Sausage Party

While there's still plenty of places and things to visit on my Oklahoma bucket list, occasionally you get lucky and something interesting comes here.  Case in point, the legendary Oscar Mayer Wienermobile recently stopped by the 46th state and I saw it!

This particular stop was at the Walmart in Newcastle but the previous day it appeared in nearby town of Mustang and was headed to Norman next.  So, c'mon, you didn't have much of an excuse to not go see it.

The "Hotdoggers" (the people who drive the Wienermobile)said that after Oklahoma they were headed to Arkansas but, don't worry, I'm sure it won't be too long before the wiener wheels feel the sweet caress of the Oklahoma red dirt once again.

The Oklahoma Ape Escape of '44

Previously:

Thor in Oklahoma  - -   The Twilight Avenger in Tulsa

It's time to take a look back at Captain Marvel's visit to Oklahoma City.  It was 1944 and the day started off in the most normal, mundane way: a clown was trying to commit suicide by leaping to his death.  (Mondays, amitite?)

Well that's all it took for young Billy Batson to say the magic word and transform himself into Captain Marvel, the world's mightiest mortal.  The Captain immediately proceeded to go about the business of clown catching only to be told that it he was not stopping a suicide but responding to a super responsible way of getting someone's attention.  So who is this clown?

Now this is where things get interesting.  The clown identifies himself as Zoo Keeper/Radio Personality "Uncle Leo" and of course the Captain recognizes a fellow broadcaster...but I didn't.  Not until I did a little research and discovered that Uncle Leo was a real guy:

(From "Images of America Oklahoma City Zoo: 1902 - 1959," Arcadia Publishing)

I assume there was some kind of cross-promotion going on at the time with radio stations and Fawcett Comics but I haven't found any confirmation yet.

But I did find some exposition a few panels later as Leo explains that a gorilla named Colossus has escaped from the Lincoln Park Zoo (now known as the Oklahoma City Zoo).  There's also apparently an "armed posse" out to get the gorilla because that's the kind of thing that happens I guess.  So it's up to the super strong and near invulnerable Captain Marvel to safely bring the great ape in.

So the search is on...

...starting with the Civic Auditorium (now known as the Civic Center Music Hall)...

...and then the Skirvin Tower (now the Skirvin Hilton Hotel)...

...Union Station (now known as Oklahoma City Union Depot)...

...the Lincoln Park Amphitheatre (now known as the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre)...and culminating in an exciting King Kong-style denouement atop an oil derrick at...

...the State Capitol building.  Captain Marvel used the Wisdom of Solomon to outsmart the beast and, in doing so, procured himself an attaboy from the Mayor:

It all worked out with a minimum of shenanigans and with Colossus heading back to the zoo with visions of candy canes dancing in his head.  Is it okay to give candy to gorillas?  The clown zookeeper DJ seems to think so.  And that's good enough for me.

The last panel features young Billy saying they have an adventure planned in Indianapolis next month so this must be in a series highlighting various American cities (not unlike Sad Sack visiting select U.S. states).  But that's a job for the guy who does the Indiana Pop Culture blog.

Top 5 Things For Sale at Antiques Etc.

Previously:

Choctaw Welcome Center - -  Sam Noble Museum Gift Shop

Cherokee Trading Post  - -  Cloverleaf

Small-ish towns typically try to broker their small-ish nature with the goal of increasing tourist interest (and tourist dollars).  One of the more common ways to do this is with Ye Olde Antique Shop™ (or Shoppes, preferably).  And it's with this unnecessary factoid that we begin yet another "Top 5 Things For Sale at..." entry.  Today we visit Antiques Etc. in Ardmore.  Let's go...

5.  Ardmore Matchbook & Postcard

I tell ya, man, ya gotta get into ephemera if you want to start picking up souvenirs.  It's cheaper that collectible spoons or shot glasses and takes up much less space.  There was tons of this stuff in the store but I picked these two due to the local connection (and because they were right next to each other...what?  I'm not being lazy...YOU'RE being lazy!!)

4.  Famous Oklahoma Indian Glasses

Forget your Burger King Return of the Jedi glasses, these are older and rarer.  From the late 50's, the "Famous Oklahoma Indian" glass set was designed by Native American artist Blue Eagle.  The store didn't have a complete set but there were several options available to start your Oklahoma themed promo glasses collection.

3.  Dick Tracy Whitman Big Little Book

Big Little Books were all the rage for decades and featured popular characters of the day including Mickey Mouse, Batman and Dick Tracy, who was created by Pawnee Oklahoma native Chester Gould.  This one is from 1967 and has the hard boiled detective facing "Facey."

2.  Chicken in the Rough Postcard

What did I tell you about ephemera?  It's the best!  Chicken in the Rough was a chain of chicken joints founded in Oklahoma City.  (And apparently there are three of them left.)  There's a lot going on with this postcard, from the brag(?) that they serve a half a fried chicken "unjointed" and with no silverware, to the little chick that is "gladly" offering himself up to be fried.  I'm not sure he's thought that through.

1.  Oklahoma Souvenir Plate

The mother of all old school keepsakes was the souvenir plate.  They used to be offered everywhere that might be considered a destination (or on a way to a destination) and celebrated things like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and everything in between.  The Oklahoma plate celebrates the Land Run, Will Rogers and a few other Okie milestones.

Now that the antiquing is done we'll just hit the local tea room for a Cobb Salad, find a restroom and then pile back into the RV to head to the next small town...