City, historical society fight over building August 24, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums.add a comment
The City of Claremore, Okla., and the Rogers County Historical Society are in a spat over the use of a recently vacated building, reported the Claremore Daily Progress.
The city wants the former Fire Administration Building at 121 N. Weenonah Ave. to be used as the new space for Department of Public Safety driver’s licensing testing offices there, thus saving the city at least $10,000 a year.
The historical society wants the building to house a local history museum. Rogers County Historical Society President Fran Jones made her pitch at a recent City Council meeting:
“The (library) building itself is of historical significance, named for Will Rogers and having been constructed in the 1930’s — something which would not be important in the least to the licensing bureau, with whom the city has an agreement, but of utmost importance to the RCHS,” Jones began. “Currently, the RCHS has a 99-year lease on the adjoining Lynn Riggs Museum —built with private donations — and we feel being given the additional space (of the building) would be the perfect compliment to a Claremore City Museum. This would allow us to feature even more notable and famous citizens from Claremore among our exhibits.”
Jones told Council members the location was of particular importance as it “essentially anchors” the neighborhood which the RCHS hopes will become the city’s “Historic District,” along with the Belvidere Mansion, the carriage house, the Pink House, the (historic) Presbyterian Church and the old high school.
“Our city’s rich history is too important for us not to have a permanent display in a proper permanent home for a treasured collection of Claremore-related memorabilia, photographs, antiques, and historic artifacts,” Jones said. “From a business standpoint, housing a Claremore museum at this particular location will encourage tourists and locals alike to increasingly drive east of Route 66, down Will Rogers Boulevard to find the museum — in the process, drawing business to the downtown district, not to mention the Belvidere (Mansion) and the Pink House when they cross the tracks to the old library.”
I don’t have particularly strong feelings about this. Any enthusiasm for a museum that might house some Route 66 memorabilia is dampened by the building being more than four blocks from Route 66. A few travelers on the Mother Road might visit it, but not without a lot of marketing and signage.
And the counterproposal from the city seems fairly compelling. Savings of at least $10,000 a year for a relatively small municipality such as Claremore isn’t chicken feed.
If you’re going to have a historical museum, putting it on a location on Oklahoma 66 is a lot more optimal.
Bushyhead rodeo event moving away from Route 66 August 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Events, Sports.add a comment
The Bushyhead Pasture Roping and Barrel Race, long presided over by rodeo legend Clem McSpadden, is moving away from the Route 66 hamlet of Bushyhead, Okla., to Bristow, Okla., and away from the Mother Road, reported the Pryor (Okla.) Daily Times.
The longtime event on Route 66 between Chelsea and Claremore, Okla., went on a hiatus in 2009 after McSpadden died in July 2008. The Bushyhead event started on McSpadden’s property in the mid-1980s, and became a delight for locals and foreign Route 66 travelers alike.
The Labor Day Pasture Roping and Barrel Race event will be at the Brewster Ranch Arena, about 10 miles southeast of Bristow and away from Route 66. But the Brewster Ranch pledged to keep many of McSpadden’s traditions going:
Clem’s 101-foot score will still be there. The barrel race will still be an endurance test. And it will still be a Labor Day happening.
When Clem brought the pasture roping to his ranch a quarter-century ago, having seen a similar competition in Texas, he went the Lone Star state one foot better on the score, or starting point from which the steer takes off away from the roping team.
Clem always liked that extra foot.
And, he took pride in the barrel race, run in an open pasture with the third barrel being a pond dam.
The Brewster Ranch in Creek County promises a similar pattern, producing more than a traditional barrel race … a true test of stamina for horse and rider.
Salley has expanded the scope of the pasture ropin’ extravaganza, bringing in a World Series Team Roping event to the indoor arena, an AQHA trail ride and a trade show.
The event will be Sept. 4-6. Part of the proceeds will go to the Clem McSpadden OSU Animal Science Endowment Fund.
Funding application for replacing Mojave bridges sent today August 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Highways.add a comment
San Bernardino County is filing an application today with the U.S. Department of Transportation for a grant to rebuild several dozen wooden trestle bridges in California’s Mojave Desert.
The Daily Press in Victorville reported yesterday that the county was applying for a $52 million grant to replace 130 of those bridges. But the Redlands Daily Facts reports today that the grant application will be for just $10 million, to replace 43 bridges.
There are about 130 timber trestle bridges in need of replacement across the county, but public works officials, due to the lack of federal funding available, are focusing on the highway stretch between Daggett and Needles because it is more heavily traversed.
“Our critical reach is to keep open the stretch between Amboy Road and Cadiz Road,” Biggs said. He said the area is rich in agricultural and other business activity, which draws more traffic.
Because the highway is part of the National Historic Register, certain limitations are imposed when it comes to public works projects. All bridge designs or other planned infrastructure projects must first go to the Office of Historic Preservation for approval, Biggs said.
