[Magdalen] Coon/Cooning.

[Grace Cangialosi]

David, the other use, of course, is in fact, referring to raccoons.

> On May 25, 2018, at 12:28 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> David,
> “Coon” was/is also a very pejorative term for African-Americans, and it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this. I suspect the term “cooning melons” meant stealing them.
> 
>> On May 25, 2018, at 12:09 PM, cantor03--- via Magdalen <magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> We had some delicious cantaloupe yesterday, and it brought
>> 
>> back memories of my native village in NW Wisconsin.  There, in
>> sandy fields in the Pine Barrens, there was a seed farm that
>> specialized in cantaloupe.  The seed farm was owned by the
>> Daniels family, pillars of the local Methodist congregation.
>> 
>> Daniels' melons were delicious, but they had to be consumed
>> on the property under their supervision.  The precious seeds
>> had to be preserved.
>> 
>> I used the expression, "cooning melons," and my mate
>> looked shocked.  According to my dictionaries, this expression,
>> meaning "stealing" melons [anything] is a southern USA
>> usage, but the expression was commonly employed to
>> describe the coming of age ritual of local high school boys
>> who were the bane of the Daniel's existence during the
>> July/August season, and attempted to steal melons at night.
>> 
>> Old Man Daniels literally slept in the fields holding his
>> handy shotgun in lap during those months.
>> 
>> Anyway, this usage of coon/cooning is not pejorative
>> in my usage, anyway.
>> 
>> Here in Pennsylania USA, "Coon/s" properly refers to
>> raccoons that are plentiful here in the mountains.  Hunting
>> them is "cooning."
>> 
>> 
>> David S.
>>