Bob’s last ride April 21, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, People.5 comments
Dave Bakke at the Springfield (Ill.) State Journal-Register has the details about the burial Sunday of the cremains of Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire at the family plot near Rochester, Ill. The other half of his ashes are to be released along the Mother Road.
True to Bob’s wishes, some of his ashes have been sent into the ocean off Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends. Some have soared off the Chain O Lakes Bridge near Chicago. Family members will drive to Portal in the Chiricahua Mountains to sprinkle more of Bob’s ashes.
But on Sunday, it was time for that last ride in the 1972 Volkswagen bus that was the model for the character Fillmore in the movie “Cars.” Bob’s friend, Tom Wanko of St. Louis, had gone to Arizona to fetch that van, which Bob drove on Route 66 many times. [...]
About 40 people watched as Buz and Steve used a posthole digger to make an 18-inch hole, as Bob specified. Bob’s brother, Jeff Waldmire, knelt and poured Bob’s ashes directly into the hole. There was no container. Bob wanted to mingle with the earth. The hole was filled with dirt. Forget-me-nots were planted on top.
“I guess I should say goodbye to Bob, but I can’t,” Buz said as he packed dirt around the flowers. “I still talk to him, especially when I’m in his van.”
The whole thing is worth reading.
In related news, a website, bobwaldmire.com, has been set up by his family to sell his artwork.
UPDATE: Today, the Kingman Route 66 Association announced that a one-month memorial exhibit of Waldmire’s work will be at Beale Street Gallery of Arts in Kingman, Ariz. The event will run from April 30 to May 25. The hours for viewing are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What’s next for the Bird Creek Bridge? April 20, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Preservation.9 comments
A public meeting by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation on Tuesday evening left little doubt that the historic but deteriorating Bird Creek Bridge near Catoosa will be soon closed to traffic or dismantled entirely — the latter of which would greatly alter that scenic “Three Bridges” vista on Route 66.
The "Three Bridges" area near Catoosa on Route 66 has been a photo op for many years. (Photo by Guy Randall)
However, after the meeting, an ODOT official provided hope for a compromise that would preserve at least part of the bridge and that scenic spot for future Route 66 travelers, plus give motorists a safer bridge. More on that later.
The Bird Creek Bridge was built in 1936 and carries two lanes of westbound Oklahoma 66 (aka old U.S. 66). It was designed to handle only a 30,000-pound Ford Model T truck. It now carries almost 10,000 vehicles a day, and its weight limit has been lowered to 15 tons. To give you an idea how light that is, an empty dump truck weighs 18 tons, and a tanker fire engine full of water weighs 28 tons. Modern bridges are designed to handle 45 tons.
Its concrete deck continues to crumble, and saw 42 calls for emergency repairs in the past two years. Many of its steel parts are rusting. ODOT’s Craig Moody said it’s doubtful the life of the bridge could have been extended substantially unless the state had “a big pile of money” for maintenance.
“It was never designed for the load that it’s carrying,” Moody said. “The bridge has done a great job, but it’s outlived its expected age.”
The Bird Creek Bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. However, ODOT officials said if the bridge is upgraded to modern traffic standards, it no longer will be eligible. The Bird Creek Bridge is 24 feet wide, and its steel cross-girders can handle a truck 14 feet, 8 inches tall. An updated bridge must be 38 feet wide and 16 feet, 9 inches tall.
ODOT officials gave an audience of about 50 people a presentation of nine options [warning: 66 MB Acrobat file] that the state has for the bridge:
- One includes doing nothing and eventually being forced to close the bridge, then converting the neighboring 1956 eastbound bridge into two-way traffic. This is not considered a viable option.
- One includes re-routing traffic to other highways. This is not considered viable, either.
- One is completely rehabilitating the bridge, which would destroy its character and render it no longer historic.
- Four of the options include building a new bridge and approaches on either side of the river crossing and closing the Bird Creek Bridge but leaving it otherwise intact. Costs would range from $7.7 million to $11.1 million. It would require the state to buy more right-of-way from several private landowners and Roger Point Public Park.
- Two of the options would be building a new concrete or steel bridge in place of the old. This would be the cheapest option, both at $4.5 million, but the new bridge’s appearance would be much more nondescript.
In a letter to ODOT, the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program stated its support for preserving the bridge. Most people at the meeting also seemed sympathetic to retaining the bridge in some fashion, especially for Route 66 tourism reasons. But it remains uncertain whether the city of Catoosa has the ability to maintain the bridge or convert it to a pedestrian area at the park.
Earlier in the meeting, Emily Priddy asked about using the Bird Creek Bridge’s steel trusses on the new bridge, purely for aesthetic reasons. As we were leaving after the meeting, ODOT official Greg Allen flagged us down in the hallway and asked to speak to us.
