Route 66 Alliance lays out its goals September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Route 66 Associations.add a comment
This was mostly reported a few days ago at the Route 66 Festival in Flagstaff, Ariz., but I’m printing this news release that came today verbatim, with minor editing:
Route 66 Alliance
Tulsa, OklahomaWe are pleased to officially announce the Route 66 Alliance has been established as a 501(c)3 corporation. Our nonprofit status is founded under the Tulsa Community Foundation and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As of today September 12, 2009, we are active and open for business.
The Route 66 Alliance was formed to give the route one unified voice. Although there are eight state associations who are concerned with preserving and promoting Route 66, none of the individual associations can speak for the entire road.
The Alliance plans to work closely with each of the eight state associations and include all eight presidents on the Alliance advisory council. Through the Alliance, all eight associations can work in unison to address state specific projects and local needs in coordination for the betterment of all.
The Mission of the Alliance is to be the national and international voice for the entire road and its communities. We are dedicated to preserve and restore the Route 66 of the past and promote and provide for the future of the route.
The Goal of the Alliance is to promote Route 66 by developing, supporting and coordinating projects and programs that protect the past and look forward to its future. The first three projects have been designed with this in mind and they will be developed over the next six months with contributions from “Founding Members.”
They Are as Follows:
The legacy Fund: The mission of the Legacy fund is to collect capital from private donations, government grants and our profit-producing programs that support and promote commerce along Route 66. The fund will generate financial support to the route and its people through interest earned on capital deposits. A constant underlying goal of the fund will be public goodwill by serving our people and moving The Mother Road towards the status of a national monument.
The Passport Program: The Passport Program is a self- sustaining promotional program designed around tourism. Its primary goal is connectivity of travelers and places along Route 66. It will introduce new users to the history of the route. It will identify icons, businesses and places of interest for the traveler using the most current electronic technology. While promoting business along the route, the Passport Program will also identify the demographic makeup of our current and future users. It will identify markets along the route as well as coordinate product distribution. It will track and define those products and services with the highest demand.The Electric Highway: Certainly the most aggressive program proposed! The Electric Highway proposes 18 to 26 recharging stations connecting L.A to Chicago. The “SLAB LAB,” as we call it, will be the first of its kind in the nation. Each of the 18 to 26 “Green Choice “66” recharging stations will make the semi-transcontinental trip available to those vehicles wanting to use alternative forms of renewable and nonrenewable energy. “The Route 66 laboratory” will be open to all companies, corporations and individuals worldwide who would like to showcase, test, prove or display their inventions by “Running the Rechargeable Route” from Chicago to L.A. The Alliance will be there to help support their efforts by using the media and the Mother Road (the most famous roadway in the world) to focus attention on their results towards the greening of our nation’s highway system.
Individual renewable sites will be sponsored by private donations, companies and corporations specifically seeking to promote technology or vehicles development that reduce the carbon footprint and use alternative forms of energy.
As we move into the future, the Mother Road, through our Alliance staff, will become the first clearinghouse of ideas, systems and information. We will reach out nation wide to disseminate the best ideas to help cities, counties and state governments co-ordinate an intelligent-grid system of renewable energy stations to our Main Street of America.
The “Electric Highway Program” will re-energize the nation’s attention toward the Mother Road. Increased traffic and exposure will in turn generate dollars and achieve a common-sense approach towards restoration and establishing new businesses along the route.
We ask for your support and contributions towards our “Founders Donations.” Initial donations are important, as they will be used as seed capital to develop The Passport Program and the Electric Highway Programs. These programs are designed to be self-sustaining and provide continual funding to the legacy foundation and the route for the foreseeable future.
Initial donations can be set up by contacting Jim Conkle at 760-617-3991 or Rick Freeland at 301-908-8369. We will keep all eight associations and the general populace current of our progress through direct and public press releases.
We are only as strong as our donations so please keep us in your hearts and minds.
James Conkle
Chair
Route 66 Alliance
P O Box 290066
Phelan, CA 92329-0066
www.rt66.org
More POPS psychedelia September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses.add a comment
Here’s another video of the landmark 66-foot-tall pop bottle at POPS in Arcadia, Okla. The music soundtrack certainly helps convey a groovy sensibility.
