Cooter's Has Been Absolutely Killing It With New Products - Wrapping Paper, Pins, Football and More

For twenty-five years, Cooter's Place has been THE place for everything Dukes of Hazzard related.  We are going to celebrate that milestone this summer.  But before we get to that, I would like to take a moment to recognize the amazing effort the crew at Cooter's has been putting in lately with the newest Cooter's Place exclusive products.  DukesCollector Cooter wanted to help show off these great new items.  Let's take a look.

Maybe you might think this is no big deal, but Cooter's now has it's own plastic bag.  I think this is a huge deal.  Instead of taking your beloved new Cooter's items home in a generic "thank you" bag like before, now your purchase comes in this stunning orange plastic bag that, in my opinion, exceeds anything you would get from Walmart, Target, or anywhere else.  Duke Collector Cooter agrees!

This piece of plastic goodness is basically a collector's item on its own.  Just look at the gorgeous imagery! I love this plastic bag!  When has anyone ever said that before?

Another cool new feature from Cooter's is not just a plain brown box, but what's on the box.  Cooter loves showing this off.  If you look closely at what's keeping this box closed, you'll see...Cooter's Place packing tape!

This stuff is unbelievable!  Anytime you order a package from CootersPlace.com, your box will now come sealed with this tire tread themed tape that has the logo and the General Lee on it.  That is too cool!  

The bag and the tape are details that Michael and the crew at Cooter's have added to their repertoire that really show the passion they have for Hazzard Nation.  These are small additions, but they mean so much.  Think about it, Cooter's could just be selling the same t-shirt and photos they always sold, which we would be happy about, but for twenty-five years now, they've never been content and have always given us fans new and exciting items.  The fact that Ben, Alma, Michael and the crew have gone so far as to invest in these giveaway items just to make our purchases more special shows how much they love us.  We as Dukes fans are truly blessed to have Cooter's and the lovely folks that work there.  Cooter's never sits still and is always innovating.  That is definitely evident with this next item!   

I can't tell you how many times I dreamed about Duked of Hazzard wrapping paper.  When I see modern wrapping paper with the Avengers, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Transformers, and Jurassic Park on it in stores, I always wish that we lived in a world where we could get Dukes wrapping paper.  Lately I've seen commemorative gift wrap for licenses like Masters of the Universe and WWE. I've even received some wrestler specific gift wrap showcasing Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage when I bought some items from sites that make authorized WWE memorabilia.  I am happy to report we live in that world I dreamed of, because Cooter's now sells 01 General Lee wrapping paper and it is amazing!  

Dukes Collector Cooter loves showing off these rolls of this beautiful orange paper.  The paper has large bold 01s as well as an image of our favorite orange car.  Making the paper orange and only having to utilize black and white inks was an ingenious design.  This is truly special paper.  

Cooter's made the paper available in time for Christmas and I couldn't wait to get some.  Let's say I ordered a lot.  My wife wrapped all the presents she bought me in this perfect orange paper and our tree become a wintery Hazzardy wonderland.  That's the first time I've ever used the term "Hazzardy" and I guarantee it will not be the last.  Full disclosure, I had a hard time ripping the paper off the presents and while opening the first few gifts I acted like my grandmother Dolly, who would always open gifts delicately and not rip it.  Jeff also does this, but I think his intentions are to recycle the paper.  With the large number of gifts I was fortunate to get from Natalie, Christmas morning would have become Christmas afternoon if I opened them Dolly-style.  I stopped thinking about it and ripped in.  I was like a kid on Christmas morning.  That's exactly how I've been on every Christmas morning my entire life.  It was awesome!

But I didn't use up my whole supply.  Cooter's plans on selling the paper for a long time to come, but that doesn't mean I didn't get enough to probably last a lifetime.  I have several unopened rolls, both for future use and to never open. I also asked my mom to wrap this small empty box so I could display the beautiful paper.  Look how great it is!  I love Cooter's 01 General Lee wrapping paper!