Allen wanted to discuss Emily’s idea to set the old bridge’s trusses on a separate, load-bearing foundation, then attaching new but similar-looking steel crossbeams, when needed, to meet the bridge’s new width requirements.
We said we were amenable to a pragmatic solution for the the bridge. A new bridge that contained the old steel elements of the Bird Creek Bridge would no longer be eligible for the National Register. But it would keep the old Route 66 look of the bridge, preserve that area’s scenery, and still give motorists a safe and stable bridge for decades to come. The compromise also would likely be cheaper than the four options of building a new bridge and approaches over the river.
He encouraged us and other roadies to put that idea in writing on ODOT’s comment form. We later found that it was Allen who insisted on retaining the old truss bridge parts of the historic Captain Creek Bridge in Wellston when it was repaired a few years ago. That explained his intrigue for Emily’s idea on “recycling” the bridge’s eye-catching elements.
So please chime in on this form on what you want to do with the bridge. If you want it closed to traffic but otherwise kept as it is, say so. If you like the compromise of using the Bird Creek Bridge’s old steel girders on on the new bridge, say that, too.
ODOT won’t make a decision on what to do for several weeks. The agency is well aware of the significance of Route 66 and this bridge, and it’s listening.
UPDATE: Emily has an action alert on her blog on her blog on what she recommends for the ODOT comments:
From an aesthetic and safety standpoint, the best option seems to be a compromise that would involve building a new, flat bridge, then placing the old steel trusses – with some minor changes to meet modern height and width requirements – on top for aesthetic purposes. This option would preserve the bridge’s visual impact while meeting modern safety requirements.
Talking points are then listed.
Here are reports about the public meeting by KJRH-TV and KOTV. But both TV stations were gone when we were discussing the compromise solution with the ODOT official, so they’re out of the loop.
UPDATE2: Here’s a report by OETA public television:
Rod Harsh has posted Emily’s action alert on his website, along with a very nice photo of the Twin Bridges.
Volcano disrupts Europeans’ travel to 66 April 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Weather.6 comments
I was afraid that the eruption of the Icelandic volcano that sent ash over a wide swath of Europe and grounded flights would eventually make an impact on Route 66 tourism, and it has.
Ellie Alexander, tourism director for the City of Pontiac, Ill., told me by e-mail that several European travelers had to cancel road trips on Route 66 this past week, including a tour group from Great Britain. The British group was supposed to be in Pontiac on Wednesday; it has rescheduled its journey for next year.
Foreign travelers make up a substantial portion of Route 66 tourism. Pontiac is the home of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, and has become a Mother Road must-stop in the Land of Lincoln.
It was hoped that some flights in Europe would resume tomorrow, but that’s already looking iffy, according to CTV.
But mere hours after European officials devised a plan to get more planes off the ground Tuesday, British officials warned that the volcano’s eruption has strengthened, sending even more ash toward Britain.
The British National Air Traffic Service announced Monday night that while airspace over Scotland will reopen Tuesday morning, it is unclear how much of England’s may reopen. The service said should English airspace open Tuesday afternoon as planned, it may not extend to London.
In case you’re wondering, the reason the volcanic ash is causing such problems isn’t just reducing visibility. The ash can be sucked into airplane engines and cause them to seize up in mid-air.
So … there’s not much to do except wait for the volcano’s activity to ebb. And there’s no telling when that will happen.
Book review: “Appetite for America” April 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, History, Motels, Railroad, Restaurants.1 comment so far
The last of the Harvey Houses closed more than 40 years ago, and they barely register a blip in the current public consciousness.
But author Stephen Fried makes a compelling case in “Appetite for America” (Bantam, 544 pages, $27) that Fred Harvey and his restaurants and resorts made an impact on tourism, dining and the hospitality business that reverberate throughout America — and Route 66 — to this day.
The Cliff Notes version was that Harvey was a British immigrant who developed dozens of restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops along the Southwest’s major rail lines during the late 19th century and well into the 20th. But Fried lays out the reasons why — for good or ill — that Harvey’s influence endures.
Fred Harvey built America’s first name brand. Fred Harvey wasn’t just a man’s name. Fred Harvey was the name of the company, and became synonymous with great service, exemplary food and quality. And the name was retained long after its founder died. As Fried puts it, Fred Harvey was Ray Kroc before McDonald’s and Howard Johnson before Hojo’s.
Fred Harvey built the first fast-food restaurant chain. Railroad passengers during the late 1800s had just 30 minutes to grab a meal when trains stopped for fuel and water. Harvey’s dining houses across the Southwest made sure those clients got quick and sumptuous food before reboarding.
