Aug 8, 2022Liked by Robert Simonson, Mary Kate Murray
Fun read! Wichita has a Muffler Man repurposed to hold a tire at Brown's Tire Service on a particularly seedy stretch of South Broadway (the old Highway 81 through town).
What a fantastic read. Your immense enjoyment of the subject shines through and your writing, always great but at its best here (and how to describe the tone--what's whimsical but drier?), gives the topic the perfect treatment. You've led me to appreciate more about small town and roadside Americana.
I became obsessed with Muffler Men and all other roadside oddities back when rock & roll took me on multiple cross country journeys starting in the mid80’s. My travels coincided with the publishing of “This Exit For Roadside America”, the first book, I believe, on the subject. Particular favorites were the Happy Chef restaurants/statues of the Midwest/Plains — originally they all spoke/told a joke when you pressed the button, but by the mid 90’s most were broken and later demolished as the chain tried to modernize their image (ugh). Thanks for the insight, great story!
I always feel like I've taken a weekend getaway when I read your blogs.
Fun read! Wichita has a Muffler Man repurposed to hold a tire at Brown's Tire Service on a particularly seedy stretch of South Broadway (the old Highway 81 through town).
Great article. One might say the definitive on the subject!
Oddly enough, I came across this video about Sparta this morning. https://youtu.be/8CpQOTaBX3c
What a fantastic read. Your immense enjoyment of the subject shines through and your writing, always great but at its best here (and how to describe the tone--what's whimsical but drier?), gives the topic the perfect treatment. You've led me to appreciate more about small town and roadside Americana.
I became obsessed with Muffler Men and all other roadside oddities back when rock & roll took me on multiple cross country journeys starting in the mid80’s. My travels coincided with the publishing of “This Exit For Roadside America”, the first book, I believe, on the subject. Particular favorites were the Happy Chef restaurants/statues of the Midwest/Plains — originally they all spoke/told a joke when you pressed the button, but by the mid 90’s most were broken and later demolished as the chain tried to modernize their image (ugh). Thanks for the insight, great story!