poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 You know the story about "Whiskey Bottle", right? "Three-hour away town" from (UT's "Whiskey Bottle")From Jay Farrar's notes on the song in the reissue of No Depression: "The song was written during a period when we were playing our first shows away from St. Louis at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO. There was a shop across the street that sold "Liquor, Guns, and Ammo." It seemed to exemplify what we were up against. Columbia was more of a two-hour-away town unless you stopped at the "Elvis is Alive Museum" along the way." (from Factory Belt) I went to college in Columbia in the early '90s, which is when I became a UT and later a Wilco fan. I was also familiar with Liquor, Guns, and Ammo. It was sort of a joke among us snotty college kids who rarely ventured into the "bad" parts of Columbia. My family happened to pass through Columbia today, which we do fairly often. We drove past the old location of Liquor, Guns and Ammo, and I was a little sad to see that the big yellow sign was gone. Later, we stopped at Shakespeare's for dinner. We got seated and I looked around to soak in the nostalgia that always comes with a trip to Shakespeares, and lo and behold: Obviously, I'm sentimental. It made me feel good to see this little piece of UT and Columbia history given a place of honor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zebra Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Nice find. It's always cool to find something like that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 nice pic! However, the two pictures don't quite add up if you look closely and for the record, I love the Elvis is Alive museum - just don't eat the food there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 nice pic! However, the two pictures don't quite add up if you look closely good point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Yep, the ampersand's different. I'm guessing that, over the course of the 15+ years that passed between the UT photos and the store's closing, they did some maintenance on it. The store moved at one point, sometime around 1994ish. The Elvis is Alive museum was recently sold on ebay to someone who's moving it to Mississippi. I intended to see if it had already closed during this trip, but I spent most of the time either focused on my knitting or taking care of the kiddo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Well, Poppy, you got me craving some Shakespeare's now!I was at Mizzou in the late 80's -- through 1991 and, as I believe I stated here before, saw UT on Halloween, 1989 -- pre-No Depression.I miss Columbia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 The Elvis is Alive museum was recently sold on ebay to someone who's moving it to Mississippi. I intended to see if it had already closed during this trip, but I spent most of the time either focused on my knitting or taking care of the kiddo That's so funny! I can't believe someone would buy it! Maybe the crazy guy in Holly Springs that turned his house into Graceland Too?? I haven't driven that way out I-70 in a number of years....but the last few times I did that place looked abandoned! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Anyone remember the Walnut Bowl Store?Is it still there on I-70? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 isn't that at the Kingdom City/McStop exit? I do remember it!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Well, Poppy, you got me craving some Shakespeare's now!I was at Mizzou in the late 80's -- through 1991 and, as I believe I stated here before, saw UT on Halloween, 1989 -- pre-No Depression.I miss Columbia. It felt so good to spend a little time there yesterday. The town's changed so much, but Shakespeare's is still the same. I came home with half a leftover pizza and three frozen ones. Well, it's not entirely the same. Now I get to watch Clara Jane soaking up the Shakespeare's vibe. She loves it. When she wasn't cramming pizza down her gullet, she was watching them being made: That's so funny! I can't believe someone would buy it! Maybe the crazy guy in Holly Springs that turned his house into Graceland Too?? Here's a news piece about the sale. I only stopped at the museum once, on the way to Lollapalooza in 1995. It was so weird. And that's coming from me. There are very few things I consider too weird, but that place was down-right creepy! Anyone remember the Walnut Bowl Store?Is it still there on I-70? Alas, it went out of business a few years ago. It's now a recreational vehicle store. I make the I-70 drive from Belleville to Sedalia (an hour southwest of Columbia) several times a year to visit family. I've pretty much got those stretches of road memorized. It's a whole lot of nothing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 It's a whole lot of nothing. Sounds like paradise. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Sounds like paradise. Once you get away from the interstate, there's some really beautiful farmland and plains to the north, and the Missouri River and bluffs to the south. Lots of neat little farm towns, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Well, it's probably too flat for me - but I like to look at stuff that one finds in such places. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Places you would hit in that part of the world: FultonHermannMexico And, of course, Ozarkland. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Ms. Viatroy and I are junk shop visitors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Golden Smoghead Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I graduated from Wentzville High School. Wave them a middle finger for me next time you drive by, ok? Worst story from that general stretch of I-70 has to be the Chuck-Berry hidden-cameras fiasco. My wife grew up going to his restaurant all the time and is therefore still extremely skeezed out by anything related to CB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Oh crap!That picture totally brought me back to Columbia! I haven't been there since 1991.Thanks for the nostalgia pangs, poppy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Ms. Viatroy and I are junk shop visitors. There is some mighty fine junking to be done in central Missouri. I'm a junk shop nut. Flea markets abound. I graduated from Wentzville High School. Wave them a middle finger for me next time you drive by, ok? Worst story from that general stretch of I-70 has to be the Chuck-Berry hidden-cameras fiasco. My wife grew up going to his restaurant all the time and is therefore still extremely skeezed out by anything related to CB. I'll gladly wave the middle finger. I hate driving through Wentzville. Had a roommate from there, but I think she went to Ft. Zumwalt. She was one of the dumbest, most obnoxious individuals I've ever met. Chuck would have loved her. She used to get drunk and mistake the desk chairs in our dorm room for the toilet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I got some neat blue insulators and some blue Mason glass jars with wire bail fastened lids last summer - common stuff, but I dig it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Those blue insulators always make me think of my granny. She's got a ton of them. I've got some of her old Mason jars. I dig those, especially since I do a lot of home-canning. I love anything that has to do with the history of kitchenware and the evolution of cooking. I'm also a big fan of mid-century linens, tole painted TV trays, and old drinking glasses. Yeah, I can get all that stuff at antique shops, but I'd much rather dig for them in dusty old junk shops or estate sales. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reni Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Here's a news piece about the sale. I only stopped at the museum once, on the way to Lollapalooza in 1995. It was so weird. And that's coming from me. There are very few things I consider too weird, but that place was down-right creepy! I totally remember that guy.....too funny!! I am glad to see what he is using the money for. Bless him. I love rural Missouri - it is a million times better than rural Illinois - yet one more reason I can't wait to move outta here......someday Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Those blue insulators always make me think of my granny. She's got a ton of them. I've got some of her old Mason jars. I dig those, especially since I do a lot of home-canning. I love anything that has to do with the history of kitchenware and the evolution of cooking. I'm also a big fan of mid-century linens, tole painted TV trays, and old drinking glasses. Yeah, I can get all that stuff at antique shops, but I'd much rather dig for them in dusty old junk shops or estate sales. Some of those insulators are worth a lot of money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poppydawn Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 My granny just turned 82, and she's the world's most organized pack rat. She never throws anything away that might be worth something. I don't doubt that she's sitting on a fortune of antiques. I went through a spell of collecting old chenille bedspreads a few years ago. We were talking about them one day, and I mentioned that I'd seen a double peacock chenille bedspread on ebay for nearly $500. The next time I was at her house, she told me that there was something on her bed for me. It was a double peacock chenille bedspread. My grandpa was an over-the-road truck driver for most of his life. He'd bought that bedspread for her in 1962 from a roadside stand in Georgia. When I was a kid and decided I wanted to collect stamps, I literally had a collection in the course of a weekend. Granny heard I was looking for stamps, and she came down from the attic with boxes upon boxes of postages stamps she'd torn off of her mail since the mid 1940s through the present (early '80s). She's got a row of those insulators sitting on the window sill above her kitchen sink. They've been up there as long as I can remember. Kate, you've got to make the Sedalia trip with me someday. You'd get such a kick out of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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