Posted on 06/06/2006 8:48:22 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
HELL, Mich. (June 5) - They're planning a hot time in Hell on Tuesday.
The day bears the date of 6-6-06, or abbreviated as 666 - a number that carries hellish significance.
And there's not a snowball's chance in Hell that the day will go unnoticed in the unincorporated hamlet 60 miles west of Detroit.
Nobody is more fired up than John Colone, the town's self-styled mayor and owner of a souvenir shop.
"I've got `666' T-shirts and mugs. I'm only ordering 666 (of the items) so once they're gone, that's it," said Colone, also known as Odum Plenty. "Everyone who comes will get a letter of authenticity saying you've celebrated June 6, 2006, in Hell."
Most of Colone's wares will sell for $6.66, including deeds to one square inch of Hell.
Live entertainment and a costume contest are planned. The Gates of Hell should be installed at a children's play area in time for the festivities.
"They're 8 feet tall and 5 foot wide and each gate looks like flames, and when they're closed, it's a devil's head," Colone told The Detroit News for a Saturday story.
Mike "Smitty" Hickey, owner of the Dam Site Inn, wasn't sure what kind of clientele would show up Tuesday.
"We're all about having fun here. I don't think we're going to get the cult crowd, the devil worshippers or anything like that," said Hickey, whose bar's signature concoction is the Bloody Devil, a variant of the Bloody Mary.
Colone, meanwhile, has been in touch with radio stations as far away as San Diego and Seattle that are raffling off trips to Hell in honor of 6-6-6.
The 666 revelry is just the latest chapter in the town's storied history of publicity stunts, said Jason LeTeff, one of its 72 year-round residents - or, as the mayor calls them, Hellions or Hell-billies. But LeTeff wasn't particularly enthused.
"Now, here I am living in Hell, taking my kids to church and trying to teach them the right things and the town where we live is having a 6-6-6 party," he said.
According to the town's semiofficial Web site, there are two leading theories about how Hell got its name.
The first holds that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schoene hell" - roughly translated as, "So bright and beautiful." Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.
The second holds that George Reeves was asked after Michigan gained statehood what he thought the town he helped settle should be called, and reportedly replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." The name became official on Oct. 13, 1841.
Eh, they can party in Hell if they want. I'd rather boogie on in Purgatory, to be honest.
At least then I wouldn't have to listen to Barney. He and his friends occupy the fifth circle of Hell, you know. :O
Might be a few police around there.
Pardon me officer, could you tell me where the highway to Hell is?.........
Hope they have a hell of a good time!
I've been thinking about going over there to check it out but I doubt the wife will want to head 20 miles in the other direction after work.
AC/DC
Highway To Hell (1979)
Highway To Hell
Living easy, living free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too
I'm on the highway to hell
No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me round
Hey Satan, payin' my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey Momma, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land
I'm on the highway to hell
(Don't stop me)
And I'm going down, all the way down
I'm on the highway to hell
Saw them in '79 just before the crash........
That one sounds a bit too bizarre.
Talk about whistlin' past the graveyard!!
Clark Kent?
I'd rather be in Paradise. /obscure Michigan geography reference
The road to Hell is paved with . . .?
Liberals.........
I agree. I'm only a few miles south of there as I type.
ROTFLMAO!! Good one!
I'm between Hell and Paradise, but a lot closer to Hell.
Been there... It's nice, but my wife prefers Climax, Michigan.
My kids used to love Christmas, MI when they were younger.
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