HOG alert September 14, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Motorcycles, Road trips.add a comment
The Harley Owners Group’s Motoring the Mother Road event started in Chicago on Sunday and is making its way down the Mother Road.
Route 66 author Michael Wallis is in tow. The group will gather at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, aka the 11th Street Bridge, in Tulsa about 9 a.m. Friday.
According to a story in the Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader, about 600 motorcyclists had signed up for the event.
So if you live near the Mother Road, keep your eyes peeled. You probably will see quite a sight — and feel it, too.
Observations from a preservation project September 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation, Signs.4 comments
Here are a few random thoughts about the sign preservation project that volunteers with the Oklahoma Route 66 Association completed this past weekend at the Lincoln Motel in Chandler, Okla.:
Emily Priddy starts repainting the lettering on the east side of the Lincoln Motel sign after it was scraped.
1. Don’t use household latex paint on an outdoors sign. This advice may seem elementary, but it became apparent during prepping that the Lincoln Motel’s sign had been coated with cheap acrylic. That caused large chunks of it to come off — if it wasn’t already gone — during scraping. Needless to say, the oil-based enamel we used probably will last longer.
Emily is pleased to know the sign re-painting is almost finished.
2. It’s difficult to erect scaffolding when @#$%*& hedges are in the way. The thick vegetation around the motel’s south edge undoubtedly proves useful in blocking noise and headlights from passing traffic. But it sure makes it a pain in gaining access to a preservation project.
Doug Dickman and Emily Priddy put the neon tubing back on the Lincoln Motel's sign.
3. It’s good to have an experienced general contractor help put up scaffolding. Doug Dickman of Chandler was the one who supervised putting the framework together and ensuring the scaffold was on stable footing so we wouldn’t go tumbling 15 feet into the air.
4. The most nerve-wracking portion was not the painting. The most tense moments came when we had to carefully remove the sign’s neon tubing and put it back up again when painting was completed. One wrong move, and you’d shatter a section of letters that would cost at least $100 to replace.
Jerry McClanahan goes to great lengths to repaint a hard-to-reach portion of the sign.
5. It helps to have a sign re-painter who happens to be a daredevil. Jerry McClanahan was willing to go to great heights (literally) and awkward contortions to make sure all of the sign’s hard-to-reach corners were coated.
6. It helps to have a sign re-painter who actually has artistic experience. McClanahan has worked as an artist for many years, and his steady hand and knowledge became useful during the course of the project.
7. You can actually keep painting during a rainstorm. It’s not recommended, obviously, to do an entire repainting project during a downpour. But oil-based enamel isn’t going to be affected much by moisture if just a few brush strokes remain, as we discovered on Sunday.
8. The motel’s new owners seem committed to upgrading the property. They told us that the rooms would be renovated in the coming weeks and the cabins’ exteriors will be repainted. Considering the motel was built in 1939, it can use all the TLC it can get.
9. During a preservation project, you’ll use muscles you never knew you had. Emily and I are still feeling sore a full day after the project. But seeing the results makes it worth it.
(More photos can be found here, here and here.)
Charity motorcycle ride sees impressive growth September 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Motorcycles, Road trips.add a comment
I’ve posted information about the Temple Street Route 66 Challenge fund-raiser for the Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in Dublin on this site before.
But I never dreamed that this charity motorcycle ride from Chicago to Santa Monica was this successful. Tony Toner, writing for the Irish American News, has the details:
In the world of fundraising, the Temple Street Route 66 Challenge has established itself as a true phenomenon, one which has raised in excess of $3 million from their four previous visits and where on the 26th of September next some 100 participants will arrive in Chicago and the next day commence their venture down the Mother Road of America for the fifth time since 2002. [...]
The Irish 66’ers took Route 66 into their very being during their first visit in October 2002. They knew they’d be back, to quote a famous Californian Governor. And so in 2004, 2006 and 2008, they charted this ‘forgotten’ road and now possess the secret formula for their successful bi-annual Charity Challenge, enabling all participants to partake in its magic.
According to the article, this year’s challenge will raise more than $500,000.
Our man in Santa Monica September 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, People.2 comments
Here was an unexpected treat: The folks at FavoriteRoad.com interviewed Dan Rice, owner and operator of the 66-to-Cali souvenir shack on the Santa Monica Pier.
These videos were posted late Sunday.
