Hannibal, Missouri 2002 In-Store Event Exclusive

Well, now that the "Legacy" is finally popping up around the country, go look at Page 6 and post what you think about the Hannibal, Missouri 2002 In-Store Event Exclusive.

I like it, however I wonder if Mark Twain ever walked out his front door of his house and fell off the cliff. Not sure about the edge of the cliff being so close to the front door on this "new" piece. Nevertheless, still a nice piece. Since the write-up states it is in Missouri, I am assuming that this piece is the first HL replica of a lighthouse on the Mississippi River (?)

So what do you think ?

Christopher

The write-up on this piece states that HL took liberties in moving the house and lighthouse closer. Not sure how far apart they are in real life.

Anyone?

Links for the Hannibal Lighthouse
http://www.wmburgweb.com/DigitalScrapbooks/Travel98/Hannibal/hannibal.html
http://home.t-online.de/home/Hans-Guenter.Spitzer/spitzer_web/album_usa/twain_mo.html
http://www.visithannibal.com/lghthse.html

[This message has been edited by sweetpshirin (edited 12-03-2001).]

Looks like another great piece to add to this great collection! Nice detail once again!

It is fairly close to the edge, I drove by it about 3-4 times a week for about 5 years but never parked in town and walked back to it. It sits very high on the cliff and I am not sure if you can even see from the MO. side of the river but as you were crossing the old 36 bridge you could see it from the IL. side. I haven't been to Hannibal in a couple years and they have since opened a new bridge to the north of the lighthouse so I don't know how the view is from the new bridge.

Edited here:
After reviewing the pictures, you can see it from the MO. side. allthough you can not see it from the road below it. I think the one picture was taken from a scenic overview (lovers Leap) on the south side of town from a couple miles away but I haven't been there (NO TRUCKS)

[This message has been edited by Mark Wagner (edited 12-03-2001).]

Having lobbied for several years for this piece at store events, lighthouse dedications, regional events, reunions and any other place I could trap an unsuspecting HL representative it was a real treat to see this lighthouse finally produced by Harbour Lights. Every event I attended where Bill was present I would casually mention to him that HL could complete all of the standing Missouri lighthouses by producing just this one piece. He would always politely smile and counter with the fact that not enough people had requested the light, probably because of its midwest location, to warrant producing it. Maybe there are now more members in the midwest (or a more powerful lobbyist) than there used to be. As I sit here considering who else there might be that I could gloat to I believe I'll also mail a copy of the Legacy to the Shanklin's whose publication "List of All Existing U.S. Lighthouses" has never had a listing for Missouri. While purchasing a few pictures from him a year or so ago Bob did mention that they have actually taken pictures of Hannibal Light for their files even though they had chosen, at least to that point, not to include the listing in their book.

By the way, if you do happen to visit the light be sure and stop at the gift shop located at the base of the very long, steep hill that can be climbed to reach the lighthouse. They have a nice printed Certificate that they will fill out indicating that you did officially climb to the light. (For those not inclined toward undue exercise you can also drive right up to the base of the lighthouse).

It's August already and no one's got anything to say about this piece?

What with the added incentive to winning a "gold tower only" at the signing events there's got to be a few folks purchasing it. With all the hoopla of the four versions of the Regional piece has this, the regular annual event piece for 2002, fallen through the crack?

Who's got it and what do you think of it????

I saw it at the Lighthouse Depot recently. Even though it's a real structure, I don't consider it a real lighthouse. For me it comes across as too Thomas Kinkaid-ish. I hope they make a better choice next year---one that will get people more excited. Thumbs down to...what was it again?...oh yeah, Hannibal.

P.S. As for the gold version, I saw that, too (it was on display at Lighthouse Depot in anticipation of Nancy Younger's visit there). I don't think I've seen anything uglier. If Harbour Lights were all painted gold, I never would have given them a thought. No thanks.

What can you say good about something that you can really see nothing good to say about it. The only thing that I can say is it cost good hard cash to buy something that was a LE and if you strive to get all the LE pieces then you must waste your money on it.

Now for the 4 different versions of Fort Thompkins, WOW!! I love them, but again hope that HL doesn't repeat it again next year. If HL must see fit to bring out different pieces for each Regional, then please bring out a different piece from each region and make it worthwhile to spend my money

Rich

I understand the spirit of collecting and all, but if you hate the piece so much why buy it? No one is going to look down on you for not having one event piece that you don't like anyway. Most people that have all of them can't display them anyway. If you don't have room for it and you don't like it, what's the point?

Stick to the ones you enjoy. That's the whole reason we're into these things anyway. If we feel obliged to buy it without even wanting it, they might as well release all of them on April 15th.

I like the April 15 date it's my B day

Well said Lou! I like it, so I bought it!

Well I didn't like it and bought it anyway. I didn't like Point Arena when it first came out because in my eyes, the tower was way too thin and the whole piece was out of proportion. My wife convinced me to buy it and now it is one of my favorite pieces. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and it just takes longer when you get older for the beauty to register.

The other part of the question was answered a long time ago by a man at a gift store. This wise gentleman told me when I first started collecting Harbour Lights that I might not like every piece that Harbout Lights brought out but that it would be the one that I didn't buy that I would be the saddist about not buying. This man also said every collector should have their own rhyme and reason to what, how and why they collect anything and he who questions these reasons, as long as they are not paying the bill, should not ask. So far I have no reason to be unhappy about anything in my entire collection and one piece that I don't like now will not change my mind about buying it because a year from now it may become the jewel of my collection. The man was not BY.

Rich

Ok, I'll go next seeing I brought this thread back from the dark ages!

It is ok but far from spectacular. Disregarding the choice of light, the piece itself is sort of ho-hum. With both the tower and the house being plain janish this piece could have used a bit more color. The blue window curtains (must have been a special on these this year) and the miniscule, almost unnoticeable flowers in the windowboxes and surrounding the base of the tower don't seem to be enough. The elevated position of the tower relative to the house is good as well as the added touch of the "in progress" whitewashing of the fence.

The choice of light obviously hasn't proven to be very popular with some folks but the fact that it's a memorial to one of our greatest authors gives it merit. Also the bit about it having been lit remotely by assorted Presidents is kind of neat. As a "lighthouse" from a non-lighthouse state it probably is looked upon more kindly by some non-lighthouse state residents.

Personally, even though it's not a favorite among the Event Pieces produced by HL, I felt compelled to get it because it is THE Event Piece. The Regional pieces, whether one like last year or four versions of one light this year represent, imo, a separate sort of "event".

Interesting also is the fact that last year's piece, Yerba Buena, featured a house atop a hill with a lighthouse below and this piece offers a reversed set-up.

I like the piece and can't look at it enough. I got it at a Nancy event and won the gold. I agree about the GOLD it is UGLY, but the limited number make's it look very nice indeed. In Oct. I will be going for my second event piece and this one will be signed by Bill. By the way did I say I was a big fan of Mark Twain?

Chuck.

I agree that it's a great memorial to Mark Twain (the house more than the light tower), and I have to give them credit for that.

My grandmother, Caroline T. Harnsberger, wrote several books on Twain (his daughter, Clara Clemens, called her a "walking Mark Twain encyclopedia.") and provided Hal Holbrook with guidance as he developed his one-man show, "Mark Twain Tonight!"
The amount of research she did over a period of 50-plus years was amazing...all typed on 3 x 5 cards with an electric Smith Corona and meticulously filed. I thank her everyday for passing along some of her writing DNA to me.

Were she alive today, she would undoubtedly give Hannibal a big thumbs up. So that's one on the plus side.