What really put Lucas, Ks. on the map, is an astonishing place called The Garden of Eden, which was built by an eccentric Civil War Veteran named S.P. Dinsmoor. The Garden is in the backyard of Dinsmoor’s small cabin made of limestone logs (vs. wooden logs.) I’ve struggled for years to describe it properly. It’s a true concrete jungle, made of concrete and stone vines and pillars with statues of Biblical figures (Adam and Eve are there) as well as pro-working Joe tableaux (such as the working man being crucified by the banker, the lawyer, the preacher, and the doctor.) One of my favorite parts is the large limestone mausoleum where Mr. Dinsmoor is entombed. A guide hands you a flashlight so you can enter and look through a plate of glass at Dinsmoor’s disintegrating skeleton. I have a priceless photo of my sister, who was visiting from the east coast during the late 1980s when I lived in Kansas, outside the mausoleum looking at me with a “You’ve got to be kinding me” expression.
Kooky Kansas: pt. 2 Lucas
While grassroots art can be found – as it should be – scattered in random rural locations throughout Kansas, there also is a self-conscious concentration of it in the small Kansas town of Lucas which has a storefront museum in some old limestone buildings devoted to grassroots art. This is the art stereotypically practiced by self-taught, iconoclastic loners – like farmers and ranchers – but also by trained artists and savvy hipsters living in remote places and it ranges from enticing odd to childlike to a little scary. A relative of folk art, grassroots art sometimes is called visionary art, naïve art, or primitive art.
You’ll see it all in Lucas – not only at the Grassroots Art Center but at a few other locations in town. When we visited a few years ago in December, someone from the museum took me, my husband and two young-teen kids, to a plain little unheated bungalow on a quiet street a few blocks away – and inside was the most astonishing sight. Every single room was covered with Barbies – yes, that Barbie – and other dolls. There were Barbies dripping from walls covered in aluminum foil and piled up in the bathtub, Barbies exotically-decorated and decked out in every which way. If this hadn’t been labeled “art” it might instead be viewed as a “cry for help.” We were all a bit spooked walking around this ice cold bungalow of Barbies – including my daughter who was never a huge Barbie fan but played with them occasionally. Check it out yourself at http://www.kansastravel.org/isis.htm
In the backyard is local Lucas legend Florence Deeble’s Rock Garden – a rather worn collection of “concrete postcards” – sculptures depicting famous places Florence visited, such as Mount Rushmore. A few blocks away, is the real Lucas masterpiece (which inspired young Florence and spawned the Grassroots Art Center) known as The Garden of Eden. Again, stay tuned.
Filed under grassroots art, Kansas, Kansas misc
Kooky Kansas
A Wall Street Journal reporter seems to be mining the kooky Kansas beat, which I used to fancy as my own. After writing about the Big Well in Greensburg, Ks., she wrote a piece on the eccentric roadside sculpture in nearby Mullinville, Ks., pop. 202, which has long been a source of fascination for my family as we drive to and from my in-laws house in western Kansas. Last December, in addition to slowing down on the not-that-busy state highway to look more closely at the ever-growing line of scrap-metal whirligigs, many of them with political references of an indeterminate nature, we turned north on a country road in town and past the sculptor’s workshop – a shed with heaps of scrap metal and half-finished whirligigs (maybe that’s gigs.) There must be several hundred by now along the road – made of junk metal, glass bottles, presumably pilfered road signs, toilet seats, tractor gears, bowling balls, all whirling in the wind.
From the WSJ story, we learned that the sculptor is 79-year-old farmer named M.T. Liggett, that his subjects include three former wives and many girlfriends including one portrayed as a mouse in pearls holding a piece of cheese, caught in a mousetrap. (Guess that relationship didn’t go so well.) Among his favorites is one of Bill Clinton with a padlock welded to the zipper of his pants. Word has it that the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore – which I was dismayed to discover was closed on the Monday I visited – is displaying Liggett’s work.
It’s part of a genre of art by self-taught folks known variously as grassroots art or naive art – and Kansas is full of it. Stay tuned.
For more, see: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703894304575047461204497670-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwOTEwNDkyWj.html
Filed under Kansas, Kansas misc
Spring break destinations
I’m beginning to feel like a bit of a freak choosing Portland and Oregon for a spring break destination – everyone else I know in Iowa, if they’re getting out of here in March, is heading to Mexico or Florida or Arizona. Somewhere that warm weather is practically guaranteed – although not always as we’ve learned from our frequent trips to Tucson in March to see my dad.
