Shopping for a New Car

Now here are some first rate wagons for the Old Peddler. The Spammobile probably has the most room for inventory and treasures. The Pep-O-Mint Car might fit a "peddler's" vintage image a bit better, and probably gets the best mileage of the lot. The Weiner Mobile may be the most aerodynamic, and the Zippo Car and the Rooster Mobile are probably miserable to drive in a strong cross wind. Hmm.... Guess I'll have to give this some thought. Did I forget about the Plumbing Truck? N0 Way! Ruled it out immediately. There are limits to my eccentricity.

If you have pics of any other Commercial Theme Cars send them my way. I'll post them here and even give you the photo credits.

6 Trapped Coal Miners

The history of Utah can be summed up with 4M's, Mormons, Miners, Merchants, and Military. Tonight the Merchant tips his hat to the Miner. As men frantically dig in the Crandall Canyon Mine in an attempt to save their fellow miners, I remember my family's mining heritage. My grandfather worked in the silver mines of Eureka, UT while his brother worked in the coal mines of Hiawatha, Ut. The Crandall Canyon mine is about 7 miles from Hiawatha, as the crow flies, but on the winding mountain roads its closer to 35 miles.

When I was a child, my mother told me stories of her father and brothers working in the mines. I have forgotten most of those stories, but their effect on me remains. I have always felt a great respect, almost a reverence for those who work beneath the earth. I do remember that there was a tradition of putting a candle in the window when miners were trapped underground. A sign to those miners' families of one's thoughts and prayers. Although none of the families of the Crandall Canyon Mine will ever see it, tonight a candle burns in the window of a small house deep in the woods of Missouri.

Twenty, XX, 20

Count to 20. Come on this should not be hard. If you're no good at doing math in your head, or even on your computer, you can always do it the old-fashioned way, on your fingers and toes. So where do these idiots come from that can't count to 20? "What idiots?" you ask. The ones in the express lane at the grocery store! Yesterday I picked up 2 items at WalMart, 2 items. The family in front of me in the Express Lane had half a shopping cart full of stuff. The bonehead cashier is ringing it up one by one.. by one, by one... Forget it. So I go to the adjacent Express Lane. The lady in front of me only has 4 items, 4 little bedroom size wastebaskets, apparently one for each of the school age children she has in tow. This should be quick. Damn, why is she having such a hard time lifting them from the cart to the checkstand? Am I in the handicapped lane? NO! Each wastebasket is filled with school supplies for each of the 4 kids. Pencils, paper, protractors and compasses. Notebooks, both 3 ring binders and spiral notebooks......probably a dozen or more for each kid. What the hell? If she has enough brains do sort her kids stuff into 4 seperate wastebaskets, why the hell can't she count to 20?

It's real simple count your purchases on all your fingers and all your toes. If you have any items left over, YOU DON'T BELONG IN THE EXPRESS LANE!

The "I" of TX

Now this one freaky looking water tower. As part of Austin,TX First Night activities, video artist Luke Savisky used a live video feed and a high-powered projector to portray volunteers eyeballs on the water tower of the Green Water Treatment Plant. Pretty awesome stuff, but I bet the people of Austin were glad it was temporary. It could get real creepy after a few days.

Water Tower Mania

Here are a couple of great links that will take you to some of the coolest and quirkiest water towers in the USA. The first link has tons of other neat stuff like covered bridges and old barns. Ohiobarns.com, yeah he's got lots of old barns. He even has several Meramec Caverns barns. Meramec Caverns is just a few more miles east on Old Route 66, that would be Exit 230 on I-44 in Missouri for those who don't know the old road. Back in the day, Lester Dill owned Meramec Caverns. He paid folks all over the country to paint Meremec Caverns signs on their barns. Some were painted on the sides, others on the roofs. There aren't many Meramec Cavern barns around anymore, but some of the ones that are can be seen on the Ohio Barns website.

The second link was put up by the Kilgore Memorial Library in York, NE. York is home of one of the more colorful water towers, which explains the library's interest. They have a nice thumbnail gallery of the water towers that they have cataloged. Whenever possible there is a brief history and explanation of the origins of the tower's design.

For me, unusual water towers have been a fun, but idle curiousity, for these guys it appears to be a passion. Enjoy the links. And my thanks to Ohio Barns and Kilgore Memorial Library for putting their collections on the internet.

http://www.ohiobarns.com/index.html http://www.yorklib.org/wtower.html

8-Ball Water Tower

The world's largest 8-Ball. Tipton's a bit of a drive for the Old Peddler, so I downloaded these pics from http://www.tiptonmo.com/information/8ball.htm If you follow the link you'll find several more photos and a brief history. Fischer Manufacturing Company was founded in Tipton in 1949 and built billiard tables there for decades.

Got any really big ice cubes?

If The Old Peddler hadn't planned on stopping at Exit 218 on I-44 the sight of this water tower would have made me stop for sure. This water tower in Bourbon, Missouri is classic. Emblazoned with the town's name and sporting a hat stolen from the Tin Man, it's guaranteed to catch your eye.

I'm thinking of running a whole string of water tower pictures. Missouri has some great ones. An 8-ball in Tipton, twin towers labeled HOT and COLD in St. Clair, and until a recent repaint we had a giant Baseball in Licking. If you have some great water towers where you live, email me the photos. The Old Peddler will post them for you. Be sure to tell me where they're located.