Mobile Mondays is all about examining fun trips in Arkansas. One of my favorite things in Arkansas is the Popeye statue in Alma.
It's an incredibly cheesy statue, but I love it. If you're a big Popeye fan, you can also check out the spinach can water tower that proclaims Alma the spinach capital of the world. The spinach can is found off U.S. 71 North and also proudly sports Popeye the Sailor man.
The first Popeye statue was built in 1987 out of paper mache and fiberglass. It was retired in 2007 and replaced with the great bronze statue you see in Alma's town square (Fayetteville Ave) today. The original statue is in a store called Kustom Kaps right up the street.
Why all the Popeye love in Alma? Alma is the home of Allen's Canning Company, which cans spinach. They are also the home to the Spinach Festival every year, normally around April.
Comments
Great statue! Is there still one in Springdale also? I saw it in 1988.
There is also an old Popeye statue in Crystal City, Texas.
There is a great one in Chester, Illinois, the boyhood home of Elzie Segar, the newspaper cartoonist who created Popeye for his “Thimble Theatre” comic strip.
The Official Popeye Fan Club has lots of information about Popeye. I invite everyone to visit them at http://www.popeyethesailor.com at your convenience.
Yes, there is one in Springdale, it’s because of Allen Canning too. For anyone interested, Roadside America has a lot of good photos of the various Popeyes:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/popeye.html
For me, it’s easy to forget how much of an icon Popeye was at one point in time (before my time, but my mom says he used to be invoked all the time to get kids to eat their veggies).
The most interesting thing about the Alma statue, to me, is that it was reconstructed in 2007. That means people care enough about Popeye to visit it today so that the powers that be thought it important to erect a new, fancy (expensive) statue. I am under the impression that most of the other Popeyes were constructed when Popeye was in his prime.
Thanks for the link!
Thanks! In addition to Popeye, Chester, Illinois is unveiling a new Popeye-related statue every year. They’ve done Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy and Castor Oyl. This year they will unveil the Sea Hag.
There is still a “Popeye” Sunday newspaper strip. My friend Hy Eisman produces it. It’s very popular abroad, but hard to find in the USA unless you get it on-line.
The Popeye animated cartoons and comic books were very popular with my generation (the “Baby Boomers”) and I wish they would make a comeback. Maybe they will. A new CGI “Popeye” movie is in the works right now.
I’m also involved with “Lum and Abner,” the 1931-54 Arkansas-based radio comedy program. Maybe you’re familiar with the little museum in Pine Ridge.