Last I looked, Portland is usually in 50s, maybe 60s, in March – which isn’t exactly balmy but a heck of lot better than the sub-zero temps we’ve had here. There doesn’t seem to be any cost advantage to flying to Portland vs. Arizona during spring break from Des Moines. Both are expensive. But our Portland ticket is about $$150 more than our son’s ticket to Tucson. (And we both fly out on the same flight to Denver before parting ways for different destinations.)
Clarksdale, Miss/Ms.: songs/albums inspired by
I got to wondering how many songs have been written about Clarksdale – after reading about Robert Plant’s Walking into Clarksdale album – so I did a quick search on itunes. I found 50 songs with either Clarksdale in the title of the song or album (most were song titles) -and they had great titles like
Stranded in Clarksdale
Clarksdale Moan
Crying Down in Clarksdale
Down Around Clarksdale
Slow Night in Clarksdale
Clarksdale’s Burning
No We Ain’t From Clarksdale
Clarksdale’s Waiting for me.
The performers included Elvis Costello whose Clarksdale Sessions songs were recorded at a studio in Clarksdale, Son House, and Jelly Roll Morton. I couldn’t find a recording of Robert Plant singing Walking into Clarksdale but I did find a good cover by Nanette Workman. Also enjoyed Charlie Musselwhite’s Clarksdale Boogie, and Super Chiken (a local favorite) singing Clarksdale.
Might be fun to download a few of these for your trip – I think I will next time.
Filed under delta, Mississippi
Clarksdale, Miss.: takemewithyou (what to do/see)
Some helpful reader reminded me it’s Miss. not Ms. for Mississippi. So I stand/blog corrected. This is the final installment of takemewithyou suggestions for E. and friends as they head to Clarksdale this spring. Things to do:
– Listen to the blues, of course. Ground Zero club is an obvious choice. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and Ground Zero wasn’t open just walking around the largely deserted town, we chanced upon some musicians playing inside the little Bluesberry Cafe at 235 Yazoo Avenue.
They all seemed to be locals who knew each other but couldn’t have been more welcoming so we got some sodas and listened to some blues and boogie piano played, oddly, by a middle-aged white guy from the Netherlands (aka Theo D. “The Boogie Man”) who moved to Clarksdale to open a storefront rock and roll museum (which we didn’t get to: http://www.blues2rock.com/Site/Theo_D.html) ; and a older black man who sang with a weathered voice. A local favorite, Super Chikan, was there but we didn’t hear him, alas.
One woman sat down with us, carrying a photo of another tourist who had visited the cafe recently – Paul Simon. That Paul Simon. Clarksdale is that kind of place.
– The Delta Blues Museum is, as promised, very low-tech but that’s part of the charm. In a former train depot, it has Muddy Waters’ childhood cabin, among other blues items. I got to talking with the woman behind the front desk who told me how Robert Palmer (the Robert Palmer) often takes her out to eat when he visits. Palmer put out a 1998 album with Led Zeppelin buddy Jimmy Page called “Walking into Clarkdale” (with a song by the same name…some lyrics below.)
– The Mississippi (i.e. River.) – One thing that surprised me about is that it’s hard to see the river at all from lots of Delta towns which are often miles from the river, which in turn is hidden by levees. If you have time, drive about 1 hour northwest to Helena Arkansas, another struggling Delta town with lots of blues history that has fixed up its worn downtown and has a riverwalk atop the levee.
For more ideas check out the NYTimes’ 36 Hours in Clarksdale piece from 2006.
Here’s lyrics from Robert Plant’s song:
When I was born I was running
As my feet hit the ground
Before I could talk I was humming
An old railroad sound
Things didn’t get much better
When by the age of five
They found me walking into Clarksdale
Trying to keep my friends alive
Filed under delta, Mississippi
Clarksdale, Miss.: takemewithyou (where to eat)
And now the all-important where-to-eat suggestions for E. and friends who are taking a road trip to Clarksdale, Miss. (among other places):
– Madidi (www.madidiires.com) is a surprisingly fancy and sophisticated restaurant to find in a struggling Mississippi Delta town…until you remember that the Mississippi Delta is where actor Morgan Freeman (aka Nelson Mandela in his latest film) was raised – and still lives. He has pumped money into the area – including by bankrolling this restaurant. The food, upscale Southern, is very good but to be honest, I’d stick with some of the lower-key places, which seem more reflective of the “real” Clarksdale.
