Footage from the past March 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, People, Television.1 comment so far
A few days ago, the C-SPAN network announced it put all of its video archives online, dating back more than 20 years.
The archive, which contains more than 160,000 hours of video, will be a boon for muckrakers. But considering that C-SPAN also gave plenty of air time to historians, I thought maybe some Route 66 footage would be there, too.
And there is. One big find is the late Tom Teague, author of “Searching for 66″ and a founding member of the Illinois Route 66 Association, talking about the Mother Road before an audience in Denver in 1996.
The direct link to Teague’s talk is here. It’s about an hour.
Teague died a few years ago, and it’s neat to see and hear him again, albeit through my computer monitor.
If you enjoy hearing “Route 66: The Mother Road” author Michael Wallis speak, you can hear him here talking about his Billy the Kid book in 2007. David King Dunaway talks about his book “Across the Tracks: A Route 66 Story” and other biographies in 2002. And the C-SPAN School Bus stopped at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, in 1994.
Oklahoma City tower named to National Register March 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Preservation.1 comment so far
The Citizens Bank Tower, on an old alignment of Route 66 in Oklahoma City and very close to another, was named to the National Register of Historic Places, according to an e-mail from the National Park Service.
The tower, now known as The Classen luxury apartments building, is at 2200 N. Classen Blvd., an early alignment of Route 66. It is only a block south of NW 23rd Street, the more prominent alignment of Route 66 through Oklahoma’s capital.
Here’s information about the building from The Classen’s Web site:
Originally constructed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1966, The Classen is a 21 story hexagon marvel, clad in glass and marble. Its towering presence is a premier architectural icon that shines again in the Oklahoma sky.The Classen has floor to ceiling windows, with breathtaking views of the downtown skyline, the State Capitol, treescapes dotted with houses and steeples, and legendary Oklahoma sunsets.
Photos of The Classen can be found here and here.
A visit to the Grants Cafe March 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Restaurants.add a comment
The Cibola County Beacon published an interesting feature about the Grants Cafe in Grants, N.M., which has been serving customers along Route 66 since 1949.
And get this: The restaurant has had the same cook for more than 50 years, and the owner has been there more than 30.
Alice Rose Johnson, a cook for the café since 1955, remembers the decade of the 1960s as being the busiest. In those days, there was a motel behind the café and the kitchen crew packed brown bag lunches for the fire fighters who lodged there during the summer fire season. [...]
The current owner, Steve Vigil has been at the local bistro since 1977.
“He makes the chili and I make the beans,” said Johnson. “Mary is a very good waitress and she helps me a lot. Sandy is the dish washer, she’s a very good worker,” Johnson said of her family of co-workers. [...]
“We’re hanging in ’till we can’t do it anymore,” she added. “We’re waiting to win the Power Ball. We’re dreamers.”
Bones of the road March 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Photographs.add a comment
Glassonion Productions posted photos from a graveyard off Route 66 in western Arizona, including one where someone had a sense of humor … I think.
Music is by Johnny Cash, from his latest posthumous album that was released a few weeks ago.
“Route 66″ on stage March 17, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Music, Theaters.add a comment
Hey, look what’s happening behind the Cheddar Curtain. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater has included the Roger Bean musical “Route 66″ as part of its 2010-2011 season.
Here’s a taste of what it’s like:
The production runs until April 25. You can buy tickets here.
Baseball cruise March 17, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Sports.add a comment
MiLB.com, the Web site of Minor League Baseball, has published an article about three Texas League teams, and advocates traveling on Route 66 part of the way to see them.
The Drillers of Tulsa, the Cardinals of Springfield, Mo.; and the Naturals of Northwest Arkansas all are part of the league. The story advocates checking out a Drillers game first; the team is about to open the new ONEOK Field just a few blocks from the original Route 66.
After that, the story recommends taking the Mother Road to Springfield:
While Route 66 is no longer recognized as part of the U.S. highway system, drivers can still travel along the iconic route. Two early proponents of Route 66 were businessman Cyrus Avery of Tulsa and John Woodruff of Springfield, and a drive between the two cities represents an opportunity to check out some attractions that are alternately funny, strange and poignant, but always deeply American.
Examples include an 80-foot replica of a sperm whale, built out of pipe and concrete, which resides in Catoosa, Okla. And how about a stop at the Will Rogers Museum in nearby Claremore? The legendary humorist and traveling lecturer is perhaps Oklahoma’s most well-known native, and Route 66 used to be known as “Will Rogers Highway.” Traveling onward to Foyil, one will find a monument to Andy Payne, who won the 3,400-mile Transcontinental Footrace of 1928. (Foyil is also home to “The World’s Largest Totem Pole.”) After crossing the state line, a stop in Carthage, Mo., may be in order. The town is home to the Precious Moments Inspirational Park, a gaudily decorated chapel created by the man behind the wildly popular Precious Moments figurines.
The tour finishes at Springdale, Ark., where the Naturals play.
More commercials from “Route 66″ March 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Television, Vehicles.add a comment
As promised, here are more television commercials from the 1961 season of “Route 66.”
It’s amazing to encounter Chevrolet models of which I was unaware.