Antique Greyhound buses to meet in Adrian April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Preservation, Restaurants, Vehicles.add a comment
A group of 1950s Greyhound Scenicruiser buses will meet later this week at the “Hounds of the Mother Road Reunion” in Adrian, Texas.
A small convoy of these buses met at a motel on 11th Street (aka Route 66) in Tulsa on Tuesday night. The event in the Texas Panhandle is set for Thursday and Friday — first in Adrian at the famed midpoint of Route 66 for photographs (and presumably pie at the Midpoint Cafe), then at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in nearby Amarillo, where the buses will be on display.
An interesting tidbit about those Greyhounds:
Of the 1,001 General Motors model PD-4501 Scenicruiser buses made, only 200 are accounted for today. Of those 200, about 20 are still in their original seated configuration. [...]
The Scenicruiser is an American icon of transportation. When it was introduced by Greyhound it was only expected to be in service for ten years. But Greyhound retired the buses in mid-70′s, after they’d been in service for twice that long.
More about the reunion can be found here.
UPDATE: Here’s an updated story on the caravan’s Tulsa stop.
UPDATE2: Here’s a story about the caravan from its Cuba, Mo., stop.
UPDATE3: Here’s a video from the caravan’s stop on Route 66 in Adrian, Texas:
Call for help April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.add a comment
Note: If you’re a struggling business owner on Route 66 in the Tucumari, N.M., area, you could do a lot worse than contacting the Small Business Development Center at the city’s Mesalands Community College.
The local KOA campground did, and it’s now thriving again. The Quay County Sun has the story.
Joplin will dedicate mural next week April 5, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Events.add a comment
A Route 66-themed mural by the grandson of famous artist Thomas Hart Benton will be dedicated on the first floor of Joplin (Mo.) City Hall, 602 S. Main St., at 5:30 p.m. April 15, according to the Joplin Independent.
Anthony Benton Gude, Benton’s grandson, has completed the mural. The date of the dedication marks the 100th anniversary of the Newman Building, which houses City Hall, and Benton’s birthday.
Benton was a renowned regionalist painter who captured a rich history relating to Southwest Missouri. His mural, created for Joplin’s Centennial in 1973, was heralded as “Joplin’s Past in Benton’s Brushstrokes” by the Kansas City Star. His grandson’s regionalist mural depicting Route 66 and including individuals from the Joplin region who defined that era will be viewed in tandem with his mural, which in part depicts the activities of the House of Lords, Joplin’s well-known “entertainment” spot during the heyday of mining. Currently there are no other locations that will exhibit paintings by both grandfather and grandson.
Gude, who lives in Frankfort, KS, was commissioned to create the mural in April 2009. His topic was to depict the heyday of Route 66 and complement his grandfather’s previously commissioned piece.
After seeing Gude’s online gallery of his work, you just know the mural is going to be great.
UPDATE: The Marysville (Kan.) Advocate has a longer story about the mural, including a video of Gude explaining it.
Wich’s wabbits April 5, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, People.add a comment
The Alton (Ill.) Telegraph tells the tale of Rich Henry and his Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, a favorite attraction for Route 66 travelers in Staunton, Ill., for years.
Henry keeps several dozen rabbits on the premises as pets, and also keeps quite a bit of Route 66 memorabilia on display.
Here’s how the rabbit ranch started:
Henry started the “bunny thing” in October 1999, after his then 20-year-old daughter got a bunny for Easter. [...]
“She got one that was supposed to be a female, and then she got a second one that really was a female,” recalled Henry, whose main profession is as an agent for American National Insurance and a license and title servicer, which he also does at the ranch.
By the end of July 1999, the cotton-tailed couple had two litters of bunnies. Thirty days later, they had a third litter. Henry’s daughter finally got the male fixed, but it was too late. The female delivered a fourth litter after the fix.
“So (the rabbits) came here,” Henry said. “I still use the hutch from this original family. It’s almost 10 years later, and I just lost the last of the original family.”
