The Backyard – Happy 50th, Mark Twain!

Greetings all and Happy Friday! Welcome to The Backyard!

It’s been a crazy week for yours truly, so we’re going to keep things short and sweet today and talk about something cool I got to attend last weekend—the 50th birthday bash for Mark Twain Hobby Center!

Longtime readers have probably heard me mention Mark Twain Hobby Center before. It’s one of my local hobby shops here in the St. Louis area, and it’s a place I’ve been frequenting for a very long time. I think my first trip there was probably 1994 or so. Whether I’m looking for RC stuff, plastic models, paints, or whatever other hobby rabbit hole I’ve fallen into at the moment, I’ve spent a lot of time walking those aisles over the years.

Well, Mark Twain turned the big 5-0, and they celebrated in style.

There was a big crowd throughout the day, with various manufacturers and hobby companies on hand. Traxxas had a presence, Horizon Hobby was there showing off various goodies, and there was plenty of RC activity happening throughout the event.

Oh, and there was a monster truck.

Not just any monster truck, either. BIGFOOT #8 was sitting outside!

As a lifelong monster truck guy, seeing #8 is always a treat. It’s one of the most historically significant trucks in the BIGFOOT fleet and certainly makes for one heck of a centerpiece at a hobby shop birthday party.

Of course, the real star of the day was Mark Twain Hobby Center itself.

50 years is an incredible milestone for any small business, but I think it’s especially cool for a hobby shop. The hobby industry has changed dramatically during that span. Products have changed, technology has changed, and the way people buy hobby products has certainly changed.

And yet, the local hobby shop is still here.

There’s something you just can’t replicate about walking into a good hobby shop. Seeing what’s new on the shelf, finding something you didn’t know existed, talking shop with the employees and other customers, or walking in for a bottle of paint and somehow leaving with a new project—I’ve certainly done that last one a few times.

Mark Twain has been doing that for generations of St. Louis-area hobbyists now, and judging by the turnout at the birthday bash, there are plenty of people who appreciate it.

I certainly do.

I’ve been fortunate to have several good hobby shops around me over the years, and I don’t take that for granted. Places like Mark Twain aren’t just somewhere to buy stuff. They’re part of the local hobby community, and after 50 years, they’ve helped an awful lot of people discover hobbies that wound up becoming lifelong passions.

So a big congratulations to everyone at Mark Twain Hobby Center on 50 years! Here’s hoping there are many more birthdays to come.

And really, any birthday party where BIGFOOT shows up is a pretty good one in my book.

Alright, that’s it for me this week. Until next time, keep it on all 4’s!