RENNICK, Robert M(orris) 1932-

PERSONAL: Born June 28, 1932, in New York, NY; son of Dan (a journalist) and Betty (a homemaker) Rennick; married Elizabeth McComb (a kindergarten teacher), June 27, 1964. Education: University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin—Madison), B.S., 1954, M.S., 1958; began graduate study at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1956, Ph.D. candidate, 1959.

ADDRESSES: Home—61 Riverside Dr., Prestonsburg, KY 41653. Office—Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources, 75 University Dr., Prestonsburg, KY 41653.

CAREER: Berea College, Berea, KY, instructor in sociology, 1960-61; Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA, assistant professor of sociology, 1962-63; State University of New York, State University College at Cortland, assistant professor of sociology, 1963-65; Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, assistant professor of sociology, 1965-67; DePauw University, Greencastle, IN, assistant professor of sociology, 1967-70; Prestonsburg Community College, Prestonsburg, KY, assistant professor of sociology, 1970-72; Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources, Prestonsburg, licensing specialist, 1972-97, retired. Chairman of Kentucky Committee on Geographic Names, 1985—.

MEMBER: American Folklore Society, American Name Society, Tennessee Folklore Society, New York Folklore Society, North Carolina Folklore Society, Kentucky Historical Society, Hoosier Folklore Society, Filson Club (Kentucky history).

WRITINGS:

Kentucky Place Names, University Press of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), 1984.

The Place Names of Pike County, Kentucky, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), 1991.

Kentucky's Bluegrass: A Survey of Its Post Offices, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), 1993, Volume 2, 1994.

From Red Hot to Monkey's Eyebrow (Unusual Kentucky Place Names), University Press of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), 1997.

Kentucky's Salt River Valley: A Survey of the Post Offices of the Greater Louisville Area, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), 1997.

The Post Offices of Northeastern Kentucky, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), 2000.

The Post Offices of the Upper Big Sandy Valley of Kentucky, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), in press.

The Post Offices of Northern Kentucky, The Depot (Lake Grove, OR), in press.

Contributor of articles and book reviews to folklore, history, regional and onomastics journals, including Appalachian Notes, Comments on Etymology, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, Indiana Names, Indiana Folklore, Journal of American Folklore, and Midwest Journal of Language and Folklore. Editor of Newsletter of the Place Name Survey of the United States, 1972-73. Occasional guest editor of the American Name Society Bulletin.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Continuing research on Kentucky place names, Appalachian place and folk narratives, Kentucky postal history and personal names.

SIDELIGHTS: Robert M. Rennick told CA: "My longterm goal has been to assist in the compilation and analysis of the estimated six million place names in the United States; my past and current efforts have been directed toward this end. This study has been under the sponsorship of the American Name Society since 1969.

"Kentucky Place Names is based on more than ten years of intensive library and field research in each of the state's 120 counties. It is one of a series of volumes encouraged by and affiliated with the ongoing Place Name Survey of the United States, which aims to compile and analyze the estimated six million place names in the country. My book, a description and explanation of some two thousand named communities and post offices, was designed to benefit historians, folklorists, and geographers as well as interested citizens of Kentucky. In addition, I hope that it will serve as a guide and inspiration for my life's ambition—a more systematic and comprehensive survey of all Kentucky place names, a cooperative effort of a number of the state's residents and institutions.

"My recent research has resulted in the publication of a number of scholarly and popular articles on Kentucky and other place names. The revision of the state's gazetteer—based on contemporary maps—and model dictionaries of Kentucky counties are anticipated in future publications along with a series of books locating, describing and presenting the histories of Kentucky's 7,800 post offices. As a member of the National Commission for a Place Name Survey of the U.S., I continue to prepare research and training methodologies for persons planning and carrying out surveys of the place names of other states."