By Brandon Champion
The Muskegon Chronicle
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - Images depicting a collection of assorted oddities are on display at the Lakeshore Museum Center in downtown Muskegon.
Among them: ears of corn the size of Redwood trunks, prey hunting predators, furry fish and the mounted head of the "Jackelope," which can only be hunted during leap years.
The collection is part of the new exhibit at the museum titled "Storytelling through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards." It features more than 80 examples of tall tale postcards from around the United States, each of which demonstrate a unique form of humor that dates back to the early 20th Century.
"A lot of them are just fun," Lakeshore Museum Center Communications Director Joni Dorsett told The Muskegon Chronicle. "They depict exaggerated stories. It's all unexpected."
The exhibit housed in the museum's temporary gallery features the work of postcard artists like William H. Martin, Richard Miller, Edward H. Mitchell, Mike Roberts, F.D. Conard, J. Herman, Alfred Stanley Johnson and the artist known only as Leigh.
Popular topics depicted in the postcards are overgrown fruits and vegetables, maps of the United States that favor particular regions of the country and exaggerated moments in history. Some postcards pose questions, asking the viewer "What is this" or "What's going on here?"
The proper guidelines for owning a "Jackelope" license are also displayed for interested parties, although they may be more convoluted than you may think.
The traveling exhibit is on loan to the museum from the Michigan State University Museum. It will remain on display until mid-May 2016.
The Lakeshore Museum Center is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free.
Published: Tue, Dec 22, 2015