Missouri holds new meeting for Route 66 bridge September 12, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Preservation.2 comments
(Note: see time correction below)
Norma Bolin, who’s best-known for her “Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook” and the recently released “Route 66 St. Louis,” dropped me a note over the weekend to let me know that the Missouri Department of Transportation made a last-minute change on a public meeting regarding the Route 66 bridge at Route 66 State Park near Eureka.
The meeting will be about 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Eureka High School at 4525 Highway 109 (map here). Bolin says the meeting’s purpose to see whether there is public support for preserving the bridge.
Bolin wrote in an e-mail:
… MoDot’s press release says it is an open house style meeting to discuss the historical preservation process and the timeline for making a decision on the next step for the bridge. Its position is that it continues to look for someone else to take over the liability and responsibility for the bridge, and if no one is found then the bridge will be removed. MoDot’s wording makes it sound like there is nothing new and does not appear urgent.
They do not offer any other alternatives to show public support or to participate in this last minute meeting such as sending comments via email, etc. However, anyone wanting to do so should direct comments to Andrew Gates, community relations specialist at MoDot. I found his email address on a different and unrelated MoDot press release Andrew.gates@modot.mo.gov and would encourage the entire Route 66 community to send an email of support for the bridge (and send a copy to) Don Fink of the Route 66 State Park ( don.fink@dnr.mo.gov )
The Route 66 Bridge at the state park was closed to all traffic a few months ago after MoDOT officials determined it was unsafe and said it probably will have to be demolished. Trailnet, which acquired ownership of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis and turned it into a pedestrian and bicycle trail, has shown interest in possibly acquiring the Route 66 Bridge, but nothing definite.
I reckon that quite a few locals would be interested in keeping the bridge. Route 66 Park’s main offices remain easily accessible. But the closing of the bridge has essentially cut off visitors from the rest of the park, requiring a convoluted route on county roads and Interstate 44. The lack of a bridge has greatly hurt the park’s viability.
Still, it would be a good idea if members of the Route 66 community would e-mail Andrew Gates and Don Fink and tell them that there are plenty of good reasons to keep the bridge around.
If the bridge can’t be saved, it adds another chapter of misfortune to that area. Route 66 State Park sits on the former site of Times Beach, which was evacuated and abandoned in the 1980s because of accidental dioxin contamination.
UPDATE: A Friends of the Meramec River Route 66 Bridge page has been set up on Facebook.
TV producers looking for a colorful Route 66 cafe September 12, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants, Television.2 comments
A development team is seeking nominations for a colorful Route 66 diner that will be featured on a reality TV show on a “major cable network,” according to a spokesman.
Here’s a news release about the project:
“Diner” will follow the lives of the staff (and of course the locals) of a home-town diner. We’ll face their problems, we’ll share their joys, we’ll believe in their dreams — and we’ll learn why to them, it’s not just a diner, it’s a refuge… a place of comfort that knows their secrets and keeps them hidden. In this real life “Alice,” “Diner” celebrates Americana, small towns, big dreams, and of course – home cookin’.
Casting directors are seeking diners throughout the country with at least four staff members of any age who have fascinating stories to tell. Candidates must be willing to participate in the project fully, with an open heart and a willingness to share their lives with us. On camera experience is not necessary nor is it preferred.
Adam M. Muggenthaler, in charge of development and casting for Metal Flowers Media, wouldn’t reveal what cable station is picking up the “Diner” show, only that it was a “major” one.
I’ve already given Muggenthaler my suggestions. You may have some of your own. If you do, call him at 323-309-1781. You also can nominate a Route 66 diner by e-mail once you get the information here. And Metal Flowers Media also can be found on Facebook.
Historic sign gets a partial face-lift September 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation, Signs.1 comment so far
The sign at the historic Lincoln Motel in Chandler, Okla., received half a face-lift Saturday from Oklahoma Route 66 Association volunteers.
Jerry McClanahan and Emily Priddy scrape the peeling paint from the west side of the Lincoln Motel sign in Chandler, Okla.
I say “half,” because we only had time to scrape and repaint the sign’s west side. Volunteers are going to finish the sign’s east side tomorrow, starting at 8 a.m. until it’s done sometime in the afternoon.
The west side of the Lincoln Motel sign shines in the sunlight after it was refurbished and repainted on Saturday.
Come on out. Even if you’re not handy with a paint brush, volunteers can always use someone to help pass tools and other materials up the scaffolding. Or you can drop by to watch, or to provide some good cheer.
We’ll have more about this preservation event after it’s done. We’re pretty happy how it’s gone so far. And the Lincoln Motel’s new owners are happy, too.