18. Hannibal, Missouri

Jon and Jackie explore Hannibal, Missouri. It is the childhood home of Mark Twain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown.  They explore the Mississippi River, examine huckleberries, and discuss the fascinating Tom Blankenship.  Join them on their figurative steamboat and get cozy!

Jackie Reilly: Host
Jon Schaller: Host
Charles: Producer
Email: cozynookexplorers@gmail.com
Instagram: @cozynookexplorers

Daniel Roberts: Correspondent (instagram @danoffstage)

Community Shoutout:
Jim's Journey

Mentioned in this episode:
Hannibal Missouri Tourism
Big River Steampunk Festival
Hannibal Trolly Company
Somerset Valley Players
Haunted Hannibal Ghost Tours
Mark Twain Cave + Joseph Nash McDowell
Mark Twain Himself (show)
Highway 36 Genius Quilt Trail

Transcript

JACKIE: I’m Jackie 

JON: And I’m Jon 

JACKIE: And we are the cozy nook explorers!

JON: Welcome to our show where we explore the world from our cozy nook here in Southern CALIFORNIA using the power of the internet!

Jackie: Yes and it’s Wednesday which means it’s time for another exploration!

Jon:  And today we will be switching to a new format where we explore every other Wednesday.

Jackie:  Yes every other Wednesday for a while.  We are trying to keep it cozy over here and we’ve got a lot coming up over the next few months, so we wanted to make sure we continue to release quality episodes!

Jon: Yes, quality over quantity. And you can enjoy us at a cozier, more leisurely pace or catch up on older episodes that you haven’t listened to yet!

Jackie: Alrighty! So, today we are going to Hannibal Missouri! You know, Jon the closest I have ever come to being in Missouri are walking down Main Street, USA in Disney which is based off of the town Marceline, Missouri and the time I was in a community theater production of Tom Sawyer with the Somerset Valley Players! Have you ever been to Missouri, Jon?

Jon: No.

Jackie: Well we’re going today! And Hannibal specifically seems delightful!

Jon: Before we get into it, we have an- ASK CHARLES

Jon: question from our listener Daniel.

Jackie: Our producer Charles is a man of mystery, the Banksy of podcast producers and prefers to keep his personal life personal, but he has kindly agreed to answer some listener questions.

Jon: Daniel asked, “If he was Merry Mary quite contrary, how would his garden grow?”

Jackie: Hmmm interesting question.  Charles’ answer is with silver bells and seashells and beep beeps all in a row.

Jon: Do you know what he means by that?

Jackie: His answers are mysterious.

Jon: Alrighty- and one final bit of housekeeping before we go to Hannibal- what’s keeping you cozy Jackie?

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU COZY

JACKIE: Walking Lambchop. So, since we moved to California I’ve had the absolute joy of walking Lambchop, the cutest poodle to ever live. It’s been so much fun. She’s a great walker. We have a loop that we do where we walk up the street and around the cul de sac and back.  It’s so nice to get fresh air and watch her prance about!

• What’s the best time of day to walk Lambchop?
  • Morning or evening
• How long is Lambchop’s ideal walk? 
  • About 10 minutes. One time I tried to take her on a 20 minute walk and she was not happy with me. 

JON: Weights Covered In Foam

• How many pounds are your foam covered weights?
• What types of workouts do you like to do?

Let’s Get Into It

Jon: I want to begin our exploration of Hannibal Missouri by talking about a boy whom I had never heard of before.  His name is Tom Blankenship.  Now I am sure a lot can be said of him but I will give you a quote on what Mark Twain said of the boy.  He said quote “He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us.”

Jackie:  If this kid is starting to sound familiar it is because he was the inspiration for the main character in one of the most iconic novels in American History.

Jon:  The characters name and the novel are Huckleberry Finn

Jackie:  Actually The novel’s name is “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

 Jon:  You are correct and he grew up with Mark Twain in the town of Hannibal Missouri.

Jackie:  There is so much to explore in terms of Mark Twain like the fact that his name was originally Samuel Clemmons. And that was his name at the time when he lived in Hannibal.

Jon:  A more than significant portion of Hannibal Missouri today is dedicated to Samuel Clemmons.  As expected this location has a ton of spectacular views of the Mississippi River.

Jackie:  I thought we might switch gears before we get even deeper to the Mark Twain stuff and talk about another famous person who was born in Hannibal.  I am talking about Maggie Tobin.

Jon:  Well if you have heard of this person at all you would know her by her married name.

Jackie:  Actually if you have heard of her it would be by her title.

Jon:  Title?

Jackie:  Or nickname

Jon: Oh

Jackie and Jon:  The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Jon:  The first time I had heard of her was in the movie Titanic where Kathy Bates played her.

Jackie:  This woman was off the charts cool.  Not only did she survive the Titanic, but there was also a musical written about her!

