Tag: The Mangold’s

Mangold Hurling…It’s not what you think

Hurling a Mangold...the proper way! (Photo from the Mangold Hurling Association Website)

With an obscure name like Mangold, the information is quite scarce as to its origin (see my post regarding its origin here). I still never expected to stumble upon the odd sport of Mangold Hurling…yes there’s a sport that involves hurling Mangolds!

I have been fascinated with the Mangold name since childhood. I’ve heard stories of it being a Jewish swap of Goldman to Mangold. I heard it was two names combined to mean worker with gold, but the most believable and compelling is referenced HERE.

Mangold Hurling Association Website
Where on earth the sport of Mangold Hurling comes into “play” I’ll never know but if you’re interested in its history you can visit the official Mangold Hurling Page HERE.

On this website you can even find the following…

Mangold is Mangelwurzel
According to Wikipedia Mangold is the English name for the Mangelwurzel. The mangelwurzel has a history in England of being used for sport (mangold hurling), for celebration (mangold lanterns at punkie night in Somerset), for animal fodder and for the brewing of a potent alcoholic beverage.

A mangelwurzel hurling championship was revived in the north Wiltshire village of Sherston on October 7, 2006. Teams of three hurled mangelwurzels in turn, aiming to be the closest to a large leafless mangelwurzel known as ‘the Norman’.

It is also the source of the name for the English folk/pop/comedy musical group The Wurzels.

Most city-dwellers in England have only the vaguest idea of what a mangelwurzel is, and tend to associate the vegetable with the stereotypical country bumpkin character in comedy. The word is even used as a double-entendre, for example by the character Rambling Syd Rumpo (Kenneth Williams). As usual, some entertainers from country towns embrace the stereotype, as above.

The first encounter with the mangelwurzel for many children may well be through the book Muddle Earth (2003) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, in which the mangelwurzel is the staple diet of the trolls. It also appears in George Orwell‘s Animal Farm, in the fourth stanza of the ballad “Beasts of England.”

The mangelwurzel was mentioned prominently in the book Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.

It also makes frequent appearances as a sheep’s treat in the sheep detective novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.

Mangelwurzel is given as a genus of a scarecrow in the children’s programme Worzel Gummidge.

This gentleman produced some particularly fine specimens of Mangolds. Many of the older visitors remembered working on the farm, chopping Mangolds by hand for cattle feed...OUCH! (Photo from the Mangold Hurling Association Website)


In Closing
You can’t make this stuff up folks…I wonder if in their wildest imaginations if the originators of this sport would have thought that today’s definition of “hurling” could be the same as vomitting? I also wonder if they ever thought that someone’s last name would ever actually be “Mangold?” So combining the two and making a sport out of it just leads to the disgusting imagery I’m not prepared to entertain!

In Closing

So, if you ever plan on hurling a Mangold…there are rules pal and you better follow them to the tee! I’d hate to have to refer you to the Mangold Hurling Association for failure to hurl in the proper manner!

Origin of the Mangold Family Name – By Peter Mangold

Böckten, Basel-Country Switzerland

Preface
Mr. Peter Mangold from Switzerland was kind enough to leave this information on our blog regarding the origins of the Mangold name. His original comment can be found HERE. I hope those with our unique name will find this helpful. A special thanks goes out to Peter for his research.

Introduction
I just found your blog as I out of curiosity entered my own name in Google. I’m a Mangold from northwestern Switzerland, a Region where this surname is relatively widely spread. In fact, as I know, the Mangold surname originated in southern Germany, a region not far from northwestern Switzerland. Still today, most bearers of this name in Europe live in this area. As far as I know, the ancestors of my family moved in from there somewhere at around 1400 – 1500. Around the year 1500, according to parish registers, a Mangold family lived in the tiny town of Böckten in the Canton (State) of Baselland. The very town my grandfather was born 100 years ago. Today, the village and its neighboring towns are still home to quite a lot of Mangolds – I grew up only a few miles away. (Official Böckten Website)

