A Sphere of Influence

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As soon as I learned there was a complete, functioning Roto-Sphere about 100 crow miles from my home, I put it not just on the To-Do list, but on the To-Do-Soon list. It was cool enough and close enough to justify a trip on its own, but when I also learned of a historic ice cream parlor not far from the big spinning star, it became my number-one open-day, decent-weather day-trip target. I made it to the target on Wednesday.

This has absolutely nothing to do with either the Roto-Sphere or the ice cream parlor, other than being on the way. My destinations were in Indiana, and I covered much of the distance on US-52. I first saw this car on a pole on a 2003 day trip when I was driving a car that looked quite similar. I took a picture and made a silly joke about putting the car “in levitation mode”. I’ve passed the car many times since then, but today is the first time I’ve seen it with a driver. It’s also the first time since 2003 that I’ve taken a picture. Those facts are, I believe, somehow related.

Hav-A-Bite’s involvement with Wednesday’s trip also comes from being on US-52. It’s near Metamora, IN, and served me a fine breakfast. I have seen plenty of liar’s tables, both labeled and not, but I’ve not seen this warning about being the first liar before. I bet there’s a good story behind that.

The Roto-Sphere prompted this visit, but it’s obviously not the only reason I’m here. Alan Whitaker began erecting this sign garden in Whiteland, IN, in 2013. I certainly should have known about it earlier, but it took the American Sign Museum’s acquisition of a Roto-Sphere for what Google Maps calls a Garden of Gas Station Signs to register on my poorly aligned radar. That acquisition was greatly assisted by both Whitaker and Debra Jane Seltzer. Seltzer’s research (RoadArch.com) helps preserve the history of Roto-Spheres and track the survivors. Whitaker is the absolute master of their restoration and maintenance. He is fully responsible for restoring the ASM’s Roto-Sphere, which is not yet on display but should be later this year.

No one was present at the garden on Wednesday. The sphere was neither lit nor rotoing but it sure looked good. It originally stood over the Catalina Motel in Lexington, KY, and was the first one Whitaker resurrected.

Had Whitaker or an associate been on site, I might have gotten a look at the other collectibles (more signs, pinball machines, etc.) stored inside, but that’s not why I came, and I was not disappointed. The completely intact Roto-Sphere and the rows of signs were more than enough to make the drive worthwhile. I’ll be back.

I have no good explanation for why it took me so long to visit the Garden of Gas Station Signs in Whiteland, but only now visiting this next spot is not just inexplicable. It’s inexcusable. The ice cream parlor I mentioned is in the town of Columbus, IN, about 25 miles south of Whiteland. I have been to Columbus multiple times, and the parlor has been there since 1900. And if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, when my GPS directed me there, I realized it was almost directly across the street from a place where I’d spent some time in 2012. In fact, today I parked around the corner and passed through The Commons to reach my destination.

That destination was Zahariko’s, which I had only recently learned of from a friend’s blog post about A weekend in Columbus, Indiana. On arrival, I was guided through the arch to a table in the back portion of the main room. That’s where I enjoyed my mint chocolate chip with marshmallow, whipped cream, and a cherry while gazing at a beautiful 1908 Welte orchestrion that entertained us all with a march I should have known, followed by My Old Kentucky Home. Sorry I can’t share the music, but I can offer a closer look at that cherry and supporting cast.

This half of the business looks like — and is — a working restaurant with some truly impressive furnishings and equipment. The soda fountain and counter could have kept me gawking for an hour all by themselves. In an adjacent room, equal in size to the first, another marble counter sits unused. Although the room itself is used for overflow seating and probably accommodating large groups, it’s here that the establishment begins to look more like a museum. There are several automated music machines on display, including some, such as the Seeburg Coin Piano described here, available to take your coin and play you a tune.

This is a tiny sample of the many antique soda fountains on display. In the front of the first photo is a Cottage Soda Fountain made by James W. Tufts around 1869. The fountain near the center of that photo is from the American Soda Fountain Company. I thought it was cool enough to deserve its own picture, even though the description I have is pretty fuzzy. The two smaller fountains in the third photo are a Haussling and an Oracle. The variety of beverages and flavors dispensed by these fountains is phenomenal and includes a choice for those who don’t want to choose.

