Exploring the Sooner State by Route 66 March 10, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips.add a comment
Brian Passey of the The Spectrum in southern Utah once traveled along Interstates 40 and 44 when he was going through Oklahoma, and he wasn’t overly impressed with what he saw on the superslab.
The next time he was in the Sooner State, however, he decided to take Route 66 as much as possible. His view of the state changed.
The whole thing is worth reading here.
In Oklahoma, you can drive nearly 400 miles of Route 66 without ever having to be on the interstate. I should also add that Passey’s experience — of finding ample charms in Oklahoma while driving the Mother Road — largely matched our own during our first big Route 66 trip eight years ago.
Route 66 makes Preservation Oklahoma’s most-endangered list March 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation.1 comment so far
Preservation Oklahoma this week placed Route 66 resources on its 2009 list of the state’s most endangered historic places.
The group said:
Mom-and-pop motor courts, tourist cabins, restaurants, neon signs , roadbeds and bridges are all part of the Route 66 structures that sprang up in the 1920s. Today, many have gone out of business and suffer the indignity of abandonment.
Preservation Oklahoma also listed historic downtowns as endangered and cited the Route 66 town of El Reno in particular.
Preservation Oklahoma also listed Route 66 motels as endangered in 2007 and 2008.
(via Tulsa World)
Century-old couple has a Route 66 connection March 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, People.3 comments
Tucked into this story from KTUL-TV in Tulsa about Forrest Winston, 101, and his wife Vera Winston, 100, was this little item:
If you recognize Winston, you may know him as the one who built the Winston Motor Court on Route 66. Back then, it was the city’s first air-conditioned motel.
Here’s a postcard image of the Winston Motor Court, which was listed as being on Route 66 and U.S. 75 in Tulsa. Here’s another image, from eBay. Here’s another image and another.
I know very little about the Winton’s Court. It may still be over there under another name. Can anyone chime in?
Midwest Living features Route 66 March 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Magazines, Road trips.2 comments
Midwest Living has a five-page feature article in its March/April issue about Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway, according to Illinois historic highways aficionado Lenore Weiss.
The article, she says, concentrates on an eastern third of the Mother Road, from Chicago to Oklahoma.
You can read part of the article here. But it’s probably better if you pick up the magazine itself; Weiss says it contains a lot of photographs, including that of Route 66 Root Beer.
Hello from Nashville March 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.1 comment so far
Here is Angela Siracusa, singing a Western swing-influenced version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66.”
This performance was taped at The Billy Block Show.
More from the Church of Bizarro March 8, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion.2 comments
Moses and Aaron get their jollies at the expense of the Pharoah in this latest episode of “Route 66: A Road Trip Through the Bible.”
This Exodus chapter isn’t as bizarre as the previous Genesis chapter. That doesn’t mean it isn’t weird, however.
Stimulus money to help a few Route 66 projects March 7, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways.add a comment
Money from President Obama’s economic stimulus package is slated to help at least two portions of Route 66 and probably more.
According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, $3.4 million has been designated to resurface Old Route 66 from just south of Towanda, Ill., to north of Lexington, Ill.
And, according to the Mohave Valley Daily News, about $12 million has been slated to reconstruct 48 miles of Oatman Road from just outside of Kingman, Ariz., to Golden Shores, Ariz. Oatman Road is a prominent old alignment of Route 66.
Also, there will be $12 million allocated to rehab or reconstruct Business Loop 44, aka Route 66, in Rolla, Mo., to the Sugar Tree Road exchange near Interstate 44, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
I’m sure more Route 66-related stimulus projects will be announced in the coming weeks. A few states, such as Illinois, still haven’t submitted a complete list.