I have little doubt that scientists a million years from now will think the bottle had some sort of religious significance, instead of it being a roadside gimmick.
Historic Mayo Hotel reopens in Tulsa September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Motels, Music, Preservation.1 comment so far
The iconic Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa, which had been shuttered for almost 30 years, held a limited “soft” opening Monday, reported the Tulsa World.
The Mayo, at 115 W. Fifth St., is about two blocks from the downtown Route 66 alignment of Seventh Street. The Mayo dates to the 1920s, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was a frequent lodging destination for traveling celebrities and oilmen. More about the Mayo’s history can be read here.
According to a front-office employee that I talked to by phone on Monday, the Mayo is taking reservations starting Tuesday.
Then there’s this:
Macy Snyder, sales director for the Mayo, said she had no comment about rumors that pop star Britney Spears and her entourage are staying at the hotel. Spears is set to play the BOK Center Tuesday night.
If the Spears rumor is true, I hope for the hotel’s sake that her management laid down a heft security deposit. That girl was a big partier.
Either way, Tulsans have been awaiting the rebirth of the Mayo Hotel for a long, long time. And it almost certainly will appear in the next listing of the Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.
New videos from the Mother Road September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Museums, People, Vehicles.2 comments
DiscoverOklahoma, which is part of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism, today posted two videos about Route 66. One is about Afton Station in Afton; the other is about the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.
Route 66 display being installed in Carthage September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Museums, Restaurants.add a comment
A Route 66 historical display that mimics the original Boots Drive-In restaurant in Carthage, Mo., is being installed now at the iconic Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage, reports the Joplin Globe.
At 18 feet wide and 13 feet tall, the display is a representation of the front of the former drive-in that will hold artifacts from the Mother Road. Members of the Jasper County Commission and the county’s courthouse preservation committee selected the design, which Wiseman developed and built. Funding for the project comes from a federal highway grant, administered by the Missouri Department of Transportation. [...]
The exhibit will include full-size artifacts, including a gasoline pump and air pump. There also will be a flat-screen television that will show slides of Route 66 history.
You can see part of the display here. This is what the original Boots Drive-In looked like. More elements to the display will be added later, said the curator.
Partridge Creek alignment may be developed September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Preservation.add a comment
Arizona Route 66 aficionado Jeff Jensen noticed that a semi-obscure alignment of old Route 66 east of the Crookton Road exit of Interstate 40, west of Ash Fork, suddenly had recently sprouted a bunch of “for sale” signs.
This is what is called the Partridge Creek section of Route 66. Swa Frantzen’s Historic66.com site provides directions for the 1926-65 alignment and notes a 1920s bridge over the creek that has a tree going from one end of the structure. A striking photo of the Partridge Creek bridge can be seen here. Here’s another.
After making a few phone calls, Jensen wrote in an e-mail:
… The whole area is indeed for sale with a big chunk right in the middle possibly already in the process of being zoned for commercial development! Believe it or not, this exquisite piece of old road may in the next 3-4 years become an auto dealership as the owner is a Phoenix dealer.
Jensen also said that area real-estate firms think the long-dormant area is ripe for an economic redevelopment (although since the bursting of the real-estate bubble, I have to wonder).
That alignment is already on private property. So save for someone buying the land and simply maintaining it as it is, I’m not sure what can be done. But this situation serves to remind one that one rule of traveling Route 66 always applies — enjoy all the sights when you can because you never know whether it will still be there tomorrow.
For new roadies September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Fashion.add a comment
I found this company based in Florida called Mooncakes, which makes clothing for babies.
Among its upcoming products is its Route 66 line, which won’t be available in stores until February but is available for retail stores to preorder now.
Here are links to the Route 66 clothing:
- A convertible.
- A shortall.
- A romper.
- A rugby blanket.
Here are close-up screen shots of the patterns, so you can see the Route 66 designs better:
Here’s where you can buy Mooncakes Route 66 products when they become available.
A string of bad luck September 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion.add a comment
Here’s a hitchhiker I would think twice about picking up — the perennially snake-bit Job. This is the latest video chapter of “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible.”
