Happy Birthday Harry Truman

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

 May 8, a Missouri state holiday, is a day of celebration in Independence, the place that proudly calls itself the hometown of Give ‘Em Hell Harry Truman. 

The 33rd president of the United States was actually born near the southwest Missouri village of Lamar in 1884. Cake and punch will be served at that State Historic Site for his birthday.

Just south of Kansas City is the Harry S. Truman Farm, a part of the Truman National Historic Site.  He lived and worked here with his family for 11 years.  I’d like to tell you that cake and punch will be served here for his birthday, but thanks to the federal government sequestration and budget cuts with the national park service, tours have been canceled at the farm until Washington can get its act together.  Wonder what kind of hell Harry would give them about this situation?

Truman Presidential Library in Independence

On May 8, cake and punch is served at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.  It’s a great place all of the time to learn about the grit of this man that made some difficult decisions to end World War II, to desegregate the U.S. military, and lead us into the Korean War.

But to really celebrate Harry’s birthday, stop in for ice cream at Clinton’s Soda Fountain, where the future president worked as a teenager.

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

Then step next door to “Wild About Harry,” a modern era haberdashery saluting one of Truman’s many failed careers.   Wild About Harry is not a souvenir shop, although some Truman souvenirs are available. Check out the collection of Bobble-head presidents as well as clocks and coasters with some of Harry Truman’s best known sayings.

   Looking for cuff links made from football leather?  High-end model airplanes? Bar tools for the man-cave?  Or a hand-crafted walking stick or a cane like that which Harry used strolling the streets of Independence?  That’s the type of product you’ll find at Wild About Harry. 

   It’s just a fun place to look around and explore, for men and women, but truly a great place to buy local and celebrate Harry Truman’s birthday.  


 

Wild About Harry's in Independence is a place you can purchase an Open Road hat by Stetson, a favorite of the late president. Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

 

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Celebrate National Barbecue Month

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

May is National Barbecue Month, the official kick-off to the barbecue competition season in North America.  It starts with Memphis in May and ends with the American Royal in October, nicknamed the World Series of Barbecue. Other folks like to reference the Jack Daniels competition later in October as the Super Bowl of Barbecue, but I’m sorry – I’m from Kansas City, so we say it ends here!  :)

Living in Kansas City, I’ve come to know a bit about barbecue, and I’ve written about my favorite Kansas City joints before.  Again, my favorite for burnt ends, a Kansas City original, is Little Danny Edwards’ Boulevard Barbecue.

Kansas city barbecue

Burnt Ends dinner, a Kansas City specialty, as served at Little Danny Edwards' Boulevard Barbecue. Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

But when Bruce and I travel, we like to see what folks in other parts of the world are doing with ribs, pulled pork and brisket.  So here’s a list of some of our favorites that we’ve found here and there:

The Smoke Shack/Train Wreck – Seward, Alaska

seward alaska

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

Born and raised on good Kentucky barbecue near Louisville, Steve Miller opened this joint in Seward Alaska on July 4, 2006.  That’s the day the little community swells to 40,000 to witness the Mount Marathon Marathon, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

The problem with Alaska is that the available wood – cedar, pine and alder – is not necessarily great for barbecue.  So Miller relies on oak and apple chips shipped up from the Lower 48 to help achieve the flavor he remembers from home.

The Smoke Shack is located near the cruise ship harbor in an old military dining car from WWII.  Check out the waitress station.  It’s the original cookstove from the 1940s.  Only six tables are available inside, but during the fabulous Alaskan summer, there’s plenty of room outside on the patio.

The Hickory Pit – Saugatuck, Michigan

barbecue restaurants

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

Originally from Henderson, Kentucky, David and Susan Yates know a thing or two about good southern barbecue. They mix a fair about of good Kentucky bourbon in the sauce, smoke the meat over hickory for a good six or seven hours, and folks in southwestern Michigan just don’t know what hit them.

