Cars and Confederate Flags - A Visit to Cooter's Dukes of Hazzard Museum in Luray Virginia


Dear Henry,

Do you remember the old T.V. show from the late 70s / early 80s called Dukes of Hazzard?  

It was about the two brothers, Bo and Luke Duke, on probation for moonshine running. The show always featured at least one (usually more) car chase between the Duke brothers and their 1969 Dodge Charger, adorned with a Confederate flag named the General Lee and relatively incompetent Hazzard county sheriff, Roscoe P. Coltrane, led by the corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg, played by the actor and Korean War veteran, Sorrell Booke, (read his Everyday Patriot biography here). The television show was based on the movie The Moonrunners. 

While the show was incredibly popular and was the second most watched on American Television for a while, behind Dallas, it didn't age well. The show was about illegal alcohol distribution and contained a lot of Confederate imagery, and that culture doesn't quite have the same charm as it did nearly 50 years ago. However, I daresay, the show's take on corrupt politicians is still reasonably timely.

Anyway, Fish and I saw the museum and realized we just had to check this out.  



The museum is the brainchild of actor Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport, the mechanic and friend of the Dukes. 

Ben Jones's history with the show predates the actual television show itself. He played a role in the film Moon Runners and transitioned easily into the Dukes of Hazzard series, which ran from 1979 to 1985. After the show ended, Ben Jones ran for and won one of Georgia's seats in the House of Representatives. When he left Congress in 1994, he briefly returned to acting and had roles in Primary Colors, Meet Joe Black, and Secret. In 1999, Ben Jones retired from acting, moved to Virginia outside Shenandoah National Park, and opened the museum.



It was quite the trip down memory lane, and we had a lot of fun checking out the old props and Duke's of Hazzard memorabilia. There is even an on-site studio where you can record yourself singing the Dukes of Hazzard theme song. Neither Fish nor I can sing, so we passed on that part of the tour.

Ben Jones has a "garage band" and comes to sing at the museum every Saturday. The museum also hosts other local bands and festivals. Unfortunately, we went on a Wednesday and missed the music.

There is a pretty cool little gift shop where you can pick up Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia, including lunchboxes and Christmas ornaments, and a little barbeque place for food.  

It was a fun little trip through television nostalgia and best of all, the museum is free.

Check out the video tour here: https://youtu.be/zpx1UaoNsnY

xoxo a.d. elliott 

****************************************

a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and U.S. military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

#TaketheBackRoads


Like my page? Please consider supporting my work by visiting my sponsors, my webshop, or by buying me a cup of coffee!










 

Location: 4768 US-211, Luray, VA 22835, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basilicas, Books, & Bringing Home the Bacon

Image
Dear Henry, Wow, it's been a while. Let's catch up. I've been so busy! Several months ago, I took a part-time job at a local bookstore to get out of the house and out of my head (plus, you know, the discount). I had just begun adjusting to the physical demands of retail work when the Christmas shopping season (and working hours) began. I'm not quite sure if it's because of "the accident" or because I'm a pudgy middle-aged woman, but wow, I've been exhausted. So, I put everything on hold and dedicated myself to reading the entire 14-book Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan ( read his Everyday Patriot biography here ). I've been keeping my feet up when I wasn't at work, and I'm just now getting used to the job. This season of holiday hours has helped me feel better about my Camino plans. I've always worried that it would be too challenging, but I now know I can spend six to eight hours a day on my feet, multiple days in a row.  Now,
Read more

The Bucket List Book Adventure: Book 15 - Histories

Image
Dear Henry, It's been a while, but I've finally gotten back to the bucket list book adventure  and have finished "Histories" by Herodotus. Hair- odd- uh-tus.....hair-odd-uh-tus.....It's taken me a month to learn how to pronounce his name, and I still say it wrong half of the time. Anyway, let me tell you all about the Histories. Herodotus, the "Father Of History," is somewhat of a mystery. He was believed to be born around 484 BC in the vicinity of the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus, today known as Bodrum, Turkey. Maybe. There are a lot of question marks.  His life has a lot more question marks. Herodotus traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and North Africa and was believed to be in Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. And, of course, his death is also big of a mystery. It is estimated to have occurred between 430 and 420 BC, and he probably rests in Thurii, Italy, having left Athens around 430 BC for the
Read more

The Resurrection of the Old Lick Cemetery In Roanoke Virginia

Image
Dear Henry, I have always felt a strong call to "pray for the dead," even as a child.  My grandmother was an avid genealogist (I inherited this love from her), and I used to accompany her to various old graveyards, where she transcribed and photographed old headstones. I would spend my time trying to scrape overgrown grass and weeds from the headstones, having developed the strange belief that they couldn't go to heaven if you couldn't read the name on a tombstone. It always made me so sad to see unkept headstones. While I've (somewhat) grown out of the belief that an unmarked grave condemns people to walk the earth as ghosts, the image of Patroclus, in Madeline Miller's book The Song of Achilles ( review here ), wandering the world as a shadow because no one would write his name down made me cry. I was also very sad to see this poor, unkept little cemetery right as I pulled off Interstate 581. One of my first thoughts entering the city of Roanoke for the firs
Read more