One from the road February 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Photographs.5 comments
Here’s a photo taken at 10 a.m. today at John’s Modern Cabins, off old Route 66 near Arlington, Mo. The area had been covered by a snowstorm the day before.
(Photo courtesy of Shades of Grey Photography)
The First Lady and The Genius February 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
This performance by Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles probably will brighten your day. It looks like it sure brightened Ray’s.
Granddaughter of Amboy’s former owner contests will February 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Towns.1 comment so far
The granddaughter of the former owner of the Route 66 town of Amboy, Calif., has filed a lawsuit in an effort to get answers about the late grandmother’s estate, reported the Redlands Daily Facts.
Amboy, which includes the famous Roy’s restaurant and motel complex, was purchased by Juan Pollo restaurant chain owner Albert Okura for $425,000 from owner Bessie Burris in 2005. Burris, the wife of longtime Amboy owner Buster Burris, died a few years later at age 91. Okura has been slowly restoring the neglected property, and reopened the cafe last year to sell gasoline and snacks.
According to the newspaper:
Dolores Marie Douthit, who is one of six of Burris’ grandchildren, filed a petition in May in San Bernardino Superior Court to get answers. Douthit used her own money for the petition and can’t afford a lawyer, she said.
“I want to know what’s been going on, where my grandmother’s personal items went,” Douthit said Thursday by telephone from Las Vegas. A trial is scheduled for April 19 in San Bernardino Superior Court. [...]
Money from the estate was spent as wages to a trustee, and some of Burris’ personal items were sold at auction and given away, Douthit says. She also has questions about the sale price of Amboy.
Trustee Bonnie Barnes, who is also one of Burris’ granddaughters and is executor of the will, said everything in the estate has been reviewed and approved by an accountant and there are no issues. [...]
The heirs, which include Douthit, have received a professional accounting in a timely manner of Burris’ estate, Barnes said.
This has “frivolous lawsuit” written all over it, especially if Douthit couldn’t even find a lawyer who’d work on contingency.
A big cruise in small cars February 8, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Road trips, Vehicles.2 comments
Come August, those who are cruising or living along the Mother Road are in for an unusual sight, courtesy of the 2010 Route 66 Microcar Rally.
When we’re talking about microcars, we’re not kidding. Here are some of the types of cars you’ll see during the cruise from Santa Monica, Calif., to Chicago:
Most of the cars have dinky engines of less than 500 cc.
Larry Newberry, one of the event’s organizers, said in an e-mail:
We have Vespa 400 cars, Goggomobils, Fiat 500s, Isettas, Peel P50, Fuldamobile, Velorex, and more. We will be leaving the Santa Monica Pier on August 8th at 7AM and will be making our way across country. It is about a 10- to 12-day adventure. We hope to do the driving in about 10 days and take 2 days off. We are going to the World Micro Event in Chicago area. [...]
We will take as much of the old route 66 as possible. Anyone living close to the old Route 66 I would love to talk with you. I have made the trip before, but never in a microcar. I am sure we will make several more stops than I ever did before.
The event will have a dedicated Web site up and running soon.
The organizer also is looking for those who live near Route 66 in the following towns for meet-and-greet and maybe touring assistance: Barstow, Calif.; Kingman, Ariz.; Holbrook, Ariz.; Albuquerque; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City; Joplin, Mo.; Gray Summit, Mo.; St. Louis; and Springfield, Ill. Newberry can be contacted at microcarlot(at)hotmail(dot)com.
(Photos courtesy of Larry Newberry)
Ah, young grasshopper February 7, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion.1 comment so far
Some truly bizarre episodes of “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible” have been posted. The latest, which focuses on the Book of Joel, may take the championship trophy for the weirdest.
And the guy who portrays the man-grasshopper should be informed that Academy Award nominations aren’t given to YouTube performances.
Bootleg Stones February 7, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Here’s a live-in-concert, bootleg recording in 1977 of the Rolling Stones performing “Route 66.” Mick Jagger’s slight change in a lyric might offend a few Oklahoma City residents (and make a few Tulsans snicker).
The recording came from El Mocambo Club in Toronto, Canada. The gig became rather infamous, and not for the music, as this blog post will explain.
A Humbler fumble February 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Television, Vehicles.1 comment so far
As the Super Bowl fast approaches, here’s a fascinating Super Bowl ad from 1970, for the Pontiac GTO Humbler built by General Motors.
Longtime roadie Mark Potter, who’s done a lot of impeccable research about Route 66 and classic cars, said the ad aired only one time. He explained why in a comment on his Facebook account:
This GTO featured the rare VOE or Vacuum Operated Exhaust option that could bypass the mufflers for increased horsepower … and noise, activated by a knob marked “Exhaust” as seen in the ad. GM’s bigwigs were also offended by this scene in the ad, and ordered Pontiac to drop the VOE option. [...]
The men in GM’s stuffy executive suite, also known as the 14th Floor, disliked the ad because it smacked of “street racing” or “irresponsible driving” due to the scene of fast driving out of the drive-in restaurant, the rumbling exhaust sound and the sight of the driver pulling out the “Exhaust” knob to activate the VOE. After seeing the ad on Super Bowl Sunday, they called the head of Pontiac onto the 14th Floor Monday morning and ordered the ad and VOE option pulled.
