From the email in-box: Show Boat Service, Hastings NE

 

Here's a classic roadside site - an inland ship!  There were/are quite a few of these, but they rarely survive.  This one was located on Showboat Road, just East of Hastings NE, and there's hope that it'll come back again - an amazing new complex is being built at this former intersection, focused on people who actually race (see website: Motorsport Park Hastings) and enjoy cars and history.  Rumor has it that the Show Boat may come back in one of the race park!  Way-to-go, George, in revitalizing this section of Hastings!

 

From the email inbox: big nerds?

From: PFF
H. is obsessed with you and what you do. She loves your website and your tshirt and has asked for one for her next birthday. She still remembers your world's largest Nerd. It helps that she is enamored with all things candy, and the concept of a "world's largest" Nerd blows her 8 year old mind. She got a pack of Nerds in her stocking and immediately starting putting the big ones in a baggie. She wants to know how big they are compared to your record Nerd.

And, hey, if any of them is bigger - do you wanna buy it? Every day she looks at the baggie of potential record-sized Nerds and her mouth waters. She can't hold out much longer....the little sugar junkie.

WLT On the Road

We're out of the office over the holidays, Dec. 22 - Jan. 1. But, when there's internet access we'll update!

Happy Holidays, Drive Safe, and have a Big New Year!

-Erika Nelson
-Rachel Wilson

Why World's Largest Things Loves Lucas Kansas

Advantages of basing your operation in a small town:

1. When you call the fire department because a limb has pulled the power line away from the house (but not disconnected) creating a brilliant display of sparks and arcs just feet away from the business computers, you can watch the volunteer firemen get into the trucks and speed over from the station just two blocks away.

2. When your utilities are impared by bad weather, the City Crew will hunt you down and tell you how things are going

3. The folks at the bank will explain everything about an account, no matter how small, and address your concerns immediately (especially when it comes to stopping a check written to a fraudulant slam/scam solicitation). And they'll ask how the fire went.

4. The printer doing your newsletters won't hesitate to call you to proof it on the press, after making sure the sparks from the electrical box haven't started a fire in the wall (see #1 above).

5. The postmaster knows you by name, and will also take the time to research and explain options available for mailing as a Non-Profit entity, even sending a copy of your newsletter to their head office for design advice, complying with postal codes for smooth delivery. And, she'll ask how the fire went.

6. They'll read Weekly Whats Large Where out loud at the Assisted Living center every week, from the paper printed by #4 above, and make sure to ask how the fire went at the next Chamber of Commerce meeting.

7. You can look out the window at the folk art environment next door after a winter storm, help clean up broken limbs, and have your own limbs removed by the time you get home by an anonymous person. And the other people removing limbs will ask how the fire went.

8. The folks at the cafe will tell the story of the World's Largest Thing in town better than the people who made it happen (#2 above), and they'll ask about the fire.

9. With internet service (provided by the same people who donated the substrate for Lucas's World's Largest Thing), geography no longer matters, and you can enjoy the quality of life afforded by Small Town living, while still keeping connected with the global marketplace.

World's Largest Things Loves Lucas!

Postcards on their Way to Members!

"Being a Member Has its Priveleges..." What commercial is that from - American Express? Well, it's just as apt for World's Largest Things, Inc. Postcards to members went out today, so supporters of World's Largest will be some of the FIRST to get their hands on the NEW Souvenir Travel Plate postcards!

Wish you were one of the lucky recipients? Become a Member Today!

Mailing lists

...working on updating the Mailing list for the upcoming "Big Idea" distribution. Had a short interruption while branches knocked out power here and there throughout Lucas, and ripped the service line out of World's Largest Things headquarters. Service re-established at 10:30 today, so only lost a day of productivity!

-RW

Upcoming Speaking Engagement

Phone confirmation of yet another Kansas Humanities Council Speakers Bureau speaking engagement for World's Largest Things and Roadside Attractions!

The folks at Park City are already planning ahead for 2008, with a WLThings talk scheduled for November 8th. More info as the time draws near!

Postcards arrived, delivered...

