New-To-Me Phrases, August 10, 2025
Beebeetown * Robert Henri * Cowlorado * Raven Haven * Living snow fence * Pork.org
The Phrases, With Context
I’m back from a road trip to hike with my family in one of my favorite places in the world, Grand Teton National Park. In this edition, instead of making you sit through a vacay slideshow, I’m sharing phrases gathered on that journey. Which is probably just as annoying, but hopefully not.
Let’s get to it!
1. Beebeetown
We spotted Beebeetown on a map at an Iowa rest area. Sadly, there’s no Beebeetown website, but I found a “Pieces of Iowa’s Past” newsletter that says it was named for a man named Frederick Beebee, who settled there in the late 1800s. Beebee and his (unnamed) wife established a post office at their home so they could receive mail. That’s it; that’s the history, as far as I could find.
According to Ancestry.com, Beebee is English—as in, from England—for “baby.”
During my research, I found Roadside Thoughts, a gazetteer (geographic dictionary) compiled by a former game designer. It very much reads like an engineer or coder compiled it, and it looks like an interesting resource. I love a chewy project like this.
2. Robert Henri
While driving through endless Nebraska cornfields that smell like poo, we saw a sign featuring a black-and-white photo of a white man that looked to be from the turn of the 20th century. No wording on the sign, just the photo. A bit further a sign advertising the birthplace of Robert Henri appeared, promoting a museum dedicated to him in Cozad, NE.
An uncultured rube, I had never heard of Henri, a painter born Robert Henry Cozad in 1865. Henri studied in Paris for a time and became a realist painter and a founder of the Ashcan School in New York. The Ashcan School was a form of American realism adopted by a small group of painters who wanted to depict the lives of immigrants and working class people rather than members of elite society. Henri’s motto was "Art for life's sake," rather than "art for art's sake."
Conclusion: In service of curiosity, we should place more random photos of people in cornfields.
3. Cowlorado
My middle kid, who does not read this newsletter, described Colorado thusly after we passed several grassless, crowded, and depressing dairy farms typical of the eastern part of the state.
4. Raven Haven
This is the name of a road in the town of Wilson, Wyoming, where we stayed during vacation. Not that I condone committing misdemeanors here at NTMP, but I’d swipe a sign if I could.
5. Living snow fence
Somewhere in Wyoming north of Laramie, I saw a row of trees with a sign that read Living Snow Fence.
If you live somewhere it doesn’t snow, a snow fence is designed to keep snow from drifting onto roads during winter. The U.S. Forest Service offers a .PDF from 2011 describing the concept and pros and cons.
Nice to see a federal government publication that hasn’t (yet) been stripped of facts and data and replaced with propaganda. A living snow fence is a longer-lasting and more eco-friendly way to prevent snow drifts, assuming you have good soil for growing trees at your location.
6. Pork.org
How can you not laugh at a roadside sign that reads Pork inside a porkchop-shaped background?
The (trademarked!) tagline at Pork.org is even better:
Taste what pork can do.
I really feel for the marketers who worked on this website. How do you apply your creativity to make pork appealing and interesting? They tried, man. There’s a “Some of Our Favorite Cuts” section with a call-to-action button under it that reads “See more cuts.” LOL. My hat’s off to this team.
If I were working on that project I’d have an education section about proper cooking temps called Pork University, or PorkU for short. I’m available, National Pork Board, is what I’m saying.
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Asshole Bird of the Month, August 2025
I love Evil Larry.
Courtesy of my middle kid.
Bonus Bits
1. The best Zoom call ever?!?!!
We didn’t get a chance to visit the nonprofit Teton Raptor Center during our visit, but I learned that you can do a Zoom call WITH AN OWL!!!!!!! I totally want to do this. I will look EXACTLY like the person in the center of the column on the left.
2. The Simply Write Podcast - On Writing NTMP
I got to be a guest on my friend Polly Campbell’s Simply Write podcast, where I talk about NTMP as a gratifying side project that’s not a side hustle. I haven’t listened to it yet but hopefully I’m not too cringe. Polly is a great presenter and interviewer; check out her podcast for stories and insights into the writing life.
That’s it for this edition! Remember to keep making it weird, and stay furiously curious!
Cowlorado! Love it!!
And such accurate information about traveling through Nebraska!
I love that you guys were able to find such interesting things on your trip (in the most uninteresting landscape!)
The porking lot sign!! Lmao