What Cheer

How did the town of What Cheer, Iowa, get its name? The word cheer was long used to indicate an emotional state of any kind, so asking someone What cheer? was another way to say “How are you?” The greeting What cheer, netop? Is closely associated with history of Providence, Rhode Island, netop being a Narragansett word for “friend,” which may have inspired the name of the Iowa town. But no one knows for sure. This is part of a complete episode.