USA Byways
Archives Spring/Summer 2007

Story Highlights
• Green chili sloppers from Pueblo, Colo., aren’t for the weak of stomach
• Visit the Music Valley Wax Museum in Donelson, Tenn.
• Fried Bologna Burgers are what's cooking at Schindler's Tavern in New Hamburg, Mo.

Hop on any byway or backroad in this great country of ours, and you’re bound to find treasures. Whether it be an unusual local dish or diner, a wacky attraction or a far-out bit of local lore, there’s no shortage of trivial treasures to be found on the road less traveled. For the curiously adventurous, the detour has always been the best part of the trip.

Slop It Up

Green chili sloppers from Pueblo, Colo., aren’t for the weak of stomach. But for those who can brave the heat and the indigestion, it’s an incomparable treat.

The traditional dish, found in the old, family-run taverns of Pueblo, may sound mundane, but folks here adopt an almost reverential tone when describing it.

The slopper was developed as yet another excuse for Puebloans to consume green chili, and is a concoction of meat, tomatoes and
lots – and we mean lots – of green chili peppers.

To build your basic slopper, you place half a hamburger bun in the bottom of a bowl, add a cooked hamburger, pour on some steamin’ hot green chili, sprinkle on shredded cheese, and toss in as many jalapenos and onions as you dare.

Your Photo With Dolly Parton

If you want a guaranteed picture with Dolly, Hank or Willie, your best bet is to visit the Music Valley Wax Museum in Donelson, Tenn.

“People love to make a picture with so-and-so. They say it’s the closest they’ll get to seeing a star,” says Buddy Messer, the museum’s manager.

The wax museum currently has 54 figures on display. As you enter the museum, you’ll see a replica of the Grand Ole Opry stage with Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff and Porter Wagoner at the microphone. Other figures include George Jones, Hank Williams Sr., Loretta Lynn and Barbara Mandrell.

Several country stars’ cars are also here, including Elvis Presley’s limousine.

Poultry in Motion

Harrison County, Ind., began an annual festival in 2003 called Cockadoodle Days as a simple way to officially end the summer. The event that occurs on the fourth weekend of September takes place at the Harrison County Fairgrounds and features live music, games, activities and, of course, chicken dinners.

The festival was the brainstorm of the Harrison County Convention and Visitors Bureau, which wanted a way to recognize the community’s poultry industry. That industry includes a Tyson Foods processing plant (the county’s No. 2 employer) and numerous farmers who grow chicken feed.

Tennessee in Mississippi?

Perhaps the most famous citizen in Columbus, Miss., history was Thomas Lanier Williams, better known as Tennessee Williams.

The famed playwright who penned The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was born March 26, 1911, in Columbus, and his birthplace now serves as a Mississippi Welcome Center.

As for his unusual name, Williams gave several reasons for changing it to Tennessee when he was in his 20s. He was given that nickname when he joined a theater group in Memphis, and he thought the name would make him stand out in literary fields – not to mention the fact that his father was born in Tennessee.

Fried Bologna Burgers?

Schindler’s Tavern in New Hamburg, Mo., has a unique menu item: fried bologna burgers. They sell for $3 regular, $5 for a double.

Other menu choices at Schindler’s include hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, hot wings, popcorn chicken and BBQ. Customers can even order gizzards and chicken livers at $2.85 a plate. All food items are listed on the menu that is aptly named “Schindler’s List.”

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