Adventure #93: Springfield, MO

Here's a fun(ish) fact: for a good chunk of the route from Springfield, MO to St. Louis, MO I-44 is both the site of old Route 66 and the Trail of Tears. As a fan of diners, vintage cars, and unusual roadside attractions, I'm obviously in favor of Route 66. As a person who is generally opposed to racism, genocide, and forced relocation, I'm not really down with the Trail of Tears. But these are both parts of American history that have had profound impact on our national identity, and for better and for worse we can't have one without the other. For a few hundred miles occupying the same space are the relics of one of the best periods of American history and one of the worst. It's understandable that most places along I-44 want to engage with the positive. Our ancestors did some really really fucked up things and we've done nothing to fix it in the 150 years since. So we celebrate those hundred miles with nostalgia and kitsch, but feel obligated to put up a little plaque demarcating the site of atrocity. Please note the font sizes. This is Pen Pen and some serious tonal confusion.

What's a local history museum to do? I had been driving for 4 hours and the gas gauge wouldn't shut up. A general lack of interest in running out of gas brought me to Springfield, MO around lunchtime with a few hours to spare. I found myself in a cute downtown area. A beautiful square surrounded on all sides by bars, music venues, and coffee shops. And of course, the Springfield History Museum. (The statue of Jebediah Springfield was conspicuously missing. I assume it was off getting the head re-attached.) It was the kind of park that were I the sort of person to occupy public space as a means of political protest I'd pitch all sorts of tents in. This is Pen Pen totally not planning anything.

The history museum hits the same jarring tone as the highway. 6 rooms devoted to lovingly recreating the hotels, diners, and service stations of 1930's – 1950's Springfield. The most mundane details preserved for posterity. This rusted oil can was in use in 1936! This is a genuine tray from a local diner! This bed was once slept in by President Taft's nephew's wife's 2^nd cousin! And then on the other side of the museum (away from everything else on the other side. In parentheses. Quotated...) was a single room devoted to both slavery and the Trail of Tears. Way to be economical about space guys! This is Pen Pen trying in vain to order a veggie burger... (ugh fine, do you just have a black bean burger then? What do you mean you don't have avocado??!)

And I don't blame them for wanting to tout all the great things about Springfield while diminishing the negative. Local history museums often act as town propaganda. They're not there for locals to engage with their history, so much as they are for tourists to discover that town. And most towns are more likely to attract tourists and thus revenue for the town with something fun and exciting than a giant bummer. (Bummersville, Kansas obviously being the exception.) But the fact that I understand why they do it doesn't mean I also don't think it's fairly disingenuous. The bad parts of our history are really bad, and when we pretend they didn't happen, or gloss over them, we run the risk of doing them again. And a local history museum is in the unique position of being able to tell the stories of the individuals—the locals—who were effected or involved or complicit. The story of 60,000 dead Cherokee is so vast and horrible, it's hard to relate to. The story of one family from just down the street is relatable. But instead? An entire room devoted to meticulous documentation of the evolution of the logo of a local trucking company. Three little plaques about the previous inhabitants of the area and a handful of arrowheads. This is Pen Pen just glad no-one will ever have to not know what this one hotel looked like in the mid 50's.

So tout the good things about your town, like it's famed monorail! Be proud of its role in naming and christening the Mother Road! Springfield, Springfield, it's a hell of a town! But don't avoid the issues of the bad stuff either. The past is only dangerous if we avoid it, because it leads to us continuing to do the same wrong. Keep the Route 66 stuff, but the incredibly complicated and difficult issues of slavery and Native American genocide deserve at least equal space in the conversation. This is Pen Pen embracing the theme of tonal confusion and totally changing the subject by singing the monorail song.

This is the monorail song.