Madonna!... Of the Trail

I tried to review a movie on two different occasions for “Might’ve Missed It” Monday Movie Review, but they were both so awful I fell asleep… And I didn’t have the time to try a third one… So instead we’re going to throw some Americana at you this fine Monday.

Bucket lists have become popular lately… People picking things they want to see and do before they kick the bucket… I can’t do a list, because every time I cross something off, I add four more things… It just keeps getting longer. 

It just happened again on my recent drive back to Texas from Colorado… I often map out trips ahead of time to see what bits of Americana I can see… World’s Largest Ball of Twine… Ferris Bueller's high school… A restaurant where they throw’d rolls at you.

And so it was on my drive home from Colorado… I had grand plans to find Cousin Eddie’s house from National Lampoon’s Vacation… Although in the movie, the house is listed as being in Coolidge, Kansas, my intel was telling me it was on U.S. 50 – East of Pueblo… It was on one of four potential routes home and the longest by an hour or so, so I was only going to give the search for Cousin Eddie’s house one shot due to time constraints… Although I saw a handful of houses that might’ve passed for Cousin Eddie’s house, none of them appeared to have the distinctive barnish building in back… I’ll have to get better intel next time and see if the building was knocked down or I just missed seeing it.

I didn't see the barn or Cousin Dale's stack of nudy magazines.

Side note:  John P. Navin Jr who played Cousin Dale was the very first customer shown on the very first episode of "Cheers"

Having missed my intended target on that part of the highway, I fired up the old Google search on the iPhone to see what I might find up the road… 50 percent of what I find is planned ahead, but about 50 percent is gleaned from Googling and driving (don’t tell Oprah)… When a sign says “Blank City 40 miles”, you just type in Blank City and see what comes up… I was approaching Lamar, Colorado and that’s when I stumbled on her… The Madonna of the Trail statue would be approaching in Lamar… Originally I thought it was “The” Madonna of the Trail statue, but it upon further research it turned out to be “A” Madonna of the Trail statue… One of a dozen spangling the roadsides from sea to shining sea.

The statues aren’t exactly marvels… Just 12-foot high granite statues of a Pioneer Mother with a baby in one arm and a young boy clinging to her apron and she appears to be packing heat with a shotgun in her free hand.

The Madonna of the Trail statue in Lamar, Colorado

Sculpted by August Leimbach, the statues were commissioned by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution with the idea that 12 identical statues would be placed along the “National Old Trails Road” which included Braddock’s Road (used by British soldiers during the French and Indian War), Columbia Pike, the Great Valley Road, Wilderness Road (used by Daniel Boone to cut across the Cumberland Gap), Cumberland Road, Santa Fe Trail and Oregon Trail… Later parts of the “National Old Trails Road” would become “Route 66”

In an interesting note, Judge Harry S. Truman was the chairman of the National Old Trail Roads Committee and was responsible for selecting the 12 locations... Nearly two decades before becoming president.

The first monument was erected on July 4, 1928 in Springfield Ohio… Over the next year 11 more were sprinkled throughout the US for a dozen across the board… Having seen one of the 12, I now want to see all of them as it will take me to all points of America… The other cites besides Springfield and Lamar include Bethesda, Maryland; Beallsville, Pennsylvania; Wheeling, West Virginia; Richmond, Indiana; Vandalia, Illinois; Lexington, Missouri; Council Grove, Kansas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Springerville, Arizona and Upland, California... Track them down yourself here.

With the exception of the one in Bethesda (East) and Upland (South), all of the Madonna’s are facing West.

While not marvels, they are very striking upon first appearance and serve as a fitting tribute to the Pioneer Women who faced unimaginable hardships.

So… There you go… The bucket list that doesn’t exist because it’s too long just got longer… 11 more places I need to see… Although the statues are identical, the towns and journeys to the towns are not.

And I still need to see Cousin Eddie's house.