Next up Cooter wants to show off a couple of new key chains I recently got.  These aren't new items at the three Cooter's locations, Luray, Nashville, and Pigeon Forge, but are the steadfast items that have been bestsellers for years.  I've picked up so many of these over the years and I found so many uses for them.  I needed a few more.  

This General Lee keychain is such a perfect keychain.  I have one hanging from my backpack, on several sets of keys, and a bunch throughout the collection.  The orange 01 is just so great.  I picked up a couple and have plans for at least one of them in the future.  

The 01 has the same image on both sides.  The General has info about each Cooter's location including the web address and phone numbers.  It's a must have Dukes item. 

Another newer item at Cooter's are these really cool Hat Pins.  You know I love a good Dukes pin.  It was hard, but Cooter picked a favorite.  

The Exclusive Collection includes four different pins.  They each come on this nice card back that follows the tire tread theme.  The pins include the Gen'ral from behind with and without the Cooter's Garage logo, the Jumpin' General Lee and a front/side view.  I can't pick a favorite, because they are all perfect.  

The back of the package uses that great image of Cooter that was also used on the extraordinary 1/18 Cooter's Tow Truck exclusive from Greenlight.   It's the little details like this that add so much to Cooter's products.  

Next up is an item I saw at the 2023 Hazzard Run and I had to have it.  It's a General Lee pillow case!  I know, there is an official Dukes of Hazzard pillow case that came with the official bed set in 1981, and I have several in my collection, but I'm not putting any of those in the actual laundry rotation.  This bad boy is on my bed right now!

Cooter's has two different designs for the pillow case and they are both perfect.  There's the Cooter's Garage variety. 

And the jumping General Lee version.  I have both in the rotation and I swear I sleep better with my head on a General Lee pillow.  Both pillow cases are soft and comfy and everything you want in a pillow case.  Hat's off to you Cooter's.  Another winner. 

Next up are these great Cooter's socks.  Look at how glorious they are.  I plan on actually wearing these, but haven't made myself open them yet.  I have an older pair from Cooter's that I wear pretty often.  This design is even better than the last.  They keep one-upping themselves. 

I've wanted an 01 flag forever.  I had some plans to make one myself, but never got around to it.  Thanks to Cooter's, I don't have to.  This coat of arms is big and bold.  I love it. 

Like so many items, I got one to keep in the package, but I plan on using one of these flags.  I plan on flying it when the DukesCollector collection is officially open.  The flag will tell passersby that they can come check out my Dukes stuff.  Soon!  

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The final item in this blog is one I never knew I needed, but now can't imagine life without it.  This is the Cooter's Garage football.  And it is spectacular!  It has two designs on it.  The Cooter's Garage logo. 

And a big bold 01.  I never played football officially, but I have played in over a dozen turkeybowls.  An official size and weight football is just a little too big for the average, non Ben Roethlisberger sized hands.  I've always noticed that a junior high sized football is the perfect size to throw around with your neighbors in the backyard or with your cousin on the beach.  Michael and the crew at Cooter's must be on the same wavelength cause that's exactly the size of this orange beauty.  It has the perfect feel.  The composite leather feels just the way a football should.  This ball is perfect.  You know I had to get two.  One for the collection and one to keep in my car.  

Sorry old UA football, this one is getting the prime spot in the little cubby in my hatch.  I'll have this football with me everywhere I go and will always be ready to throw it around if the opportunity presents itself.  Anytime you want to pass, let me know!

Who would have thought that I would be starting a Hazzard County Athletics Association with my 01 balls?  This volleyball has seen so many good games during my open volleyball nights here at my church's new hall in Brownsville over the last few months.  I had to take a picture of them together.  The HCAA is open to all athletes and nonathletes alike in the greater Hazzard County area, which includes all of Hazzard Nation.  Let's play!

This football is remarkable.  And it has become available at the perfect time, just in time for the TaylorBowl, I mean the Superbowl.  

Though my Steelers aren't in it this year, I'll be watching the Superbowl in my 01 Steelers jersey with my 01 football in hand.  It's our year next year Steelers!

Before I wrap this blog up, in figurative 01 wrapping paper, I decided to throw the new orange pigskin around with DukesCollector Cooter.  I asked him if it was to big for him, but he said he could handle it.  

