Pittsburgh reporter needs help

[Johnna Pro]

Dear members of ADS: My name is Johnna A. Pro and I'm a reporter at the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I am trying to find the origin of the term "yankee
bump." A yankee bump is a hump on a sled riding path that will send your
sled flying in the air or a bump on a hilly country road that sends your car
in the air. I'm curious about this because a colleague used the term in the
office the other day and few people knew what he meant. What we have
discovered is that only those of us who grew up in the mid-Monongahela
Valley knew its meaning. The mid-Mon Valley is located south of Pittsburgh
and is comprised of 35 towns located on the Monongahela River between the
towns of Elizabeth and Brownsville.  No one else from Pittsburgh or the
surrounding region has heard the term and it does not qualify as
Pittsburghese, our regional language.  I found one Internet reference to
Yankee Bump hill in Elizabeth, but nothing else. If someone out there can
help me I would most appreciate it.  I'm sure there's a good story here.
Thanks, Johnna A. Pro. I can be reached by email at jpro at post-gazette.com or
by phone at 412-263-1574.