I'm thinking about changing the name of my fictional prototype railroad from Wolf River & Nicolet. It turns out that the Nicolet Forest didn't get that name until the 1930s. Although I am setting the railroad in that decade, it doesn't seem plausible to me that the name would have predated the forest's having been named that. (The US Forest Service named the forest for the 17th century French explorer Jean Nicolet.)
I really like the ring of the name, but even though it is freelanced, I do want it to be as plausible as it can be given the setting in geography and time. And I also have second thoughts about the use of Wolf River. As far as I can tell, names of carriers in the region reflected communities served, rather than just geographic features.
So I think a name change is likely...
Hi DairySateDad! Sorry I am so late, but I just noticed you had a blog. Now I have to tell you that my opinion may be biased because my youngest daughter's name is Nikolett. and a strange coincidence is that you posted this on her birthday! Ok, that said my thought was maybe the railroad picked the name with the explorer in mind and not the forest. I don't see a reason to change except maybe the spelling ;)
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Hey, Louis -- thanks for dropping by! As it happens, I haven't decided for sure ... but even if I do keep the name Wolf River & Nicolet, I think that will be the logging branch. But we'll see... I'm not in a rush to figure this one out just yet, and figure the right answer will come in the fullness of time... Cheers, DSD
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