 hope entries. Walker explains that some of the words may be of standard usage but their Western usage has bent the mean- cowboys ftCasm Anyone who buys The project wont chaps ftvm ft EffagtamaO ooo g? project. refers to the sheepherder cowboy's belief that sheep-herde- rs were the only thing dumber than sheep. Weve never made an offer like this and were not planning to extend it beyond 1980. We want to attract attention to a new machine line we sell and service during our JCB introduction year. Writers meet All aspiring, inspiring or are inexpiring writers vited to attend the first meeting of the newly - formed Writers Anonymous on Wednesday, April 9, at 8 p.m. in Room 8 at Blanding Elementary School. The meeting will include a attachments. And one thing more, only JCB Loader Backhoes carry the Wheeler brand of parts and service backup. report on the 1979 session of the Rocky Mountain Writers convention at BYU and information on getting material published. The group will meet quarterly. Those interested may cont- act Janet Wilcox, for further information. 678-28- For more information, YOUR contact your Wheeler Sales Representative or call Jim Berry at CATERPILLAR DEALER MACHINERYiCO 487-781- 330 West 21st South Salt Lake City, Utah 841 15 1 ( . 'f.JCXKt: AA it V. . 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