Buena Vista, VA (a few miles off Interstate 81) was our chosen stop enroute, a few years ago. We had been in town once before, about 7 years previous to that, when transporting an antique car (that we bought, and subsequently sold) back east. It experienced major air conditioning failure, necessitating finding a motel about lunchtime, because of extreme heat (mid 90’s) and the “mom & pop” motel in town let us check in at that early hour. (Try that at your “big box motel.” Typically it’s “your room won’t be ready till after 3PM.”) At that time, we didn’t know any of the following sights existed, and found them only on this visit.
First up, is an adaptation of the “Muffler Man” concept. It was reportedly built by a relative of singer Patsy Cline’s husband, and erected in 2013, so it’s not really an antique. Yet. It’s located at an automotive recycling yard in Buena Vista (a few miles off I-81. Notice the “mini-me” cyborg in his tummy, operating the controls! Standing on the dis-used cab of an 18-wheeler, he cuts an impressive pose!
Cyborg Muffler Man is not yet well-known, but he can be found on-line already. Doesn’t take long for these things to become legendary!
Cyborg Muffler Man
Mini-me Cyborg at the controls. Note the claw-like hand on the big one!
And on the way out of Buena Vista (“good view” in Spanish) on the road to Lexington, we stopped for a quick picture of “the coffee pot” building. Built in the 1950’s, it was operated as a restaurant for a while, then in the ’90’s as a canoe rental operation, and in 2010 as a fresh fish market. By 2012 it had reportedly closed for good.
But the distinctive “coffee pot” or “teapot” shape remains…very nice (and hard to get a picture of, due to “no shoulder” on the road out of Buena Vista.) Notice its round style, the “spout” on the left, and the black “handle” just visible on the right. Keep that camera ready for a pic on the run!
“I’m a little teapot…”
A bit farther west on the same road, was the reconstructed Ben Salem Lock, Maury River, a part of the James River and Kanawha Canal (which I never knew existed.) Built circa 1858, it connected the town of Lexington to the James River, a major artery of commerce. It would be a wonderful local park for a picnic…but I don’t live there.
Ben Salem lock…
You never know when the next interesting site will turn up. That’s why I always carry a camera in my purse during my travels!
Recently I had occasion to call one of my credit cards, to check on the billing date and amount owed. The card is in my male name – a name now used almost exclusively by females. I softened my voice a bit, like I did the other day for the call to check on the gas discount. And Voila! I was addressed as Mrs, both initially and throughout the call.
There’s no chance that my wife’s name or info got stirred into the mix…she isn’t on this account. So, go figure. Perhaps the clerks there just completed a diversity training class, and she wanted to be “correct.” I’m usually addressed as Sir on the phone. Could the reason be my now-female first name?
These are Mom’s pretty screw-type chandelier earrings, which I had repaired by a jeweler last summer:
Below is a picture of my mother (face blurred for her privacy and my father and I cropped out) wearing these same earrings. (Sorry about the slight fuzziness – that’s because I had to enlarge Mom’s portion of the picture, to make the earrings large enough to recognize.) It was taken in 1950 or 51 at the apartment my parents and I lived in at the time, and is the first solid evidence I could find of their true age, since Mom’s memory has failed. “Doing the math” says this was about 66 years ago… So perhaps they’re not costume jewelry, after all? If they’re real, they definitely have a couple of artificial stones in them now, since two had gotten lost over the years.
But either way, they’re pretty!
Back then, who would have believed that many years later, her son – well, more appropriately Mandy (the daughter she never had), would be wearing them proudly? I just wish there were more occasions for me to be able to wear them!
Now, I leave you with a picture of the Mitchell (SD) Corn Palace, .
Wikipedia says it was originally known as “The Corn Belt Exposition,” built in 1892 to showcase the rich soil of South Dakota and encourage people to settle in the area. A wooden castle structure on Mitchell’s Main Street, it was built on land donated by Louis Beckwith, a member of the First Corn Palace Committee]In 1904–1905, the city of Mitchell mounted a challenge to the city of Pierre (SD) in an unsuccessful attempt to replace it as the state capital. As part of this effort, the Corn Palace was rebuilt in 1905. In 1921, the Corn Palace was rebuilt once again, with a design by the architectural firm Rapp and Rapp of Chicago. Russian-style onion domes and Moorish Minarets were added in 1937, giving the Palace the distinctive appearance that it has today.
Those exterior corn murals are replaced and redesigned each year with a new theme. Designs are created by local artists. From 1948 to 1971, the artist Oscar Howe designed the panels. Calvin Schultz designed the murals from 1977 to 2002. Since 2003, the murals have been designed by Cherie Ramsdell.
