L.L. Bean's initials get scrutiny

He's arguably Maine's best-known native son. To his customers, he was simply known as "L.L."

But as outdoors outfitter L.L. Bean celebrates its 100th anniversary, it's still not 100 percent clear what the famous founder's initials stood for. Was it Leon Leonwood Bean, as the company claimed for decades, or was it Leon Linwood Bean, as his grandson suggests?

The answer appears to be both.

Leon Gorman, L.L.'s grandson, said, "There was some incident that happened years ago. I can't remember what it was. They misspelled Leon's name from Linwood to Leonwood. L.L. was so taken by the new version of his middle name that he adopted it."

- The Associated Press