Arizona Route 66 Association wins top award September 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Events, People, Preservation, Publications, Route 66 Associations.1 comment so far
Winners of major awards presented at the 2009 Will Rogers Awards Banquet include (from left) Angel Delgadillo of the Arizona Route 66 Association, Will Rogers Preservation Award; Frank and Lynne Kocevar of Historic Sundries, New Business of the Year; Sean Evans of the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University, Founders Award; Tom Spear of the Arizona Route 66 Association, Lifetime Achievement Award; Ron Jones, Person of the Year; Rick Freeland of Route 66 Pulse, Wallis 66 Award; Carolyn Pendleton, Cyrus Avery Preservation of the Year; and Jim Conkle of Route 66 Pulse, Wallis 66 Award.
Story and photos by Mark Potter
The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona was honored as the recipient of the 2009 Will Rogers Award, and Carolyn Pendleton for the Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center accepted the Cyrus Avery Preservation of the Year Award during the 2009 Will Rogers Awards Banquet on Saturday night at the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Angel Delgadillo, longtime Seligman barber and founder of the Arizona association, accepted the Will Rogers Award on behalf of the organization and its founding members from more than 20 years ago. In presenting the award, Jim Conkle, event host and co-founder of the Route 66 Alliance, commented on Delgadillo’s leading efforts in the revival and preservation of Route 66 during the past two decades.
“The revival of Route 66 as we know it today started in Seligman,” Conkle said.
Delgadillo said that the work of his state’s association was “the work of the people” and the “American Dream.”
He recalled that Seligman was changed forever approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 1978, when Interstate 40 was opened to traffic from Seligman to Kingman and bypassed the small community. “Traffic in Seligman literally stopped,” he said. “The world literally had forgotten us for 10 years.”
Delgadillo said that something had to be done to save his community from prolonged decline as many businesses closed their doors. After a nearly 10-year drought, Delgadillo led efforts to revive his community and Route 66 with the formation of the Arizona Route 66 Association in 1987 with 15 initial members, leading to similar efforts in other states along the route.
“And we never looked back once,” he said. “In America, anything and everything is possible.”
Kaisa Barthuli of the National Park Service's Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program visits with Seligman barber and Arizona Route 66 Association founder Angel Delgadillo.
Delgadillo said that he did not cut hair at his barbershop nor did he lead efforts to create the Arizona Route 66 Association to “make a dollar,” but to help create new jobs for Seligman and other cities. He said that in the past few years, many buildings that had been closed for quite some time have opened back up as new forms of business.
“I had the dream, but it was desires of many people that made it successful,” he said. “It was an endless project.”
“We’re all here today because of what you did that day (in 1987),” Conkle said.
The Cyrus Avery Preservation of the Year Award was presented to Carolyn Pendleton of the Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center in Baxter Springs, Kan. She was honored for her efforts to create the visitor center through the extensive restoration of a former service station building.
“Once Route 66 gets under your skin, you’re hooked,” she said.
Famed Route 66 author Michael Wallis, who planned to attend the banquet to present the Wallis 66 Award, was unable to attend due to being called for federal jury duty. Wallis presented the award via a conference call to the banquet from his home in Tulsa to the Route 66 Pulse newspaper for its efforts in publishing news happenings all along the route. Accepting the award on behalf of the publication were publisher/editor Conkle and staff member Rick Freeland.
Conkle also noted that the Pulse has evolved into becoming the official publication of the newly formed Route 66 Alliance, which officially became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the direction of the Tulsa Community Foundation.
Other awards presented at the banquet included:
- Founders Award: Sean Evans, archivist, Cline Library at Northern Arizona University.
- Person of the Year: Ron McCoy and Ron “Tattoo Man” Jones.
- New Business of the Year: Frank and Lynne Kocevar, Historic Seligman Sundries.
- Business of the Year: Laurel Kane, Afton Station.
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom Spear, executive vice president, Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona.
Freeland presented an update on the new Route 66 Alliance. He stated that the Alliance was formed after it was found that there was no single voice representing the entire route, but by various state associations. He stated the Alliance will include leaders of each of the eight state associations to serve on the Alliance’s advisory board.
“We need to be able to speak as one for the entire Mother Road,” he said.
Mirna Delgadillo, daughter of Seligman barber and Arizona Route 66 Association charter member Angel Delgadillo, chats with 2009 Miss Route 66 Arizona representatives Darian Burns of Seligman and Hillary Ekstrom of Kingman during the banquet.
