Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the "Cannonball's" throttle, as running the train is one of her favorite pastimes (being something of a tomboy with an interest in mechanics is one of her character traits). Trips on the "Cannonball" usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store, run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is the local hub, where menfolk come to play checkers and chat. Sam Drucker is the postmaster, and his telephone is a lifeline for the Bradleys, Uncle Joe, and others. The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along the isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad. Due to a trestle demolition many years ago, the line now is entirely unconnected to any other railroad; it runs between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley. Each of these towns is about away from the hotel, which is located roughly at the midpoint of the line. Kate Bradley says that her stubborn grandfather built the hotel there because that was where the lumber fell off the train. The town of Pixley, at one end of the "Cannonball's" route, was named for Pixley, California. A number of location shots were filmed in the real Pixley. The exact location of Hooterville is never mentioned on "Petticoat Junction" or "Green Acres". Indeed, clues given to the location of Hooterville often conflict with each other, but nearby mentions of towns and counties place it in Southwest Missouri. The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned, Victorian-style hotel, accessible primarily by train (and a poorly maintained fire road), where guests share bathing facilities and eat together with the family at a large dining-room table. Kate Bradley cooks sumptuous meals on a wood-burning stove, and her specialty is chicken 'n' dumplings. Meals were prepared for the show by property master Vince Vecchio. In a 1966 interview, Bea Benaderet said, "I suspect that Vince is better at cooking things like [my] mother used to than anybody's mother ever was." Regarding the show's title, "Petticoat Junction", the hotel is located at a water stop, not a junction (where two or more railroad lines meet). The train stop is nicknamed "petticoat junction" because the Bradley sisters often go swimming in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats draped over the side.