Buddy Holly crash site

A few months ago was the 50th anniversary of the "day the music died." Mike spent a long time building an online tribute to the musicians that died in a 1959 plane crash after playing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Ia.: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. On the anniversary he went up to Clear Lake, where they had a (freeeezing cold) tribute at the crash site. Since I wasn't able to go, I'd been wanting to see the site, and so on our way up to Minnesota we took a side trip there.

There aren't a lot of markers pointing to the site, which is actually quite far into the middle of a cornfield. But when you get there you see this.



I love it.



People have left an assortment of items at the memorial, especially glasses and identification cards.





Apparently while working on the tribute project our reporters discovered the owner of the plane still lived in the area and was planning on writing a book about the whole thing. He had to wait until the 50 year mark so he could no longer be sued, I guess.

Just being there, it kind of gives you chills.