Susan uses her Grandma’s recipe for sweet cornbread to make a thing called Bar-B-Q pie, which is a layer of pulled pork and baked beans topped by corn bread.

Strawberry soda and deviled eggs on the menu are just a few more indications that David and Susan know what makes a perfect barbecue meal.

 

17th Street Bar & Grill – Murphysboro, Illinois

barbecue restaurantsMike Mills is the pit master here and has been smoking meat for the better part of his life.  He bought this little bar and grill in the 1980s and slowly began introducing barbecue to the good times.

You’ll find Mike’s sauce a little more vinegary than most.  Although he admits to putting a bit of sauce on in the pit, the meat really comes relative free of sauce to your table.

Mike is also a founding father of the Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off held the third weekend of each September.  But don’t wait until then to stop in and say hello.

 

I’m heading off to Kentucky soon to experience a couple of dozen barbecue joints there and perhaps a little bit of that delightful bourbon the Bluegrass state is so famous for.  So I’ll check back with you on that and make some recommendations.  I’m also working on a barbecue travel app with my friend Sally Walker Davies from Memphis.  So lots of finger-lickin’ good reasons to check back in.


 

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Buffalo Bill Cody Still Draws a Crowd

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Heading west out of Denver on I-70, with the exit to Golden and the Coors brewing facility on your right, Lookout Mountain looms ahead, a spectacular spot to pull off the interstate and have a nice long look back at the Mile High City. 

 

I can’t tell you the times I’ve passed exit 256 and looked up, yet never taking the time to do so – until a trip this past January when time was finally on my side.

Unlike many scenic overlooks, this one is not immediately off of the interstate. You wind your way through a residential area and then pastureland for almost ten miles before you reach Lookout Mountain, its visitor center and the grave of Buffalo Bill Cody.

That’s what I was most interested in – seeing where the legendary Pony Express rider, Army scout, and world-renowned entertainer was buried.  In the chapter about Buffalo Bill in my book, The Myths and Mysteries of Kansas, I wrote:

 From the 1880s through the first two decades of Twentieth Century, William Frederick Cody was the most famous entertainer in North America and perhaps the world. Better known as Buffalo Bill Cody, he was the Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Johnny Depp of his time, all rolled into one and then some.

His Wild West shows visited 13 countries and the 48 contiguous states on multiple occasions. He performed for and became friends with presidents, kings and world leaders, including Pope Leo XIII. He was the subject of dime novels, comics, songs and both silent and talkie movies. Buffalo Bill was the embodiment of the spirit of the American West, of the independence, self-sufficiency and grandeur that appealed to those around the world who dreamed of America.

lookout mountain coloradoAs I walked to his grave, I encountered two young men speaking German and other family speaking a language I didn’t readily recognize, reinforcing that Buffalo Bill can still draw an international crowd nearly 100 years after his death.

And that’s what the leaders of Denver were banking on. Buffalo Bill died in 1917 while visiting his sister in Denver.  It was expected that his body to be sent to Cody Wyoming, the town he founded and where he lived.  However, the Denver Post newspaper and the city of Denver paid a combined $20,000 to his widow, Louisa, to bury him in Denver with the hopes that his grave would become a tourist attraction.things to do in Denver

Yes, it appears, 100 years later, the people of Denver are still getting their money’s worth.


 

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Jackie Robinson and Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Museum

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

The Jackie Robinson movie “42″ is my kind of movie. It’s about baseball, which I love. It’s history, which I also love. And it’s a real story with real people and real drama that crappy reality TV will never in a million years be able to provide its audience.

Jackie Robinson, of course, was the first African-American to play major league baseball. On April 15, 1946, he broke the color barrier, putting on a jersey with the number 42 and becoming not just a Brooklyn Dodger, but a major player in the steps toward racial equality in the United States.

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

However, before Jackie Robinson wore #42, he wore #5 and played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues. Jackie’s story is prominent, but certainly not the only one of significance told at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

Here you learn more about great athletes like Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, and of course, the revered Buck O’Neil, without whom the Negro Leagues Museum would not exist and so many great stories would not have been preserved.

