Beer Can Museum Happenings

The mysterious inner workings of the mind of the Beer Can Museum curator.

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Location: Near Cape Cod, MA

I am constantly overwhelmed by the richness of life.

Friday, March 25, 2005

Lifetime Museum Member's Showcase Part 1!


Today I wanted to acknowlege one of the museum contributors who, through the years, has gone above and beyond in his efforts to improve The Beer Can Museum. You might recognize him from the museum website's main page, where he can be seen receiving his framed certificate from the curator at a VIP ceremony a couple of years ago. Staff Sgt. Clint Scott is also seen in the picture above (he's second from the left) during his participation last week in The Bataan Memorial Death March , a 26.2-mile desert march through the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The event honors the heroic service members who defended the Phillipines in WWII. I researched the Battaan Death marches while looking into the history of my father-in-law's ship, the U.S.S. Braine, which was hit by two kamikazes (he survived, half the crew did not) in the Pacific, and I was horrified at the stories shared by those who were there. Anyway, Clint began contributing to the museum long before I had ever met him (thanks to sister Laura Scott who told him about the ETBCM!) and while serving in the U.S. Army around the globe he always found time to seek out interesting cans for our shelves! Thanks for all you've done for our country and, of course, for the museum, Clint!

Oh, and Happy Easter from all of us at the Beer Can Museum!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

St. Patty's Day in the Beer Can Museum



Yes, it's St. Patty's Day, and that means green beer all around at the Beer Can Museum Bar. It may be just a little food coloring in a bottle of Bud, but you get the idea. The can of the month for March is a FULL can of 'Green Beer' which I've had in the museum for several years. The problem, of course, is that I really have no idea whether the beer inside is really green or not. I'm guessing after all these years it's a scary color now - but back in the seventies I'm sure the beer was emerald green, like my ancestor's homeland. (Ok, so I'm only about a quarter Irish but with a name like Logan most folks think I'm 100%.)

Enjoy your green beer today. I will be in Worcester, Mass. tonight cheering on my MSU Spartans as they practice for their big game against Old Dominion tomorrow night! How appropriate that I'll be yelling "Go Green", the Spartans battle cry.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Celeb Stalking 101(or, Kevin Bacon visits the blog)

When I'm not out searching for new beer cans I can sometimes be found pretending I'm on the staff at the National Enquirer. My friends & co-workers give me grief for my celeb stalking tendencies when the rich & famous are in Boston - and I deserve the grief, believe me. From the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts (I met him when he was stepping off of a swan boat and I had him sign an autograph for my drummer brother) to Sly Stallone (he's really short) to the guy below, who actually gave me smile when he was in town for the DNC last year, I've seen quite a few glitterati. Is that a word? Glitterati. If it is real it's kind of annoying. Anyway, the joy of having a blog is that I can post my picture of Kevin Bacon just for the heck of it. (That's his wife, the blonde, pretending she doesn't see me.) It never graced the pages of Entertainment Weekly or People but it now graces my silly blog!

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

You just never know...


You never know where interesting breweriana will turn up. The key is to never pass up an opportunity to check out little, out-of-the-way antique shops when you're on the road. We were on a family vacation a couple years ago, heading to Pennsylvania's Knoebel's Grove Amusement Park, when we decided to pay a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Fallingwater' in Mill Run. While passing a small but promising looking antique shop along the way, I gave my wife the 'can we please stop?' look. Being the wonderful wife that she is, she obliged, and I ran in while the kids played Electronic Yahtzee and 'Invisible Ink' games in the back seat.

My wonderful find is below! It sits with two other beer can lighters (Blatz & Coors) in the West Wing of the Museum!

photo by museum photographer Jim Cannizzaro

Monday, March 07, 2005

Unique brewery collectibles...

Just a quick post today...I know you're all disappointed. All 7 or 8 of you! Today I received a very tiny package from the Netherlands. Sometimes the best new museum acquisitions come in tiny packages. I had no clue what this treat was - so that made it even more fun to open. My journalist pal over there is famous for sending the bizarre/unique stuff, and, as a museum curator , I appreciate his generosity in this area! Today's treat was a Brass Dart from Bavaria Brewers! Since we already have a dartboard in the museum, this will be a welcome addition to the collection! It is often the strange breweriana that fascinates visitors the most during museum tours and I'm sure this Brass Dart is no exception!

Perhaps some day I'll find one of these in the mailbox....

Friday, March 04, 2005

My first beer...


It's summertime, 1978, and I've flown out to Port Austin, Michigan (it's in the thumb) to spend some quality time with my Michigan relatives at 'the cottage.' There are perch to be caught (Lake Huron was loaded with yellow perch back then), s'mores to be eaten by the campfire, Putt-Putt golf to be played, and, thanks to my Uncle Chuck, an 8 oz. can of Pabst Blue Ribbon with my name on it to be imbibed. "Sure, go ahead, and keep the can for your new hobby" he'd said to me. Heck, I was almost 14, why not? I'm not sure how much I enjoyed the taste, but I happily bottom-opened the can and tucked the collectible into my suitcase a few days later for the return flight to Connecticut. That can sits in the museum to this day and I proudly point it out when giving tours.

In honor of the curator's first beer, which was appropriately enjoyed from a small can on the shores of Lake Huron, here's a small piece of breweriana from the museum bar. This PBR glass was a gift from my lovely wife Maryellen a few years ago. Some guys get ties, shirts, and new boxer briefs for Christmas. I get breweriana and I couldn't be happier.

Photo by museum photographer Jim Cannizzaro

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Endless Winter



Another day, another foot of snow. Seriously. Another FOOT of snow. It was a good day to stay home and rest my back after shovelling out after the storm. I felt pretty macho after clearing ten feet of my driveway, but then I looked over and saw Ralph, my 84 year old neighbor, after he cleared about thirty feet of his driveway. He had it cleared down to the black pavement, while I still had an icy, uneven inch of snow covering mine. I need a break so I head across the slush street to chat with him. "I've been shovelling since I was five," Ralph tells me proudly. "My parents used to have to hide the shovel on me!" That's great Ralph. You octogenarian freak. Visions of white sandy beaches, hot summer days, and cold cans of beer fill my head as Ralph continues to brag about his shovelling prowess while a snow plow roars by us and sends a shower of muck our way. The joys of winter in New England.

Spring is coming. Oh, yes it is. And soon.