– Ground Zero – This isn’t really “real” – it’s another Morgan Freeman effort but it’s designed to look gritty that it passes muster. Ground Zero is a blues club that also serves food.
– Hicks Tamales and BBQ Shop – Noah and I tried several times to pick up a hot tamale here at the drive-through window but the line was always too slow (not long, just slow.) Supposed to be good though.
– Abes BBQ – We did get take away pork (I think) sandwiches from this hole-in-the-wall and some BBQ sauce to take back to Iowa. Very good (and quite different from our usual Gates BBQ sauce)
– Delta Amusement Blues Cafe – This is a small downtown working-guys cafe, basic greasy spoon with some local character.
– Uncle Henry’s Place (www.unclehenrysplace.com) – This is a very strange Southern inn about a half-hour outside of Clarksdale in a really faded town (so to speak) called Dundee near “Moon Lake.” We went here because of its history – it was a hangout of William Faulkner’s and owned at various times by the family of Tennessee Williams and Conway Twitty. The food was rich and pricey Louisiana fare and it was empty when we ate there (we arrived kind of late) which gave it an even more strange, faded feel.
– Ramon’s – We never made it to this place, which looked pretty low-down, but it sounded intriguing (chicken livers with spaghetti!) when I heard an NPR report on it by Jane and Michael Stern. The onion rings on the Sterns’ roadfood.com page for Ramon’s look amazing. (roadfood.com is another good source for food during your trip although be forewarned – some places will be not-so-pretty.)
Filed under delta, Mississippi
Clarksdale, Miss. – takemewithyou
More suggestions for E’s roadtrip as she heads from Memphis two hours south to the Mississippi Delta and the “Home of the Blues” – Clarksdale, Miss. Here’s some of the highlights from my trip there with my son in 2008:
Where to stay: The Shack Up Inn (but then you know this already Em) is one of the most remarkable places I’ve ever stayed. Some Ole Miss grads run this unusual “inn” that includes six shotgun shacks that have been moved from their original out-in-the-field location to a spot just south of downtown Clarksdale. Once home to sharecroppers, they’ve been gussied up – most importantly with indoor plumbing and kitchenette added. Each has a lot of character – there are also rooms in a converted cotton gin on the grounds. European travelers in particular love this place. Fun fact: the shacks are on the site of the Hopson Plantation – home of the first mechanical cotton picker (circa 1941).
Another option is the Riverside Hotel, in town along the river, which has provided lodging for many famous blues musicians including Ike Turner (and was a brief hideaway for, of all people, John F. Kennedy Jr.). Even if you don’t stay here, you definitely should drop by and introduce yourself to the owner, a very nice man named Rat, who, if he has time, will take you on a tour of the old place, filling you in on the history. He’ll even show you the room where blues singer Bessie Smith died, in 1937, when the hotel was a hospital for blacks.
For more info (and a photo of Rat) see: http://www.ratpackstlouis.com/riverside_hotel.htm. Rat is very used to visitors – and couldn’t have been more generous when we dropped by! So don’t be shy.
More tomorrow on what to see/do/where to eat.
Filed under delta
Memphis: takemewithyou (cleaning up some loose ends)
More on Memphis – for E. and friends who are heading there. With the help of my journal (#50) and the Internet, I jogged my memory on a few specifics, most having to do with food.
The BBQ place we went to near Graceland is Marlowe’s – kinda corny commercial decor with smiling pig in a pink limo as its mascot but ribs and service good. On Beale Street, we did in fact eat ribs at The Blues City Cafe. Here’s some of my journal entry from that day to give you a little feel for the place….
