Saturday, May 31, 2008

Dogpatch Trading Post

Those who were appalled by my soapboaxing on the Li'l Abner Motel entry, rejoice: I'll be brief on this one. It's simply another cherished (by me) example of those good ol' days when the hillbilly meme ruled the world.

Since 1950, this wacky barn in London, KY has been home to the most god-awful gag gifts and hillbilly tourist tack imaginable, bless its pea-pickin' heart. Named after the locale in which the hillbilly comic strip Li'l Abner is set, the Dog Patch Trading Post is still the #1 purveyor of Americana-flavored delightful crap such as coal sculptures, ersatz Native American "dream catchers", Elvis posters, Confederate Flags, weird shot glasses, faux-rustic furniture, and a parking lot full of bizarre concrete lawn ornaments for sale (which in itself is worth the drive). There are lots of interesting Outsider-Art wood sculptures and totem poles. You can also have your picture taken with your head protruding from a hilariously crude painted hillbilly body.

We love the Dogpatch Trading Post. You will too. You'll come for the John Deere lunchboxes, you'll stay for the country ham.

Or, you can visit them on the web at dogpatchtradingpost.com.

1 comment:

J.T. Dockery said...

Proud owner of several belt buckles purchased at Dog Patch Trading Post, speaking (of course, I always regretted not purchasing the plate-sized tribute buckle to Hank Williams, the likes of which I've never seen since). Often travelling from next door Jackson County with the family to the "big city" of London, as a kid, I always perceived DPTP as a mecca indicative of the finer nuances of civilization itself. Well, okay, I still feel this way.