Histarch members,

The recent discussion on motels, and references to the Society for Commercial
Archaeology, has me wondering if anyone out there has written academically (or at
least insightfully) on what I like to call "Small Town Big Things."  We all know what
these are - they're big, bright oversized machine parts and anthropomorphized
vegetables that glorify some aspect of a town's industry or history, and they're
strategically located alongside the highway through a town - preferably near to the gas
station or coffee shop.

I've always been interested in these wonderful things!  There are some websites
devoted to listing and displaying Big Things, but does anyone out there know of any
more in-depth research about the social and economic aspects of giant porcupines
and the like?

Thanks,
Stacy Kozakavich