Chili that’s older than the road September 2, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, Restaurants.add a comment
Central Illinois has long been praised as a haven for chili. And here’s more proof with Taylor’s Mexican Chili Parlor, 0n the old Illinois 4 alignment of Route 66 in Carlinville, Ill.
Here’s a fan of Taylor’s:
A little Internet surfing revealed that Taylor’s Mexican Chili was established in 1904 in Carlinville. That’s more than 20 years before Route 66 existed, and even predates the famous Ike’s Chili in Tulsa.
According to its history, company founder C.O. Taylor developed his product while cooking Mexican dishes during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. The first Taylor’s restaurant in Carlinville that year boasted six stools and one table.
Taylor’s chili has been served next to the Anchor Inn tavern off Illinois 4 since 1998.
If you can’t get to Carlinville, you can have a case of Taylor’s chili shipped to you.
Tire store on Route 66 marks 75th year September 1, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.add a comment
This is pretty amazing. Bay’s Tire Service, at 112 E. Osage St. in Pacific, Mo., recently marked its 75th year at the same location and the same family ownership, reported the Washington Missourian.
According to the story:
Lee and Hazel Miles Bay purchased a farmhouse at present-day 112 E. Osage St. on the new Route 66 and opened Bay’s Service June 1, 1935, doing general mechanics including tires, tire repair, oil changes and brakes.
When Lee went to serve in World War II, he rented out the business but took over again when he returned.
Edward “Miles” Bay, the couple’s only son, took over the business in June 1965, which he incorporated as Bay’s Texaco Service and Supply.
According to the family, the business has been expanded 13 times over the years. The fourth generation of Bays is operating the tire store, and they’re counting on a fifth generation — a 22-month-old toddler — to carry on the business.
The challenges of a minicar cruise September 1, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
The New York Times published a good article today about the hurdles that drivers encountered in during the recently completed microcar cruise on Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago.
A few of those vehicles, many of which boasted itty-bitty engines of just 500 cc, encountered problems along the way:
“When we got to Kingman, Ariz., we ended up having to tear a motor down and completely rebuild it,” said Larry Newberry, an enthusiast and parts dealer from Knoxville, Tenn. He organized the rally of eight tiny vintage cars, which included two Goggomobils, three Vespa 400s, two Fiat 500s and a BMW Isetta. It was a motley band of misfits, far from the classic Detroit machines, all tailfins and booming V-8s, that one imagines bounding down the historic highway.
One of the Vespas broke down first. “The gentleman who built that engine put the pistons in backwards and caused a catastrophic failure,” Mr. Newberry said.
Another glitch involved an old Fiat 500, whose transaxle blew up near Joplin, Mo. Fortunately, the owner lived not too far away, in Kansas City, and a family member quickly delivered a replacement. “We did all the repairs at night and drove at day,” Mr. Newberry said. “So there were several nights I didn’t get any sleep.”
The story includes a video from the microcar gathering after the Route 66 cruise, in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake.
Springfield festival will honor Bob Waldmire September 1, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Events, Museums, People, Vehicles.add a comment
The International Route 66 Mother Road Festival and Car Show in Springfield, Ill., on Sept. 24-26 will pay tribute to deceased Route 66 artist and area native Bob Waldmire, according to a preview story in the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Organizers announced Wednesday that proceeds from the event will go toward the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum in Pontiac, which is building a permanent exhibit to showcase Waldmire’s work and vehicles. [...]
The festival’s “Travel Illinois Expo” will feature a commemorative exhibit honoring Waldmire. The display, which is being put together by his son, Jimmy Graham, and brother, Buz, will feature Waldmire’s Volkswagen bus and Mustang along with displays of his artwork.
It was previously reported that Waldmire’s Volkswagen minibus would be displayed at a Route 66 museum in Tulsa that eventually will be built.
But Jim Conkle, chairman of the Route 66 Alliance and caretaker of the minibus, clarified that the Volkwagen will essentially be a moving exhibit. Conkle said he promised to Waldmire he would honor his wishes — to share the Volkswagen minibus with the Route 66 community and keep it moving on the Mother Road periodically. That means, Conkle says, that the minibus would be on loan for up to a year at a time at a Route 66 museum — including Tulsa’s — but would be moved to other Route 66 museums or similar-themed events.
However, the Illinois Route 66 museum probably will take permanent possession of much of Waldmire’s artwork and a school bus he converted into a home.
Waldmire died in December 2009 from abdominal cancer.
Caravan of motorcycles older than the Mother Road September 1, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Motorcycles, Preservation, Road trips.add a comment
Dozens of long-distance motorcycle cruises are organized on the Mother Road each year. But this one is too unusual to ignore.
In a few days, the Pre-1916 Motorcycle Cannonball endurance run begins in Kitty Hawk, N.C., and ends 17 days later at the shores of Santa Monica, Calif. The caravan will drive on a large chunk of Route 66 west from Albuquerque.
Barry Brown gives a good overview of his very rare 1913 Harley Davidson:
And here’s Matt Olsen’s cherry-looking Sears Twin motorcycle:
Here’s a complete list of entrants. The oldest machine in the event is a 1907 German-made JAP model.
If you want to see these old and rare machines, here’s a list of tour stops.
(Hat tip: Denny Gibson)