Jon:  That is a bit confusing because there is a musical called Titanic but there is also a Musical called “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”

Jackie: There were TWO musicals written about her!

Jon:  Well Titanic is not about her but…

Jackie: TWO!

Jon: Nevermind.  The real life Molly Brown was a total rockstar.  While she was on Lifeboat 6 of the Titanic she was the only one who argued with Robert Hichens who was in command of the lifeboat to go back and rescue more passengers.

Jackie:  He refused because he was afraid the Titanic would cause suction and that would cause the lifeboat to sink.

Jon:  She then told him that she would throw him off the lifeboat if he didn’t go back and try to save some people.  

Jackie:  She was a huge philanthropist and not just with her large amount of money.  She also spent countless hours volunteering for a great deal of causes.

Jon:  And she grew up poor and her goal was to marry a rich husband then she meets and falls in love with JJ Brown who was unfortunately also quite poor.

Jackie:  She decides to marry him and then his mining company ends up striking it rich.

Jon:  And JJ Brown ends up becoming stupid rich.

Jackie: And that’s how she ended up being on the fancy shmancy part of the Titanic!  You can visit her childhood home while you’re in Hannibal! So now that we have veered off on two tangents-  Hannibal Missouri is about 10,534 acres which is about 21.1 Disneylands.

Jon: Hehehe.  And this place looks like Disneyland.

Jackie:  Well The Main Street USA portion, but not the rest.

Jon:  Well also the Steam ship

Jackie:  Ok, yes it does have SOME similarities.

Jon:  Those steamships come in handy because Hannibal is located on the western shore of the Mississippi River and is right on the edge of Missouri. When you look across the river you are actually looking at the state of Illinois.

Jackie: Hannibal was established in 1819 which is actually two years before Missouri would become a state. Like much of America, Hannibal, as well as the entire state of Missouri were developed and built using slave labor.

Jon: Right across the river, Illinois was a free state. You can literally stand and look across the river. 

Jackie: Before Hannibal was established, the area was home to the Mound Builders and Missouri Indians, but settlers took the land.

Jon: A lot of buildings from the 1800’s are still around today and they even have a historic Hannibal section of town. Part of this history is a place called lovers leap and along with this place is a story that is like a native american Romeo and Juliet.

Jackie:  In the story a boy and a girl from warring tribes that are in love choose to throw themselves off of a cliff next to the Mississippi River rather than be divided.

Jon:  You can visit where this supposedly happened now but they have graciously put up a guard rail to keep others from joining their fate.

Jackie: I want to talk about the Big River Steampunk festival! 

Jon: Should we take a quick break and talk about that when we get back?

Jackie: Yes! See you soon.

Ad: Foam Weights 

Dropey voice:  In every person there are at least two voices

Macho voice:  Two halves of a whole

Dropey voice:  A voice that says you probably shouldn’t do something

Macho voice:  A and voice that says you should do it so many times it will destroy you

Dropey voice:  Oh dear….

Macho voice: In the Gym I go hard

Dropey voice:  But my hands get very blistery after I do that 

Macho voice:  Are you afraid of some blisters?

Dropey Voice: Yes because they hurt and are unpleasant to others when I give handshakes

Macho voice:  Who cares about others?

Droopy voice:  I do which is why I use foam on my weights to make it more comfortable and to keep me from getting blisters

Macho voice:  That form is weak you are weak

Dropey voice:  Yes I am weak but that is the first step toward getting stronger

Macho voice:  Thats….., I mean you’re….., Your right I think I need to get some therapy

Dropey voice:  You do and you should try the foam on the weights

Macho voice:  Wow that does feel soft

Dropey voice:  Foam on weights soften the things that are hard.

Let’s Get Into It 2

Jackie: Ok, there’s lots of Steampunk festivals, but they are usually in convention centers. The Big River Steampunk festival takes place in Historic Hannibal, so everyone is dressed up super cool AND they get to walk around and be all old-timey and take old-timey pictures! 

Jon: That sounds neat.

Jackie: Yes! It sounds very fun! 

Jon: You can also visit Mark Twain’s boyhood home.  And right across the street you can visit the home of Laura Hawkins who is the real life Becky Thatcher from Tom Sawyer!  They have a sign on the front of the house that say Becky Thatcher’s house.

Jackie: AND did you know that Hannibal has an official Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher that walk around the town and talk to people in character???!

Jon: I’d love to run into them! Hannibal has lots of great tours and activities.

Jackie: There’s the Hannibal Trolly Tour that you can hop on and hop off of.

Jon: The Mark Twain River Boat ride on the Mississippi River!  Which takes you on those steamships we were talking about earlier.

Jackie: There’s the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse that was built for Mark Twain’s 100th Birthday! It’s not the original one because that was destroyed in a storm, but they rebuilt it and you can see that one. 