The museum is so much more than the story of baseball and a few black guys who played the game. It digs deep into the period of segregation and the evolution of American society that began the day that Jackie Robinson put on the jersey with #42 on the back.

The movie should be on your list of movies to watch, over and over again.  And the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum should be on your list of destinations to visit that will change the way you enjoy sports today and cause you to appreciate the richness of diversity that make our lives so interesting.    

 

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is located in the 18th & Vine Historic District in Kansas City, Missouri Photo by Bruce N. Meyer


 

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Anne Frank’s Journey Continues

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Few names in the course of human history elicit emotions of strength and hope, the promise of tomorrow, like that of Anne Frank.  The Amsterdam home where she and seven other survived for two years, hiding from the Nazis, is as emotional and inspirational a destination as any I’ve ever visited in this world.

When I was in Amsterdam, the big horse chestnut tree that Anne wrote about in her diary was still living. It died a few years ago in a wind storm, but before it did, museum officials procured 11 little saplings that are, this spring, being planted in spots around the United States.  One is at the White House and another at the 9.11 memorial in New York.

Another is at one of my favorite places in the Midwest – the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.  Anne Frank is honored there in a permanent exhibit called “The Power of Children.”  And then, there will be another planted at Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas.  Talk about a place that was once filled with so much hatred. The tree should flourish here.  To find one in destinations you may be visiting, just click here.

If you find yourself in the vicinity of Fayetteville, NC between now and May 31, 2013, stop by the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center for the exhibit “Fighting  the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings.  It’s a traveling exhibit from the National Holocaust Museum, that explores how book burning became a potent symbol in America’s battle against Nazism and why they continue to resonate with the public—in film, literature, and political discourse – to this day.  You know, we still burn and ban books in the US and other countries?  Not cool.

But don’t limit your understanding of Anne Frank and the work that is being done in her name to a visit to the Netherlands.  The Anne Frank Center has numerous traveling exhibits around the world at any given time.  Look for them and then into yourself for the opportunity to spread the promise of hope and tomorrow, as Anne Frank did.


 

 


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Elvis Presley Haircut Day in Fort Smith Arkansas

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

You can all but hear the hysteria in the teenage girls’ voices. Their schoolgirl handwriting with big hearts drawn in the margins of their passionate letter begs President Dwight Eisenhower to employ his executive powers to prevent this national tragedy.

Elvis Presley

Photo by Diana Lambdin Meyer

It was a matter of life and death, because, according to their letter, if the president didn’t intervene, these three young women “will just about die.”

Unfortunately, the president did nothing to avert this crisis and on March 25, 1958, disaster struck.

 

 

Elvis Presley entered the United States Army at Fort Chaffee Arkansas and yes, he got a GI haircut that included shaving off those sideburns that were among Presley’s many attributes that made young girls swoon in those days.

Elvis presley haircat

Photo by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Some fans still get a little weak in the knees when they enter the Chaffee Barbershop Museum and lay eyes on the spot where Elvis’ beautiful thick locks fell to the floor. The letter to President Eisenhower from the hysterical teenagers, original shop brooms and even a barber’s chair where gangster Bonnie Parker got her hair cut for the last time are also on display.

And if you come on March 25 this year, you can have your hair cut for free by descendants of the same barber who cut The King’s hair. Elvis Haircut Day, not yet a national holiday, but surely it should be, has been an annual event since the museum opened in 2010.

Please keep swooning to a minimum.

 
 


 

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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In Kansas City

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

The Irish who immigrated to America often did so to join friends and family already in the United States. Many of those settlements were in Boston, New York and Chicago.

Kelly's is believed to be the oldest building in Kansas City and dates to 1850. It gets just a little crowded on St. Patrick's Day. Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

But those without ties to an established Irish-American community, those who could be considered a little more rough and tumble, often continued to roam, explore and eventually settled in Missouri. Irish are the second largest immigrant group to settle in Missouri, second only to Germans.