Now you can find World's Largest Souvenir Travel Plate postcards in retail stores! If you live in close proximity to Lucas, that is...

They arrived Friday, and were separated and delivered Monday before the ice storms swept through the area. Featured businesses with World's Largest:

Kansas Originals Market, Wilson KS
Little Kansas Village Lines, Lincoln KS
Home Oil Service, Lucas KS
K-18 Cafe, Lucas KS
Garden of Eden, Lucas KS
Grassroots Art Center, Lucas KS

And, of course, World's Largest Things home office, Lucas KS!

Big Idea

Winter newsletter, Vol. 1 Issue 2 - being printed now! 

They were originally scheduled for November, but that just didn't happen. We're still recovering from a computer crash that killed the templates (and mailing lists!) from Vol. 1 Issue 1 of "Big Idea", but have finally redesigned in the favored format.

New this year is the use of a local printer, trying to keep rural life sustainable and keep World's Largest Things, Inc. connected to the wonderful town it's based in... So, it's on the desk at Lucas Publishing, slated for this week (Dec 10 - 14) for printing.

Members, you'll ge getting yours soon! Others, Become a Member to join the club.

Thank you for your continued support!
-Erika

Swedish World's Largest Things in the making...

from the Etc. section...

from the December 4, 2007 edition of the Christian Science Monitor

OK, that problem is solved

By most accounts, there isn't much reason to travel to Västerbotten or Norbotten, two of Sweden's northernmost counties. Oh, the occasional tourist comes for whitewater rafting, but the region "is in the middle of nowhere, so no one knows about it," says Thorbjörn Holmlund. He's a tourism promoter and admits there have been days when "I've come close to crying." But now he can foresee a bright future. Why? It's all due to a vote last week by Norbotten commissioners, approving of a moose. But not just any moose. This one will be man-made – of wood – and construction could begin any day now. In a place already teeming with the real thing, how is a man-made moose going to close the tourism gap? Well, it will straddle a mountaintop on the boundary between Västerbotten and Norbotten, with its forelegs in one county and its hindquarters in the other. It also will be as long as it is high: 150 feet. An equally tall man-made "pine tree" beside it will contain an elevator that lifts visitors to the entrance, the critter's mouth. From inside, there will be spectacular views of the countryside below, and in the – ahem – belly of the beast will be a restaurant, a 350-seat concert hall, a conference center, and, of course, a gift shop. The project is projected to cost $9.4 million. After that vote by the commissioners, Holmlund told journalists, "My whole body is shaking with joy."

WLT Board Meeting

December 1, 2007 - Always a grand time! Agenda:

Board Meeting December 1st, 2007

Things to Talk About - Last meeting August 7th

Good response from last mailing. Will see updated member list and renewals

Treasurer's report: More coming in than going out! Established banking relations with Pony Express Community Bank, Lucas. Will update everyone and have books on hand

Gerstenslager: Updates?

Web: Took advice about Blog - working out well. Re-designed home page and Press pages (Rachel). Blog also serves as a Value Added Feature for Members - archiving Weekly Whats Large Where columns

Grants: Slogging through Grants dot Gov site. Advisory Board member keeping up with non-profit information sources (Nancy Jo). Secret Biz Site a Gem! Erika, Slacker.

Workshops: Erika is attending some great workshops from the Arts Council, including Fundraising wkshp. on Nov. 30th in Wichita. Attended a Foundations workshop in October, convinced Chamber of Commerce to order Kansas Foundations resource. Attended Media Workshop with the National Scenic Byways council, director passed along a great book - will bring...

Promotion: TV - lots lately, some more coming up. Postcards - Just designed some for WLT and Lucas community featuring the WL Souvenir Travel Plate, ordering now. Newsletters - December in the works, working with local printer for tabloid size, office supply copy place for inserts. Will be out mid-December. Tees - Reprinted old design, working on a WLTravel Plate design for Spring '08

Affiliations: KS Arts on Tour Roster for FY '09 - '11, KS Humanities Council Speakers Bureau FY '08 - '10, KS Sampler Festival '08?

That's whattIgot... RW and EN