Whoops.  He was wrong.  Sorry buddy.  

He dusted himself off and decided he would just be the holder for me to practice my field goals.  You're a good man, DukesCollector Cooter. 

All of these great items are available now at Cooter's.  You can get them at the three locations, Luray, Nashville and Pigeon Forge, or from the website cootersplace.com.  Michael and the crew also have some unbelievable items planned, and I have been lucky enough to get a sneak peak.  I can't wait to get my hands on them.  We Dukes fans are so blessed to have Ben, Alma and the family at Cooter's.  They really keep this hobby thriving.  

This July we'll be celebrating 25 wonderful years of Cooter's Place with a big ol' celebration at the Luray location.  It's shaping up to be a great event and I look forward to sharing a lot of details soon.  You will not want to miss this one.  It's going to be epic.  

New Dukes Stuff - 12/24/2021 - Bump n' Go General, More Uno, Boxed Bop Bag, Filling Some Holes

 

I got a whole bunch of new to the collection Dukes of Hazzard goodness stock piled and it's time to share it with the world!  I filled some gaps in mini collections and tracked down some other great additions.  Here we go.

It's been several months and I'm still in an UNO-playing mood.  I thought I tracked down every version of the game for my big Dukes of Hazzard Card Game from the Makers of UNO post, but as soon as I posted it, a couple of my fellow Dukes Collectors pointed out that I was missing some foreign version.  Here is the Australian and Canadian variants of the game. 

First up is the Australian version.  It's very similar but has a few differences that make it stand out from the American version. 

On the top left corner of the box is a V shaped logo and "Distributed by Valentine Greetings, Under the Authority of I. G. I. Limited."  I showed Dave DeWitt's copy in my UNO post, but I'm glad to have my own. 

Dave had his neatly placed on display behind plastic.  His collection is amazingly organized and displayed.  We all know this.  Because of where it was placed, we couldn't see the side of the box.  I made an educated guess that the Valentine Greetings version was from Australia, and it turns out I was right.  The place of origin is printed on the side of the box. 

The cards and directions are the same as the American version.  

The Canadian version, on the other hand is pretty different.  First and foremost, it's bilingual, so everything is printed in English and French.  Everything except The Dukes of Hazzard.  Canada never used the title of Sherif Fais-Moi Peur, which is what the show is called in France.  

Even the From the Makers of UNO is on there in both languages which means the UNO logo is shown twice.  Double the UNO exposure.  

The directions are long and in two languages so the sheet is bigger than the American version.  The cards are also different. The action cars don't have the actions printed out on them, but rather an image showing the action.  I guess putting Hazzard County Clout in both French and English would have taken up a lot of card real estate.  The actions images seem like they might actually make the game a little easier to play because you wouldn't have to keep looking up how to play a Road Block or Speed Trap.  Road Block is like a Reverse in UNO and Speed Trap is like a Skip, but you knew that because you read my incredibly long post about the Dukes card game, right?

The Canadian instructions use a different image than it's American and Australian counterpart.  The General Lee is suspiciously absent from the card game images.  Canada must have noticed this and included our favorite car wherever they could, in this case on the instructions sheet.  Good job Canada.  Now I think I have all the Dukes UNO game stuff, but you never can tell.  If something else pops up it would be really surprising, but also really fun to add to the collection.  

 

Next up is a simple golden era trucker style hat.  I'm pretty sure mesh back hats weren't called trucker style in the golden era, but that name sure has stuck in the last few decades.  I'm almost certain this hat is not licensed, but pretty prevalent and cool, so I added it to the collection.  I don't regret it.  