Yessiree, all the bad boy Irish landed here in fly-over country. About 13 percent of the state’s population claim Irish roots. In the Kansas City area, one in eight residents report green lineage, except for on St. Patrick’s Day, and then, of course, we’re all a little green around the gills.

At one time, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Kansas City was the third largest in the country, stretching more than two miles with more than 400,000 spectators. But for a couple of years the celebration was a bit too passionate and city leaders suggested that maybe the parade not be so big for a while.

Browne’s Irish Deli

Irish Food

Photo by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Many are often surprised to learn that Browne’s Irish Deli is the oldest family-owned Irish business in the North America.  The Browne family first settled in Kansas City from County Kerry Ireland and opened this market at 33rd and Pennsylvania in 1887. Browne’s imports a number of grocery items directly from the Mother Land, such as black and white pudding, meat pies and Irish sausage. On St. Patrick’s Day, they open at 6 a.m. to serve an Irish breakfast, but come any time of the year for an authentic slice of green.

Irish Traditions and Genealogy

Irish traditions

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

Head on over to Union Station to the Irish Museum and Cultural Center for another dose of green. Take Irish flute lessons, Gaelic language classes, or learn a bit about Celtic cooking.

The museum collection includes silk vestments from the Ancient Order of Hibernian that dates to 1884 and a Belfast family Bible from the 1860s. Genealogy experts are available with data banks and other resources to help those of all ancestry to trace their family lineage.  The museum is a member of the Origins Network, a specialized database for searching Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh records.

Courtesy KC Irish Fest

And then plan to come back to Kansas City on Labor Day weekend and join nearly 50,000 people for the Kansas City Irish Fest. The fountains at Crown Center run green that week, as will your blood as the luck of the Kansas City Irish takes hold.

 


 

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March Madness and the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

March Madness has overcome the United States – a truly American condition with symptoms that include brackets and office pools, round balls and team jerseys.

march madness

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

The cure for March Madness includes a heavy dose of participation in this spectator sport – usually at sports bar and the bigger the big screen TV, the better.

Another sure fire cure for March Madness is a visit to Kansas City, where the NCAA was founded, and specifically a visit to the College Basketball Experience.  It’s tempting to call this place a museum, but it is so NOT a museum. Do you leave most museums all sweaty and smelly?

The experience begins as you ride the elevator to the second floor and hear the coach shouting a few last words of encouragement before leaving the locker room. Then the doors open, the pep band plays, the crowd cheers and your heart gets to pumping.

march madness

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

Shoot a 3-pointer, slam a dunk, and see how high you can jump, and then read about record holders and NCAA rules governing such behavior. Practice your free throw and measure your shoe size to Shaquille O’Neal’s.

Bring a few friends along and work the court in a friendly, or not-so-friendly pick up game.

Sit at the anchor desk of the real ESPN Sports Center and cruise the NCAA Coaches Hall of Fame.

While you’re doing it, take time to read some of the history of the game on the walls and in nearby kiosks. You’ll learn that the NCAA was founded just a few blocks from here and Kansas City has hosted more Final Fours than any city in the country.  Yeah, take that bit of trivia to your watch party!.

And wear that sweat on your brow like a badge of honor as you head out into a world overcome by March Madness.

march madness

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

 


 

Years that Kansas City Hosted the Final Four

1940     1941     1942

1953     1954     1955

1957     1961     1988

 

 

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“Nancy” Cartoons Fly High in Nashville Airport

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

One of the best airports in the U.S. to experience flight delays, in my opinion, is the Nashville International Airport (BNA).Nashville Airpot

In addition to the live music at Tootsie’s on the C Concourse, you also have a massage and manicure bar at which to relax, some really cool shops with lots of music CDs, cowboy hats, and stuff that just shouts the flavor of Nashville.

Some of country music’s most talented voices make all of those boring announcements about the security issues, but also welcome you to their hometown with the pride and warmth that gives Nashville that friendly feel.