In 2006, no new mural was created due to the extreme drought.
Based on the age of the cars shown, the picture above, from our family archive, appears to have been taken in the late 60’s or early 70’s by my wife’s parents, now both deceased. Enjoy!
In a previous post, one of my readers (thanks, Sue!) mentioned a place named Batman, in Turkey. Talking about the “Batman” theme for a moment, a relatively new building was built in the 1990’s in Nashville, TN. Guess what they call it locally?
The AT&T building in Nashville is a 617-foot, 33-story skyscraper completed in 1994. It’s currently the tallest building in the State of Tennessee, and is designed as an office tower capable of occupation by 2000 employees. (Unfortunately, it does not have an observation deck…) 😦
The building’s footprint is 1-2/3 city blocks, it sits on 2.7 acres of land, has a 9 story underground parking garage, and a 3-story winter garden foyer. Its distinctive design and predominantly dark coloration have earned it the nickname “Batman Building” due to its resemblance to the cowl of superhero character “Batman.”
A view approximately eastbound on Nashville’s famous Broadway, with September crowds visiting its world-famous honky-tonks, the Batman Building dominating the center background, and the world-renowned Ryman Auditorium on the far left (that red brick building with gray shingle roof behind the bright red detour sign and the purple building (the world-famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.)
Yours truly was fortunate to have lived in Oklahoma for a short time in the late 1960’s, and thus was able to see some of the sights which no longer exist. One was the Huckins Hotel (see earlier post) and another was this, the Hotel Kingkade, named after (and owned by) Andrew Kingkade.
The old front entrance…
Mr. Kingkade arrived in Oklahoma City in 1908, intending to go into the insurance and mortgage loan business. He soon became interested in building a hotel with his friend E.L. Lawrence. Each man built his own hotel, both opening in 1912. Kingkade’s was at 19 West Grand and the Lawrence Hotel at 17 West Grand.
Calling itself a ‘quiet refined place to stop when in Capitol City,’ the new hotel evidently tried to distinguish itself from some of its more boisterous competitors, such as the Huckins. The Kingkade sought to establish a more sedate image, although with a number of state legislators living there, it may well have been a site for some politicking.
After World War II the Kingkade gradually declined, along with downtown hotels all over the country, until the coming of the Myriad Convention Center brought its history to an end. After the 1968 Thanksgiving dinner was served in its coffee shop, the Kingkade ceased operations and was soon razed.
The end for Hotel Kingkade (notice the white pillars on the covered entrance, still standing)
This entire block also met its end, due to urban renewal, in order to provide vacant space for the Convention Center and a high rise office building. Had current preservation laws been in effect, one wonders if that might have changed the current-day appearance of Oklahoma City’s downtown.
I consider myself fortunate to have actually seen the hotels before their demise all those years ago.
In July of 2016, with my wife visiting her sister who lives in mid-America, Mandy was finally able to step out of the suitcase, to play with trains…real ones…for a while.
One Saturday, my destination was the Walkersville Southern, a small, but very nice little tourist line operating over former Pennsylvania Railroad rails, between end-of-track at Route 26 north of Frederick to Walkersville, over the washed out (in Hurricane Agnes – 1972) – and repaired by the State in 1996, Monocacy River Bridge. Before abandonment, the PRR used to go all the way into Frederick to service local industries and interchange with the B&O. This included some street running. But that service is long gone, although the rails remain visible in places. Development has seriously encroached, Route 26 is too busy for the State to put the grade crossing back, and the industries, like the PRR, are long gone.
The WS has several small diesels (as in GE 44 tonners and the like) plus a few smaller “critters.” And a small group of former Long Island Railroad passenger coaches reside there, plus two open air flatcars with roofs in case of rain. But there are no resident steam engines.
Being early, I had a chance to walk around and check out the equipment before train time. And even had a chance to do a selfie by one of them. They tell me that the rusty car way behind me was a former “subscription” car, where you paid your regular fare, plus a subscription fee to ride in it. And if you didn’t “know someone” who was “a subscriber” you didn’t get to buy a subscription. Interesting. I don’t think that practice has survived the passage of time… It’s being restored, so someday it may be possible to step back in time and ride it again.
