METROPOLIS, Ill. (WTVF) — With that new Supergirl movie coming out, I remembered NewsChannel 5 has an interview from 1982 with Dolly Parton. She was talking about potential film roles.
"Yeah, there's talk of a movie," Parton said in 1982. "They're doing a continuation of the Superman series. They're calling it Supergirl. There's a chance I might play the witch in that. Good witch, bad witch. I'm reading the script right now. It might be a cute part."
Parton didn't end up taking a role in that 1984 Supergirl film, but it's an interesting what-if.
Just a quick drive away, there's someone who's a really big Dolly Parton fan. She's also a big fan of someone else.
"Morgan, are you a fan of Superman?" I asked.
"I love Superman!" answered Morgan Siebert.
Siebert runs the Super Museum in Metropolis, Illinois. There are the real-deal costumes from movies and TV series as well as props.
"More flying miniatures, storyboards," Siebert said, walking down a long row of items.
The place is just a love letter to every time we believed a man could fly.
"There's stuff everywhere you look," Siebert continued. "We have over 75,000 items."
"Who's your favorite Superman?" I asked.
"Favorite Superman? I'm going to say Christopher Reeve."
Good answer.
The origin story of the museum starts with Siebert's dad, Jim Hambrick.
"My great grandmother Nora got him a lunchbox when he was five," Siebert said.
From this lunchbox, Hambrick's collection got bigger and bigger. It got to the point mild-mannered reporters started writing about Hambrick.
"My dad was known as the world's largest collector," Siebert said.
Siebert was always his Supergirl.
In 1993, Hambrick moved the family from California to use his incredible collection to start the Super Museum.
"Here we have our Supergirl section," Siebert continued, walking into another room. "We have Helen Slater's costume from the 1984 film."
Though Dolly Parton didn't end up in a villain role in the 1984 Supergirl, Siebert sees Parton as a true hero for her home of Sevier County.
"Her entrepreneurship and what she's done for her community, I'm inspired by what Dolly has done," she explained.
Siebert's taken that inspiration to build up Metropolis. Siebert's painted murals around town. She's also on the board of the Chamber of Commerce to keep building this as a place people love.
"I'm really happy I got to grow up in Metropolis, Illinois, which is more of a Smallville. I picture escape rooms, themed restaurants, train rides," she said.
Her dad would've love that. Jim Hambrick died in 2024.
"Superman came into his life, he needed a father figure," Siebert remembered. "His father had been absent. He looked to George Reeves as Superman as who he should be as a man. Every part of his life, he tried to emulate Superman."
"It sounds like your dad was a Superman," I said.
"He was," Siebert nodded. "I think my dad did a phenomenal job. We do everything we can to honor his legacy and keep his spirit alive as well."
Hambrick's work lives in Metropolis. What can I say? Fandom. It's more powerful than a locomotive.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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