You know those people who sit all the way to the end of the credits at a movie? What on earth are they doing? We know there’s no bonus scene at the end of Lady Bird, so what are they sticking around for? As it turns out, there’s a very simple explanation. They’re playing the Mennonite movie credit game. MaryLou Driedger blogged about this in detail. Basically the game involves sitting through the credits and looking for Friesens and Goertzens. In most cases, if you’re persistent enough, you’ll find one on nearly every movie.
Sometimes, however, we assume someone’s a Mennonite when they’re not. Our surnames were not invented by us, after all. If you’re Russian Mennonite, many of the surnames have their origin in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Prussia. If you’re Swiss Mennonite, your surnames are probably from…I would assume…Switzerland?
So, how about the Dicks? It’s one of the most celebrated Russian Mennonite surnames. Perhaps the most famous Mennonite Dick was Paul Revere Dick from 1960s rock band Paul Revere and the Raiders. However, as much as we’d like to take credit for all the Dicks in the world, many of them are not actually Mennonite. Here are a few non-Mennonite Dicks. (Richards not included).
- Tim Allen – The Home Improvement and Last Man Standing star is actually Tim Dick. You can tell he’s not a Mennonite because any self-respecting Menno would be proud of being a Dick and not change their name. As they say, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
- Anthony van Dyck – While he was Flemish and born in Antwerp, there’s no evidence the famed Dutch Master (painter) was a Mennonite. There have been rumours about Rembrandt, but we’re not talking about Brandts here. We’re sticking with the Dicks (and Dycks..and van Dycks…)
- Michael Clarke – The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and drummer for the Byrds was actually a Dick. (Michael James Dick). Unfortunately he was just a regular Dick and not a Mennonite Dick.
- Albert Dick – Founder of the AB Dick Company, which manufactured photocopiers for nearly a hundred years, Albert Dick shows no evidence of being Menno. Of course, we have no way of determining how many church bulletins were reproduced using his machines.
- Philip K. Dick – While we can claim AE Van Vogt as one of our own, we can’t claim the greatest sci-fi writer of all time, Philip K. Dick. After watching the latest Blade Runner movie, maybe we wouldn’t want to anyway.
- Andy Dick – As far as we know, the inexplicably popular comedian Andy Dick is not Mennonite. His wikipedia page says he was “brought up Presbyterian.” So, yeah, he’s one of “those” people.
- Elisha C. Dick – George Washington’s physician was no Menno. Instead, he was a well-established Mason. And, no, I’m not talking about Mason jars.
- Moby Dick – Many Dicks around Steinbach have claimed the famed whale as one of their own. Still, the evidence is sketchy at best. If he was a Mennonite, he most definitely was an MB as he seemed to prefer dunking to pouring.