It was rather cringey to have not known about a giant sign collection that has existed for a dozen years and an ice cream parlor that has been around for well over a century, but more embarrassment was waiting when I got home. I’d chatted with my waitress about the place, and she mentioned an upstairs, but I got the impression it was only used for private rentals. When I later looked over the website, I learned that there were more public displays on the second floor. As I was leaving, I spoke with a couple of servers who told me the place was decorated extensively for the holidays. I need to go back to see the decorations, check out the second floor, and possibly see a Roto-Sphere in motion on the way. Of course, I still won’t be able to find space for my own pin on that wall-mounted map. 

Trip Peek #159
Trip #168
Fallingwater and…

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This picture is from my 2022 Fallingwater and… trip. It started with half-formed plans for 2019 that became fully formed plans for 2020 when they didn’t work out. Those 2020 plans were for early April, and I bet you can guess what happened to them. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater was just one of many places closed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remained closed until March 2022. I dug out the old plans and scheduled a visit in August. I believe the “and…” was originally put in the title because I was also visiting Wright’s nearby Kentuck Knob. But those visits were on the trip’s fourth day, and there were plenty of “and…” things in the three days preceding. My route to Fallingwater was along US-22, the Lincoln Highway, and the National Road, with stops at  Alan Cottrill’s studio in Zanesville, the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, the Lincoln Motor Court in Bedford, the La Vale and Addison toll houses, and several other points of interest. The route home was basically the National Road with an overnight at the Century Inn originally planned for my birthday in 2020.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Trip Peek #158
Trip #129
Halving the Remainder

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This picture is from my 2015 Halving the Remainder trip. In 2009, I realized that I had 16 states left to reach all 50, and I began tracking my progress. By autumn of 2015, the count was down to six, and I cut it in half with this drive to Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Visiting New York’s Fort Ticonderoga on the way put me in position to enter Vermont via ferry. The picture is of the climb up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire on the cog railway. I also got some cool pictures on the way down. On the day before I climbed the mountain, I photographed a super moon eclipse in Littleton, NH, and on the day after, I got a few photos in Acadia National Park just before fog and rain moved in. Visiting three new-to-me states was cool, but the drive to and from them wasn’t too shabby.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

JHA Conference 2026

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I’ve just finished the first day of the drive to the Jefferson Highway Conference in Joplin, MO. Because it lacks the tours and presentations typical of conferences, it’s being called a celebration rather than a conference; it is coordinated with the Missouri Route 66 group, which makes it fitting that my first night on the road is spent at this iconic Route 66 motel.

The journal for the trip is here.

Movie Reviews
Coyote vs Acme and Occupational Hazard

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You’re right. That’s not a movie theater in the picture. It is the entrance to the National Exemplar restaurant, where I had a wonderful breakfast before walking to the Mariemont Theater, which is essentially right next door. The rare breakfast-and-a-movie opportunity came about because I was attending a 10:00 AM show. I’ve looked in vain for a pre-noon equivalent to a post-noon matinee, but the only suggestion I found was “morningside screening”. How mundane.

I was here for the first showing of a two-week run of Coyote vs. Acme. It was released more than a week ago and has been playing in other area theaters, but I really like this theater, plus it seemed very appropriate to see a movie that came back from the dead in a theater that did the same. Warner Brothers completed the film in 2023 but planned to shelve it for a tax write off. Thankfully, Ketchup Entertainment bought distribution rights in 2025. I wrote about the Mariemont Theater’s first day back after being shuttered here. Note that (1) the movie was not yet on the marquee when I arrived, and (2) a ladder was poised to correct that.

When I purchased my ticket, I could see that it was the first ticket sold for the showing. When the movie started, I could see it was also the last ticket sold. I was treated to what amounted to a personal screening, and what a treat it was.

Unlike the original Road Runner cartoons, the movie has a plot. You can even see it as a tale about the little guy challenging the big evil corporation but please don’t focus too much on that. And don’t let it being a “talkie” distract you from the familiar painted tunnels, falling rocks, and misused magnets. For some reason, I was concerned that Wile E. Coyote might be given a voice, but I need not have worried. Both Coyote and Road Runner communicate via “a limited number of signs”. Same as it ever was. There is plenty of speaking, but it’s all handled by the human actors and what appears to be the entire stable of Looney Tune characters such as Tweety, Bugs, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky, and all the rest.

I’m sure I missed some of the more subtle gags and references but I caught enough that I took advantage of having the place all to myself several times by laughing out loud. I know I need to see it again. As might be expected from advances in technology, the real world and the cartoon characters are blended flawlessly. The movie’s real world was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At one point it struck me that Kevin Avery, one of the human lawyers, was wearing a T-shirt from a real Albuquerque restaurant and I’ve a feeling that is true of the other shirts that just had not registered. And here’s something I only figured out after watching the movie and consulting the internet. In the movie, Avery and Coyote stay at the Prickly Pear Motel. Thinking it might be a real business, I googled the name and learned that the Prickly Pear Festival is a real event that opens for the eighth time in two days (Sep 18, 2026). In the movie, Albuquerque hosts a Carrot Festival. Back in 1953, Bugs was headed to the Coachella Carrot Festival when he “shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!”