At the Walkersville Southern, in rural western Maryland…
By the way, don’t look closely at the journal box on the middle axle beside me in the picture. It’s a bit askew, obviously due to a small derailment. Guess they’ll have to fix that before they use it again…
When I bought my ticket, the late teen male ticket clerk didn’t use any gender-specific greeting for me. Interesting…did he clock me? I sat there waiting for train time, contemplating that as other women bought tickets. But – surprise…he didn’t address any of them as “Ma’am,” or for that matter, by any female terms. The even more interesting thing was that he didn’t use “Sir” to address the men. I wonder if that’s the way of the future? Don’t greet people as the gender they appear to be, that way you can’t ever guess wrong. There’s a certain strange allure to that line of thought…
While on board one of the two open air cars, (it was far too hot to sit in the open-window, un-air conditioned coaches and not long before boarding, my car’s thermometer read a toasty 100 degrees), folks had to pass by me in order to get to a bench seat. (Coincidence, or intentional? You KNOW that answer!) The patrons were of all ages…seniors, middle age, teens and the 6 to 12 age group. As people passed by, I watched to see if they paid any attention to this heavyset girl in a skirt, blouse and sandals, who was wearing sunglasses (don’t you just love sunglasses?)
And the correct answer was…nobody paid me any mind. I heard “excuse me” numerous times, with “Ma’am” added a few times by the older folks. but nobody did any obvious double-takes or lengthy stares at me. Everyone was too excited about their train ride to worry about anyone else’s issues. Even the kids…
It was a nice little excursion. But afterwards, it was time to move on…
Mandy likes to visit places with unusual names…having already visited Accident, MD. After leaving Walkersville, I did some rural exploring. Yes, Virginia, there really is a place named Detour, Maryland.
At the town line of Detour, MD.
It was relatively easy to find, as Detour Road pointed me in the right direction. But I was having trouble finding the next town – with another unusual name. After driving around for fifteen minutes, I finally had to stop (in Detour) at the only open store on a Saturday…a general store. The two ladies there not only addressed me as female, they gave me directions to Ladiesburg. Don’t you just love the name?
According to the following blog (http://blog.evankalish.com/2011/12/behind-bbc-ladiesburg-md.html), the official local story has it that the first eight residents of the town included seven women and only one man. Hence, Ladiesburg! There used to be a railroad station, general store and Post Office. All are empty or gone now, leaving just a random group of houses. I wonder how many gentlemen live in Ladiesburg?
Since both of these little villages have been around for a long while, they should have been on my GPS. But they weren’t! Too small, I guess. And there’s not much left except the novelty of the names, to attract visitors. In Ladiesburg, there’s not even a store to buy a bottle of pop…(soft drink, soda pop or Diet Coke, whatever you call it in your locale!) How times have changed…
A lady at the edge of Ladiesburg, MD.
Perhaps one day soon, I’ll have lunch at the Suicide Bridge Restaurant near Secretary, and visit Rosaryville, Crapo, or Pomonkey! (Yes, there are stories about all of them!
A little-known factoid…this day was the longest I’ve ever worn clip earrings…from 9 AM to about 7 PM. Lets just say that pierced earrings would have been a whole lot more comfortable. But that’s not likely to happen any time soon!
About 12 years ago, I used to venture into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on my way to morning meetings at the downtown office, in order to take pictures in the “sweet light” right after sun-up. Here are some of the pictures…
Pride of Baltimore II
Waterfront scene with harbor cruise boats
Baltimore City Courthouse
Did you ever have that sinking feeling?
I heard that this one actually sank…right there at the dock.
For safety’s sake (regardless of my attire), nowadays, I wouldn’t risk walking alone downtown …whatever the reason. So I’m really glad that I have these memories…
Back in 2005, during a train trip to Portland and Seattle, we took the time to walk around both towns to get familiar with the local sights. In Portland, we visited Chinatown, and came across a Chinese bar/restaurant with a rather suggestive name:
In moving my pictures to a different computer, I just came across it again, and decided to visit Wikipedia to see if there is anything listed about it, since we had nothing about it in our files. And amazingly, there is:
The Chinese restaurant Hung Far Low, which means “red flower restaurant” in Cantonese or “almond blossom fragrance” in the Taishanese dialect, was established in 1928 and housed in a building completed in 1916. Located at 112 Northwest 4th Avenue in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, the restaurant was owned by Wong On and open from lunch to early morning. In 1938, the restaurant’s proprietor, Jack Wong, purchased the building from the Stubbs family. According to the National Park Service, the Wong family still owns the building today.
In her 2013 book Walking Portland: 30 Tours of Stumptown’s Funky Neighborhoods, Historic Landmarks, Park Trails, Farmers Markets, and Brewpubs, Becky Ohlsen said of the restaurant: “Dedicated barflies adored Hung Far Low for the minuscule corner bar, dark as night, with its tiny, cheap, and powerful drinks, impassive bartenders, glowing Buddha statue, and perilously long, narrow staircase that led up from the street.”
