Mosaic Monday #114: Road Trippin', Part VI

It has been almost three months since we completed our autumn road trip, but I have more memories and stories to share.  We pick up on October 22, having left the creature comforts of the Utah home of my brother and his wife (see post here).  Our initial destination?  The Museum of Clean, Pocatello, Idaho.  Say what?  A museum about cleaning?  I had the same reaction when I first saw it listed on TripAdvisor.  As I read further, I learned the museum actually presents many dimensions of clean through art, displays, exhibits, print and participation.  Clean dominates the value of everything that affects life - like clean air, clean water, clean language, clean beds, floors, teeth, arteries - the list goes on!  It is not a cleaning museum, it is a museum OF clean.  My curiosity was piqued; I had to see it for myself!

We were greeted by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable docent.  He explained that the museum had been created by Don Aslett, founder of Varsity Contractors, a cleaning company.  He described the layout of the 74,000 square-foot facility, and I could sense straightaway that this is not your average museum -- I anticipated that we would be thoroughly entertained, and I was not disappointed.  For example, one display told the story of Bill Zickgraf, who worked for Don as an outhouse cleaner at Sun Valley Ski Resort.  Despite the fact that he did know how to ski, Bill came on board after Don went through 14 skiing toilet scrubbers.  As he learned to ski the hard way, Bill's attitude and pride in his job soon made him the most famous person on the mountain.  Indeed, the only rivals for prestige and status were the square-jawed heroes in the Ski Patrol, with their bright red jackets sporting the big emblem of two crossed skis.  So, Bill had a coat especially made, complete with an outhouse silhouette and "Bowl Patrol" proudly emblazoned across his back.  I loved this story about attitude and work ethic, especially since it takes place at a ski resort!

Many of the exhibits brought back memories of products that my parents had used, or advertising campaigns from my youth.  Ty-D-Bol, an American brand of toilet cleaner, was introduced in 1958.  The company is best known for its nautical spokesperson, the Ty-D-Bol Man, who piloted a toilet tank-sized boat in TV commercials from 1968 to 1984.  (The display also pointed out that Don turned down the opportunity to be the Ty-D-Bol Man because he could not vouch for the effectiveness of the product!)  Do you remember the commercials?

In the early 1950's, wooden wash tubs were replaced by metal tubs, and people started using them as a more efficient way to take family baths.  Every Saturday night, the wash tub was placed on the floor in the kitchen near the stove, and filled with hot water from a tea kettle.  Parents, then kids (in order of age) were bathed.  This is where the phrase "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!" comes from.  I don't recall taking a bath in a metal tub, but I do remember Saturday night baths as the norm when I was small.

In 1962, Bob Prewitt of Prewitt Fiberglass created a 20-foot fiberglass Paul Bunyan, complete with an ax, for the Paul Bunyan Cafe on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona.  In 1963, the company became the International Fiberglass Company.  From 1963 - 1974, the company made 1000s of giant men, women, animals and dinosaurs.  The term "Muffler Man" refers to what is now called The Classic, which was used to promote muffler shops.  A close cousin to The Classic is The Cowboy, created for Phillips 66 gas stations.  The Janitor is a Cowboy, and is one of only 27 known to exist.

The moulds were destroyed in 1974, leaving a finite number of the giants still standing in America.  According to the museum, the total number of Muffler Men and their incarnations is around 230.  For more information, check out USAgiants.com.

(The International Fiberglass Company made other giants, including the 17-foot Uniroyal Gal.  The Gals are very rare - only 14 are known to exist.  Coincidentally, one of them is in nearby Blackfoot, Idaho, at Martha's Cafe.  We stopped to see her after we left the Museum of Clean.)

During his museum introduction, the docent mentioned that we might see Don during our visit.  In the end, we did not have a "Don sighting", but you could not leave the building without getting a good feel for a man that seemed as large in life as his Muffler Man.  He has authored 40 books (I bought one in the gift shop.)  He has completed more than 6000 seminars, workshops and T.V. filmings nationally and internationally.  Don was married for 61 years to the late Barbara Morris.  He has six children, 21 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.  He was personally involved in the purchase of the museum building in 2006 and its renovation through 2011 to the highest energy efficiency standards.  And yet his only self-acclaim is "I'm a good poet."  I would have like to met the man who has "earned" all of these nicknames - sometimes gentle teasing in this form is the greatest compliment one can receive!

By now you have a sense of the "oddities" in the museum, and the humor that is rampant through the building.  But the museum also prides itself on its historical items, referred to as the Holy Vacuum Grails.

Personally, I preferred the humor and the idiosyncrasies.  So, I will leave you with three final curiosities.  

The story of Play-Doh begins when Kutol, a Cincinnati-based soap company, was floundering in the late 1920s.  In 1933, the company attended a meeting with Kroger grocery store representatives, who asked if Kutol made wallpaper cleaner.  This product was in high demand as coal was the leading method of heating in most homes.  Even though Kutol didn't make or even know how to make the cleaner, the company made an expensive commitment to Kroger.  Kutol figured it out using a common formula, and this supported the company through WWII.  The product became obsolete as coal was replaced and vinyl wallpaper came on the scene.  In 1954, a nursery school teacher (also a family member) read that wallpaper cleaner could be used for art projects.  Seeing how well it worked and how much fun the kids had with it, the company transformed the cleaner into a toy.  They removed the detergent, and added an almond scent and coloring.  Kay Zufall, the teacher, came up with the name, Play-Doh.  A partnership with the Captain Kangaroo TV Show created national exposure and it became a hit.  Since 1956, over 950 million pounds of Play-Doh in over 2 billion cans have been produced.  Currently, over 100 million cans of Play-Doh are sold annually.

As you may have gathered from my dissertation, I was entranced with this museum.  If you ever find yourself within driving distance of Pocatello, Idaho, you MUST visit!

Mosaic Monday

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