Being No. 1 A Capital Idea

Sun., Dec. 7, 1997

Harry Shattuck Houston Chronicle

What’s the world’s Watermelon Capital? Cordele, Ga., you say?, Wrong. It’s Hermiston, Ore. Or is it Shartlesville, Pa.? Rush Springs, Okla.? Hampton County, S.C.? Hope, Ark.? (Hmmmm, that town sounds familiar.) Or Hempstead or Luling, Texas?

Truth is, each claims distinction as the center of the watermelon universe, according to Laura Bergheim, whose new book, “An American Festival of ‘World Capitals”’ (Preservation Press, $14.95), points us toward more than 300 capitals of arts, crafts, foods, culture and sports.

At last report, there was no argument about the World Possum Capital: It’s Rhonesboro, Texas. The World Corn Cob Pipe Capital (Washington, Mo.), World Farm Toy Capital (Dyersville, Iowa) and World Barbed Wire Capital (La Crosse, Kan.) are clearly distinguished, too.

It’s hardly a surprise either that Berrien Springs, Mich., has no challengers as the World Christmas Pickle Capital. Or that Utica, Ill., is the only Bungoo Soup Capital of the World, honoring what Bergheim describes as “a vegetable and meat stew that can include just about any critter caught lurking around the kitchen door.”

“You don’t need a license or a certificate of authenticity to declare your town a capital, just something home-grown, homespun or otherwise unique to your community to make it worth capitalizing,” says Bergheim, who began discovering world capitals 11 years ago.

Many distinctions are easily understood: Battle Creek, Mich., the Cereal Capital of the World, is the birthplace of the cold-cereal business. The 150 hosiery mills in Fort Payne, Ala., the Sock Capital of the World, produce 1 million pairs of socks every week. And guess what was invented in Newton, Iowa, the Washing Machine Capital of the World?

Others, though, are a tad fishy. Among them: Breaux Bridge, La., the Crawfish Capital; Ketchikan, Alaska, the Salmon Capital (not to be confused with Waukegan, Ill., the Freshwater Salmon Capital); Belzoni, Miss., the Catfish Capital; and Madison, Minn., the Lutefisk Capital, where, according to Bergheim, the fishy figure of mascot Lou T. Fisk is seen throughout town.

This book’s 300 pages are filled with anecdotes, and Bergheim provides addresses and phone numbers for securing more information.

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