Kryptonite, Catsup Bottles & The Big Blue Ox Tour!
By: Mike Marino
Look up in the sky...it's a bird..it's a plane..Holy Superman, it's a giant catsup bottle!!! Roadhead America is an asphalt landscape of attractions and statuary, some larger than others, and others claiming to be the largest yet. Gargantuan...Humongous...Godzilla like in stature, they share the stage with the downright offbeat, sometimes bizarre and always strange statuary of the roadside. Two of the best examples of this are tucked away in plain sight in the heartland of the midwest, in the state of Illinois to be exact, not only the Land of Lincoln, but also the Land of Superman and a giant tribute to a condiment!!!
THE GIANT CATSUP BOTTLE
Is it "catsup" or "ketchup"? You say tomay-to and I say tomah-to! This condiment controversy has been raging since the word first entered the English lexicon, however, to the citizens of Collinsville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River, just east of St. Louis it doesn't matter. What does matter is that they have the Godfather of all catsup bottles smack dab in the middle of town.
This mondo tribute to a condiment actually has very long tomato roots that stretch back to the 19th century when the local packaging plant was opened. By 1949 the G. S. Suppiger Catsup Bottling Plant was cranking out a pretty tasty and zingy catsup called "Brooks Old Original". To honor the towns most favored leafy citizen the company had a 170 foot water tower built in the shape of ... you guessed it..a sasquatchian sized bottle of catsup. It was the shining beacon of Collinsville, until, as all things that must come to end, finally happened. The plant closed down it's Collinsville operations and moved to, of all places Indiana. It looked like the end of the catsup line for the once proud water tower. It fell into disrepair, and the property went up for sale in 1993..the old catsup girl was doomed for the scrapheap!! Hark!! The bugle was sounded, and the cavalry charge of preservation raced to the rescue in 1995 to save the tower and restore it to it's original appearance.
Many hours, many volunteers and many dollars have gone into this Roadhead asphalt attraction to give it the proper maximum overdrive makeover and in August 2002 it was officially named to the National Register of Historic Places! Not bad for a water tower tribute to a vegetable, er, fruit, er...!!
Since those early days of preservation the Catsupheads, as I like to refer to them, have grown in number...to include fan clubs and on line groups, not to mention the Annual Catsup Festival. The first fest got underway in 1999 to celebrate the towers 50th Birthday and included a classic car show with about 150 vehicles showing up and 5 booths set up with souvenirs, food and drink. Attendance was estimated at 500 catsup loving fans for this first annual event. Last year, over 300 vehicle's were in the car show, they had over 100 booths of goodies and 3500 to 4000 die-hard Catsupheads were in attendance!!! This year's fest appears to be the icing on the cake..or at least the catsup on the hotdog, with celebrity Catsup Eating Contests, Hula Hoop Contests, food, drink and entertainment!! Check out this lovable bunch of Catsup Worshippers at www.catsupbottle.com and if you go there....don't ask for mustard!!
THE GIANT SUPERMAN STATUE
He's been fighting for truth, justice and the American way since he flew off the pages of a comic book in 1938. A superhero born on the edge of WWII, this American icon fought Nazi's, as well as aliens and mutants from other planets, and did it all wearing a cape and leotards!! By day he was disguised as Clark Kent, a mild mannered reporter for a metropolitan daily in Metropolis...Illinois!!! That's right, Illinois. Southern Illinois to be exact near Paducah, Kentucky if that helps. Actually, Supe landed on earth near Smallville, raised by Ma and Pa Kent, yadda, yadda, yadda, and eventually migrated to the town of Metropolis. That being the case, the citizens of the REAL Metropolis, in Illinois, decided to have some fun with the situation. Today, the town is the Fortress of Festival for fans of the Superdude, as well as home of the Superman Statue and Supermuseum..all on Superman Square.
In the early 70's an attempt to bring the world to Superman's home was underway with the Amazing World of Superman, but it was the gas shortage/embargo and not kryptonite that brought that plan to it's knees. In 1979, Supe came to the big screen in the form of Christopher Reeve and once again, the tiny town of Metropolis was besieged with calls and inquiries. Plans were laid for festivals and of course...A Superman Statue!! In 1986 enough money, was raised to erect a 7 footer of the Man of Steel, or in this case, fiberglass, who it was discovered, was not faster than a speeding bullet or impervious to their penetration. Turns out, some of the locals are pretty good shots!!
Something had to be done..the future of the world hung in the balance!!! So, in 1993, enough interest in Superman and enough money allowed the town to erect an even larger, 15 foot version of the towns most prominent, if indeed, fictional citizen. This time, it was made of a harder, more bullet proof substance than fiberglass, and the Man of Steel became officially, The Man of Bronze. Today the Superman Statue stands proudly in Superman Square, near the Supermuseum which holds a couple of thousand square feet of Superman collectibles as well as artifacts from the comic books, movies and TV show. The highlight of the year, however, is the Superman Festival held each summer, generally the second week of June. Superfans descend on this town of 5,000 from around the world and enjoy the Superman Drama that is enacted each year, as well as a variety of kids games, entertainment, crafts and yes, Supe himself "flies" in to sign autographs. Don't be surprised, either if you rub shoulders with some of the stars of the early series who show up on occasion..Great Ceasar's Ghost!!!
Although Superman is the focal point of the town, let it be known that the Big John's supermarket, also in Metropolis, has a 30 foot statue of their namesake that towers over Superman. Big John holds a giant bag of groceries, which might be the worlds largest Bag of Groceries!! Yet another reason to visit Metropolis. That and the fact that Robert Stroud, The Birdman of Alcatraz is buried in the nearby cemetary..no statue's exist of him in town that we know of!