This is a Dukes nightgown that definitely has a story behind it.  Not this particular nightgown, but maybe, that sure would be cool.  We used to have a variety store in Brownsville called Fisher's Big Wheel.  It was similar to Hills or other pre-Walmart discount stores.  Fisher's had a great toy section and probably sold a bunch of other useful stuff, but all of my memories about Fisher's deal with toys, goldfish, arcade machines, and their impressive annual fireworks display.  I'm guessing the township put off the fireworks and just used their parking lot, but in my book, it was the Fisher's fireworks.  My biggest memory from Fisher's was a disappointing one though.  Once the dark era of Dukes collecting came, after the show went off the air and items weren't produced before the silver era,  Little Larry was always looking for Dukes stuff, but didn't understand why it was no longer on the shelf.  I was about six and wouldn't invent the Dukes Collecting Eras for another twenty-six years.  But lo and behold, on one faithful day while my mom was checking out at Fisher's Big Wheel, this very night gown, again I'm 99.99% sure it was not this particular one, but one like it, was hanging at the register and highly discounted.  I bet it was around six dollars when it was new, but I know it was on big time clearance so it was probably something like fifty cents.  I begged my mom to buy it for me but she said it was a girl's nightgown and I certainly didn't need it.  All I knew was that it was the first actual Dukes thing I'd seen in a store in forever (probably less than a year) and I needed to add it to my collection.  I don't think anyone, including me, knew that I was building a massive collection back then, but I was.  

I couldn't believe we left the store without this beautiful My Heart Belongs To Bo, licensed and authentic Dukes of Hazzard nightgown, but we did.  It was probably the one and only time I found a Dukes item in the wild that I didn't have and didn't buy it.  Being six is tough.  I'm sure if I was with either of my grandmothers, both regulars and Fisher's, that nightgown would have been mine.  Dolly probably would have made me wear it.  But it's ok.  I forgive my mom for not buying it for me.  I returned the favor by promising to pay her back for the Kenner Ghostbuters Ecto 1 at Fisher's.  I swear I paid her back but she assures me I never did.  Thanks for proof reading this blog Mom!!!

 

The next addition is another strange one.  Warner Bros. is leaving money on the table by not letting diecast producers make licensed Dukes stuff.  Or pretending they aren't letting Greenlight produce their Hazzardous line.  Auto World was THE name in Dukes diecasts for a short time.  They made the best representation of the General Lee ever produced in diecast form with their amazing 1/18.  They would still like to be in the Dukes game and that's proven with this Auto World 1/64 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.  

Enough time has passed, can we all agree that Dodge screwed up by naming their current four door car the Charger.  It's a great car.  It looks aggressive and makes for a great police car.  But the new Challenger should have been named the Charger.  I said it.  With it being said, if you are going to do a newer Dodge as a General Lee, the Challenger looks better than the Charger.  Case in point, Auto World did up this Challenger as the Gen'ral, but just flipped the 0 and the 1 to get around the legalities of it all.   

The package doesn't have any Dukes inspired puns like the other previous big name in Dukes diecasts, Johnny Lightning, did with their unlicensed Barn Find General Lee.  This is a great release and very Dukes-y.  Keep 'em coming AW and JL.  LISTEN TO THE FANS WB, WE WANT NEW DUKES STUFF!

Back to old Dukes stuff.  Here is a jukebox title strip sheet.  It's five attached strips for Waylon's Dukes Theme as well as It's Alright.  I bought this sheet for ninety-nine cents on ebay.  Mostly because it a Dukes item, obviously, but also because it's a Pittsburgh item.  It was produced by the Star Title Strip Co. Inc. that was based in our beloved Steel City.  It even has an address on it.  The address is now a photography studio.  Very cool.  

Way back in my second ever blog post, nearly ten years ago, before I had the New Dukes Stuff title figured out, I posted a blog called Newest Dukes things.  I was almost there.  I used the word haul and posted pictures of all my new stuff.  Things haven't changed that much.  One of those items I posted about was a Belt Racer Rebel Racer.  A Dukes ripoff made by Kusan.  I'd never seen another one until now.  This is the other Dukes ripoff in the series.  You can't have the General Lee without Rosco's police car.  I wish some other toy producers had shared that idea because we have so many lonely versions of the General without Rosco to chase him.  But Kusan didn't just ripoff the Gen'ral, they included Rosco in the car-on-your-belt fun.  Is a car on your belt fun?