In 2005, the restaurant relocated to 2410 Southeast 82nd Avenue, and it closed on 9/14/2015. However, the legendary sign was rescued, restored and once again graces the corner of a building in Portland’s Chinatown…
So there you have it…another entry in the “strange names” competition, running neck-and-neck with Toad Suck, Arkansas, for Number 1 on the list, and Soddy-Daisy, TN tied with Accident, MD for second place!
(This actually took place last fall – right now with the “shelter in place” rules in effect all the shops and sit-down restaurants are closed.)
We had some errands to run. When we got up that morning, I put on a pair of ballerina flats with my shorts. I’ve been going bare-legged in sandals and capris (or shorts) for quite a while now. So, to continue the habit of keeping my legs nice and smooth, I epilated them. Then I showered and put on my pantyhose. But I heard “It’s still summertime, so you won’t need pantyhose. Wearing ballerinas with bare legs will be a better choice.” So off came my pantyhose, for our visit to a grocery store and the shopping center.
Every girl we saw, who was wearing any style of ballerinas, was like me – bare-legged – whether they wore shorts, capris or (a few) in skirts. So I guess I won’t be needing pantyhose…at least for a while.
We went out for dinner a couple days later, to celebrate my wife’s birthday…it was a seafood restaurant about 15 miles from home. (Since we live in seafood country…we enjoy seafood!) For this occasion, she wanted me to dress up a bit. I chose my white capris with a women’s polo, and once again, ballerinas were the shoes to wear (with bare legs). We were addressed as “ladies” for the meal (by a female server.)
Other female customers were all very casual…shorts, or “short shorts” and sandals or (a few) with slip-on sneakers. Only four of us in the whole place (including my wife and I) were wearing capris… But we girls all had one thing in common: bare legs. Lesson learned…there’s lots of time when the weather cools off to enjoy pantyhose! (And I’m getting used to wearing shoes without any socks or stockings…though it’s not an easy thing to learn.)
On the way out after dinner, a teenage boy walked toward the door faster than we did, and held the door open for both of us. We thanked him, and he returned “you’re welcome, ladies.” Nice to see a male teenager with manners…you see it so rarely lately…but it does still exist.
As for things you can’t see anymore:
Back in the late 1990’s, the reincarnated Northern Central Railway began operating on the abandoned PRR Northern Central out of New Freedom, PA. And, there were occasional forays into downtown York, PA.
This former Canadian National Alco FPA-4 locomotive (masquerading as an ex-B&O 800, on the former PRR main line) was pulling one of the last such trains on N. Pershing Avenue in York, before all trains were discontinued in September of 2001. Though my notes on it aren’t too good…I believe this was taken was in the summer of 2001.
In the interest of full disclosure, the locomotive itself still exists, in operating condition. It’s now in service (still in B&O livery) at a much different venue – the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, near Cleveland, OH. Following is a picture of it, and another FPA-4 as well, in their shop.
And a chunk of the old Northern Central (at New Freedom, PA) has reincarnated itself once again, as “Steam into History”, with a brand new “antique steam engine” and brand new “period” passenger cars.
The following picture was taken in January of 1993. Yours truly was riding in a private railcar on the rear of the Lake Shore Limited, as one of the Turboliners whooshed by on the other track. It was an experience which can no longer be re-created. While the Lake Shore still operates, and can carry private railcars, Turboliners are long since out-of-service. I believe they have been (or soon will be) scrapped.
Below is the saga of the Lee-Huckins hotel (later just Huckins) in Oklahoma City. It’s permanently entwined in the history of the State of Oklahoma. And, it’s such a shame that this grand old hotel, a classic piece of history (completed 1909, razed 1969), had to be destroyed – in the name of urban renewal. But that’s another topic…for another day.
Oklahoma became a state in 1907. State capital was Guthrie, and it had been the Territorial capital before statehood. For many years, even before statehood, there was agitation by one town or another for the honor. It was initially placed in Guthrie by the federal government, but other towns coveted that designation.
The Enabling Act, which created the Constitutional Convention, specified that the capital would remain Guthrie for at least six years following statehood. An election was scheduled between Guthrie, Oklahoma City and Shawnee for the capital’s location. The date was set for June 11, 1910. When votes were counted, it was found that Oklahoma City had 96,261 votes, Guthrie had 31,301 and Shawnee had 8,382.
Governor Haskell wanted the capital moved to Oklahoma City during his administration. Therefore, upon learning that Oklahoma City was destined to win the election, he took a train directly to Oklahoma City, and opened his office in the new Huckins Hotel (rebuilt in 1909 after the prior hotel had burned) the next day. He then instructed his secretary, W. B. Anthony, to go to Guthrie and to bring back to Oklahoma City the necessities of the office, including the state seal. The Huckins remained the Capitol of Oklahoma until the new Capitol Building was completed in 1917.