Mangold Origins – Personality to Rule
As of the origin of the name, I have other information than you: Personally, I think an origin in either Spain or Italy is unrealistic. First of all, mobility in the Middle Ages was much lower than today (very much lower!) and only very few people moved very far from where they were born. in fact, moving out of a certain area was even prohibited by the authorities in certain regions (because the people were subjects of their lords – and required a permission to move and even to marry outside of their district). Secondly, even if somebody settled down far away from where he came from (for example mercenaries that could not or would not return home), they were mostly given names referring to their place of origin rather than they kept their own names. This was not unusual, as in these days, people had normally only one name and their “last name” was either their fathers name, their profession or described where they lived (take as an example the Swiss-German name Amstutz meaning “the one who lives on the steep slope”) Therefore names could change quite quickly. When the need for proper identification became bigger as bureaucracies were created to administrate regions and rulers began to make lists of their subjects – such as parish registers – some names became permanent last names. These could again derive from either profession (for example Cooper and Miller), places or from a previous “first name” (so called patronymic). That was the case with Mangold as Mangold was – in the Middle Ages but no more today – a popular first name. It is in its development related to the name Walter – a german name that still is today both first name and last name. And as it is the case with Walter, it refers to a leadership position: Walter has its roots in Old German “waltan” and “heri”, meaning “to preside over, to dispose” and “army” as in modern German “walten” and “Heer”. Mangold derived from “manne” and “cwolt”, meaning “men” and “force, sway, violence” as in today’s German “Männer” and “Gewalt”. So it described someone who had the power and personality to rule.

I guess, the “legend” of an origin in Italy comes from a mistake (See referenced post here). Mangold is not only a name for a person but also the name of a plant in Germany (Chard or Silver Beet in English) and this plant has its origins around the Mediterranean Sea.

Greetings from Switzerland
Peter Mangold

Nate vs. The Water Beetle

This video is not for the faint-of-heart or stomach. We have not been feeding Nathan lately, and it appears that the first defenseless beetle that came along fell prey to the voracious appetite of this all but emaciated and malnourished 16-year-old!

Hey, John the Baptist ate locusts – I guess Nate grabbed the next best thing. Hopefully, he doesn’t get any ideas about wearing camel hair, and I hope he certainly spares us the leather girdle…you think him eating the beetle was ugly!

   4And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4)

Beetle Appetit!

Long Version

Beetle Crunch Only

Hilton Head Island Vacation – July 16, 2008

Putt-Putt and Shopping – Since my injury prevents me from playing real golf, and since I have endured watching some poorly executed tee shots from our deck, I have had the itch to try my hand at golf. Unfortunately, putt-putt is as close as I’ll get for a while. We found a great place on William Hilton Parkway, near our villa called Legendary Golf. This plays unlike any putt-putt course you’ve ever been to. Each hole is set up and contoured just like a miniature golf hole. There are bunkers, water hazards, roughs, and flags at each hole. The total price for our family was $34.00, but worth every penny. Interestingly enough, each tee included a scripture about the gospel; very inspirational, educational, and recreational all in one. This will likely become one of our Hilton Head Haunts when we return.

Outlets – There are several outlets in Hilton Head, two of which are Tanger Outlets and the kids love going to them as do we. We didn’t spend a lot of money, but enjoyed walking around looking for bargains. Nate and I bought a pair of tennis shoes at the Famous Footwear Shoe Outlet, located at Hilton Head Village 1460 Fording Island Road, Suite 240, Bluffton, SC 29910 Phone: (843) 836-3304. I bought a pair of K-Swiss for me and a pair of Hurley’s for Nate. Our bill came to $60 for 2 pair of designer shoes. My shoes are so comfortable to walk in, even with the brace and my support sock.

My Reading Material – The Innocent Man by John Grisham – There was a lot of leisure time being at the villa so I took advantage of that by reading a book by John Grisham called the Innocent Man, which is a true story about a small town police force and small-time prosecuting attorney in Ada, Oklahoma, that wrongfully brought about the conviction of several innocent men, one of which was sentenced to die by lethal injection. This was a superbly written novel, that reads more like fiction and the reader will be amazed at how corrupt the judicial system can be. If you’re a supporter of the death penalty, this will make you second guess your logic.

