Commercial Success

“I think they found some of the strangest people in our town . . .” 

Duane Downing 

Town Board member, Tonopah, Nevada 

Photo from LegendsofAmerica.com

When reality TV came knocking at the door of Tonopah, Nevada (population 2,130), townsfolk said, “Not interested.” But Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, the creators of Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings—a cable show about making real-life, offbeat ads for real-life, offbeat products—didn’t give up. Not even when one resident called their idea “asinine.” Rhett & Link saw promise in the eccentric desert town between Reno and Las Vegas. Besides being an old mining town in the middle of nowhere, Tonopah is home to ghost sightings, paranormal believers, and a clown hotel. In the end, townspeople opened the door to Rhett & Link, and they’re pleased with the 80-second commercial titled “Tonopah, Nevada: We’re Different.” Tonopah owns full rights to the commercial, but now it has to decide what to do with it. The little town doesn’t have the big bucks needed to buy big city air time.

If you want to see the ad, click on Tonopah, Nevada: We’re Different

Read the article → Ad puts quirky Tonopah on map

Blessing in Disguise

“I understand that the school board has to cover their butt.” 

Marie Backlund, Resident of Westmoreland, Tennessee 

Four football coaches at Westmoreland Middle School in Westmoreland, Tennessee (population 2,236) got in hot water recently for something they did with the players after the game: they bowed their heads in prayer. School officials caught wind of it and called the coaches on the carpet. The coaches weren’t formally disciplined, says the school board, but they were told that if they do it again their coaching days will be over. Board members say they were simply following the new rules, enacted in June after the American Civil Liberties Union sued a nearby school district for “promoting Christianity.” When townspeople heard about the brouhaha, they called the school to complain and packed the stands at the next game to show their support. Before the game, the crowd recited the Lord’s Prayer, and after the game everyone gathered on the field to pray. Everyone, that is, except the coaches.

Read the article → Prayer controversy unites Westmoreland

A-Maze-ing

“We design the maze so that people get lost.” 

Bob Connors 

Owner of corn maze in Danvers, Massachusetts 

Photo from SpotCoolStuff

Lost and Found

A family in Danvers, Massachusetts (population 25,479) got more than they bargained for when they visited a local cornfield maze: they got lost. What’s the big deal, you might ask, isn’t that the idea? Sure, but as evening closed in and the day grew dark, the family got disoriented and desperate. Finally, they called 911, and a local police officer and his trusty canine were dispatched to lead them to safety. I’d like to say it was a dramatic rescue, but it wasn’t. As it turns out the family was only 25 feet from the street when they sent out their distress call.

Read the articles → Family gets lost, calls police from Danvers corn maze and Family lost in Mass. corn maze calls 911 for help

Bales O’ Fun

I’ve seen cornfield mazes and hedge mazes, but I’ve never seen a straw bale maze. That must be because I’ve never been to Rupert, Idaho (population 5,225), home of the World’s Largest Straw Maze according to the Guinness Book of World of Records. The maze is 96,847 square feet and features nearly two miles of walking paths, a 30-foot pyramid, and two secret rooms. Sounds like fun to me, but I know of one family from Massachusetts that would probably find the straw bales too a-maze-ing for their tastes.

Read the article → Rupert maze sets world record

Bye-Bye Birdie?

“They are so arrogant and uppity.” 

Rick Reed, Resident of Osceola 

Photo by Kansas Jayhawk Mascot Alumni  

Little Osceola, Missouri (population 781) has a big demand for the University of Kansas: say bye-bye birdie to the Jayhawk mascot. The use of the name “Jayhawk” has ruffled the feathers of town leaders, and the reason goes back 150 years. During the Civil War, a band of marauders known as jayhawkers crossed the border from Kansas into Missouri and went on a two-day rampage, destroying the town, looting property, and executing a dozen men in the town square. Folks in Osceola can’t forget and won’t forgive the University of Kansas for making light of the Jayhawk name with its mascot. Townspeople don’t really think the university will drop the Jayhawk mascot, but it’s the principle, they say. That’s the same reason they fired off a resolution calling on Missourians to stop spelling Kansas with a capital “K,” arguing Kansas is neither a proper name nor a proper place.

Read the article → Town seeks end of ‘Jayhawk’ name

Poof!

“I thought that with the rain it got washed away.”

Gary Bruce, New Castle Development spokesman

Have you ever seen a magician make his lovely assistant disappear? Impressive, right? That’s nothing compared to what thieves did near North Beaver Township, Pennsylvania (population 4,022): they made a whole bridge disappear—all 40 tons of it—and nobody saw a thing. The 50-foot steel railroad bridge is valued at $100,000, and it was tucked away in a wooded area that locals don’t frequent. Thieves made off with the bridge some time after September 27, probably using blow torches and a big truck. Luckily, there was no chance a train could have chugged along and fallen off into nothingness. The bridge was closed recently . . . because of copper thefts in the area.


Read the article → Thieves steal an entire metal bridge in Pennsylvania

Delicious Development

“I became really struck by this wonderful, delicious irony.”

Ben Hewitt, Author of The Town That Food Saved

Photo by Sgerbic  

You know the saying: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. A small town in Vermont has put a new twist on this old adage: the way to a town’s survival is through its green thumb. Hardwick, Vermont (population 3,182), a postindustrial hard-luck town 10 years ago, has become a flourishing organic foods hot spot today. Thirty-something “agro-preneurs” have put this village on the map, attracting fresh food fanatics far and wide with their alluring array of artisanal cheeses and fresh vegetables. The bittersweet irony is that many of the folks in Hardwick can’t afford to pay the steep prices for the organic foods grown locally, but few are complaining. The organic foods boom has produced jobs for this town, and residents are happy to partake of that harvest.

Read the article → How organic food saved a hard-luck, Vermont town

Learning Curve

“If the goal is to have people commute with a smile on their face,

we’ve failed.”

Lorrie Carey, Boscawen Selectwoman 

Photo by J. Harri

In a roundabout way, the state of New Hampshire is trying to make driving safer. It’s replacing intersections with roundabouts in some of its towns because studies show that with roundabouts there are fewer accidents overall (35 percent drop in crashes), fewer severe accidents (76 percent drop in fatal or serious crashes), and calmer drivers. Folks in Boscawen, New Hampshire (population 3,984) would beg to differ. A new roundabout went in their town recently, and it has a nasty reputation for blowing out tires. Truckers say the circle is too tight, which causes them to collide with the granite curbing and tear up tires. At $300 a pop, it's hard to be calm. Other drivers say the roundabouts are just plain “stupid” and confusing. New Hampshire officials say get over it; the roundabout is here to stay. In fact, they’re adding 17 more throughout the state. The slower speed and lower chance for head-on collision make them a no brainer, claim officials. They admit there’s a learning curve to using roundabouts, but once drivers catch on, they’ll come around and learn to love them.

Read the article → A roundly hated roundabout