Fred Harvey formed the first major female workforce. The Harvey Girl waitresses were trained by the company and boosted Fred Harvey’s image of quality and hospitality. Fried also argues convincingly that the Harvey Girls helped tame the Wild West; they persuaded miners, cowboys and ruffians who dined at Harvey Houses to be on their most gentlemanly behavior.
Fred Harvey ushered in modern-day restaurant standards. The company was formed in the 1880s, but Harvey’s 10 Fundamentals — such as “Courtesy and a Smile Pay Dividends” — ring true more than a century later (and should be required reading for restaurateurs). In addition to imploring his restaurant managers to be vigilant about cleanliness and service, Harvey told them to be on the lookout for good deals on quality local produce and meat, and adjust the menu accordingly when it was available. In his own way, Harvey was a trail-blazer in the current Slow Food movement.
Though Harvey’s quick rise as an entrepreneur seems unlikely, his background reveals otherwise. Shortly after coming to America as a teenager, he landed a job in one of the most popular restaurants in New York City and moved up in its ranks. He worked at restaurants in New Orleans and St. Louis. He also sorted mail on railroad cars. So he learned the restaurant and railroad business from the inside.
One gets the impression from Fried’s well-researched and lively book that Harvey wasn’t a genius. But Harvey craved excellence, knew a good thing when he saw it, and possessed the drive to seize opportunities. Railroad dining halls during the 1800s often served awful food with equally awful service, so Harvey knew that better and quicker food at those stops would be potentially lucrative. Harvey not only greatly improved those dining experiences, but the food and service were so good that the Harvey Houses became destinations unto themselves.
This excerpt from the book about a makeshift Harvey House in Las Vegas, N.M., proves revealing:
Fred was asked to establish a temporary restaurant in Las Vegas before the Santa Fe had even built a proper depot, so he had his staff work out of three old Santa Fe cars parked on a rarely used side track. One veteran railroader remembered them as “the worst-looking boxcars … the company and Harvey could scare up … [but] when travelers entered the big side door … they gasped with wonderment at what met their gaze. The walls were shiny with fresh paint in the gaudy Indian colors, the tables were spread with heavy milk-white Irish linen and napkins the size of pillow slips, the silverware shone like a French plate mirror, the clean clear glass goblets were filled with ice and nice clear water, and on the tables were large vases filled with wonderful fresh flowers.”
A stickler for detail, Harvey was known to yank the tablecloth and all of its carefully arranged dinnerware onto the floor if he spotted a fingerprint on a glass. He insisted that a fresh batch of coffee be brewed every two hours. Even the alkali level in the water supply was tested; if it flunked, better-quality water was hauled in by rail.
But Harvey also was generous with employees. Harvey Girls earned a week of vacation with free train travel anywhere on the Santa Fe line just six months after the start of employment. One housekeeper who lost her life savings during a fire was given a room at Harvey’s own house.
Fred Harvey, in fragile health much of his life, died in 1901 of abdominal cancer. But the Fred Harvey company continue to thrive under his son, Ford Harvey. One of its employees, Herman Schweitzer, compiled one of the greatest collections of American Indian crafts ever seen in Gallup, N.M., helping Southwest culture become a tourism attraction in itself. With Mary Colter’s distinctive Southwest architecture, Ford Harvey built El Tovar resort at the Grand Canyon and cemented both as destinations. He revamped a moribund hotel into La Fonda and greatly boosted Santa Fe, N.M., as a tourism stop.
Ford Harvey was well aware of the inevitable decline of the railroads, but he seemed confident his Harvey Houses could adapt to highway travelers, including those on what would be on a fledgling U.S. 66.
But Ford Harvey died unexpectedly during a flu epidemic, Harvey Houses were roiled financially by the Great Depression, and heir apparent Freddie Harvey died in a plane crash when he was about to fully take the reins of the company. This triple-whammy occurred in an eight-year period, and the company never recovered. The Fred Harvey empire ebbed away (despite the popularity of “The Harvey Girls” movie) and ceased to exist by 1968.
In one appendix of “Appetite for America,” author Fried and his wife take a train from Chicago to Los Angeles — following much of the old Santa Fe route — and check the surviving Harvey Houses and museums that contain company artifacts.
Another useful appendix lists all of the Fred Harvey hotels, dining rooms, lunchrooms and newstands in various cities, and whether they still exist.
One especially worthwhile section of the book is more than 40 Fred Harvey recipes, many of them never before published. Here, you can re-create Harvey House dishes, including Old Virginia sour milk biscuits, cream of Wisconsin cheese soup, bull frogs saute provencal, and La Fonda pudding. And, yes, you can learn to make Fred Harvey’s famous coffee.