The county should learn as quickly as October as to whether the grant will be awarded. If it is, work on the bridges will begin in 2012.
Jim Conkle of the Route 66 Alliance provided some sage comments to the Daily Press:
“We don’t have in the High Desert a major attraction except Route 66,” said Jim Conkle, co-founder of Route 66 Alliance and board member over the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville. “Route 66 is the most famous road in the world. We don’t say that braggingly; we say that as the truth.” [...]
“They don’t meet any of the federal highway standards; they couldn’t construct a bridge like that today because they wouldn’t allow it because of the safety concerns,” Conkle said. “If they don’t replace them, there will be a section of Route 66 in San Bernardino County, in the High Desert, that will basically shut down. It will be fragmented so badly that people won’t travel it.”
Family feud August 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.4 comments
The Arizona Republic published a fascinating but ultimately sad story about family members’ fight over the Gilbert Ortega Sr. estate.
Ortega began his silver and turquoise empire as a Route 66 in Lupton, Ariz., by selling American Indian trinkets during the 1960s. That eventually grew to an estimated $40 million enterprise, with jewelry and Indian arts stores sprinkled throughout the Southwest.
Ortega died in 2003 at age 67, and his son Gilbert Jr. took over the operation. But the future of estate now is tied up in court:
The dispute involves a lawsuit and countersuit between the Ortega siblings, their mother, Linda Ortega, and David Stocking, an accountant for the family business. The legal claims involve allegations of drug use, mismanagement and a battle for control of the three remaining stores and commercial real-estate holdings.
Gilbert Ortega Jr.’s three sisters – Gayle, Desiree and Renee – contend he is not fit to run the business and they attempted to take control two years ago. That prompted Gilbert Jr. to file suit against his sisters claiming they acted illegally in firing him, which conflicted with their father’s wishes that Gilbert Jr. would run the company.
His younger sister Renee responded with a countersuit alleging Gilbert Jr. raided the family business and failed to properly manage the family trust.
Gilbert Jr. won a temporary injunction in the fall of 2008 that allowed him to resume his leadership of the company, but legal proceedings in the civil cases continue.
The whole thing is worth reading. And it serves as a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of family-owned businesses.
Meet the man behind The Mill’s restoration August 21, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Preservation, Restaurants.add a comment
The Lincoln Courier posted an article about John Sutton, project manager behind the restoration of The Mill restaurant on Route 66 in Lincoln, Ill. Sutton was just named the Courier’s Citizen of the Month.
He is currently devoting his time and efforts to restoring the inside of the historic Mill restaurant that was known for its schnitzel sandwich, its place in Route 66 history and its Al Capone connections. Sutton was not surprised by the shape the structure was in when he first entered the building.
“I’ve done restoration since I was 18, so I am quite familiar with buildings with bowing floors and a foundation that was in desperate need of some help,” said Sutton.
The original structure was built in 1929 and still stands in its original location.
Director of Logan County Tourism Geoff Ladd appreciates the devotion that Sutton has put into the revitalization of the historic structure.
“Undoubtedly, he is one on my top volunteers and I admire the energy he puts into all of the projects he works on,” said Ladd. According to Ladd, Sutton is the project manager for The Mill’s restoration.
“His work is giving The Mill a new floor and windows and, in the long term, this breathes new life into the structure,” said Ladd.
It seems certain that Sutton will be at The Mill for a workday today, in which volunteers are going to finish work needed on the old restaurant so it’s eligible for a preservation grant.
Sutton also was honored by the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. He’s also a chairman of the Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival.
Ohio man plans 2,500-mile bicycle ride August 20, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, People, Road trips.add a comment
Jamey Mixson of South Euclid, Ohio, soon will start a bicycle ride across the country to raise awareness about illiteracy and childhood obesity, reported the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
Mixson will start Saturday from Cleveland and will end his journey in Los Angeles suburb of Manhattan Beach, Calif. He’s planning on picking up Route 66 in St. Louis.
He’s got an ambitious schedule — he’s wanting to complete the trip in 35 days. That means he’ll have to average 75 miles a day. At least he’s not a rank amateur on the bicycle — he’s been pedaling for 25 years and has even won a few races. He cycles 500 miles a week.
Mixson also has another reason at attempt the feat:
And, according to Mixson, there’s no documentation of anyone of African-American decent taking on this feat. “It’s hard. I don’t want to play a racial card, but White people or Europeans tend to be a little more adventurous than us.”
For him, he considers it to be another celebration of “we as people.” [...]
“I really want people of color to be more expansion, panoramic, to just try to live their dreams,” Mixson said.
If you want to make a donation for his ride, Mixson’s website is here.
Looks like they’ll make it August 20, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles.2 comments
The Associated Press caught up to the participants in the 2010 Route 66 Microcar Rally in Odell, Ill.
Since Odell is less than 100 miles from the group’s goal of making it to Chicago, from Santa Monica, it looks like those folks will get there. But not without some difficulty: