We stopped at the Riverside, Iowa, that has a claim-to-fame for the Star Trek fans. As we drove into the town, there are banners on the poles with the original cast members photos with slogans: "Birthplace of Capt. Kirk," "Where the Trek Begins," and "Beam Me Up Scotty."
The Riverside is the official Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk, captain of the Starship Enterprise - a native son born in the 23rd century. With such a long lead time before Kirk arrives, the town has been under no deadline pressure.
It first claimed the captain in 1985, when Steve Miller, A Riverside councilman and a Trekkie, read the Gene Roddenberry's book, "Making of Star Trek (1968) that Kirk would be born in a small town in Iowa. The book didn't name the town, so Miller thought, "Why not Riverside?" He received permission from Roddenberry and at the next council meeting (March 25, 1985) Miller proposed that Riverside declare itself the Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk. The motion passed unanimously. Riverside quickly altered its town slogan from "Where the West Begins" to "Where the Trek begins," and changed its annual summer festival from River Fest to Trek Fest.
The Star Trek Voyage Home Museum didn't open until 2008. The museum is low-tech and home-built, reminding us of how props and sets on the original TV series probably looked up closely. Riverside received no help from Star Trek's corporate owners and must be careful not to infringe on any copyrights. Most of the items are donated by Star Trek fans throughout the years. One person who heard about the Museum came one day and visited the town. Ever since then, he would come for every annual town's Trek Fest and when he passed away, he donated all his lifetime memorabilia to add to the museum collection.
When you walk into the museum's bathroom, you can imagine that you are in Kirk's captain's chair by sitting on the toilet. Unique, indeed for trekkies, I suppose.
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| Captain's Chair in the Museum bathroom |
We thought this was a jet engine, but it is a titanium time capsule created by Sean Christopher Paris, a self-described "galactic artist," in 1990. The person who was showing us around said that it is so pretty, they didn't have the heart to bury it. That's why it's in the museum and not beneath the Kirk birthplace monument, which is where the artist had wanted it. It's supposed to be opened on the day Kirk is born in March 22, 2228.
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| Time capsule |
The museum has cardboard stand-ups of Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy for photo ops, uniforms from various Star Trek series, starship models to ponder, VHS series, plates and Star Trek items to look at.
One showcase in the museum is devoted to the memorable month of Sept. 2004, when William Shatner (the Original Captain Kirk) finally came to town. He said he was starring in a movie, "Invasion Iowa," but in fact he was filming a prank reality series for a cable channel. The people of Riverside (who were the ones being pranked) took it in stride. Artifacts on display include an uncashed $4.00 Shatner check for coffee and doughnuts, several of his partly-smoked cigars, and a pair of flesh-colored briefs, autographed by Shatner, that were worn by a guy who ran around on camera pretending to be naked.
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| Uncashed $4.00 Shatner check |
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| Invasion Iowa |
Out in the parking lot sits the star of the Trek Fest parade, a trailer-mounted "USS Riverside," which bears a remarkable (but not legally liable) resemblance to the USS Enterprise.
Across the street on S. Hickory St., there is the statues of James T. Kirk, not William Shatner. The statue was sculpted by Jurek Jakowicz of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At its unveiling in July 2018, former Riverside councilman Steve Miller, said that one of his initial goals was to erect a bronze statue of the Starship captain.
Growing up reading and watching the original Star Trek, it was a fun and memorable experience for me to visit the actual town where they have Trek Fest.
"Live long and prosper!" Thanks for reading. Safe Travels!
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