“Where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended”, is the first paragraph of St. Jo’s travel & tourism site. A lot of great people and things have come from St. Joseph! Walter Cronkite, Jany Wyman, Ruth Warrick, and Eminem were all born there.

It is known for it’s tourism related to the Wild West, and hosts a multitude of museums, tours, hotels and events!

During the 1800’s California Gold Rush, the city promoted itself as the gateway to the West which worked- over 150,000 people passed through the streets of St. Joseph to set off in search of gold. Gold hunting supplies were widely traded in the city.

Yes- St. Joseph’s Aspirin was manufactured in St. Joseph. Today the city is home to Western Missouri State University, and more than 5,000 students. At St. Joseph, you can attend a variety of arts and cultural events, take part in excellent shopping and dining and if you still have energy- an historic walking tour of the architecture.

Situated about 30 miles northwest of the Kansas City metropolitan area, it is referred to as “St. Joe’s” for short. There are about 74,000 people living there- and their radio stations, (mostly Christian), begin with a K. (Where does that line exist?)

If I went to St. Joseph, I would make sure to visit the Glore Psychiatric Museum! It is amazing what things have been done to try to help the insane. I mean- there is a human size hamster wheel there!!!!

Thanks for stopping by, St. Joe!

View Larger Map

This past weekend fuzziebutter.com was visited by someone in Bay Minette, Alabama who found their way here thanks to twitter! I don’t know who you are but I took the liberty of finding out about your town!

In the process, I made friends with city librarian, Joanna Bailey, who was a most entertaining, friendly and fun person! She took a few minutes to speak to me on the phone after a busy afternoon of the Bay Minette Browsers club meeting. It’s a book club that meets at the library and today they discussed Water for Elephants. (I heard it was good!).

Bay Minette, population roughly 7750, is situated about 26 miles northeast of Mobile, Alabama. It lies on a river delta, very close to the Gulf of Mexico.

First of all, let me compliment you, Bay Minetters, on your lovely accent. It’s not an Appalachian twang- it’s a rolling southern drawl that is mesmerizing and contagious!

Bay Minette is the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama. The story of how this town became the county seat endeared it to me forever! You see, the Bay Minette became the county seat in 1900 with a little bit of middle of the night trickery, and has remained the county seat ever since.

Librarian Joanna Bailey remembered affectionately adventures of her past on the delta, taking photos in her father’s boat and how easy it can be to get lost on the tributaries. All alone, (and without a cellphone), I would have been an hysterical mess but Joanna pulled it together and found her way back to civilization- probably with some amazing photos!
We joked about the weather- Joanna proclaimed that “Joo-Lie” and August are humid and HOT! But guess what? She’s never had a White Christmas! After some reflection, I think I convinced Joanna she really doesn’t want a White Christmas since that would mean three months before and after completely snow filled! She couldn’t imagine the perma-snow we deal with here in New York! Laughingly, Joanna told me about wearing shorts on Christmas Day and watching the SnowBirds come from the north. That would be we northerners who escape to the south for six months a year! I told her one day that would be me!!!

For fun, people spend a lot of time on the river or beach, as they are blessed with some of the most beautiful beaches in America in Baldwin County.

Snooping around the internet, I see that people are concerned with activities for youth and drug use. Some do feel there is a gang problem in this community. Unfortunately, I can’t find a place in America that doesn’t have the same problems.

Baldwin County has been putting together an Oral History Project, and you can click here to view a short interview with a life long resident.

Bay Minette was first settled by the French and was named after a French woman. It was located at the mouth of Bay Minette Creek. The city was actually relocated with the construction of the railroad in 1861. History of Bay Minette includes a Yellow Fever outbreak in 1878. A book printed in 1921 calls Bay Minette’s principal industry turpentine, with 10 plants located in the eight square mile city.

It looks like there are some cool parks in the city.
And as one resident put it in an online forum:
“Hey- at least we have a Wal-Mart

Joanna told me about her experiences with hurricanes, (something I could not fathom!). I found this photo online of some very scary clouds snapped by a local resident and submitted to the news station.

In closing, I’d like to thank my Bay Minette visitor and welcome all my NEW Bay Minette visitors who stopped by to say HOWDY and see what I had to say about their town! Please leave a comment if you’d like!