When I walked outside efforts were underway to fit a whole lot of letters onto the marquee. I stopped to chat with a couple of theater employees about the theater and the movie I’d just seen and conversation eventually turned to the red letters at the top of the titles. The first showing of Occupational Hazard was also happening today and it would be preceded by a bit of a party in front of the theater and followed by a Q&A with the film’s director. The movie is a documentary about a time near the beginning of Jimmy Buffett’s career. It all sounded very interesting, and by the time I left, I was a little more than half convinced to return.

I did return, and started off with this picture that I later learned out sort of featured Cincinnati Parrothead Club president Patty Doak. Cincinnati is where the name Parrothead was coined and I’m guessing the local club is pretty active. After some film festival screenings, the movie had its first theatrical showing last Saturday then moved to Cincinnati for six showings. It looks like Cincinnati might be the only location initially getting multiple showings. Jimmy often did multi-night stands here, too.

The drink of the day was midnight margaritas which I eventually learned had a lot more to do with the theater showing Practical Magic 2 than any Jimmy Buffett connection. Outside, there was pizza and parrothead paraphernalia.

As showtime neared, Josh Leo entertained us with a couple of Buffett songs, a couple of his own songs, and at least one song he co-wrote with Jimmy. Leo wasn’t part of the very first Coral Reefer lineup but was there pretty early and appears prominently in the movie. He also participated in the Q&A the followed the showing.

The movie is probably about half vintage photos and video and half recent interviews with surviving band members and others. The period covered ends around 1982, which means that Parrotheads had not yet been invented but they’re on the way and the attitude was well established.

On stage for the Q&A were archivist Adam Lawrence, Coral Reefer Josh Leo, director & producer John Cunningham, and producer Ted Haynes. These guys shared many interesting stories about those early days and about the making of the film.

Lincoln Highway Driving Forces in Massillon, Ohio

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I think I was aware of the “Driving Forces: The Lincoln Highway Journey” exhibit at the Massillon Museum before I headed to the Lincoln Highway Association 2026 Conference in York, PA, but I’m not certain. I was definitely aware of it when the conference ended, and I considered ways to include a stop in Massillon on my way home. That didn’t work out, but the museum lingered in the back of my mind until the weather and my schedule aligned for a visit on Tuesday.

I didn’t realize when I took the picture that the big neon sign I parked beneath was newer than the exhibit I came to see. An opening reception kicked off “Driving Forces” on May 30. The brand-new 30-foot sign was hung on the building around June 6. A wall-mounted plaque provides more information about the building.

The exhibit begins with several items travelers might take with them on a trip along the Lincoln Highway or any other highway of the era. Missing the official existence of the Lincoln Highway by a few years, The Negro Motorist Green Book was published from 1936 through 1966. The rather thin document on the table is a reproduction of the 1940 edition. It would grow over the years.

Some wonderful artifacts from businesses that once operated on the Lincoln Highway in Massillon are on display. John Margolies took the two photographs in 1988. Is it possible that Massillon had the very first no-tell motel?

Wall-mounted signs identified several driving forces, such as the Good Roads Movement, that contributed to the Lincoln Highway journey. Of course, the original Lincoln Highway Association was top of list and the three men pictured here were top driving forces within that association.

The museum’s lower level contains a gallery filled with work by local artists. The exhibit, titled “Creativity Within Community”, is organized by the Massillon Community Arts Council.

The upper level contains several galleries devoted to what I’ll call general local history as well as two dedicated to specific local icons. From the general galleries, I’ve included a 1908 Jewel automobile built in Massillon and some glass canes Massillon Glass Works employees made from leftovers around 1900.

I found the gallery with Dr. Immel’s hand-carved miniature circus and related artifacts particularly interesting. I suppose my interest might have been boosted just a bit by my recent exposure to full-sized sideshows. The cane on the wall makes a lot more sense with a little background.

Not surprisingly, football legend Paul Brown has his own gallery in the town where he began his climb to fame by coaching the Massillon High School Tigers.

All in all, this is a very impressive museum that I enjoyed way beyond the Lincoln Highway exhibit that drew me here. That Lincoln Highway exhibit runs through October 8.

