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Hell’s in Michigan. Tightwad is in Missouri and Rabbit Hash in Kentucky. So here we go!!
By Christine Champ for MSN City Guides
By Christine Champ for MSN City Guides
Ever tried naming your neck of the woods? If the history of more than a few names on a U.S. map is any measuring stick, it seems the less serious thought that goes into a title, the more memorable the result.
Hell, Mich./>You should go to Hell, really. It has a Web site. Bikers seem to love it.
John Colone, president of Hell’s Chamber of Commerce, tells this mischievous myth of Hell’s birth. Founder George Reeves ran a multi-purpose flour mill/whiskey still on the banks of what’s now Hell Creek.
When anyone would ask his wife, “where’s your husband,†she’d exasperatedly exclaim,
“Ahh, he’s gone to Hell!â€br
“You can name it "Hell" for all I care.â€
Colone started buying up Hell in 2001. From his hellacious imagination arose the Hell Country Store and Scream's Ice Cream parlor (try the buttersnot).
The Dam Site Inn serves Hell brews to visiting and local hellions—the latter count a mere 72 souls. For anyone who vowed it would be a cold day in Hell when they got married, a wedding chapel damns couples year ‘round—even in winter, when Hell (ignore the hearsay) can freeze over.
The annual Blessing of the Bikes draws nearly 70,000 road warriors a year. But Hell remains a “family-oriented business,†Colone insists.
What’s its like running Hell? Well, says Colone, “I spend very little on advertising.â€
Underworld Rumor: Eric, an ice scream scooper from Hell, will compete in this Fall’s Survivor
Chicken, Alaska
Chicken, Alaska, is an ode to poultry plain and simple. Well Alaskan chicken, or ptarmigan to be exact. Gold miners made many a meal of the abundant fowl in the 1800s. In 1902, when the new post office required a label,settlers proposed Ptarmigan. Alas, no one could agree on the correctspelling. Not wanting to be the butt of jokes, they agreed to keep it simple. So Chicken it was, and is.
It’s a good thing too, according to part-time Chicken resident, gold miner and owner of the Chicken Gold Camp, Mike Busby; If it wasn’t for the name, he says, the town “probably would have died out long ago.†The permanent population numbers a scant 17.
During peak season—mid-May to Labor Day—tourists land in busloads, and a summer crop of miners adds to the mix. There’s no running water, phone service, central plumbing, public electricity or (gasp) Internet.
You will find a 100-year-old post office, a saloon, two restaurants, a ghost town, and a gift shop brimming with "fowl" humor: “I got laid in Chicken, Alaska.†Chicken Stock, a plucky summer music fest, launched last year.
Not impressed by poultry puns or chicken kitsch? How about gold? It still glitters in the waters of this wilderness. Pan for your own prize at Busby’s Gold Camp.
Tightwad, Mo.
Referred to by its neighbors as a “bump in the roadâ€, Tightwad’s current claim to fame is—here’s a twist—its bank. A branch of UMB Bank, it opened in 1984 and drew customers—mostly outside Tightwad—tickled to have checks stamped “Tightwad Bank.†At its peak deposits totaled nearly $3 million. As its fame waned, profits dove. Last year, the bank closed. Its fortunes,however, might soon turn. Recent news reports a Kansas bank hopes to open a branch there.
More to come later!
posted on May 3, 2008 11:24 AM ()
I love that...
Brilliant post 
Too funny Red!! I love your posts!!
Makes me think about the two towns near Lancaster, PA...Intercourse and Paradise. The joke was you needed to go through the former to get to the latter.
good post. and funny. comedy runs in our fam damily,cuz.reguards
yer got my handbasket packed pal
bugg
I have a friend who was born in Hanging Dog, North Carolina. Wonder how that town got its name???
Great read!! Thanks.
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