Soccer Dad

A tale of two cities' name changes

What do the the towns of Hot Springs, New Mexico and the merger of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania have in common?

56 years ago the town Hot Springs took a television show up on offer; it changed its name in exchange for having the show, "Truth or Consequences" broadcast from the town.

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is back in the news. The town is near what is called SpacePort America, the location where commercial ventures will take paying customers into space.

Similarly the merged towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk took on a new name. It wasn't the of a TV show but the name of Jim Thorpe in honor of the great American Indian athlete who is buried there.

Thorpe died in 1953, and his widow discovered to her sorrow that his native state of Oklahoma would not assist in developing a suitable memorial to him. About the same time, Mrs. Thorpe learned how the communities of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were also struggling for economic survival.
Spearheaded by Joe Boyle, editor and co-publisher of the Mauch Chunk Times News, local citizens were contributing a nickel a week to an economic development fund. Buoyed by this community spirit, she visited the town and asked for assistance. A group of local citizens thought that this would be an opportunity to end decades of sectional rivalries by merging the towns, naming them in honor of Jim Thorpe, and hoping that the change would give added impetus to positive thinking in the community. In two referenda, the town voted in favor of accepting Jim Thorpe.

(According to the article Mauch Chunk means "Bear Mountain.")

Tags: Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania, Truth or Consequences New Mexico