Friday, November 20, 2009 Tradegy in US History Museum

It was the late 80's when I stumbled upon the "Tragedy in US History Museum" in St. Augustine, Florida. It was a roadside attraction built on sheer vision, spliced seamlessly into the home of Buddy Hough and his wife. Buddy was the kind of genius who somehow knew to buy the entire contents of Lee Harvey Oswald's boarding room and recreate it in his home. He had the instinct to acquire the ambulance that carted Oswald after Ruby shot him, plus a Lincoln Continental that Kennedy was in 'hours before he was shot'. Buddy also possessed the commitment to reinforce the floor in his home so he could park them in his living room, and a dream was born.

In the backyard he built sheds with plexi walls to house the death cars of Jayne Mansfield and Bonnie & Clyde. Never mind that Jayne's death car was a different make and model than the newspaper clipping about the accident, or that Bonnie & Clyde's might have been a movie prop. Besides, there is a fiberglass cow and Spanish prison with real skeletons to look at.

The Tragedy museum closed in the late 90's after Buddy passed away. His collection was sold off to the relief of the St. Augustine Tourist Board.
The displays weren't always what they claimed to be, but walking through their kitchen looking at shrunken heads and murder weapons while Buddy and his wife watched TV was a genuine experience.