When the temperature rises, Douglas Hanson has the perfect solution -- a Spamsicle.

That is, frozen SPAM luncheon meat, dipped in chocolate with sprinkles.

"On a hot day like this, nothing's like a Spamsicle because it's cold and the SPAM and chocolate mix," Hanson said.

Spoken like a true SPAM fan, a fanatic, if you will. Such a fan that Wednesday was his 100th visit to the SPAM Museum, including the current location and its former site in the Oak Park Mall.

"It's exhilarating," Hanson said after he stepped into the museum foyer.

With him were his wife and two cousins, who just shook their heads, slightly embarrassment.

Hanson, his wife, Amy, and his daughter are visiting Austin for the week from Rochester, N.Y. Hanson was born in Austin, but moved to New York when he was 3 years old. He returned to town every summer to visit his grandmother.

His cousin, Chris Thompson, still lives in Austin along with other relatives. Thompson has been with him for many of the trips, though she doesn't keep track.

And Thursday is to be his daughter's first visit to the museum and Hanson's 101st. Hanson wanted to name his 10-month-old girl, Stephanie Paula Ann Marie. Or if she were a boy, Steven Paul Anthony Michael.

"But the wife wouldn't allow it," Hanson said. They instead named her Margaret Marie.

Amy, however, has allowed a lot.

Their kitchen is SPAM-themed in blue and yellow, with SPAM memorabilia adorning the walls. His truck is decorated with SPAM stickers. He owns at least 20 SPAM shirts, not to mention the hats, underwear, pajamas, blankets and clocks.

Not even his students at Spenceport High School, where he teaches 10th and 11th grade social studies, can escape his passion for SPAM.

His classroom is decorated with SPAM souvenirs. He wears a SPAM shirt every Friday and each Christmas gives out SPAM banks. He even makes SPAM for those who have never tasted it. Most don't like it, he admits.

"I've made a few convert," he said.

This love for SPAM started in, of course, Austin. During a visit to his grandmother as a boy, he and a friend ate 10 cans of SPAM apiece.

"I got sick," Hanson said.

Lovesick, maybe? While in the Air Force, he was the only soldier he knew who ate the SPAM and eggs rations. Now, he prepares SPAM hors d'oeuvres whenever he has friends over for happy hour.

"Of course, he makes sure there's a supply of sauces to cover up the taste of SPAM," Amy Hanson reminds him.

And the Spamsicle is just the beginning. Ever had a Spamtini? Just replace the olives with cubes of SPAM. And Hanson's SPAM fondue placed third in a contest at a New York bar.

Even little Margaret Marie Hanson has a collection of SPAM outfits and accessories and she hasn't even tried the meat yet. How does Amy put up with it all?

"I just walk away most of the time and just shake my head," she said.

Hanson first visited the SPAM Museum when it opened at Oak Park Mall in 1984. He described the first visit as "interesting."

"Strange, but true, one of those things," he quipped.

He's been to the new SPAM museum five times, enjoying the interactive exhibits the most. On his latest trip Wednesday, he bought varieties of SPAM, such as SPAM and Cheese, that aren't found in New York and more SPAM souvenirs He discovered there's now Barbecued SPAM.

"I bought a dozen cans," he said.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com