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Americana posts
Video: Old West Ghost Town Of Bodie, California
Aug 15th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Here's a double dose of American nostalgia for you. Back in the 1950s, Maxwell House coffee had an "American Scene" series of TV shorts. This episode takes us to the ghost town of Bodie, California.
Gold was discovered in Bodie in 1859 and soon it became a boomtown with more than a dozen large mines and countless smaller claims. Some $80 million in gold was extracted from the surrounding ...
Photo Gallery: Abandoned Americana
Oct 20th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
The old America is all around us. Americans used to be farmers. They used to go to drive-in movies. They used to think Route 66 was the greatest highway in the world. Some still do.
If you drive out of the city and leave the strip malls and cookie-cutter suburban homes behind, you'll find it soon enough. Head down a county road and you'll pass dilapidated farmhouses and overgrown gardens, the ...Colonial Williamsburg: Made in America
Jul 8th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
The last time I visited Colonial Williamsburg, I was about half as tall as I am now. Would it still be worth seeing-or as fantastic as I remembered-now that I'm a grown up? I drove south from Washington, D.C. to find out, without doing a lick of planning or advance research. This would be a visit informed only by my fuzzy memories of hiking around in the heat and talking to people dressed ...Southwest Michigan's Sunset Junque Shop
Aug 3rd, 2009 at 11:00AM: Just north of Michigan's bustling Interstate 94, along Lake Michigan, is little stretch of old state road called the Blue Star Highway. The little road winds its way along the lake, curving past the picturesque resort town of South Haven, headed up on its way to the cities of Saugatuck and Douglas. Along this rambling road is Sunset Junque Shop, a chaotic, cluttered slice of American nostalgia ...John Updike's take on travel: A mini tribute and ode to NYC
Jan 29th, 2009 at 11:30AM: John Updike, as well as being one of America's beloved, if not a bit controversial, novelists, was a traveler and a poet. Brenda's post yesterday was a fitting tribute, but here's a bit more. In his collection of poems, Americana, published in 2001, Updike combines the traveler's and the writer's eye.
The poem "Americana," subtitled "Poem Begun on Thursday, Oct. 14, 1993, at O'Hare Airport, ...Sounds of Travel 4: King of the Road
Nov 4th, 2008 at 3:00PM: Here at Gadling we'll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each -- maybe you'll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you'll think that they're good songs.
Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the Comments and we'll post it at the end of the series.
WEEK 4: "King of the Road" sung by Roger Miller
When my ...Another summer music festival: National Jug Band Jubilee
Jun 17th, 2008 at 11:30AM: Since the Washboard Festival won't be around again until next year, here's another one that looks to be its rival. The National Jug Band Jubilee in Louisville, Kentucky on August 23 is a gathering of jug bands from various states.
Why Louisville? The jug band was founded here more than 100 years ago.
Back then, clay jugs were used to hold bourbon whiskey. When the whiskey was gone, there was an ...Photo of the Day (6/11//08)
Jun 11th, 2008 at 7:00PM:
I love this sign for a few reasons. One reason is how it would look great on a T-shirt--a snippet of faded Americana if you will. Also, I am drawn to the glimpse of Superman history in each face. Which version did you grow up watching? Metropolis, Illinois does have The Super Museum. It's not as faded as the shot of this mural by Zengrrl, although, I'm not sure exactly what's on display. The Web ...Hopper's Americana, on Display in DC
Oct 21st, 2007 at 11:35AM: I have a thing for Edward Hopper.
Aside from being one of the most talented painters ever (I think), he has an amazing ability to chronicle life. He is like a photo-journalist of painters...great composition, images frozen in time, yet capturing the essence of a moment perfectly.
His images feature ordinary American life, like in this picture "Chop Suey" from 1929: two fashionably dressed women ...Made in America
Jul 30th, 2007 at 2:22PM: Anyone nostalgic for a slice of Americana, MSN published a list of the Most Iconic US Brands:
Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats
Wonder Bread
Harley-Davidson
Benjamin Moore Paint
The Frye Co Leather Boots
Gibson Guitars
Crayola Crayons
Stetson Hats
KitchenAid Mixer
Lodge Cast Iron Skillets
Ford Pick Up Trucks
Woolrich Blankets
It would be ...Summer Fun: The All-American Soap Box Derby
Jun 27th, 2007 at 3:15PM: Independence Day is a time for paying tribute to our country and its national past-times, right? A hot dog at the ballgame is the first one that comes to mind. But what about another American classic: the soap box derby! Although not as popular as baseball, soap box derby racing is an original American past-time that has been entertaining kids across the country since 1933. Each year, regional ...LOC Wise Guide: American Vacation
Jun 27th, 2007 at 2:21PM: The Library of Congress has a nifty online magazine called The Wise Guide that appears each month. It's a creative tool that the LOC folks use to communicate interesting facts and tidbits from their massive repository of photos, videos, prints, audio recordings and films. The website is spirited and fun in design -- who knew a .gov could be so engaging? (They smartly partnered with the Ad Council ...Bob Evans Restaurants: In Memory of Bob
Jun 22nd, 2007 at 11:15AM: I never met Bob Evans, but I've written about him--not him, exactly, but his restaurants. You can't be the Calendar Events editor and the Restaurant Guide editor at Ohio Magazine without mentioning Bob Evans restaurants at least once a month. When those were my jobs, the magazine ran "The Best " restaurants type article. Bob Evans received the top number of nominations for one of the catagories ...
