Tourists Will Find Trip to Poniatowski Isn’t Pointless

--It may be beside the point, but John Gesicki says his hometown of Poniatowski, Wis., population 111, is at the center of everything that goes on in the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. More to the point, Gesicki says the town sits in a spot that is the center of that part of the hemisphere. Although Gesicki concedes that the precise center is half a mile west and a quarter of a mile north of town, he adds: What’s the difference? “We’re just a little community,” he says. “We have to promote what we have, and that’s all we have. That place is a point of interest that we can be proud of.” For the tourist trade, Gesicki, who owns the town’s bar and general store, has marked the spot with a wooden sign that reads: “This spot . . . is the exact center of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. It is here that the 90th meridian of longitude bisects the 45th parallel of latitude, meaning it is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator, and is a quarter of the way around the Earth from Greenwich, England.”

--It was strictly a civil gathering, but the talk in Memphis, Tenn., over the weekend was about war. The event was the 15th annual Civil War Show, attended by about 4,000 enthusiasts who sought to raise money for a historical journal. “We have one thing in common,” said Doug Cupples, chairman of the affair. “We’re all history buffs, and most of us are fanatics about the Civil War.” Besides the re-enactments of battles, the group took part in some lively debates over what might have been. They argued over what might have been if Nathan Bedford Forrest had been in command at Ft. Donelson or if Braxton Bragg instead of Robert E. Lee had been military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Collectors displayed their wares, offering for sale guns, uniforms and bullets taken from battlefields.

--New York City marathoners, eat your hearts out. To the north, in Skaneateles, N.Y., 40 runners ran not for glory but for a beer and Twinkies. That’s what the 3.1-mile 5th annual Short Fat Guys’ Road Race was all about. “There were no winners, no losers. We all finished in one pack,” said Lester Purdy, one of the organizers. For those interested in less demanding runs--this one finished in 40 minutes--your waistline must be at least 4 1/2 inches larger than the inseam length of your pants.

--First Lady Nancy Reagan was chosen to receive the American Sportscasters Assn.’s Humanitarian Award for her anti-drug efforts. It will be given Tuesday at a Hall of Fame dinner in New York.