But in the late 1960’s, the by-then-vacant-and-derelict Huckins building met its fate, as seen in the above pile of rubble. I took both the pictures, as I was located in Oklahoma at the time.
As I mentioned in my earlier post about the “Hampton Roads”, it was built at the Pusey and Jones shipyard in Wilmington, DE and delivered to the Chesapeake Ferry Company in July of 1925.
From Wikipedia: “Pusey and Jones was a major shipbuilder and industrial-equipment manufacturer from 1848 to 1959. Shipbuilding was the primary focus from 1853 until the end of World War II, when the company converted the shipyard to production of machinery for paper manufacturing. The yard built more than 500 ships, from large cargo vessels to small warships and yachts, including “Volunteer” – the winner of the 1887 America’s Cup race.”
Wikipedia also adds that on Liberty Fleet Day — September 27, 1941 — the yard launched one of the first US Liberty Ships, SS Adabelle Lykes. After World War II, Pusey and Jones converted the shipyard’s facilities to manufacture papermaking machinery. The company closed in 1959.
Back in 2007 (April 22 to be exact) the Baltimore Sun ran an article by Chris Guy about the Hampton Roads. It reads (in part): “For nearly 40 years, beach-bound Marylanders have sped past the old ferry that sits, squat and square, ever-changing yet seemingly indestructible, at the western end of the Choptank River bridge on US-50 East.
The Hampton Roads’ nine-lives kind of history has been limited only by the whimsy, vision and money of a procession of entrepreneurs. Among its incarnations: an upscale restaurant with white tablecloths, some lesser eateries, two or three different bars. There were a couple of antiques businesses — including one set off by a red-white-and-blue paint job to mark the 1976 Bicentennial — and an indoor flea market.
Throughout the changes, the ferry remained a part of U.S. 50 lore, a fixture in stark contrast to flat farm fields, a halfway-to-the-beach milestone more distinctive than anything between the Bay Bridge and the Ocean City skyline. It even achieved a bit of pop culture status in 2002, when the Maryland Transportation Authority made it Site No. 7 in the Bay Game, the coloring books that bridge toll collectors hand out to keep kids occupied on the way to the beach.”
It’s an excellent article, by the way. Look it up in your browser if you’re into things nautical…
And for a bit of nostalgia, a photo of Hampton Roads in (much) better times;
So sad to see it in its disrepair…and a news flash…it was cut up for scrap just a few months after my visit. Another piece of history – gone,
There were many fabulous watercraft at the marina, from big to small. But the name of one caught my eye on the way out:
In case the print is too small and you can’t read the boat’s name on your screen, I’ll pass it along. “It’s Only Money.” How appropriate!
At last, some (relatively) warm weather on Saturday.
Since I needed to make a grocery store run today (just about the only place to legitimately go, because everything else is closed), and the temperatures were up near 70 degrees, I decided to wear sandals with my capris and turtleneck, to show off my black pedicure. Which still looks OK, believe it or not. There is some new growth at the cuticles, but by and large, you don’t notice it in a casual glance. And there were no objections from “the boss” – most likely because she wasn’t going with me.
So above is the result: an un-chipped and almost two-month-old pedicure, still looking tolerable. (Those bright spots are reflections from the overhead lights.) I spent almost 45 minutes shopping, and the only reaction I noticed was being called “Ma’am” whenever clerks or customers addressed me. Never once did I hear the dreaded “S” word.
I wonder how much my wearing a mask improved my chances to be interpreted as female? Since the other girls out shopping didn’t appear to be made up under their masks, and what little beard shadow I might have had couldn’t be seen, it most likely enhanced my feminine appearance. At least I hope so!
While I loaded the groceries into the car, I heard the noise of a jet plane approaching. I remembered that today is the day for the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds to perform for the area’s first responders, hospital/ER, and front-line personnel in the fight against coronavirus. We do not live close enough to Baltimore to even consider going, and based on what I just saw on TV, there undoubtedly would have been plenty of those icky little viruses floating around over there, looking for new humans to infect because many weren’t social distancing or wearing masks. Best to stay home and be safe.
Looking up from my duties, I noticed that we were having our own enroute flyover. There actually were two big formations of jet fighters, one for each group, with about 6 planes per group. They were obviously enroute to somewhere, as they were not emitting any display smoke and were quite high. By the time I got my camera out, unfortunately even the telephoto wasn’t helpful to get usable pictures…
Not quite as good as the displays in DC and Baltimore, but at least I got to see them!
Mandy's Miscellany 
