True highway kitsch!

On our way toward Kentucky, we managed to catch a bit of the Ohio River Scenic Byway. I will say it ran close to the northern side of the Ohio River, and because it was a pretty much unused 2 lane rural highway, it was a pleasant enough drive – hardly any traffic. What I can’t say is that it provided majestic views of the Ohio River valley – we only got one along the way. Still, it was nice.

We made two stops that I thought were fun and enjoyed thoroughly, but if you weren’t already driving by these places and needed to drive a long distance to get here, I couldn’t in all honesty recommend it. The first was Chester Illinois, the home of Popeye.

Yes, that Popeye. The creator of the Popeye character for King Features Syndicate was Elzie Crisler Segar, who was born on January 27, 1868 and lived in Chester. Popeye was meant to be the epitome of the American spirit. He was strong, had moral fiber, was kind to women, kids and animals, and never picked a fight. However, if his adversaries picked a fight, he would quickly defeat them using his enormous strength. At that time in the 1929, pretty much everyone understood what he symbolized.

The townsfolk in Chester believed they could tell who in town influenced the characters in the Popeye story. Popeye himself was allegedly Frank “Rocky” Fiegel, a gentleman known to be skilled with his fist, and a bachelor for life. Wimpy’s character was drawn from William Schubert, the manager of the Chester Opera House where Segar was first employed. Since the townsfolk believed that all the characters in the story were based on local residents, they have built statues throughout town of all the Popeye characters. We saw Popeye, Olive Oyl, Cole Oyl (Olive’s dad), Sweepee, the Jeep, Wimpy, Bluto and Poopdeck Pappy, Popeye’s dad. All the statues were well done, and it really brought back some memories for me. If you are in the area, it is worth a visit, but not worth a long drive as a destination.

The same is true of Metropolis Illinois. Again, on our way toward Kentucky, there was no way I was going to bypass the home of the Daily Planet newspaper, as well as Editor Perry White, Jimmy Olsen , Lois Lane, and Clark Kent.

In the central square in town there is an immense statue of the Man of Steel. It is right in front of the City Hall and Court House as it should be. Nearby is the Super Museum. It is really just a poorly displayed accumulation of all things Superman – many items alleged to be actual items used in the filming of both TV shows and theatrical films, but I have my doubts. Still, the museum was worth the small price of admission, if only to sit and watch the documentary film that chronicled the original George Reeves productions that I can remember as a kid.

About 2 ½ blocks away from the main square is a statue of Lois Lane, the one who starred in my favorite TV versions. The statue is well done – in fact, she looks a bit hotter than I even remember!

 

Talk to you soon!