The “Mystery Spot”,  the “Museum of Kitch”,  ”The world’s largest ball of twine”.  They’re random, off-the-beaten-path tourist spots.  There are thousands of them across the country; places you just might see on a billboard when you’re driving down the highway.

They may not compare to the Smithsonian or the Guggenheim, but historians say, they are an important part of our American heritage.

Yet these quirky attractions are starting to disappear, as the recession takes its toll.  Without the big corporate budgets and advertising revenue behind them, small mom-and-pop establishments are struggling in this economy, as they’re seeing fewer visitors, and the ones that show up have tighter wallets.  Many places are just not making enough cash to stay open.

While you can still hear the “clomp clomp clomp” of workers’ wooden shoes striking the ground at the Dutch Village in Holland Michigan (http://www.dutchvillage.com), there are fewer feet coming through the entrance in the last couple of years, and fewer items in the shops being sold. “A pair of wooden shoes don’t always make the list of what people need these days” says owner Joseph Nelis.  And while he says the village will be around a long time, its sad to see so many other small entertainment venues go bust.

“They’re really disappearing, Theyre vanishing from the landscape and its going to be kind of sad when they’re all gone…people will say ‘I remember when’ and grandparents will say ‘boy i wish I could’ve taken my grandkids there but they just dont exist anymore’”.

Nelis says he’s been able to buy pieces for his village at auctions where bankrupt exhibits are sold in bits and pieces for pennies on the dollar.

The Antique Toy and Firehouse museum ((http://www.toyandfiretruckmuseum.org) in Bay City Michigan is home to the largest firetruck ever built; the New York Superpumper, and the oldest motorized firetruck in the country; the 1911 International.  It also has the largest Tonka toy collection in the country.  Its a magnificent playland for a child… or an adult who’s still a kid at heart…but attendance has been burning out, museum owners are keeping it running at their own expense.

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The old post office in Saginaw Michigan was built in 1898 to look like a grand castle, but it now requires the king’s ransom to keep it open as a historical museum (http://www.castlemuseum.org).  Taxpayers sent the former mail site a funding boost.

“We’ve probably lost several dozen of these places in the last year alone” says museum fundraiser Ed Chalms.  ”When people are being careful with their money, they’re less willing to pay the entrance fees”.

This summer however, has been a bright spot for the Duke; The John Wayne birthplace in Winterset Iowa (http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org) has seen a marked increase in attendance, for some reason “We don’t know why” says executive director Brian Downes “except we think John Wayne just seems to grow in stature all the time”

The funding crisis has led many places to figure out various ways to raise cash.  The Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum holds golf outings and rents itself out for special events.  Other museums have had to sell off exhibits to raise much needed dough.

Historians say when these slices of Americana vanish, we’re losing more than just memories, we’re losing a part of our culture.

You’d better see them while you can.

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