I am a yankee

It’s true. I’m descended from about 10 prominent Dutch families who were big in the New Amsterdam settlement in the early 17th century. When the the English started pushing their way into what would become New York City, they made fun of the fleeing Dutch and loudly called them “John Cheese” derisively. John Cheese translated into Dutch means “Jan Kees.” And so the name took off to describe more native-like New Yorkers who were not so singularly British. Even at that time the city was more of a melting pot than one might think. By the Civil War American Northerners and Union soldiers were known as “yankees.” Now? A superior baseball team and Yankee magazine are nice tributes: The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series. It’s just a bit of history for the curious. So I am a John Cheese, I am a Jan Kees, and I’ve been a Yankees fan as long as I’ve been conscious.