Shipyard Plantation – Galleon Golf Course – My favorite place to read was on the deck in view of the 6th hole of our resort’s Galleon Golf Course location in the Shipyard Plantation. Here is a VIDEO of a flyover of the golf course. Interestingly enough, there were several botched tee shots that found there way on the very deck I was reading on, many others hit some of the homes across the fairway from us as well. Be very careful when reading or enjoying time on the deck. If you hear the tee shot, be watching for the ball!

The Weather – The weather was forecasted to be thunderstorms everyday. We ran into some weather off and on, but nothing that took away from our trip. One night the thunder and lightening was deafening, unlike any I had ever experienced. The next day, there were tree limbs and such blown in the roadway and bike paths, but all in all, it sounded much worse than it was. There is a tropical storm (later turned hurricane) in the middle of the Atlantic called Bertha that is causing a bit of a raucous with the beaches, but nothing that prevented us from enjoying the water. The waves were a little more rough and the weather man warned against rip currents that actually were blamed for 3 deaths on the New Jersey Coastline.

Hilton Head Island Vacation – Tuesday 7/15/08

Rodger Dale & Shan at Harbor Town Light July 2008

Harbor Town – The kids wanted to spend as much time as they could at the beach, so more often than not, that’s where they were today. Shannon and I wanted to see the local lighthouse at Harbor Town which was just a short drive from our villa. There were many small shops and a quaint little harbor, but the view of the harbor, from the top of the lighthouse was breath-taking. I was able to negotiate the 114 steps up and was it ever worth it. Every few steps, there was a landing where you could read about the history of the island, which provided me with an opportunity to take a break while making the climb with my cane.

18th Hole of the Sea Pines Resort Golf Course from the Harbor Town Light Look-out Photo by Rodger Mangold

There was a small fee to gain access for the day to the Sea Pines Resort where the lighthouse was located ($5.00/day/car) and another fee for going up into the lighthouse ($3.00/person). The views were not only of the harbor, but of the ocean, and the 18th hole of the Sea Pines Resort. You can view the web cam HERE to see almost the entire area surrounding the lighthouse.

Murphy’s Fish ‘n’ Chips – One of my favorite dishes of all time is fish and chips. When reading up on some of the local flavor in Hilton Head I stumbled upon an ad for Murphy’s Irish Pub and Restaurant. Mr. Murphy states in his ad that he’s from Ireland and serves authentic Irish cuisine including fish and chips. I was immediately “hooked.” So for lunch, Shannon and I head to Murphy’s and were the only people there. In fact, Murphy was the gent that waited on us. True to his ad, he was in fact an Irishman, and his fish and chips did not disappoint. Made with cod fillets, they were scrumptious. He tended to our every whim. He took our order, cooked, served it, visited with us some, and was very pleasant. He kept smiling a “wee” smirk. I think he was tickled that I told him we were putting his fish and chips to the test.

The place was a bit small, and more pub than restaurant. We were the only guests there so it was quaint and quiet. We enjoyed visiting with Mr. Murphy and watching his feed from the UK of a soccer tournament while we ate. Plus, in the background he was playing Irish/Celtic music. I know we were in Hilton Head Island, but for a few moments we felt like we were in Ireland. Murphy says he appeals to a smaller crowd and is considered a stepping stone to larger restaurants and pubs in the area. He doesn’t mind he said, it keeps the atmosphere more family friendly. Incidently, our bill with (2) meals and (2) iced teas came to about $22.00.

Salty Dog Café – Later we took the kids to the Salty Dog Café where we had some ice cream and took in some of the sights. We were told, anyone that goes to Hilton Head Island, MUST go to the Salty Dog. It was a quaint outdoor café with a souvenir/general store. The ice cream was excellent, but a little on the costly side. There is a webcam here as well that is located next to the thermometer in the café. There are two red-painted foot prints to stand on to be in view of the webcam. In addition to the Salty Dog Café, there is a Salty Dog T-shirt Outlet. The kids chose to pass up on the T-shirt or any of the souvenirs.