WTC and Me (Repeat)

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On this 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I am repeating a post from the 20th anniversary, which was little more than a link to a webpage prompted by the 1st anniversary. Neither these blog posts nor the webpage they reference are all that significant, but remembering the events behind them is extremely important. It is also important to remember the nation’s complete unity in the days following the attacks. The memory of that unity is a large part of what gives me hope today. Let’s do that again.

Nineteen years ago, on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed so many innocent people in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania field, I posted some of my related memories on this site. A standalone web page was used as this blog did not yet exist. The page was accessible for many years through a link on this site’s home page. That link was eventually removed during a site layout change. However, the page itself remained in place for some time even though there was no way to access it other than entering its URL. Early this year, when the site was moved to its current host, the page was among those not making the move, so that even a direct URL became useless. Today, on the twentieth anniversary of those attacks, I have restored the page and am providing access to it here and through the image above, even though the page continues to be much more personally therapeutic than generally informative.

Three Nights at the Museum

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The American Sign Museum often hosts presentations and other events associated with temporary exhibits. The Freaks and Sideshows exhibit that opened near the end of July spawned three such presentations on three consecutive Thursday evenings. Each was available for remote viewing via Zoom, but I attended all three in person. The three presentations wrapped up this week. Freaks and Sideshows runs through October 4.

Freaks and Sideshows features sideshow banners from Dave Waller’s collection, and Waller gave the first of the three presentations on August 20. “Collector Talk: David Waller” was, of course, similar to Waller’s 2022 presentation, but there were differences. One example is that at the earlier talk, Waller told of meeting the niece of Johann Petursson, the Viking Giant, and giving her the Viking Giant’s souvenir ring he had acquired. The rings are not extremely rare, and Waller has since replaced his gift with two other rings which he circulated through the audience. This led to an impromptu three circus rings circus when one of the attendees pulled his own Viking Giant ring from his pocket.

The idea of human freaks as elements of sideshows has long been a controversial one. There is no doubt that some people with physical abnormalities have been taken advantage of and exploited by promoters, but it is also true that for others, sideshows provided both income and community at a time when the general society offered little of either. While not denying the existence of exploitation, Jason Harris’ “Behind the Curtain: The Tales and Lives of Sideshow Performers” focused primarily on the positive aspects of the relationships. Underlying the individual stories were observations of how the pure curiosity that fueled mid-19th-century audiences faded as science explained conditions once considered complete mysteries.

The third presentation wasn’t as tightly coupled with the banners as the first two, but it clearly aligned with the spirit of those banners. As expected, “Full Circle: The Golden Era, Decline, and Renaissance of the American Carousel” contained plenty of history, but it delivered a whole lot more. Presenter Danielle Bennignus is not only a passionate historian but an eager hands-on preservationist. She was accompanied by a pair of carved horses she owns. The last part of her presentation included several in-process photos of her restoration of Little Boy, so named because he fit in the back seat of her car for the drive home. His companion probably has a name too, but I missed it. The presentation was indeed focused on “the American Carousel”, although the wide-angle shot I’ve included is of a carousel in Paris, France, which Bennignus and her husband visited not long ago.

This last picture really has nothing to do with any of the presentations beyond my seeing the little truck for the first time when I arrived for the first of them. I snapped the picture on the way to the entrance, and only later learned that it is museum founder Tod Swormstedt’s new ride. The Daihatsu Hijet Deck Van is considerably smaller than what Tod usually drives to haul signs and pull a trailer. It’s a Kei-class vehicle with 1 cargo bed, 2 rows of seats, a 3-cylinder engine, 4-wheel drive, and a 5-speed transmission.

Book Review
Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road
Beth Bacon and Jodi Woolsey

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Nearly all the reviews on this blog are organic, meaning they are of things I’ve read, listened to, or attended because I discovered them and chose to review them on my own. This is one of the very few exceptions. The author, Beth Bacon, emailed me and suggested that since my site was about road trips and I did book reviews, I might be interested in reviewing her latest work. Right off the bat, I was impressed that she knew road trips and reviews were involved in the site. Most of the email requests/offers I get seem pretty oblivious to that. Cryptocurrency, miracle medical treatments, and streaming services are popular—the most recent involved ancient coins.