It's a belt, it's a racetrack, it goes where you go.  Also included in the series are a Firebird, Corvette, Trans Am, and a Turbo Stocker.  None are very Dukes inspired so I'm happy with having just two Belt Racers.  Sheesh, I'm coming up on the ten year anniversary of the ol' DukesCollector blog.  I got to plan something special.  

Last year I collected so many foreign versions of the Dukes movie that it's surprising to think there are still versions out there I don't have.  There will always be Dukes things I don't have.  I have to accept this.  But this is no longer one of them.  This is a version of the 2005 movie from...somewhere. 

The ebay listing was from the country of Georgia and the listing said the language is Turkish.  It's possible the country of origin is either Georgia or Turkey.  I just don't know.  The title in Turkish is Cligin Kuzenler.  Google tells me that means crazy cousins.  I like it!

Staying with the foreign versions of the movie theme, here is the trailer from the United Kingdom.  

 

I have a lot of copies of the trailer on film, but one from Europe really got me excited.  I did a dance with the seller involving offers for over a month until it we finally agreed upon a price and it became mine.  You have to be able to have fun on ebay or else it's just an online store like Amazon.  Ebay is way more fun than Amazon.  

A few years ago I completed one of my favorite blog posts when I collected and wrote about the Dukes of Hazzard party supplies by Reed.  I tracked down all the different pieces including the plentyful table covers and the not too hard to find cups, napkins and plates and the pretty hard to find hats and invitations, and the impossible to find candy cake topper and party blowers.  I even found a party pack that had several different items in it.  I thought I had it all, but as often happens, I found something else.  This isn't too different from what I already have, but in the big party post, I included the four pack of cone shaped hats. 

 

This is the five pack!  I didn't know a five pack existed until one popped up on ebay and it went for crazy money.  Then another one popped up and it also went for crazy money.  Then a third came along and didn't go very high at all and I swooped in.  Patience is the name of the game.  

The hats are the same in both the four and five packs.  But the bar code numbers are different.  Now I think I have every Reed party supply item, but again, you never know.  

Also in the second ever blog post I mentioned earlier, I talked about trying to track down all the Dukes folders.  I'm closer to that goal now because I collected the two hardest to find smaller ones.  WriteRight is listed on all of the easier to find 12x9 inch folders but it also says Union Camp Corporation on them.  These harder to find, nearly impossible, smaller folders do not mention WriteRight, but do have Union Camp and the same address on them.  

They both feature images and designs that are on larger folders.  The aspect is a little off and the images don't fill the whole folder.  Because of this there is some blank white space.  I wonder why these were produced.  They are too small to have a standard size piece of paper in them.  The first one has the famous tree group shot that we all know is my favorite picture of the cast.  The Duke cousins are featured on the bottom.  Both the front and back have the same design.  

The inside has the same notes area and the Dukes logo as the larger counterparts, it just doesn't mention WriteRight.  I wonder why these were made and also wonder why they have slightly different information in them.  It's a mystery. 

The second one features the Carnival of Thrills jump and also has blank white space.  A picture of the three cousins and one of Rosco are also shown.  

The inside looks the same.  I have nearly all the Dukes paper school supplies checked off the list.  I love completing collections like that. 

Next us is a pair of TV listings that feature the Dukes on the cover.  

The first one isn't a traditional TV listing but actually a CBS Fall Preview special newspaper insert.  Of course the Dukes would be on the cover of a CBS preview.  They were the number one show on the network that wasn't called Dallas.  Daisy and Luke are dressed in their usual Dukes clothes but Bo has a Looking Good t-shirt on.  Looking Good was the CBS slogan at the time.  

The article inside is about Bo so I guess that's why he's wearing the shirt.  The top lists the newspapers the insert appeared in.  

Included are a bunch of fine cities but I'm happiest to see Pittsburgh.  This was packaged inside an issue of the Pittsburgh Press.  There's all kind of Pittsburgh in this blog.  

