If you are of a certain age, this is the Wild Bill Hickok you remember; the clean-cut TV hero played by Guy Madison. Well, today, in the rain, I stood on the exact spot where James Butler Hickok killed a man in 1868 in Springfield, Missouri. I hope you can read the disc. In fact let’s go to the second picture first. You can see the disc in the concrete next to the lamp post in the lower left of the picture. Looking straight ahead to the centre of the picture, is where Dave Tutt was standing when Wild Bill Hickok shot him. Tutt’s mistake? He had Hickok’s watch in a card game and didn’t give it back. The distance is about 75 yards; they say it was a remarkable shot with a handgun in the day. There is another disc over there where Tutt was standing when killed. My close-up of this disc, the top picture, actually came out better than I expected; I simply could not read it in the rain in the street in downtown Springfield, Missouri. I was going to alert the Chamber of Commerce.

This is a lovely public space in downtown Springfield.It’s graced by this waterfall. This is actually a square with city streets around it and branching off. Behind the fountain, you’re looking at St. Louis Street. The old building on the left, there aren’t many remaining in downtown Springfield. But the city has other attractions! If you go out to American Legion post 639, in the southwest quadrant of the city, you find some of the better monuments to those who served. One thing I have learned, is how many legion posts have a tank, a jet aircraft, a naval gun or something similar gracing the front lawn. But this post has more: a Huey helicopter and a Cobra from the Vietnam era, and the sail of the USS Lapon, an American nuclear submarine – a sub that holds the record for the most Soviet submarines trailed when it was in active service in the 60s, 70s, & 80s.

American veterans often seem to want everything preserved, especially the ships they sailed in, the tanks they drove and so on. There is quite an active discussion right now about saving the USS Enterprise, Americas first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, from the scrapyard. Because it’s nuclear powered, decommissioning will take years. But here we have a possible answer: if you can’t save the whole submarine, save the sail. If you can’t save the whole aircraft carrier, save the island. This American legion post used to be a Vietnam Veterans Memorial post, and that is the origin of the efforts to have these monuments here. So what else? Well, I stumbled across the Abu ben Adhem Shriners Temple just outside of downtown Springfield. It is a massive building, built in 1923. I think they hold roller derby in there these days, and probably concerts, conventions and more. It seats over 4000 for concerts. I love the arabesque construction.

And then there’s the “African Queen house”. These are the flukes you find when traveling, when you pick up the local newspaper in your hotel and find that a house where you are, has just gone on the real estate market. It is an interesting enough house that some feature writing is done about it.  The owner is said to have lost his parents many, many years ago and in trying to at least partially filled the void, he turned to Africa, and in apparently exquisite and overwhelming detail! I think if you were to Google this house you would find pictures of the interior; this, clearly, is as close as I could get. Oh by the way, the houses on the market for $8.9 million! That’s why I wanted to see it. Headed toward Joplin, Missouri for the night I detoured up to nearby Carthage, Missouri to find this freaky flying machine. Built in 1997, it’s an antique manure spreader and it’s important to know that. They’ve added some biplane wings, a propeller and a pilot and stuck it up out here in the country. I had to see it just because of the name – this is the “Crapduster”!In Joplin, I went out to the sprawling factory that is Heartland Pet Foods. Their dog food is sold under the brand-name “Blue Buffalo”; you may know it. The factory is guarded by this 7 foot bronze Airedale. Appropriately, his name is “Blue”. Finally, all that was left was a bite to eat. I thought from the sign that it was just a nice family restaurant where I could get a little something. I like to eat in locally owned shops as much as I can when I am on the road. What it turned out to be was one of the most remarkable steakhouses that I have encountered.

This is Wilder’s. The building wet up in 1908; the original Mr. Wilder had a pharmacy here and later a gentleman’s bar; then after that, upstairs, a bordello and bar… But from about 1922 until today the Wilder name has been on whatever business was operating here, legal or otherwise. Martha, the owner, gave me more history than I can remember for you here. And with both Martha and my waitress Susie, I learned about their attention to quality. For instance, their meat comes from a packer only about 80 miles away in Springfield. I didn’t learn about their beef, but I know that their pork comes from Berkshire hogs, and that’s pretty remarkable for a restaurant. They even know that the hogs they get specifically come from Iowa. I think that’s the kind of attention to detail in food preparation that means you’re going to have a pretty good meal.

By the way, the sign on the front of the building is the original 1940s or 50s sign as far as I know. But the sign on the roof, another story. This restaurant is about three blocks south of Route 66. Mr. Wilder designed the sign on the roof for the roof; those arrows flash, and the purpose is simple – to get the attention of the motorists on Route 66.  They say it worked very well.

Off to bed; lots to see tomorrow. I’m finding so much extra stuff, and meeting such nice people, that I’m starting to rethink how much time I can give to Oklahoma City. But there will be things to see.