July 16, 2023
Today is our last day in Hannibal. It has definitely been a great stop. Today we decided to go try and take some pictures of the murals that didn’t have a lot of cars in them. This is Sunday so our hopes are high. Additionally, Nancy wanted a better picture of the Mark Twain Steamboat Captain statue without a light in the background. Since I had to go back to the riverboat gift shop anyway, it worked out nicely. We drove through town taking some great shots of the murals.
One of the most interesting things we learned on the tour yesterday was the story behind Clemens Field. Clemens Field is a baseball field that several teams have played on at various levels of competition including minor league. The really interesting fact about this field is that has a tall stone wall built entirely around the field. The Admiral Coontz Armory is located here also. The reason for the stone wall is not to prevent people from getting in but to keep people from getting out. During World War II Clemens Field was used as a Prisoner of War (POW) camp for German prisoners. Legend has it that several townspeople were so kind to the prisoners that when released after the war, they stayed in Hannibal. We finished our tour and went back home to rest for the last event of our stay.
At 2:00PM we went to the office/gift shop and we were escorted to the small theater room. It was here that we were entertained by a gentleman that took on the persona of Samuel L. “Mark Twain” Clemens. For about 45 minutes he told us stories of his life. He was very entertaining and the language was accurate for the time period. It was a good show.
