Talk about sparking people’s curiosity.
Right where Route 66 crosses the Missouri-Kansas state line near Galena, Kansas, just below the “Welcome to Galena” sign reads the message: “Home of the Sea Slug King of Kansas.”
Whaaa?
KSNF-TV in nearby Joplin, Missouri, has the explanation:
It started as a joke when Dale Oglesby thought he was purchasing just one sea slug, but ended up purchasing seven towable bladder sea slugs back in January.
Each one is about 65 feet long, 10 feet around, and 10 feet high.
After telling one person to another about having so many of them, he coined the name “Sea Slug King of Kansas”.
“It’s just one of those things. It’s just a small, small piece, but it’s it’s something that maybe people will slow down and ask some questions and give us an opportunity to interact with people from all over the world. And it is very effective, way more than I ever dreamed. I never, never saw this coming. It’s not about money. It’s about relationships with people,” said Oglesby.
Oglesby correctly noted that Route 66’s history is laced with unusual and strange things, so why not another?
Oglesby also was the mayor of Galena when he shepherded a big face-lift of the Route 66 corridor in Galena’s downtown in 2012. That led to businesses moving into that area after many moribund years in the once-prosperous mining town.
(Image of the “Welcome to Galena” sign at the Missouri-Kansas border via Cars on the Route)