One way to get to know the history of an area is to visit local museums. Some museums are carefully curated and others seem to be a hodge-podge collection. Each museum, however, reveals something of our past or has something for us to learn.

This is a small taste of what we experienced at five museums we visited from Texas to Ohio.

1. Dr. Pepper Museum, Waco, Texas

Dr. Pepper has always been my favorite soft drink. I hardly ever drink soft drinks anymore because of the caffeine and sugar, but a chance to see where Dr. Pepper was founded sounded fun.

We learned that Waco was the perfect place for a bottling company. That’s because of the Trinity Aquifer and artesian water from which Waco earned the nickname, “Geyser City”. We learned the first bottled soft drink was made by Jacob Schweppe and bottled in ceramic bottles.

There are several stories as to how Dr. Pepper got it’s name, so I won’t try to explain all of them. A Waco pharmacist named Charles Alderton, experimented with soft drink recipes until he came up with the popular drink then known as the “Waco”. Not being interested in starting a business, Alderton never became rich from his recipe. Instead he allowed the drug store owner where he worked and the owner of a ginger ale company to take over the business of producing it.

It seems the real genius was in marketing the new drink. We saw many examples of ad campaigns and Dr. Pepper paraphernalia. Remember the 10, 2 and 4 ads? If I drank Dr. Pepper at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., I would be awake for a week!

My favorite part of the Dr. Pepper Museum was looking down the well. The well had been covered over for many decades. When it was discovered, it was found to be filled with all kinds of debris, including many vintage bottles. Archeology students from Baylor University spent many hours excavating and preserving the items found in the well. Many of them are now displayed inside the museum. As you can see, the bricks lining the walls are very well preserved.

I remember riding my bike to a Circle K store and getting a soda out of a cooler like the one below . I inserted my money and slid the bottle to the opening where I could lift it out. (See instructions on lid) Sometimes these coolers kept drinks so cold, the soda would turn to ice when you popped off the bottle cap.

2. Roadside America Museum

Every small town in Texas is proud of their history. Hillsboro, Texas, is no exception. We visited the Roadside America Museum. This museum is a collection of Americana memorabilia. Tours are by appointment, but we arrived just when another couple was being ushered into the museum by the tour guide.

I have to say, this museum was overwhelming. There were so many items crammed into such a small space, that my eyes hurt. This museum owner is a collector bordering on hoarding. But I think he is very clever to turn his collector’s habit into a museum.

I remember going out to eat at Bob’s Big Boy in Scottsdale, Arizona. My sister’s first job was working there as a waitress. A Big Boy icon like the one below was outside every Bob’s Big Boy restaurant.

There were also a lot of old vehicles in this museum that had been restored. My favorite was this peach car with the peach interior.

3. Texas Through Time Fossil Museum

In the same little town of Hillsboro, Texas, was the Texas Through Time Museum. I was interested in the fossil collection that is housed there. Though the museum has fossils from around the world, their main goal is to educate and stimulate appreciation for Texas’ unique fossil record. We got there near closing time, so I only had time to snap a few pictures.

4. National Museum of the United States Air Force

While we were in Ohio close to Dayton, Ray, being an Air Force vet, wanted to visit this impressive museum.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force. It is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 6 miles northeast of Dayton, Ohio. This is the world’s largest military aviation museum and also the oldest. It houses and displays more than 360 aircraft and missiles. It is housed in five massive airplane hangers. We only had enough time to see one during our visit.

The museum is more than airplanes. We saw tastefully done dioramas with realistic looking figures in authentic uniforms. There are so many displays that it would take days to read all of them.

I enjoyed the movie about the WW II Memphis Belle. It was one of the first B-17 bombers to complete 25 combat missions, after which the aircrew returned with the bomber to the United States to sell war bonds. Restoration of it began in 2005. As of 2018, it now resides in this museum.

5. Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, Kentucky

One of my all-time favorite cars is the Corvette. I think they are some of the most aesthetically beautiful cars that have been made. We were only a short drive to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the Corvette Museum is located, so we packed a lunch and went to see it.

When World War 2 soldiers came back from the war, they wanted sports cars like this European roadster. They felt the American made cars were boxy and dull. The first Corvette was produced in 1953 to fill that demand. Since then there have been eight generations of Corvettes produced.

Because Corvettes had such high performance engines, they were desirable for racing. Here is one used by Paul Reinhart painted in his special colors.

There was just something about seeing so many Corvettes in one place at one time!

In 2014, a 40 foot sinkhole opened up in the skydome of the Corvette Museum in the early morning hours. Eight Corvettes were swallowed. You can watch the security camera footage at this link: https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/corvette-cave-in-exhibit/. (Click on link and scroll down.) Two cars were able to be restored back to original condition while the others remain displayed as found.

We enjoyed our time in each of these museums. We learned much more than I am able to share here. We’re never to old to learn something new! I hope you enjoyed our short mini-tours.