SPAM!

Yes, it's OK to laugh. SPAM parking? No. My car isn't a can of SPAM even though I have been told I resemble a pork-like meat product.

It's a parking lot located in Austin, Minnesota home of Hormel meats (and other food stuffs) and one of the TWO manufacturing plants for SPAM in the USA. The third plant making SPAM is located in Denmark for the European market (under license).

You can't miss the factory.
Just follow the smell of tinned cat food, and you can't miss it. Why was I there? To visit...

The SPAM MUSEUM!

Yes, there really is a museum dedicated to SPAM, and I was there. Why?

I am not a particular fan of SPAM. It's an OK product. My father used to pack it on our fishing trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in Northern Minnesota and fry some up for breakfast. He was a WWII veteran and loved the stuff. Our pantry at home always had cans as far back as I can remember. So, partly in honor of him (Dad loved all Hormel products), partly because of the internet meme of SPAM, and just because I have moments of dorkiness, I could not resist a visit to the museum while I was in the area.

The museum was a wonder of corporate product history. I learned more about SPAM than I ever wanted to know, even while ignoring most of the exhibits. If you ever want to become informed about the history of American meat packing, this would be a good place to start.

So what exhibits did I look at? The WWII section was well done. Even going so far as to show what SPAM looked like when it was destined for the Soviet Union. There was one place where kids could time how long it takes to pack a can of SPAM. I swear, sections of the museum were a mini Disneyland featuring chopped up pig parts. They kept on stressing SPAM was mostly from pork shoulders. I guess mentioning pig sphincters and booger chutes would not be good a selling point. Not that I care. You know I love Coney Islands, and you know what wieners are made of. (If not, don't ask...they won't tell).

They even had a Monty Python Tribute to SPAM section. Really. I watched all of that presentation.

But the best part, was the museum gift shop. They had EVERYTHING with a SPAM logo on it. from bathrobes to bumper stickers. They even sold tins of every flavor of SPAM. The ironic thing is, that was one of the cheapest items there: $2.75 each. (and one of the few items Made in USA)

So what did I get?

Remember those machines where you put a penny in, with some coins, and rolled out a souvenir with some printing on the penny? Well, they had one of those machines there and I squashed some copper pennies into SPAM souvenirs. (Yes, they were pre-1980 copper pennies, not the newer copper clad zinc or whatever metallic crud they are). I go First Class, baby.



They were made right there, IN the museum (next to Hormel Corporate HQ) in the USA with American labor! Ya can't beat that!*

*Well, a blonde Viking firestarter might.