Years from now, Brent Lothrop will likely embellish the story a bit.

"I remember the day I became the 100,000th visitor at the SPAM Museum in Austin," he'll say. "It was a life or death matter and I was willing to push the envelope.

"I don't really think of myself as a hero, but if you want to call me one, that's all right," he'll tell friends, trying not to sound cocky.

Just like they say at the North Main Street shrine to the canned luncheon meat: "Amazing but true."

SPAM does that to a person. It turns the ordinary into something extraordinary.

Lothrop is, indeed, the 100,000th visitor to the SPAM Museum along North Main Street in Austin.

He crossed the threshold and walked into SPAM World at about 2 p.m. Thursday.

The rest is -- no kidding -- history.

"Me and my business partner were in Austin today to visit the Hormel Foods Corporation," explained Lothrop. "They've been one of our customers for years.

"After our meetings were over, we had some time left before we returned to the Cities, so we decided to visit the SPAM Museum," Lothrop said.

When Thursday dawned at the SPAM Museum, Shawn Radford was beginning to count down the number of visitors needed to break the 100,000 mark. Thirty-seven at mid-morning, 12 at 1 p.m. and finally the next person to walk through the door.

Lothrop and his partner from Dynamic Solutions Group were the ones. Had not Lothrop accepted his friend's invitation to walk in first, he would have gone ignored.

According to Radford, the SPAM Museum and Hormel Foods archives manager, attracting 100,000 visitors in only 15 months is nothing short of amazing.

"We've never had less than 27 visitors here," she said. "But we have had over 1,000 a day such as the July 5th and 6th crowds. We've had visitors from all 50 states and 52 foreign countries. And in the three months from June 2, we doubled the number of people the museum attracted from the time it opened in September 2001 to May of this year.

"Sixty-five percent of our visitors are leisure travelers. Gov. Jesse Ventura even popped in for a visit and other celebrities, too, but most of our visitors are just ordinary people, tour groups and schoolchildren."

Finally, Radford has built the anticipation and smiles before making a point.

"We are just thrilled that the museum has been able to attract 100,000 visitors in only 15 months time. That's amazing.

"Did you know the Southeast Minnesota Office of tourism now ranks the SPAM Museum the third top roadside attraction behind only Cabela's and the Mall of America?"

The SPAM Museum fills an abandoned Kmart building along Austin's North Main Street. Hormel Foods also moved some corporate offices next door in a Corporate South office complex.

The architecture and landscaping alone make the $4 million creation an eye-catching attraction.

Step inside and there's more. Much more.

No less than 17 individual displays, a movie theater, interactive exhibits, including the Hormel Girls singers and a nostalgic vignette from World War II. SPAM Radio, how the product is produced, an exam, Monty Python's comedic paean to the most famous canned luncheon meat and the ghostly life-like figures of George A. Hormel and his son, Jay C. Hormel, talking in an office scene.

All this and a gift center with hundreds of yellow and blue SPAM items.

The official grand-opening -- delayed because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States -- attracted more than 50,000 people over a weekend last June.

They keep coming back to hear 10 SPAM-bassadors discuss the product and its unique hold on the world's curiosity.

"It's a great honor to be the 100,000th visitor to the SPAM Museum," Lothrop said Thursday.

Radford presented Lothrop with a special gift basket complete with all the SPAM souvenirs a new fan could want, plus free accommodations in an Austin motel.

Now, Radford and her SPAM-bassadors are looking forward to the next 100,000 visitors. While that won't happen in the next few weeks, the holiday season is one of the busiest at the museum.

The SPAM Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com