A Welcome Site -- Part 2

From Jim Asher, the world's leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request):

Recently when I was in Amherst, MA, for the 2017 annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society, I checked out TripAdvisory.com's “things to do” in the area (info HERE). Of course I also checked out the reviews for Amherst’s top attraction, the Emily Dickinson Museum, and I was shocked to discover one rating in the cellar.

“Terrible”? Really? Here’s what the reviewer said:

I was particularly flabbergasted by the remark about the Mexican prison. Seriously? A Mexican prison was more interesting than Emily Dickinson's home?

That prompted me to Google-search the top sites and attractions in North America, and I was astonished by what I found. Sure enough, Mexican prisons were rated higher than the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Here are the highlights from my search:

• The top five attractions in North America are the Grand Canyon in Arizona; Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada; Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada; Puerto Balandra, Baja California Sur, Mexico; and Foamhenge, a full-scale styrofoam replica of Stonehenge in Centreville, Virginia.

• The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op laundromat) on Dickinson Boulevard in historic Washerst, PA – the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) – was #23 on the list – until it burned down on New Year’s Eve 2015 (Info HERE).

• In the current listing of top attractions and destinations in North American, Mexican Prisons landed at #83. The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst is #126.

• Other sites that were higher on the list than the Dickinson Museum included the following: the world’s largest mattress dump in Ithaca, New York; the Sod House on the Prairie in Sanborn, Minnesota, and the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD (originally conceived by Emmett Lee Dickinson).

• Sites that came just under the Emily Dickinson Museum included the world’s largest ball of paint in Alexandria, Indiana; the Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland in Marshall County, Kentucky; and the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch in Moss Point, Mississippi.

So it turns out that Trip Advisor reviewer Noah S. from Amherst, MA, was on to something when he mentioned the allure of Mexican prisons. However, I maintain that he was excessively harsh in his review and rating of the Emily Dickinson Museum – even with its lack of "touchy-feely exhibits."

If you ever get the chance, visit the Homestead, Emily Dickinson's home and now the Emily Dickinson Museum. It is truly a wonderful place!