Make sure you read the “Rainbow Bridge” part of the story. You may need a Kleenex after you’re done, and you also will realize that for Henry, the rabbits aren’t just a gimmick.
Bob Waldmire’s last mural April 4, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Events, Gas stations, People.1 comment so far
A mural that was designed by recently deceased Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire for a gas station in Topock-Golden Shores, Ariz., was finished a few days ago.
The mural of old Route 66 is on a replica 1970s Shell gas station on 12888 Oatman Highway (aka Route 66) owned by Ned Leuchtner, who also owns the restored Cool Springs Camp on Oatman Road (aka 66) between Oatman and Kingman, Ariz.
Annie Wildbear, hired to finish Waldmire’s design after he died of cancer on Dec. 16, explained in a comment:
Ned told me that the process began quite a while ago when he and Bob formed a special bond through their shared dedication. [...] Together they came up with the idea to paint a mural on one of the exterior walls of the station. It was Bob’s way of continuing his mission to enhance his beloved road. When Bob realized he would be too ill to paint the actual mural from his concept, he told Ned that he would have to find another artist to commission to do the job.
That’s where I came in. As chance would have it, Ned and I met. I found out about his interest in the project and the rest, as they say, is history (in the making).
Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet Bob myself. Because of this, I had to do what ever I could to learn more about this iconic character of Route 66. I scoured the internet to absorb and immerse myself in as much information as I could about Bob. My husband and I even purchased a set of his postcards from eBay so I could get as close as I could to recreating Bob’s distinctive drawing and lettering style. The concept drawing was an excellent guide, but it was just a guide. I wasn’t there, but judging from the dates Bob wrote on the drawing and knowing the date he died, he probably wasn’t up to his usual when it came to the added details. There were still a lot of blanks and the concept wasn’t to scale. I had to try to figure out, based on the information I gathered about Bob and his style, how he would have completed it. [...]
If you’re on the road, driving through Topock, please stop and take a look. It’s an excellent photo op and just in time for The Route 66 Fun Run.
I felt like Bob was guiding me through every step of the way. I only hope I did him proud!
Wildbear’s newest blog entry contains a series of photos taken when she was painting the mural.
Here is a higher-resolution photo of the mural so you can see it better. I think Wildbear did a terrific job, and it bears the characteristics of Waldmire’s work.
(Photo courtesy of Annie Wildbear)
Notes from the road April 4, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, bicycling, Businesses, Events, Highways, History, Movies, People, Preservation, Road trips.add a comment
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association is sponsoring a clean-up day on Saturday, April 17, at the old Ozark Trail section of Route 66 west of Sapulpa.
This project is in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful programs. Work will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m. The association wants to clean up as much of this 4-mile section as possible.
Volunteers will be provided trash bags and safety vests, and are asked to bring along work gloves and, if possible, a weed trimmer.
The Ozark Trail section served as Route 66 from 1926 to 1952, according to Jim Ross’ book “Oklahoma Route 66.” It is notable for containing the historic Rock Creek Bridge.
A map of the old Ozark Trail near Sapulpa can be found here.
— Roger Kramer Cycling has a good roundup of bicycle-related Route 66 events this year.
— The World’s Largest Rocker at Fanning 66 Outpost near Cuba, Mo., recently marked its second birthday. For the record, the chair’s dimensions are 42 feet, 1 inch in height, 20 feet, 3 inches wide, and it weighs 27,000 pounds.
— According to a newsletter from Historic Seligman Sundries in Seligman, Ariz., members of the Czech Route 66 Association will shoot a high-def documentary film about Route 66 starting later this month. The crew will be on the road for 17 days. It would be the first Czech film about Route 66, and will eventually make its way to DVD.
— The century-old Colors of the West store in Williams, Ariz., has completed the building rewiring. It was partially paid for with a grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, according to a program newsletter.
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tries to clear up the confusion about the pronunciation of Gravois Avenue, which carries a portion of Route 66 through town.