The fall that is being previewed is the fall of 1979 when the Dukes second season was about to start.  The Dukes was still on at 9 pm eastern sandwiched between the Incredible Hulk and Dallas,  That is a powerhouse line up.  No wonder CBS owned Friday nights.  There is a short article about John performing magic tricks and losing weight when he was a teenager.  Little did the writers of the article, or the producers of the Dukes of Hazzard know at the time that John was still a teenager.  

The next listing comes from out friends south of the border in Mexico.  Mexico loves Daisy Duke.  Everyone loves Daisy Duke. 

Inside is a two page article that's, of course, in Spanish.  The title says los haz los aniquilaran, which at first I thought was a Spanish translation of the Dukes of Hazzard that I haven't yet come across but google tells me that it means "let them annihilate them" which is really weird and there must be something lost in translation.  They used fun pictures.  

The original owner of the TV Guide like periodical put some time into underlining everything they either planned on watching or what they already watched.  That's a lot of dedication to the television.  But I know all about dedication to television as I'm currently writing a blog about a forty-year plus television show.  This is a very unique and interesting addition to the blog.  I'm really glad I found it. 

Two very recognizable, popular, and rare Dukes pieces are the inflatable toys.  I wrote a blog about the Boss Hogg Bop Bag and the Inflatable General Lee way back in 2014.   Back then I only had one open example of each.  In 2017 I tracked down the Inflatable Gen'ral sealed in the box and recently I finally found a sealed Bop Bag.  

Because the punching bag is made of dense plastic and the bottom is filled with sand, the sealed box is surprisingly heavy.  

I often wonder about these kids that were models on toy boxes like this.  He had to be the perfect age to love the Dukes.  I wonder is he still does.  In my mind this kid's name is Jason.  He looks like a Jason.  I hope Jason, who would probably be in his mid-forties about now, fondly remembers the time he got to play with a Boss Hogg punching bag and that his mom or dad kept one of the toys unopened for him.  I also hope he searches online about it and finds this here blog post.  Hi Jason!

The final item on this post is a doozy.  This is the Procision Battery Operated General Lee Car Bump'n Go still in its original box.  Earlier this year I discovered a loose, out of the box, Bump'n Go General Lee and I was content with that being the only one in the collection.  It is super rare and I didn't think I'd ever find one boxed.  I'm super excited about finding this bad boy.  

The box has a flap on top that seems to have been folded down for several decades.  It won't stay up on its own.  That's ok though. The front of the flap features a cartoon style drawing of the Gen'ral and the back has the instructions.  The rest of the back of the box has an image of the toy and the information. 

I wonder why some toys are so much more rare than others.  I guess it has to do with production numbers.  Procesion probably just made more RC versions and less Bump'n Gos.  This particular car was purchased at the gone but not forgotten Toys R Us.  The price is scratched out and I can't decipher it.  

I'm surprised the other side of the box is quite different.  It's a fun cartoon image, but it lacks some of the finer details of the Charger.  The illustration looks a little generic.  The color of the 01s is also incorrect.  I'm glad the finished product is much more accurate. 

The 01s and wheels look great on this car.  

The drawing of Bo and Luke doesn't really match the style of the drawing of the General and they don't really look like John and Tom.  Plus the artist made the egregious mistake of giving Bo the blue plaid shirt and Luke the yellow shirt.  As Rosco would say, shame shame!

 

Here is the complete line of General Lees from Procesion.  There are two different RC car boxes and the Bump'n Go is in front.  The open RC is on the left and the B'n G is on the right.  

The molds on the two cars are the same.  Most of the parts are interchangeable.  The biggest difference is the antennae and the hole it comes out of.   

 

And of course the bottom.  Neither of the toys are all that fun.  The RC only goes forward and backward.  You can't control the turns.  And the B'n G basically does whatever it wants.  The wheels in the middle just kind of go randomly and bump into things.  It's named correctly.  The open and boxed Bump'n Go are super rare and I'm so happy to have them.  I love this stuff!

Just because there were several Pittsburgh Dukes connections in this post, let's take it home with this wonderful picture I took of Catherine sporting our Pittsburgh Steeler's beloved Terrible Towel a few years ago.  I think Myron Cope would approve.  Double Yoi!