This email was legitimate, and a quick look at some accompanying information made me think the suggested review made sense. But there was one problem. Being a children’s book wasn’t the actual problem, but it was part of it. I’d never reviewed a children’s book, despite coming across a few “organically”. A couple of those were also related to Route 66, and were written by friends. That they were aimed at children was the only reason I’d not reviewed them before. It didn’t feel right to review a book by a complete—but polite and likable—stranger, when I’d not reviewed similar books by people I actually knew. I solved that problem by using the last two Wednesdays to post belated reviews of Emily Priddy’s Route 66 for Kids 2026 and Anne Slanina’s Annie Mouse’s Route 66 Adventure. Apologies, ladies. I hope you believe that late is at least a little better than never.

Beth Bacon has all the right credentials. There’s an MFA degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults, a string of books for kids, and a bunch of awards for them that include a couple each from Mom’s Choice and Chanticleer Little Peeps. She has illustrated some of those books herself and worked with various artists on others. As far as I know, this is her first time working with Jodi Woolsey, but it is hardly Woolsey’s first time working with authors. She teaches art at the college level and runs her own freelance studio. Her illustrations tell much of this book’s story and do an excellent job framing the names and other details in Bacon’s words.

Those names, and the places too, seem carefully chosen. A road that’s 100 years old and nearly 2,500 miles long certainly has plenty of both. It’s easy enough for adults to be swamped and even easier, I imagine, for the 5-10 year olds that are the book’s target readers. Bacon picks subjects likely to interest the 5-10 crowd and doesn’t overwhelm by trying to include everything. The book opens with a few bits of information about the entire road and about Cyrus Avery, who was instrumental in establishing it. That’s followed by one- and two-page sections on each of the route’s eight states. One of the names appearing for Illinois is Bob Waldmire, who traveled the route in a Volkswagen bus. Missouri’s pages include Alberta Ellis, who operated a hotel and other businesses where people of color were welcome at a time when that was often not the case. This brief, casual mention of the topic earns a bonus point from me. The Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma, is an obvious kid-friendly subject, and Bacon introduces its creator, Hugh Davis, and his wife, Zelta, to her readers. Bacon also identifies more key names and places for these three states, along with a handful for each of the other five. A personal favorite is Bacon’s mention that Snoopy’s brother Spike lives near the Route 66 town of Needles, California.

I have a hunch that recognizing the publisher had a little bit to do with me wanting to review this book. The list of Reedy Press authors contains quite a few familiar names. Two of my recent reviews (Aprons Away and Route 66: The First 100 Years) were of Reedy Press publications, which left me impressed with their product. And they’re just a couple of miles off Route 66. 

Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road, Beth Bacon (author) and Jodi Woolsey (illustrator), Reedy Press (August 15, 2026), 11 x 9 inches, 32 pages, ISBN 978-1681066776
Available through Amazon.

Mariemont Theater’s Back, Baby.

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I can’t recall the titles, but I do remember seeing a few movies at the Mariemont Theater in the early 1970s. I rediscovered the theater just over a year and a half ago when it was one of the relatively few theaters showing a movie (Porcelain War) I wanted to see. I immediately took a liking to the neighborhood theater vibe and made it to a couple more movie showings there before it was abruptly shut down in February of this year. That was pretty depressing, but seeing it storm back to life less than six months later really does make the closing a pretty dim memory.

Even before the theater actually closed, the Village of Mariemont began looking for ways to save this important part of their community. The local group Cindependent was soon involved, and with lots of help from others, the theater was acquired and refurbished.

A Grand Reopening Gala is planned for September 16 that promises to be really special. I won’t be around for that, but I was around Friday for what was billed as a “soft opening”. It wasn’t nearly as soft as I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to see Cindependent mascots Crunchy and Bubs greeting attendees and waving at passersby in front of the theater. That’s Cindependent’s Associate Director Dahlia Kressler and an unknown volunteer off to the right.

Inside, is a tasteful indicator that the place is under new management. The concession stand looks familiar, but not the stack of very cool cookies near the entrance to the screening rooms. The cookies were free, and I intended to grab one on the way out, then forgot. They definitely look too good to eat.

Most of the improvements are not obvious on entering. New state-of-the-art projectors and surround sound systems have been installed for all five screens, and some seating has been rebuilt. I was there to see The Brink of War, which turned out to be a pretty good movie. Arriving early meant I had my choice of almost any seat in the place. The second picture shows the view from the seat I chose. About a third of the other seats were filled by the 4:40 start time.

Clearly, things had been picking up while I was watching the movie. Out front, the Queen City Sisters were entertaining folks in the line that had formed for the evening shows. The theater originally opened in 1938, and several 1938 films were on the agenda for the upcoming gala and the days between now and then. The biggie for Friday night was the Oscar-winning You Can’t Take It with You.