According to an article last week in the Elk City and Sayre newspapers in Oklahoma, Harley and Annabelle Russell of the Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, Okla., entertained 57 members of the International Regional Magazine Association earlier this month.
The group was in Oklahoma City for the gathering, but drove a few hours west to check out the Harley & Annabelle, aka The Mediocre Music Makers.
The article contained interesting tidbits about the Russells’ summer:
The Russells have had their busiest year ever, with as many as four tour groups a day stopping at their Erick location.
“On August 2, we started the day early with a bus load from the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City and ended it after entertaining a group from Norway that arrived at 8 p.m.,” Harley said. “Annabelle and I are jogging and doing pushups trying to build up our stamina so we can put on shows our guests will never forget!”
Among their visitors this year was a documentary team sent by Al Gore to gather information about American small towns. An Irish television producer also filmed at the Sandhills Curiosity shop in 2007.
Pictures from the magazine association’s gathering at the Sandhills shop can be seen here and here.
“Among their visitors this year was a documentary team sent by Al Gore to gather information about American small towns.”
That’s awesome. Right now, I think Al Gore’s primary exposure to Oklahoma involves having to listen to the incomprehensible rantings of Jim “there’s no such thing as global warming — it’s just a huge coincidence that the planet has been having a hot flash since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution” Inhofe.
Personally, I would find it far less embarrassing if Harley and Annabelle were the first people Gore thought of when somebody mentioned Oklahoma….