Hey Ole! Watch it wiggle, watch it jiggle!
The trailboss says: My sister, Solveig, lives and works in Silicon Valley. She's busy getting ready for a month vacation in Belize, but she had time to drop this note to me about a virtual encounter she had recently with an inline skate enthusiast who saw her vehicle in the company parking lot.
Solveig writes:As you may know, I have a LeRoy, New York, "Birthplace of Jello" license plate holder on my van. Yesterday that van was parked on the Oracle parking lot in Pleasanton. A note was placed under the windshield wiper, requesting my relationship to LeRoy and signed by a Dan Kibler.
Solveig
Solveig
On 10/9/07, Solveig wrote to Dan:
We stopped at the Jello museum on a road trip and bought the license plate holder, along with a pair of boxer shorts that said "Watch it wiggle, watch it jiggle," for our son. I am from Alexandria, Minnesota, the Birthplace of America. I have returned many times to look for a license plate holder that would be the perfect complement to the Leroy holder, but alas, the Runestone Museum is not as enterprising as the Jello Museum. The staff at the gift shop and the Chamber of Commerce are polite to me, as all Minnesotans are, and say it is a good idea, but they do not make the license plate holder.
Clearly there are no doubts about Leroy being the birthplace of Jello, but some have doubts about Alexandria being the birthplace of America.
Bob Dylan was a believer, but didn't think Ole the Viking, a statue once displayed at the New York World's Fair, is an appropriate representation of the noble history. Perhaps too jestful, as is the Jello museum. If interested, read about Bob and the Vikings at
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/trminn.php?page=1 .
Solveig
Daniel Kibler wrote:
Man, that's a great article. It's also amazing that I have so many connections to it. Besides being a Dylan and U2 fan (not near as obsessed as the author), I've spent many nights in Red Wing and Hastings, working at the Prairie Island power plant. I never made the connection between Highway 61 there and the album. I've also been to Duluth, skating in the North Shore Inline Skating Marathon. Lastly I saw Big Ole at the New York World's Fair in 1965!
Jell-O was indeed invented literally 5 doors down the street from the house I grew up in and where my mother still lives. Most of the male relatives of my parents generation worked at "The Jell-O" at some point in their lives as did many of my neighbors. My grandfather and great uncle both worked there for more than 30 years. It was a real trauma to that little village to have the plant close and move to Dover, DE in 1964.
I don't think the Bob Dylan ever stopped by but I remember Bobby Kennedy speaking in front of the American Legion campaigning for the Senate.
Four years later he was dead.
I'll be back in Le Roy for Thanksgiving and will surely visit the Museum. One of the docents is the mother of one of my high school classmates, so I always get to catch up on her activities,
Thanks for sharing the Birthplace of America story and I hope you get back to Le Roy sometime.
Cheers
Dan
Clearly there are no doubts about Leroy being the birthplace of Jello, but some have doubts about Alexandria being the birthplace of America.
Bob Dylan was a believer, but didn't think Ole the Viking, a statue once displayed at the New York World's Fair, is an appropriate representation of the noble history. Perhaps too jestful, as is the Jello museum. If interested, read about Bob and the Vikings at
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/trminn.php?page=1 .
Solveig
Daniel Kibler wrote:
Man, that's a great article. It's also amazing that I have so many connections to it. Besides being a Dylan and U2 fan (not near as obsessed as the author), I've spent many nights in Red Wing and Hastings, working at the Prairie Island power plant. I never made the connection between Highway 61 there and the album. I've also been to Duluth, skating in the North Shore Inline Skating Marathon. Lastly I saw Big Ole at the New York World's Fair in 1965!
Jell-O was indeed invented literally 5 doors down the street from the house I grew up in and where my mother still lives. Most of the male relatives of my parents generation worked at "The Jell-O" at some point in their lives as did many of my neighbors. My grandfather and great uncle both worked there for more than 30 years. It was a real trauma to that little village to have the plant close and move to Dover, DE in 1964.I don't think the Bob Dylan ever stopped by but I remember Bobby Kennedy speaking in front of the American Legion campaigning for the Senate.
Four years later he was dead.
I'll be back in Le Roy for Thanksgiving and will surely visit the Museum. One of the docents is the mother of one of my high school classmates, so I always get to catch up on her activities,
Thanks for sharing the Birthplace of America story and I hope you get back to Le Roy sometime.
Cheers
Dan
Solveig respondsHow absolutely fun! Six degrees away, indeed! What are the odds of you seeing my license place holder since I as rarely as possible come into the office! Hope you like that PeopleSoft HRMS stuff. I work on Campus Solutions.
I love the Jello story, which underlines the importance of marketing.
If you have a great product, or even not so great product, the success depends on a gimmick. Jello played a huge part in my Minnesota childhood and subsequent coming of age, when I learned that a salad is actually about vegetables, not Jello.
Perhaps we walked past your mother's home, because I loved the neighborhood and insisted we take a walk.
Perhaps your classmate's mother was our tour guide who pointed out the jello-ometer instrument or who sold us our Jello souvenirs, such that you should see it in the Oracle parking lot. Afterwards, we fortified at the charming little D&R Depot Restaurant; I do hope you take your mother there once or twice.I've never read Liz' book on CA inline skating, but next time my Minnesota nephews visit, we can check out your website for the latest venues. Good to know. I personally am not a potential patron since I'm not even safe on a bike. amd so currently pursue water sports for a softer landing.
Enjoy your trip down the jello-brick road,
Solveig