— Dennis Kinch, the man who walked Route 66 in 2005-06 despite a debilitating bone disease, can no longer work because of his condition, according to his daughter Kayla. She says he might enjoy a note or postcard from roadies. Send them to her at 933 Portland Place Apt 4, Boulder, CO 80304, and she’ll make sure he gets them.
Details released of Route 66 festival April 3, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events.2 comments
Details of the annual international Route 66 festival near the tri-state area of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas have been trickling out in recent weeks, and the Joplin Globe published a roundup of the June 17-20 event on Friday.
The gist of it is that many of the big events will be hosted at the complex of the Downstream Casino, which is right at the spot where all three states’ borders converge. It will be called the Tri-State International Route 66 Adventure 2010. The Web site was here, but it appears to be down right now. Another good sources of information on the festival is here.
The important stuff:
- Route 66 Summit, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, June 17
- Taste of Route 66, Friday, June 18
- Welcome party on Friday night, June 18
- Authors and artists booths
- Spook Light tours
- Roadie breakfast on Saturday, June 19
- Route 66 tours from Afton, Okla., to Halltown, Mo.
- “Stand in All Three States” event
- Will Rogers Awards banquet, Saturday night, June 19, including a tribute to late Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire
- Classic car and motorcycle show
The Kansas Historic Route 66 Association, Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Miami (Okla.) Chamber of Commerce are planning the event.
Tower Theater again is aglow April 2, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Preservation, Signs, Theaters, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
The neon lights of the historic Tower Theater on Route 66 in Oklahoma City burned Friday night for the first time in decades.
John Murphey of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program was there, and here are some excerpts of notes from the event:
Approximately 200 people gathered in a parking lot across the street from Tower Theater.
Most were locals from the Uptown District, who arrived by foot, bicycles and skateboards. [...]
Marty Dillon, owner of the Tower, served as the master of ceremonies.
Marty Dillon
He introduced the project, and said the sign would be run by OEF wind power.
“We are keeping it on a few nights a week to create a buzz.” Dillion do not provide specific information about the restoration of the interior of the theater. [...]
Ward 2 Councilman Sam Bowman, who remembered seeing “The Blob” there, said the sign will be “the hot spot on the strip,” referring to a recent streetscape improvement project to bring back 23rd Avenue. “It will be a corridor to proud of,” he continued. “And this sign is going to be an eye-stoppper.”
Dillon then received a NPS Route 66 silver shield award. [...]
Dillon led the crowd with the chant of: “Give me a T; give me an O”… etc., and at exactly 7:01pm the Tower Theater sign came on.
Jim Ross (author of “Oklahoma Route 66″ — ed.) called the restoration “significant.” “There is nothing that has been revitalized along the whole urban corridor in Oklahoma City. This is a draw,” he said.
Steve Burton
The event brought out people who gone to or worked at the theater. Steve Burton, 46, worked as a ticket taker between 1981 and 1989, when it closed. He remembered it specializing in the “martial arts, Kung Fu movies.”
(Many thanks to John Murphey for the photos and reporting)
Fire threatens Victorville museum April 2, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums.add a comment
A fire that gutted the historic Halstead Building in downtown Victorville, Calif., threatened the nearby California Route 66 Museum on Friday morning, reported the Daily Press.
Scores of firefighters were able to beat back the blaze from damaging the museum. But the Halstead Building was a total loss.
The Halstead Building was home to the first bank in Victorville and was built in 1917 by the Southwest Portland Cement company.
“They did it to prove there was use for concrete other than for streets and sidewalks,” Kirk said. “It’s a real shame.” [...]
The loss will be tremendous because the historical building houses five businesses and was full of antiques, Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for San Bernardino County fire, said. Martinez estimated the loss to be in the millions.
Arson is suspected.
Commercial break April 2, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, Television.1 comment so far
Looks like the Kit Kat folks ended up on the Mother Road in Arizona: