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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 2, 2005 Since you asked Literary license spawns Swanee Where’s the Swanee River? Our grandson learned the old song about it, but we’ve been unable to find out anything on it, although it must be somewhere. — Merritt H., Medford To quote Gertrude Stein, Merritt, there’s no there there. There is no Swanee River and never was. There is the Suwannee River, of course. It originates in Georgia near the Okefenokee Swamp and runs into the Gulf of Mexico, but songwriter Stephen Foster was never near it. According to word gurus William and Mary Morris, the first river Foster chose to immortalize was the Pee Dee, but the more he thought about it the less he liked it. His brother, Morrison Foster, suggested the Yazoo, but Foster though that was a clinker. Morrison came up with the Suwannee out of an atlas. Foster liked it, but he needed a river with a two-syllable name. So he just took the liberty of changing the name, thereby following the ancient rule of never letting the facts get in the way of a good story, or song. Advertisement What’s up with empty Foodland? Foodland on Stewart Avenue has been my local store since 1993. What’s going on? The poor employees are running out of excuses. It’s a ghost town with not even napkins and, sometimes, toilet paper available. It’s big store with few supplies. I’m puzzled. — Dave P., Medford Dick Mulhollen, owner of Foodland and Quality Market, says there are changes coming. Without being specific, he says those changes have taken "an extremely long time — almost two years." Mulhollen purchased Foodland store at 745 Stewart Ave. in the early 1990s. Another Foodland store, at Black Oak Village, was leased to Cantwell’s Market in 1996. In the meantime, Mulhollen says store hours remain the same. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to Since you asked ">[email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s