Lester Howe is back at the caverns he discovered and introduced to the world.
Or least an animatronic version of the Howe Caverns discoverer is.
Tuesday, Mr. Howe, created and designed by Garner Holt Productions of San Bernardino, California, was introduced to the public; Monday, Assemblyman Pete Lopez and State Senator Jim Seward got a sneak-preview.
“He’s amazingly life-like,” Assemblyman Lopez said, as Mr. Howe reminisced about buying the place from his neighbor Henry Wetsel for $100, ‘A shrewd deal you will agree.’
“What a great way to welcome people to Howe Caverns.
Senator Seward joked that Mr. Howe looks life-like enough that someone should run him for a state office.
“I wonder which one of us would get more votes,” he added with a laugh.
Mr. Howe was created using the only known pair of photographs of the 19th century explorer and entrepreneur.
Research also included interviews with historians and dialect experts to learn what he might have sounded like during the 1840s-1870s, when he conducted tours; Mr. Howe’s costume is one he wore in an 1850s photograph at the cave entrance.
Mr. Howe’s new pre-tour show is only the first of planned additions to the Caverns in 2011 as Howe High Adventure—which will include a ropes course, four zip lines, and a picnic pavilion—to start.
The first of those attractions are expected to open by August.
Still in the planning stages is Dinosaur Canyon, which will feature animatronic dinosaurs and a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex.