Splitsville: The International Banana Museum of Hesperia, California slips out of town

Sing us a song, you're the Banana Man: Ken "Bananister" Bannister

Bill Clinton was a fan

I'm guessing she goes by the nickname Chiquita.

When we visited Ken Bannister's International Banana Museum in Hesperia, California last January, little did we know we would be some of the fruity depository's last patrons before, according to the L.A. Times, Bannister sold his 17,000-item collection, lock, stock and banana peel, to a Mr. Fred Garbutt, who plans to open a new museum next to his liquor store in North Shore, on the edge of the Salton Sea. Bannister, or Bananister as he referred to himself, was something of a local legend, amassing his collection over 38 years and appearing in national magazines and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Apparently he wasn't legendary enough for the town of Hesperia, though, who had been letting him house his collection in one of their buildings for the last four years. He was thrown out on his banana-fanna-fo-fanny and forced to store his stuff in his garage until it drove him, er, bananas and he decided to sell the whole bunch to Mr. Garbutt, who plans to add some a-peel to his liquor store by next January. So here's to Mr. Garbutt, California's new top banana: may all your endeavors be fruitful.