PAUL BUNYAN AND THE BLUE OX
States from Maine to Michigan and from Minnestota to California all claim states rights to this true American folk hero and asphalt icon of the Roadhead Empire. This plaid and proud wielder of the axe and his blue ox, Babe, have been the focus of controversery, discussion and downright argument over his origins and just who does have the largest statue of him, and more importantly, who had the first statue of this lovable lumberjack with a heart as big as the Great Lakes. Who is this Paul Bunyan and why does asphalt America have such a love affair with him?
As with understanding anything, we have to start at the beginning. According to research, and which researcher you want to believe, the Bunyan story has it's tree roots in the French-Canadien Rebellion of 1837 against the British Crown. After the rebellion, tales were spun taller than redwoods and from the Canadian campfires came stories, with a slight French accent of one, Paul Bunyan, a giant French Canadien comrade who helped storm the British garrison. Mighty and strong, wielding a pitchfork along with other armaments, to lead the forces against the evil Crown of England. Eventually, the tale drifted south and the American campfires transformed this Great White North hero into a lumberjack who somehow he ended up with a big blue ox, named Babe who came complete with a plug of chewing tobacco on it's head between the horns!! Apparently, Paul was a Copenhagen fan.
The Americanization of Paul had become pretty well established by the 1860's, and in 1915 we had our first glimpse of an image of Paul that lasts to this day. It was a characterization of a giant lumberjack depicted on the sales pamphlet of a lumber company that strangely took on the appearance of verbal descriptions of the mighty axe wielder..coincidence? I think not!! Eventually, books, articles, magazines..all in tribute to the Axe Wielding Wonder..however, no tribute is more fitting than the numerous Bunyan statues that dot the Roadhead landscape of asphalt America.
Nobody knows for sure which state can lay claim to Paul's birthplace, that is, his USA place of birth, which means you have to discount the French Canadien origin's, oui? Mainers claim he's from Bangor, or Bangah as the local's pronounce it...Minnesotan's claim he's a Norweigian lumberman and was born in Bemidji...myself, being a native Michigander or Michiganian, which ever you prefer think that he was born in The Great Lakes State !! Somebody had to dig out the Great Lakes afterall. The only thing certain from all the research is that he lived sometime between "the period of The Winter of the Blue Snow and The Spring that the rain came up from China"!!! That's what the research says anyway.
There are numerous Paul's across the continent..some of plaster, some of concrete, and yes, there is even one made completely of auto parts in, where else, Michigan. There are many Pauls but will mention just a few to show it's diversity. In Michigan, for example there is a Paul and Babe as you exit the Macinac Bridge and enter the wonderful world of the Upper Penninula. He looks more like a bouncer at a bar than a greeter of tourist's but he'll have to do. Oscoda, Michigan is supposedly the "true" birthplace of Paul Bunyan. One of the authors, James MacGillivary is buried here in the local cemetary, while Paul graces the east side of Highway 23 in a little park close to the shore of Lake Huron. He's usually dressed with a string of Christmas lights year round, because the locals simply forget or refuse to remove them. Also in downtown Oscoda, there's a bonus statue on the west side of the highway. It's a store that usually has a full sized Alf statue dressed in holiday motif to promote various sales and sometimes Alf just kicks back in a Hawaiian shirt.
There is a talking Paul in Klamath, California at the Tree's of Mystery, not too far south of the Oregon border. It's quite possibly the world's largest Paul Bunyan too. He measures out at a svelt 49 feet tall and weighs in at 30,000 pounds. His shoes alone are ten feet tall and he obviously listened to Teddy Roosevelt. He said, speak softly and carry a big stick, well, Paul's axe handle is a dandy 24 feet in length. Now the fun begins as you exit your vehicle and head for the entrance. You stand dwarfed by a gigantic talking lumberjack who towers over the parking lot entrance. Yeah, I know, it's guy hiding with a microphone..but just go along with it and don't spoil it for the kid's. The most unusual Paul, however, again is in Michigan, the automotive capital. It's fitting and proper then that in the peace, love, groovy, spare change 1960's a sculptress and welder teamed up to create a Paul made entirely of Kaiser automotive parts, including bumpers, hoods and chrome, oh my! It has seen sentry duty on the roof of a Northern Michigan gas station to the front yard of a realtors office and now attends classes at Alpena Community College as it stands guard on the campus. Paul has been a student here since 1998 still working on his Doctorate.
The American Roadhead asphalt landscape has become dwarfed by these giant icon's of the roadside. Paul Bunyan has become the Elvis of statuary with sightings of him from Maine to Washington, and as far south as Arizona. Ladies and Gentlemen, the King has left the auditorium!
Classic Cars, Rock n' Roll, Elvis, Drivein Movies & Route 66! Kerouac, The Beats, Haight Ashbury, Easy Rider & Vietnam!
The Roadhead Chronicles goes from the Cold War Fifties Pop Culture of classic cars and rock n' roll to the spaced out Spare Change Sixties of Vietnam and Hells Angels. Not the usual look at the era, instead It's written by someone who lived it and spent a life of being on the road from his beach bum days in Honolulu to the glitz and dangers of the Sunset Strip in LA, and his purple hazed and double dazed days in North Beach and the Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. The Roadhead Chronicles also looks at the history of Route 66, Roadside Neon Culture and old diners and dives!
Mike Marino writes in an offbeat and irreverant style with a beat and a cadence that is all his own. His writing style has been compared to John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck and Terry Southern and one reviewer likened him to Frederick Lewis Allen on acid! Readers and critics call the book "wickedly wonderful", "delightfully weird" and "automotively sexy."!!