Jon: And then there’s the spooky tours!

Jackie: Yes, these are the tours that I might skip because they seem a bit too spooky for me.

Jon: First, there is the Mark Twain Cave! You can take a tour and see the cave that Mark Twain talks about in Tom Sawyer! They even discovered his signature inside of the cave in 2019. Oh- can I tell the story about that man and his daughter?

Jackie: Nope.

Jon: Alright- if you have a strong stomach look up Joseph Nash McDowell because he had an- um- interesting use for the Mark Twain cave in the late 1800’s.  This all happened in Cave Hollow Missouri which literally says in it’s population sign 6 people and a Cat.

Jackie: I’d love to meet that cat!  So, once you’ve gone on the spooky cave tour it’s time for the even spookier Haunted Hannibal Ghost tour! It’s a nighttime tour of historic Hannibal and you even go to a cemetery! It’s not the cemetery from Tom Sawyer though- that one no longer exists, but it still looks really neat and I bet it’s spooky at night! Too spooky for me honestly.

Jon: I’ll go on the tour. What will you do while I am doing the tour? 

Jackie: I’ll go to Becky’s old fashioned ice cream Parlor and get myself something yummy.

Jon: Good choice.  While you are on this Mark Twain kick you could check out the statue of Tom and Huck.

Jackie:  The statue of those two boys is incredibly lifelike

Jon:  And it is the first recorded statue of literary characters in history 

Jackie: Oh wow. Anything else? 

Jon: There’s Richard Garey’s Mark Twain HIMSELF Live Show where you can see a performance of Mark Twain! 

Jackie:  I could not find a bad review of his performance. I’d definitely like to see that. I love seeing shows and this one looks great and very unique! 

Jon:  Yes from the small excerpts that I have seen he is quite good. Anything else?

Jackie: You can buy huckleberry jam in Hannibal! I’ve never had a huckleberry, have you?

Jon: Nope, but I read that they taste like blueberries.

Jackie: Yum! Anything else?

Jon: The genius quilts!

Jackie: Oh yeah- the quilts! So, if you take Highway 36 from Hannibal to Saint Joseph you can see quilts that honor Missouri geniuses like Mark Twain and Walt Disney!

Jon: It’s amazing. So, you basically take a road trip to different shops and towns and the quilts are displayed in each of the shops.  They mark where these geniuses of northern Missouri lived or worked.  We will include a link to the roadmap. 

Jackie: What a fun road trip!! Anything else?

Jon: That’s it over here. We will be back with our community shoutout after a quick word from our sponsor. 

Jackie: See you soon.

Walking Lambchop:

Hey there Cozy Nook Explorers. Do you know what I just love? The Lammie Pajammie Walking Com-pani where dogs named Lambchop are taken on evening strolls. This company is groundbreaking in its specificity. I mean, it’s sole mission is to walk Lambchop in the evenings. They literally do nothing else. You might be asking how this company makes money? The answer- they don’t! They just take Lamchop for walks! That’s it. Fueled by love and treats, the Lammie Pajammie Walking Com-pani is all about Lambchop! Let’s get back to the show!

Community Shoutout/ Outro 

Jon: Every episode we like to research and highlight something special in the community that we are exploring.

Jackie: Today’s community shoutout is Jim’s Journey. 

Jon: Jim’s Journey is Hannibal, Missouri’s first african american history museum and the only African American history museum in Northeast Missouri.  Like many of the characters in Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the character of Jim was based on a real person and that man’s name was Daniel Quarles.

Jackie: According to their website, the museum’s mission is to honor Daniel Quarles' legacy and to glimpse at what life was like for him, his descendants, and other African Americans living in the 19th- and 20th-century Hannibal.

Jon: I think it’s such a great idea to use a classic story to help create an interesting and educational experience. 

Jackie: Agreed. This museum will definitely be on the top of my list when I get to visit Hannibal in person.

Jon: We will include their website in the show notes so that you can check it out.

Jackie: Well, that’s the show. Thank you so much to our producer Charles.

Jon: Thank you Charles. 

Jackie: And thank you to our correspondent Daniel Roberts!

Jon: Thank you Dan! And thank you to our listeners! It means the world that you take the time to listen to our show.

Jackie: If you’ve been enjoying the podcast it would mean the world to us if you took the time to rate us and write a review on Apple Podcasts! 

Jon: And just a reminder we are going to be switching to an every-other-week format for a little while, so our next show will come out in 2 weeks! 

Jackie: The best way to stay up to date on episodes new and old is our instagram @cozynookexplorers. 

Jon: You can also email us at cozynookexplorers@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or suggestions! We would love to hear from you! 

Jackie: We will be back in two Wednesdays with our next exploration.

Jon: Yes, on Wednesdays we explore!

Jackie: Stay cozy, and we’ll see you soon.