I see some pretty interesting stuff in my travels. It’s always fun to see how a town describes itself. You’ll see a sign announcing that this is the “home” or the “birthplace” of somebody or something. Other times they may have the “first” or “oldest” of something.

Somers, New York is a little upstate town about fifty miles north of New York City. It announces to approaching visitors that it is the “Birthplace of the American Circus.” They claim that PT Barnum assembled his first circus there, although Barnum’s home city, Bridgeport, Connecticut, makes a similar claim. The Somers town hall is in an old landmark, The Elephant Hotel. In front is their landmark flagpole with an elephant on top.

Further up the Hudson Valley, about three hours further up, you can visit the “Birthplace of the American Navy” in Whitehall, New York, on the New York/Vermont border. This land-locked town seems like an odd place for a navy, until you remember the great naval battles of the Revolutionary War which were fought on nearby Lake Champlain.

Not only is Indiana, Pennsylvania the “Birthplace of Jimmy Stewart,” it’s also the “Christmas Tree Capital of America.” Maybe they went with the trees before they knew how big Jimmy Stewart would be. When you visit the Jimmy Stewart Museum (Yes, I did.), the entrance hall is decorated with an “It’s a Wonderful Life” mural and lined with Christmas trees. I didn’t think to peek, but those year-round trees must be artificial.

I’ve been to two towns claiming to be the “Birthplace of Memorial Day,” Waterloo, New York (near Syracuse) and Boalsburg, Pennsylvania (near State College). Bet you a buck they both prefer May 30th over the new-fangled Memorial Day on Monday. Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania, about twenty miles north of Philadelphia, doesn’t claim to be the birthplace of anything, but the statue by the road looks very familiar. If you can visualize the patriotic painting, “

Washington Crossing the Delaware,” you know what I saw, and you also realize how this place got it’s name. The little nearby bridge is convenient for a one minute (round trip) stroll over to New Jersey. George Washington probably did not have time to unfurl his flag when he was on this water.

Candy factories are on my list of personal landmarks. I’ve driven past Necco Wafers (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Peter Paul/Mounds (Waterbury, Connecticut), Hershey (Hershey, Pennsylvania), and Mallo Cups (Altoona,, Pennsylvania). Boyer Candy, that’s the Mallo Cup company, has an outlet store right at the factory. I’ve been there twice.

I’ve been to a few futon factories too, but I’m not sure if any qualify as landmarks. Most futon people have been constantly growing, relocating and changing so frequently that it’s hard to think about “landmarks”.

Now that the futon business is getting older and more established, maybe we should have our own landmarks. Things like “Birthplace of the Futon Cover,” or “Oldest Futon Store in America,” or “First Futon Maker to use Foam.” Unfortunately, I have no idea where any of these landmarks should be. Help?

You can reach Dave Garretson at 91 Running Brook Lane, Rochester, NY 14626, by phone at 716-720-9636, or e-mail me and I’ll get him the message (jtatulli@rtppub.com).— Editor