Although they were railroad-related businesses, Harvey Houses have left abundant fingerprints on the Route 66 corridor. Among the attractions along or near the Mother Road are Union Station in Chicago and St. Louis; La Fonda in Santa Fe; La Castaneda in Las Vegas, N.M.; El Garces in Needles, Calif.; Casa del Desierto in Barstow, Calif.; Fray Marcosin Williams, Ariz.; Painted Desert Inn in Arizona; El Tovar at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim; and La Posada in Winslow, Ariz.
In fact, Fried says that seeing the marvelously restored La Posada from the railroad tracks is “one of the most welcoming experiences available in American travel.” By car, I concur with this as well.
Highly recommended.
A talk with the Donut Man April 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, People, Restaurants.add a comment
A reporter from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin sat down to chat with Jim Nakano, owner of the famed Donut Man stand on Route 66 in Glendora, Calif.
In a region that really likes its doughnuts, the Donut Man stands out — especially because of its strawberry doughnut. It’s a split pastry piled generously with whole strawberries. It’s practically a meal, all for $2.80.
Foodies have elevated the item into an object of idolatry. Nakano and his creation have been featured on the Food Network and Huell Howser’s “California Gold” and in innumerable newspaper and magazine writeups.
The latest – well, until now – was in February, when LA Weekly included the Donut Man’s strawberry doughnut in a cover story memorably titled “99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die.” It was the only Inland Valley foodstuff so honored. [...]
Nakano picks up strawberries six days a week from a grower who farms at Cal Poly Pomona and in Rowland Heights. Holding up a berry, he draws my attention to the light green leaves.
“Look at the leaves, they aren’t wilted or anything. Most berries, when you get them in the store, they’re a day or two old. I tell my grower he can pick mine riper,” Nakano explained.
After the berries are washed and their tops removed, they are mixed with a light, translucent glaze of Nakano’s design. A puffy, chewy jelly doughnut without the jelly is used as the shell. It’s split in three-quarters and berries are spooned in.
“And we just stuff it,” Nakano said as an employee heaps a second spoonful into the doughnut. “A 12-ounce cup, we figure, goes into each one.”
Nakano says he created the strawberry doughnut in 1974. It was a hit, and remains his biggest seller.
But if you visit the Donut Man, don’t expect to get his strawberry doughnuts in the late summer, fall and winter. They’re available only from February until July. He only wants strawberries that are in season.
Go read the rest of the story about Nakano, who was in the Japanese-American relocation camps during World War II.
High-stepping April 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Road trips.1 comment so far
Manu Cuadra, the Frenchman who aims to walk Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica on stilts, arrived in Pontiac, Ill., on Friday evening, according to the The Community News of Pontiac.
Cuadra is hoping to cover about 40 to 60 miles per day. His entire trip is expected to take around two to two and a half months.
The Frenchman is no stranger to long distances. He has previously participated in marathons and taken other journeys, on stilts. [...]
When he arrived in Pontiac, he was greeted by Pontiac Tourism Director Ellie Alexander, taken out for dinner, and spent the night.
Go here and click on one of the photos to see a slide show of his visit to Pontiac.
Manu’s blog is here, although he hasn’t updated it since starting his quest. If you missed it earlier, here’s a video he made that was posted:
UPDATE: Looks like Manu made it to Springfield, Ill., on Sunday.
UPDATE2: Here’s the Springfield State Journal-Register’s story on him.
Sign project gets going again in Miami April 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Signs, Towns.2 comments
A bunch of Route 66-related sign projects for Miami, Okla., are on the front burner again after an environmental review was completed and other agreements were signed two weeks ago, according to a report in the Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
Here’s what’s slated:
— The reconstruction of a historic 40-foot wide “Miami, Oklahoma — The Gateway” sign spanning Main Street just north of Steve Owens Boulevard.
— The reconstruction of the 21-foot Ozark Trail Milepost Marker, referred to as an obelisk, in downtown Miami. A similar marker was constructed in the 1920s in the middle of the intersection of what became Route 66 and Central Street. According to Eller, the Ozark Trail highway system was one of the first regional highway tourism promotions in the United States. [...]
— The purchase of directional signs, for placement on state highways, directing tourists to the Coleman Theatre and the Route 66 Ribbon Highway south of Miami, which is the only remaining 9-foot-wide section of the original Route 66 highway in the United States.
— Erection of historical markers on the Route 66 Ribbon Highway, Coleman Theatre, near the “Miami, Oklahoma — The Gateway” sign downtown, and at the Ozark Trail Obelisk downtown.
It will be paid with a $120,000 grant from the Oklahoma Scenic Byways Program, along with $20,000 in city funds and $10,000 from the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.