
If You Grew Up In Minnesota, Your Grandma Called A Couch… This
Growing up in Minnesota means learning some lingo that may be foreign to folks not from the state. We say that making a U-turn is 'whipping a s***ty' and that 'Duck, Duck, Goose' is -actually- called 'Duck, Duck, Grey Duck.'
As a kid, there were few things that would get me scolded faster than putting my shoes on the couch. My grandparents had patience for all kinds of things, but they drew the line at dirty shoes on their couch.
Of course, the couch wasn't called a couch, or a sofa or any other common name. No, when we mistakenly got too comfortable in our 'tennies' (another grandma term), grandma would yell
"GET YOUR FEET OFF THE DAVENPORT!"
Eventually, my grandparents on my dad's side just started covering the couch Davenport with bedsheets to keep their grimy, unclean grandkids' filth off of their big investment.
While this should have been insulting to us, it was nothing compared to my mom's parents- they covered their couch in straight-up plastic. A real joy in the summer months.
So, the question remains: Why did seemingly every grandmother in Minnesota call a couch a Davenport?
Google says the A.H. Davenport Company made custom sofas for wealthy clients like the Vanderbilts and the White House. The name became a generic term for a large, upholstered sofa that could be used for relaxing or even sleeping.
The A.H. Davenport Company operated from about 1880 to the mid-1970's.
Over time the tradition has been lost as none of my kids' grandmothers say Davenport and instead call it a couch.
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