The barefooted, wise-cracking Amos the big Amish farmer statue will lose his home in Denver, Pennsylvania, when Zinn's Diner closes on August 17, 2003. Zinn's, an Amish country landmark since opening in 1950, suffered an increasingly familiar economic beating, and has been sold to Lyndon D. Quinn, owner of diners apparently thriving in Lancaster and Manheim.

With the change in ownership, the whole Zinn's theme and name will be jettisoned, though employees will be retained. Amos could well find himself rotting, covered with spider webs and propped in a Zinn barn unless a suitable new home can be found. Latest word is that The Henry Ford (Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village), Dearborn, Michigan is negotiating to plant Amos in the museum's Automobile in American Life exhibit. This neon-festooned indoor section includes a classic McD's sign, vintage gas pumps, a transplanted diner, JFK's death car, an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, and other salvaged symbols of the highway. [Thanks for the lead to Jodi Rodichok]

[07/17/2003]