090309-FELICITY, CA

March 9,2009

Center of the World

Like I have always said … people are always telling me what to do and where to go. This time, Tom, one of my RV friends suggested that I stop at a roadside attraction called “The Center of the World”. It happened to be just around the bend from where we were camping, and on the way to our next stop. I had seen it on the map but had no idea what it was and didn’t plan on checking it out. I should know by now, that I should be more curious and investigate everything, regardless of my initial impression.

In the town of Felicity, with a population of less than 300, there is a very unusually collection of buildings and structures.

Felicity was founded on 11.May.1986 and is named for a town mentioned in Jacques-Andre Istel's book Coe the Good Dragon.
Monsieur Istel lives in Felicity and serves as mayor of the town

At first glance, two 2 story buildings, one a restaurant and the other a general store, sit on either side of a small pyramid. In the distance is a small church on a hill and in a vast field before it are rows of low granite walls with various inscriptions. The triangular structure is on a grassy area and has a door on one side.
Peter wants to go to the restaurant first (he’s always hungry but usually has no money) but I choose the general store first as I pull firmly on his leash and bribe him with a cookie.. It is an attractive gift shop, not unlike many we have been to and displays the usual collection of touristy knick-knacks and items indigenous to souvenir shops.

I usually gravitate to the postcards and bookracks to find out the main theme of the location and while browsing, the salesgirl asked if I would like to see a 7 minute video describing the area.

As the story goes, some French geological society selected the site that the pyramid sat on as THE CENTER OF THE WORLD. When Peter heard that he had an alternative title that he whispered to me … THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE”,.. but I chose not to repeat it.

"COE the Good Dragon at the Center of the World," now in its 6th edition, led to the 1985 law setting The Official Center of the World at the precise point inside the pyramid at Felicity, California. The French edition was described by famed critic Professor Claude Tannery as "The American Babar."
In 1989, the law was recognized by the Institut Geographique National of the Government of France.
Historic Note: The pyramid was suggested in jest by the author's wife as he wrote the book. "It's in the desert, why not a pyramid?" As men are wont to do, he took his wife seriously . The author built the pyramid, named the town for his wife, and thereafter ran for Mayor.

The rows of plaques (The Museum of History in Granite) represent many historical periods of time as well as organizations such as The history of flight in France and the French Foreign Legion. There is also a piece of memorabilia in the form of a portion of the original spiral staircase from the Eiffel tower. Are you beginning to see a pattern here. To be fair, there is also a tribute to the Korean War Marine Veterans, a row dedicated to the evolution of the Earth’s development of Humanity as well as other themes, with many blank rows with future plans.

I suspect that there were no United States agencies or scientific groups that were interested in this particular geographic wonder and so the French probably saw an opportunity to encore their previous success of the statue of Liberty with this monument.

In fact, scientists at the Geodetic Survey have stopped calculating "centers" due to the imprecise nature of the task. Oscar S. Adams, Senior Mathematician for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, even wrote, "Since there is no definite way to locate such a point, it would be best to ignore it entirely...."

A great international honor was bestowed in 1998 upon the Town of Felicity by Ambassador Jean-Marie Daillet of France – La Medaille des Affaires Etrangeres, the medal of the State Department of France.

Felicity website http://www.felicity.us/home.html

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