A Christmas Rhode trip: Rhode Island Christmas ornaments from My Little Town

We ran this post a few years back but it still applies today, so like A Charlie Brown Christmas and How The Grinch Stole Christmas, we hope you'll enjoy this holiday rerun.

The Big Blue Bug, outside Providence on I-95, mascot of Blue Bug Solutions

Haven Bros. Diner car, in downtown Providence

 

A Del's Lemonade truck, and my shot of one rotting away in North Kingstown

The magnificent Rustic Drive-In theater of Lincoln

There's a company in Rhode Island, www.mylittletown.com, that has turned some of the Ocean State's most beloved and quirky roadside attractions into delightful Christmas ornaments. Some of these sights have been chronicled by us at Eccentric Roadside and we thought we'd show you how well the ornaments replicate the real things. Local entrepreneurs Duke Marcoccio and his daughter Lauren run the business, and, as if that weren't impressive enough, they were also contestants on the CBS TV show "The Amazing Race" back in 2006. It's not too late to order these fine items for your or your loved-ones' trees. Nothing says Merry Christmas to kids from one to 92 like a pest control company's blue termite or an 1888 hot dog trailer. Now, everybody, sing with me: "Jingle Del's, Jingle Del's, Jingle all the way..."

Hot tin roof: The rooftop tin man of Warwick, Rhode Island

Just when I thought I had seen every kooky attraction our former Eccentric Roadside home base of Rhode Island had to offer, I had a delightful surprise on a trip back to the Ocean State. After returning my rental car at the T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, the skywalk coveyer-belted me past a whimsical tin man sculpture on the roof of the E & M Sheet Metal Company headquarters on Fresno Road. Little online information exists about this fellow, even from the learned scholars of all such things Debra Jane Seltzer and RoadsideAmerica.com, so I assume some mad, artistic sheet metal genius put this fine specimen together and got him up on the roof for all to admire. He makes a friendly greeter to all visitors who pass near Little Rhody's main airport, as if to say "Hey everybody, we're a little offbeat here in Rhode Island. Thanks for checking us out!" Or, in other words, Rhode Island is a little scrappy but we're not afraid to show our true mettle.

Stinging their praises: An update on Rhode Island's giant Exeter Scrap Metal scorpion

 A year and a half ago, we did a post about the giant green and yellow scorpion statue made out of old propane tanks, engine parts and other scrap metal castoffs that sits at the entrance of Exeter Scrap Metal in Exeter, Rhode Island, Eccentric Roadside's hometown (click here to read it). It took a little while, but just recently the legit Rhode Island press (The Providence Journal) also did a story about the place that went into much greater detail (unlike us, they actually talked to someone there) that answered all the burning questions ("who owns the place?" "why a scorpion?" "does he have a name?") we were too lazy...er, busy to ask.

Turns out the place is owned by a Mr. Kevin Gilligan, and the sculpture was created by various employees and family members and you can click here to read the full investigative report.

And we're sure when Thomas Jefferson said "The press is the best instrument for enlightening the  mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being," he meant stories about giant green and yellow scorpion statues.

Happy birthday James Woods

Hollywood legend and Warwick, Rhode Island native James Woods turns 66 today and we'd like to send him all good wishes. We've previously blogged about an Applebee's restaurant in his hometown that has a mini-shrine in his honor. Check it out here.

Stop in the name of spud

This just in: Rhode Island still has potatoes. Watch for the mash-up on YouTuber.

Pest wishes for the holidays

You know it's Christmastime in Rhode Island when the company formerly known as New England Pest Control (they're now called Big Blue Bug Solutions) lights up their giant blue termite on I-95 in Providence, and that's just what happened last night. He's known as Nibbles Woodaway, and he's festively decorated as a sort of red-nosed reindeer termite mutant, which would have fit nicely into a holiday sequel to the 1950s sci-fi classic "Them". Here's a mediocre video I shot of him a couple of years ago (he looks about the same this year). God bless us, every one.

The Horse Whiskerer: Providence, Rhode Island's tribute to the guy sideburns are named after

There's a park in downtown Providence, Rhode Island named after Ambrose Burnside, an industrialist, inventor, senator, governor and Civil War general from Rhode Island. Two things stand out about him: he was a pretty awful general and he had one heck of a face full of hair. Militarily, he's most known for the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Crater, two disastrous lulus that were primarily his fault. He had better luck as a fashion plate, though, because his facial hair became so famous that the term "sideburns" was derived from his name, Burnside. And Providence, being a forgiving and quirky place, has a statue of General Burnside on his horse and with his face resplendent with glorious whiskers that sits in his eponymous park.

This leads us to the conclusion that Providence is missing an eccentric roadside attraction opportunity. We propose there be a Sideburns Hall of Fame, to be erected in honor of Rhode Island's facially hirsute native son, and we've rounded up some charter inductees:

 The Beatles

 Crosby, Still, Nash & Young

 Duane Allman

 Elvis Presley

 Engelbert Humperdink

 Jerry Reed

 Ludacris

 Ray Manzarek

 Mike Nesmith

 Michael Palin

 Neil Young (I know he's up there in the CSNY photo, but his sideburns are AWESOME!)

 The Blues Brothers

Isaac Asimov

Gray matter: America's oldest general store closes

Anyone out there want to buy a really old country store in a charming little village? A place we blogged about last year has made the national news recently. Gray's General Store of Adamsville, Rhode Island, who bill themselves as the oldest general store in the country, has closed. They've been around since 1788 and the same family has run the place for seven generations, but the current owners can't keep the place going and are taking offers. It's a bit of a fixer-upper but it's still great, loaded with typical bric-a-brac and it's a shame to see it go. Here's our original post.

Heavy metal act: The giant scorpion of Exeter, Rhode Island

We've blogged about our adopted hometown of Exeter, Rhode Island and its rural, "there's no there there" vibe, so you can imagine our delight when we spotted a giant green and yellow scorpion made up of old propane tanks, engine parts and other scrap metal castoffs gracing the side of main-drag Route 3. Exeter is already an eccentric little place, what with the Middle of Nowhere Diner and Yahgoo Valley, Rhode Island's only commercial downhill skiing "mountain," but this really puts the town on the eccentric roadside attraction map. To those who ask why a predatory arthropod or why green and yellow, we would offer why put a smile on the Mona Lisa? An artist follows his muse, especially when he's got to use whatever materials he's got lying around. Our hats go off to Exeter Scrap Metal and the talented artist that put this roadside delight out there for all to drink in. You rock us like a hurricane.