European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 2, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine vacation going Home this summer if you caught the travel Bug in you May want to take a better look at your own from sea to theres plenty to Here Are just a few of the Many sights the United states has to a paddle wheel Steamer plies the Mississippi at Mark trains big Bash for Mark Twain i a by up Schafer associated press later in life and far from Mark Twain liked to daydream about his childhood Days in a White town browsing in the Sunshine of a Summers the streets or nearly but if Twain were to return this he might find it difficult to find a City officials Hope that nearly people will visit Hannibal to celebrate the 150th birthday anniversary of the first Amer ican author to achieve worldwide critical the town which nestles in a Valley Between Bluffs overlooking trains beloved Mississippi River is Stak ing big Money that its most famous native son will lure millions of tourist dollars during the seven month Mark Twain we really have three objectives in said mayor John Hannibal normally gets about visitors a we want to double or triple that we also want to put Hannibal in the and we want to leave the cily with some permanent Public considering the relatively Short time that Twain Actu ally lived in the Bond Between them is remark although Twain travelled widely and spent most of his later life in his major works entered on his name for most americans consider it his Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in nearby on his a Justice of the moved the family to Han about 100 Miles upriver from when Samuel was he left town at 18 to become a Printer in new Cincinnati and other he went on to be a Steamboat a Confederate Soldier for a Brief a Gold a news paper a lecturer an his books about Hannibal were written while he lived in he rarely returned to and then Only for Short Twain died a relatively poor Man on april he is buried in alongside his daughters Jean and and son the last time he was Here was in when he stopped in while in route to to receive an honorary degree from the University of said Henry sweets curator of the Mark Twain the town has grown since of but it has expanded to the and left much of the downtown area sweets Twain would recognize much of the old area Young Sam Clemens experiences in Hannibal provided the inspiration for the actions of Tom Huck finn was Tom one of the authors mischievous Becky Thatcher was Clemens childhood Laura and aunt Polly was his other literary characters such As injun Joe and the had counterparts in real most experts agree that it was trains ability to capture the the places and the conditions of his subjects that made him such a popular he didst always give the Reader what was visitors to Hannibal today can still climb Cardiff which is really holidays and lovers they can explore the Cave in which Tom and Becky got Young boys still swim and play pirate on Jacksons when Twain lived in people lived most in Small houses on unpaved there Are supporting an Economy weakened in recent years by the loss of the a Cement Plant and shoe Lyng said the town made some difficult choices in deciding to goo broke with the there Are some who say there Are better ways to spend our Lyng mayor elect Richard Cerretti is one of Cerretti has demanded to know the projects financial status before the City continues pumping Money into if we come out ahead on 30 the end of the Well be said Larry publisher of the Hannibal courier Post until re chairman of the commission organizing the Festi but calling attention to our town is our main organizers plan to Market an array of ranging from shirts and Caps to numbered collectible Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher the museum will show new the town is also tearing Down an old Power Plant to enhance the Shoreline View and adding an Amphitheater to the and How might the forthright Twain feel about All the fuss having once declared for those who invented the Celebration of Mere killing would be too i dont think he would said a nationally recognized Twain As an a knew How to promote himself in order to sell but i really dont know How he might react to having his image on a soft drink june 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13