June 28, 2008:
re Stax Museum “Really interesting and suitably scruffy around the edges (some of the museums here have been Disneyfied). One block away in front of a ramshackle store, some women in very skimpy bikinis were holding up signs that, upon closer scrutiny, read “Car Wash.”
re hotel/riverwalk/trolley: “Our hotel is right downtown on a pretty little pocket park and overlooking another park that faces the Mississippi. We walked along the riverfront with pretty parks and a promenade. Memphis has done a nice job of fixing up this area for tourists. Then we took an old wooden trolley along the river and through town, getting off at Beale Street. A great deal for $1 and a great alternative to driving.
re Beale Street: “Beale Street started off quiet at 6:30 p.m. but by 9 p.m. was packed on a surprising breezy but not at all humid Saturday night. We started at Blues City Cafe, ate ribs in a dark room with giant photos of Elvis and BB King and listened to an old-fashioned Doo Wop Group (The Masquerades) – three older men in black outfits and cowboy hats. We walked down Beale Street listening to bands here and there outside including a really good one of rough-looking characters in Handy Park. Both Noah and I were asked to dance by some strange drunken street people. We went to a more sedate club – Ground Zero just off Beale Street where we saw our best band of the night – the Reba Russell Band. By the time we went back to Beale Street, it was cordoned off by police who set up checkpoints to check IDs. (As a minor, Noah had to be off the street by 11 p.m.)”
Memphis: takemewithyou (as promised)
Okay Emmylou, here’s what I’ve got for YOU – recommendations for Memphis based on our 2008 trip there!
We stayed at the Sleep Inn at Court Square downtown – good location, clean, pleasant, reasonably priced ($125 for a double in 2008) right near the Mississippi and near the tracks for the funky old Main Street Trolley car that will take you to Beale Street and back for much less than the hassle of driving, parking, and returning possibly inebriated.
Things to do:
Walk or jog along the Mississippi Riverwalk.
Be sure to walk through the Peabody Hotel – this is the one where the ducks parade through the lavish lobby.
The Civil Rights Museum, located in the former Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated. Give yourself plenty of time. (Oddly, when I was in Memphis with my dad in 1989, a woman was protesting outside the motel – she didn’t want it to become a museum. In 2008, a group was still out there protesting.)
We loved the STAX Museum of American Soul Music – complete with Isaac Haye’s real car (which, as I recall, had power blue fake fur upholstery). This rough n’ tumble neighborhood reminded us of the one portrayed in “Hustle and Flow” – the very good movie filmed in Memphis (“It’s hard out here for a pimp” was its Oscar-winning song.) If you haven’t seen, do! There are several music museums in Memphis – this one struck us as the most interesting and authentic, located in the original STAX Record Co. building/neighborhood rather than glitzy downtown.
En route to the museum, we stopped for soul food at The Four Way (998 Mississippi Blvd.) an old neighborhood place. Great fried chicken, okra, lemon meringue pie etc. Be careful with the hot sauce.
If you happen to be in Memphis on Sunday morning, DO NOT MISS a visit to Rev. Al Green’s church (that would be Gospel Legend Al Green.) He is often there singing – along with many other church members who are great singers and musicians. Alas, when we visited “Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle,” Al was off promoting his latest album but there was a several-piece band – horns, keyboard, drums, etc. – and one person after another got up to give wrenching testimony, some of it inevitably in the form of the most astonishing gospel singing. We were a little shy about entering at first but we were far from the only visitors – there were rows of us, mostly white folk, some from as far away as The Netherlands. Noah had to drag me out of the church after over an hour. I could have stayed all day.
Rev. Green’s church is not far from Graceland and if you haven’t been, you should go – it’s overpriced and tacky but truly an American experience. There’s a good BBQ joint across the street called – i can’t remember the name. will look up.
Speaking of BBQ, we had some good ribs at Blues City Cafe, I think, on Beale Street. Beale Street is very touristy but it’s fun and there’s as much free music outside in little pocket parks along the street as there is inside the clubs. Our choice of clubs was a bit skewed – since my priority was finding one that would admit a 16-year-old kid (which Noah was at the time…oddly the criteria wasn’t booze, it was smoking. If there was smoking, no kids allowed.)
Not all the Beale Street clubs are on Beale Street – we enjoyed local favorite Reba Russellaround the block at Ground Zero, an offshoot of the club opened by Morgan Freeman (yes, that Morgan Freeman) in his hometown of Clarksdale, Ms, about two hours south of Memphis. (I’ll blog on that next!)
To find the best music, consider emailing this guy: wesley@rumboogie.com. Don’t know if Wesley is still at the Rum Boogie club on Beale Street but he was incredibly helpful, filling me in on all the musicians playing on Beale Street. (Unfortunately we couldn’t go to his club because…it had smoking.)
all this really makes me want to return to Memphis. takemewithyou!
Check out the 2005 NYTimes 36 hours memphis piece and the one last Sunday in NYT travel section on edgy Memphis….I was fine with touristy Memphis….
TakeBetsywithyou 