The Alliance plans to seek both public and private funding for various projects, including a Legacy Fund that would accept public and private funds, a Passport Program to assist in promotion of tourism, and an “Electric Highway” to push and encourage the development of vehicles running on alternative sources such as hydrogen, electricity, wind power and natural gas, as well as 18 to 26 recharging stations all along the route from Chicago to Los Angeles, and a laboratory that would be available to all firms interested In development and promotion of such these technologies.
“We want Route 66 to be the Mother Road of new technologies,” he said.
Conkle stated that it will take a lot of people to assist the Alliance in accomplishing its goals. “We’re here to support what everybody is doing on the road,” he said.
Also speaking at the banquet was Kirk Hallam, a semi-retired attorney and producer, who acquired the ownership and rights to the original “Route 66” TV series that aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964 and has digitally reproduced most episodes of the show in DVD format. He is in the process of developing a new motion picture and TV series of the same name, which would be entirely shot along the route — unlike the original TV series, which only a few episodes were filmed on Route 66.
“The TV series was a metaphor for the adventure of the open road,” Hallam said. “But it became apparent that the film had to be shot on Route 66 and incorporate the people and values of Route 66.”
Hallam stated that more concrete details on the motion picture and new TV series would be released over the next few months.
In addition to the motion picture and new TV series, Hallam has also returned to his law practice to file lawsuits against Penthouse magazine for creating a series of pornographic films under the title of “Route 66” and allegedly misusing the title of “Route 66” and its trademark for those efforts. Hallam’s lawsuits have the support of the Route 66 Alliance.
“I don’t want to see Route 66 desecrated into a porno,” he said. “I’m confident we will prevail to preserve Route 66 as an American icon.”
The Will Rogers Awards Banquet usually has a bit of an international flavor. From left are are Sue McCarthy of Australia; Nadine Pelicaen of Belgium; Swa Frantzen of Belgium; and Andrew McCarthy of Australia.
Conkle announced that the 2010 Route 66 Festival, including the Will Rogers Awards Banquet, would be in Joplin, Mo., during the second week of June. Carolyn Pendleton of the Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center said the 2010 event would become something of a tri-state festival for the states of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.
“We hope to see everybody in June,” she said.
The Will Rogers Awards Banquet was part of the 2009 Route 66 Festival held in conjunction with Flagstaff’s Route 66 Days, which included a car show, cruise night, summit meeting, e-group gathering, a preservation work day at Twin Arrows and displays by archivists, authors and collectors, and an authors’ book signing.
More revealed about Cars Land September 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Movies.add a comment
Orlando Attractions magazine went to the Walt Disney Park & Resorts exhibit at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif., to check out upcoming attractions for Disney theme parks, including the Cars Land complex that’s based on the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs in the movie “Cars.”
Here’s a video at the booth. The Cars Land content begins around the 2:30 mark:
Orlando Attractions also chatted with one of Disney’s “Imagineers” about a Cars Land project.
Walt Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty was on hand yesterday to tell all about the Radiator Springs Racers attraction coming to Disney’s California Adventure. Whether you’re a fan of the Disney/Pixar film “Cars” or not, it sounds to me like you will love this ride.
The roughly 4.5 minute journey will take guests through every element of the film, including a slow drive through the mountains and past a stunning waterfall, a character-filled journey through the town, and culminating in a race against another vehicle over bridges and around tight turns. [...]
The vehicles will be very similar to those found at Test Track in Epcot but with a modified chassis for a more “Cars”-like styling. The vehicles won’t travel as fast as on Test Track, but they will be paired side-by-side in a race. Until the race portion of the ride, the cars will travel individually through the first scenes of the ride. The track will then split off sending guests in opposite directions to prepare for their races.
The characters featured in Radiator Springs Racers are lovingly being referred to as “auto-animatronics.” They each feature animated eyes and a mouth that makes the cars really appear to be talking. One particularly fun moment during the ride will be when Mater, the tow truck, pulls out in front of the guests’ car. Since Mater drives always backwards, he will actually be facing guests and talking to them while driving backwards in front of them.
Cars Land is slated to be finished by 2012. But it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s done quicker than that to take advantage of the release of the Disney-Pixar movie “Cars 2″ in June 2011.