The Louisville Slugger Museum

If you ever get the chance to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum don't miss it. Even if you are just driving through invest 20 minutes to the gift shop and the very front of the store [without even paying to get into the museum] because it will be well worth your time. 

In the very front they have a gigantic display of all the players that have been featured on their bats since the company started. I went through the signatures and took some photos of some of my favorite players. 1942 saw my favorite player Andy Pafko featured on a Louisville Slugger and someday I hope to track down a Pafko bat for myself. 

Here are a few more of my favorites: Ken Hubbs from 1959.

Brothers Henry Aaron and Tommie Arron...seven years apart.

Here are a couple favorites of my podcasting partner, Dayf, The Cardboard Junkie,  Jason Heyward from 2013 and Cookie Rojas from 1959.

I was surprised that Jim Thome didn't have a personalized Louisville Slugger until 2001...and also that John Jaha ever had one!

And last but not least we have two personal favorites...one for his afro and one for his uni-brow!

 Topps currently has an exhibition at the Museum and I will highlight that in a future post...but here's a little taste of what they had on display. The original JoBu!

Metropolis, Illinois Part 3

As I was researching Metropolis to see if the city was really, truly named Metropolis or was it changed later as a publicity/tourism stunt [DISH, Texas, I'm looking at you!]. Turns out it's always been Metropolis as best I can tell...at least longer than Superman has been a going concern. But during my research I also found that Metropolis is also home to another "Man of Steele" other than the Last Son of Krypton. A man named John Steele was born in Metropolis in 1912 and he was a paratrooper who took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. 

During his parachute drop Steele became entangled on a church tower in the town of Sainte-Mère-Église. Steele pretended to be dead and was eventually taken prisoner by the Germans. Steele's landing ended up being a fortunate error in that many of his fellow paratroopers were killed when they landed around Sainte-Mère-Église because the Nazis quickly set up lights that let them target the soldiers easily. 

Steele's D-Day story was made famous in The Longest Day and he was played by Red Buttons who watched in horror as his compatriots were killed. 

Across the street from the famous Superman statue they have a mural dedicated to the men and women from Metropolis who have served to defend our freedom.

A large portion of the mural is in honor of Steele and his fateful trip.

The accompanying plaque tells his story. Someday I hope to visit Normandy and see the memorial that was created in Sainte-Mère-Église with a parachute dangling from the spire of the church. 

Metropolis, Illinois Part 2

Although one of the main claims to fame for Metropolis, Illinois is the city's large Superman statue, the city has another imposing statue located in front of the Big John Market grocery store.  

When you're competing with Superman you've got to bring your A-game.

 

Metropolis' two favorite sons. As best I can tell the Big John's in Metropolis is the store's only location. 

Metropolis, Illinois Part 1

As Laura and I were planning our trip back to Lawrence, KS from Atlanta for her graduation we found that the little town of Metropolis, Illinois was situated about half way through our journey and the perfect spot to stop for the evening. We had driven through Metropolis on our initial trip to Atlanta and the signs advertising a big Superman statue and so I was certainly going to stop during our next trip through. 

A few blocks of the downtown area of Metropolis has been completely given over to their favorite son. Metropolis Comics has a nice little Superman museum and is a must for anyone visiting. 

You have to tip your hat to a comic shop that has the brilliant idea to paint some rocks with day glow paint and sell them as Kryptonite...and yes, it glows in the dark.

Down a block from the comic shop and right in front of a school is the famous Superman statue that reads "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" on the bottom.

I think I pull off a cape pretty well.

On another trip through Metropolis this cool vintage car [Studebaker I believe...but please tell me if it isn't] was parked in front of the shop. It gave the street a feeling like you had stepped back into the first issue of Action Comics which has Superman throwing a green car.

The view of Metropolis from our hotel room. It's not quite the Metropolis I had in my mind but it's a nice little city with one very interesting claim to fame. 

Some More National Parks Cards

A few months ago I highlighted some trading cards I found at Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia and while my parents were on vacation in New Mexico my Dad found another set of cards from the Fort Union National Monument. Fort Union dates back to 1851 and was located on the Santa Fe Trail near modern day Las Vegas.

The New Mexico Volunteers were based out of Fort Union and took part in a few Civil War battles against the Confederates.

 

Around the Fort you can still see many long portions of the Santa Fe Trail.  

 

This is Francisco Chaves who was a lieutenant colonel who  commanded the New Mexico Volunteers against the Confederates at the Battle of Valverde.

 A view of Fort Union from above and as you can see it's the only civilization for miles and miles.

This is Manuel Chavez  who led the Union to a victory over the Confederates at the Battle of Glorieta which stopped the South from creating a gateway to California through New Mexico.

If Those Are Just The Tires, Imagine What They Are Attached To

I've driven past giant windmill propellers in Iowa and I've seen a house or two make their way down the highway headed for a new foundation somewhere but I don't think I've ever seen tires requiring their own separate over-sized load semi. Which begs the question if these are just the tires, what are they going to be attached to?

Savannah And Forrest Gump

If there is one thing that Savannah is known for in contemporary pop culture it is that the city and its famous squares were featured in the park bench scenes in Forrest Gump.  As you can see from the opening scene clip it follows a feather as it floats along in the sky passing by a few of Savannah's buildings. Most notably it passes by the Independent Presbyterian Church and lands near a bench on Chippewa Square.

The famous bench that Tom Hanks sat on has since been moved to a Savannah visitor's center that you can tour. Today there's just an empty spot that people stop and take a photo of each day for no obvious reason.

Here's a photo of the filming of the first shot of the film. You can see the trees behind Hanks match up with the photograph above.