Terrell Dempsey is right! I visited Hannibal as a fifty year old kid a couple of years ago, on the 4th of July, and had an unforgetable time. Fireworks over the river, Tom Sawyer's cave, a river boat ride, and all the chintz and touristic plastic you can imagine--but also some wonderful book stores and several remarkable statues and sculptures of Sam and Tom and Huck--it is the all-American town for July 4 and perhaps best of all, the natives weren't just friendly, they were Southernly hospitable--not a bum in the whole lot that I encountered--go with a smile and you will leave with a bigger one and count yourself lucky. ---Unashamably, a Twainiac, Doug Bridges --- Terrell Dempsey <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hannibal is a place. > Hannibal is a place with people. > The people are not perfect. > The people are very nice. > The people are in many cases the direct descendants > of the people who lived here from 1839 to 1861. > Some aspects of the culture have not changed very > much. > > If you just blow in and out, > you may not leave with more than you brought. > But you can: > > Go to service at the First Presbyterian Church where > Jane and Pamela Clemens were members. Sam didn't > come here, but his mother's funeral was held here. > > Go to service at Willow Street Christian Church or > Scott Chapel United Methodist Church and share with > descendants of slaves from 1839 - 1865. They will be > nice as pie to you and the music is incredible. Tell > my friend Joe Miller hi. > > Pick up a copy of the Hannibal Courier Post and see > what a small town newspaper looks like today. This > was Joe Ament's old paper. Sam learned an awful lot > here. He first set dialect stories in this paper. > > Eat a giant pork tenderloin sandwich (and don't tell > your cardiologist or if male and married, your > wife.) > > Go up to the old Baptist cemetery and see the grave > of Agnes Flautleroy, slave of the Hawkins family. > > While you're in the Baptist Cemetery walk around and > look at the graves. This is where John Marshall and > Henry Clemens were originally buried. They are now > south of Town in Mt. Olivet. > > Come for the Fourth of July and see unabashed > patriotism and people having a great time. Yep, it > is a sea of white faces, but we are seriously trying > to change that. It is a lot like the patriotism > that was here between 1839-1861. John Marshall > Clemens gave the July 4th Speech in the park in the > mid-40s. > > Go to one of the many scenic overlooks on Highway 79 > and look at the river. The Mississippi is > astounding. > > If you know enough about Twain to be on this list, > you aren't going to learn anything at this museum, > but you ought to at least see the house. The > Clemens boys put out the Journal from the Parlor! > A cow once walked in and ate part of the press! > > A lot of Hannibal is bunk. John Marshall Clemens > never practiced law here. You can laugh at his law > office. You can laugh at the genuine historical > markers denoting fictional events from Tom Sawyer. > You can even feel smug because you know better. But > you need to see it. > > If you want real history, you can come up to the > Molly Brown Birthplace Museum and learn about a > fascinating woman who was born in Hannibal, got rich > in Colorado and became a legend. Margaret Tobin > Brown was active in the suffrage movement, the labor > movement and ran for the U.S. Senate. > > You need to come to Hannibal to know where Clemens > came from. Everything Shelley wrote is true. But > there is more to the story. > > Terrell __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/