As a result of GM executives’ decision, only about 130 of the GTO Humblers with the special exhaust system were made. Here’s a video that demonstrates how the system worked — and how the car’s sound changed when it was activated:
GM had an extraordinary muscle car with a device that was utterly unique, and its bosses killed it. This story of tone-deaf executives serves as a harbinger for GM’s eventual downfall.
Ironically, GM reintroduced the GTO in 2004. But by then, the company already was a shadow of its former self.
Top this February 5, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
One of the dreams of many motorists is to drive Route 66 in a convertible with the top down.
David Loveall of Kansas City, Mo., certainly did — more than 555 hours’ worth on the Mother Road and other highways across the country, reported Automobile Magazine.
Loveall drives a Mini Cooper convertible equipped with a factory-installed “openometer,” measuring the number of hours the vehicle’s top was down. He accomplished all this between August and December 2009, giving him the title in Mini’s Open One Challenge.
Already frequently on the road for business, Loveall used the contest as an opportunity to see the entire continental U.S. in his Mini. Loveall packed his tent and sleeping bag, allowing him to camp over the five-month tour, which took him over Route 66 and the lonely U.S. 50.
“I took on the challenge for the story I’d get to tell,” said Loveall. “My Mini Cooper Convertible is the first car I have ever bought, and the experiences I have had within the first year of owning it have been amazing.”
Of more than 4,000 entrants in the contest, Loveall held the top spot in all the months he competed but one — and he was third in that one. Loveall won a trip for two to see the Mini factory in Oxford, England, in addition to $1,000 in gift cards.
More Route 66 in miniature February 4, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Restaurants.2 comments
Here is Willem Bor’s latest Route 66 miniature creation — the Little Juarez diner in the ghost town of Glenrio, Texas. It is in 1/25 scale.
You can read more about Bor’s creations here.
Notes from the road February 4, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, bicycling, History, Movies, People, Restaurants, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has nominated the Route 66 city of St. Louis as one of its Dozen Distinctive Destinations, it was announced this week.
Such destinations “offer cultural and recreational experiences different from those found at the typical vacation destination. From dynamic downtowns and stunning architecture to cultural diversity and a commitment to historic preservation, sustainability and revitalization, the selected destinations boast a richness of character and exude an authentic sense of place.”
St. Louis was praised for its “historic brick buildings that line St. Louis’ cobblestone streets, proving the city lives up to its iconic status as the ‘Gateway to the West.’”
The dozen are:
- St. Louis
- Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Marquette, Mich.
- Fort Collins, Colo.
- Provincetown, Mass.
- Simsbury, Conn.
- Rockland, Maine
- Chestnut Hill, Pa.
- Huntsville, Ala.
- The Crooked Road in Virginia
- Bastrop, Texas
- Sitka, Alaska
For the first time, online voters will determine which of the 12 destinations will be the 2010 Fan Favorite. Voters can vote as often as they’d like until Feb. 28. The winner will be announced March 1. To top it off, voters are automatically entered to win a two-night stay at any Historic Hotel of America.
To vote, start the process here.
— Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., was honored by the Oklahoma Senate with a resolution today, reported the Shawnee News-Star. “Dawn has truly been an ambassador, not only for her community but for our entire state,” said Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole. “When the movie ‘Cars’ was released, people came from all over the world just to relive the Route 66 experience and meet the real-life Sally.” Rep. Danny Morgan, who represents Welch’s district, also singled her out for praise, including “putting Oklahoma on the map” for foreign visitors who flock to the restaurant.
– Speaking of “Cars,” here’s the first image released from the Disney-Pixar sequel, “Cars 2,” which will be in theaters in summer 2011. It’s not an actual still from the film, but a production artist’s rendering that was published in Disney’s annual report. It looks like Lightning McQueen is racing near Japan. (Hat tip: AutoBlog and Pixar Planet)
— Carthage, Mo., soon will have a 6,000-pound granite slab installed to show motorists on Highway 96, aka old Route 66, that they are driving by Kellogg Lake Park. According to the Carthage Press, the monument’s wording likely will note the park’s link to Route 66. The park was established in 1953.
— The city council of St. James, Mo., approved an effort by a volunteer group to establish an eight- to 10-mile mountain bike trail in town, according to the St. James Press. The trail will begin on East James Boulevard, which is the old Route 66 alignment through the city.
— Claudia Heller continues her ongoing series in the Pasadena Star-News about old Route 66 in California’s Mojave Desert. The latest entry takes a closer look at the isolated hamlet of Amboy, including a remarkable prank that local schoolkids pulled at nearby Amboy Crater during the 1940s.
— Read this story in The Desert Trail about a man and his dog traveling by bicycle (or hitching rides) from Chicago to San Francisco — much on it on Route 66. Marshall Wayne Lee lost his job and entertained thoughts of suicide. But his Basset hound Antigone helped him reconsider. They are traveling together to California so he can search for work there. He was in Twentynine Palms, Calif., a few days ago. Antigone’s blog is here.
— You may be noting ads between posts on Route 66 News. WordPress.com, which provides much of the infrastructure for this site, and I are beta-testing a revenue-sharing arrangement using AdSense. This pact won’t make me a millionaire, but Route 66 News is actually earning cash for the first time. If nothing else, it’ll help pay a few bills concerning domains and photos.