It was nice to hear he did this and the World has been talking about it sense. Everybody has an angle, some already cracking Donald Trump jokes ("Trumps plans to build a wall around Mexico, MO"), some are confused ("why is there a Mexico in Missouri?"), some upset ("he went to Raytown South, not Mexico, he should rep KC"), and just about everything in-between. All I heard on the Mid-Missouri radio stations this morning was how awesome it was. Granted it was, but it already seems like overkill. However running a tad thin on posts, I decided to jump in with a post. Now this would probably be better fit for my Missouri Sports History blog, but oh well, I'm posting it here.
My topic today is where is Mexico, Missouri, and what is their history. So if you haven't decided to look on Wikipedia, just keep reading. As for Lue, I wasn't aware he was a product of Missouri, much less Mexico, so I got some learning done today too. None of this is groundbreaking, but there is some interesting bits.
I started to type in Mexico, and before I finished typing it in, the local newspaper was ready to load. It appears I was on the Mexico Ledger page not too long ago. So I figured I'd start there. Eww, its a Gatehouse Media Newspaper, meaning their websites suck. I know this first hand because they own several in the area, and I hate them so much (the websites, not the newspapers themselves), that I rarely go to the page. The top stories on the page are the recent obituaries, and the Miss Missouri contest. I forgot about that, the Miss Missouri contest each year is held in Mexico. I have no idea why, I mean I could name 5 places better than Mexico to host it, starting with Columbia, since its centrally located and has more lodging than Mexico. Anyways, Miss Missouri contest is currently going on. I didn't read the article, but I haven't kept up on Miss Missouri in years. I do know its usually (at least the last I heard) held at the Missouri Military Academy, also in Mexico. Missouri Military Academy (or as some call it, MMA) has been around since 1889. I don't know a lot about MMA, but while looking at notable names that walked the halls I spotted a couple familar ones. The first name that popped out was Howard Hughes, Sr. Then I noticed an actor's name that didn't ring a bell until I thought about it for a second. Randall Carver went to MMA. Carver had an uncredited role in Midnight Cowboy before breaking out inthe 1974 film Time To Run. However he is most famous for his one year stint on the show Taxi, as John Burns. He still acts and had parts on The Love Boat, The Norm Show, and Malcom In The Middle.
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| Candice Crawford, former Miss Missouri, aka Mrs. Tony Romo |
Another person who graced the halls was Dale Dye. Mr. Dye is a retired Marine Corps officer who fought in Vietnam. Once he retired, he starts Warriors, Inc. which helps movie and TV shows making them more authentic. He has also acted in many of the films, among them are Platoon, Born On The Fourth of July, JFK, Under Seige, Natural Born Killers, and more recently, Larry Crowne. His TV roles are equally impressive with guest spots on Entourage, L.A. Law, JAG, Chuck, and Cold Case. He's even voiced a couple video games (well, three) in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, Battlefield 2, and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. More impressive are his awards he's been honored with, among them are the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, andthe Meritorious Service Medal.
MMA isn't the only place where you might have seen someone who became recognized world wide. Among the notable people from Mexico are former Missouri Senator and former Governor Christopher "Kit" Bond, former NFL running back Jason Brookins, another former Missouri Governor in Charles Henry Hardin, Edward "Ted" Jones (son of Edward D. Jones), singer Martha Mears, former NFL denfensive end Howard Kindig, and ESPN personality Prim Siripipat. Looking at Martha Mears (I'm always interested in musicians), I noticed she was fairly famous. She sang for many actresses in the 40's and 50's. Among them were for Marjorie Reynolds in the film Holiday Inn, Meet Me On Brodway, and Bring On The Girls; Hedy Lamarr in My Favorite Spy; Loretta Young in Half Angel; and many more, even Lucille Ball (The Big Street).
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| Yeah, that dude from Taxi |
So with notable names out of the way, what about the town itself? Well it got its name originally as New Mexico and was a hotbed for settlers heading to Texas as early as 1836. After the Mexican-American War when Texas joined the United States, the "New" part was dropped. The town of Mexico was incorporated in 1855 and was popular as a shipping-point for horses and mules thanks to the Wasbash Railroad and later Alton Railroad. At one point is was a major source of the nation's fire brick production, and as a result was dubbed the Fire Brick Capital of the World. However both plants closed in 2002. It was also once known as the Saddle Horse Capital of the World. Today the city boasts a population of around 11,500 people and is situated 30 miles northeast of Columbia, 45 miles southwest of Hannibal, and 100 miles northwest of St. Louis.
With nothing much more to add, I will include a couple links for more information about Mexico.
Mexico Ledger Newspaper
Mexico, MO Wikipedia
City of Mexico, MO website
So, that just about does it. For the record, I had no idea that Tyron Lue was from Mexico, MO. I also wasn't aware he attended school in Raytown, which is why some Kansas City folks are upset he didn't name drop them as well. I've never been to Mexico, but maybe a road trip is in order one day. I planned on heading to Hannibal one day and it isn't too far out of the way, so why not. Thanks for reading, and have a great day. By the way, I'll have a better blog tomorrow, I hope.
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| Hope Driscoll was also a Miss Missouri, she later appeared on Survivor |
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