Email from a stranger

From Pennsylvania comes this:

I live in PA. and the best congressman we ever had was named Joe McDade.
You must be related because you have a great blog.

Me: Well, thank you very much. A great group of McDades (Mostly Scots, some Irish) emigrated to both the Northeast and Louisiana between 1750 and 1945. Though not related in any discernable way to Congressman Joe McDade (R-PA), I feel a bit of kinship with him that goes deeper than our similar names. My family, and I assume his, both settled in the Northeast. Furthermore, when I pursued my Master's Degree at Binghamton University in New York State, the campus was a short drive from the Pennsylvania border and the upper reaches of Rep. McDade's district.

It is said that, per voter, New Jersey is the most expensive state to run a statewide political campaign. Most people who live in the northern part of the state get their local television from New York City, and most in the southern part of the state get their local television from Philadelphia, so anyone running for statewide office (or in a presidential primary) must buy airtime in both expensive cities. On a much smaller scale, most people the norhern portion of Pennsylvania close to Binghamton (Susquehenna and thereabouts; the region is called the Southern Tier)get their local TV from Binghamton, and so it was that in the run-up to election day, 1988, the televisions of my students and classmates were bombarded with "Re-elect Joe McDade" ads. It made for some gentle teasing.

On election day I drove down to Susquehenna, hoping to find a placard to steal, but couldn't find a one.

Me, I'm named for my father, Joseph Skelton McDade. He was named for his maternal grandfather, Joseph Skelton. Incidentally, my dad emailed and stated that he wanted to comment, but that Joe McDade commenting on Joe McDade's blog felt unseemly. Basically, that's all you need to know about him.