The most recent addition to BNA is an exhibition devoted to the adorable cartoon character “Nancy.”  It, too, is on the C Concourse near the food court. Nancy is a child of the Great Depression, adding smiles to the funny sections of newspapers around the world since Ernie Bushmill first frizzed her hair in 1933.

Nashville Airport

Nancy Comics Love Nashville

Fans of Nancy know that she is a fan of music. She loves to sing and dance, usually with her teddy bear or her buddy Sluggo.  Nancy developed her love of music beginning in about 1995.  That’s when acclaimed cartoonist Guy Gilchrist put his pen to paper and became the spirit of “Nancy.”

Gilchrist lives in nearby Gallatin Tennessee and is as passionate about music as he is about making people smile through his cartoons. The exhibition includes 60 of Gilchrist’s favorite cartoons that highlight Nancy’s love of music, and a couple of guitars he has painted with Nancy’s image on them.

Nashville airportSo that’s why Nancy is flying through the food court on Concourse C. Numerous art installations highlighting the talents of regional artists make hanging around, waiting for a flight at the Nashville International Airport a more engaging experience.

Nashville Airport 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

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Ride Elvis Presley’s Rollercoaster in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

When it was located at Libertyland Amusement Park in Memphis TN, the Zippin Pippin rollercoaster was Elvis Presley’s favorite ride.  On several occasions, he would buy out the park and host a private party for friends and family.

The last time Elvis rode the Zippin Pippin was on August 8, 1977, just 8 days before his death. At that time, it’s said that he lost a belt buckle.

Zippin’ Pippin Moves to Green Bay

Photo by Bruce N. MeyerLibertyland fell victim to economic problems and closed in 2005. That was right smack in the middle of James Schmitt’s first term as mayor of Green Bay Wisconsin. He was re-elected in 2007 with 70 percent of the vote, but that was before Schmitt got the crazy idea of buying the Zippin Pippin and moving it to Green Bay.  The thing cost $35,000!  Moving a rollercoaster, reassembling it and so forth cost thousands more and the people of Green Bay were outraged! Spending this kind of money for a rollercoaster in the worst economic conditions since … well, you know the line.

bay beach amusement park

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

But Schmitt and the city persevered and on May 27, 2011, the Zippin’ Pippin opened for riders at the Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay.  Now, this is a classic 1950s era family fun park.  There’s nothing Disney or Six-Flagish about it. There’s no fee for parking, no admission fee and rides are just $1, with the exception of the live ponies for $2.  All of the rides are 1950s-era with swings and Scramblers and Tilt-A-Whirls. At any time, you expect to see The Beaver and Wally join you for a ride.

But Bay Beach had become a little ho-hum. It was a great place for play dates with pre-schoolers, and nice for a church picnic and all, but Bay Beach needed some pizzazz, something to be “all shook up” about. And it turns out, the Zippin’ Pippin was just the thing.

Putting the Zip in more than the Pip

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

In the first year, ridership on all rides jumped almost 33 percent, from 983,000 rides to 1, 285,000 rides. Concession stand revenue jumped 57 percent.  The Zippin’ Pippin needed to log 200,000 paying rides in the first year to pay off the bond used to purchase the rollercoaster. More than 462,000 rides took place that first year.

The Bay Beach Amusement Park is now the hottest date night destination in Green Bay, and pretty much fun for summertime vacationers as well.  Because this is Wisconsin and Green Bay gets about 50 inches of snow a year, yes, the park is open only from mid-May to mid-September.

So put Green Bay Wisconsin into your GPS and August 8 on your calendar. That’s the anniversary of Elvis’ last ride, when Bay Beach stays open late, they light up the Zippin Pippin and Elvis impersonators stroll the grounds for Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Lights night.  Elvis movies play in the dance hall and concessionaires sell hound dogs and Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches.

Now that’s something to be all shook up about. 

 


 

wooden rollercoaster

Photo by Bruce N. Meyer

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