“Independent America” online January 19, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Movies, Road trips.4 comments
A few years ago, we reviewed a terrific documentary, “Independent America,” about independent businesses fighting back against corporations.
The film included scenes on Route 66 in Seligman, Ariz., and Hackberry, Ariz.
A leaner version of the film now can be watched on Hulu:
This film is recommended viewing for all roadies.
Route 66 television show being filmed January 19, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Television, Web sites.2 comments
Longtime Route 66 advocate Jim Conkle recently started a blog. In one of those posts, he mentioned that he and a camera crew are traveling Route 66 to produce a television show.
That included recent filming at Elmer Long’s Bottletree Ranch near Oro Grande, Calif., and the Harvey House in Barstow.
Conkle wrote:
So what is this NEW TV show going to be all about, you ask? Would you believe me if I said Route 66? Well at least the people and places that make the road what it is. In our post production meeting in the afternoon the question came up as to what venue do I see this show falling under? Good question so here is my answer; Looking at all the different channels now on TV we could be under the Travel-Discovery-Military-Food-Kids-Green-Outdoors-Sports-Paranormal-News-Weather, etc. As each of those headings will be covered in a full season for the show, if not in each episode.
In an e-mail, I asked him questions about the Route 66 television series. (Quotes from him are lightly edited.)
- Conkle says the production is being funded “out of our own pocket.” He says PBS has agreed to air the show “based on what I’ve shown them.” But he said he would consider commercial TV because public television brings in little income.
- The production company is Valle Vista Productions, based in California. “Don Fish Jr. heads up the team. Also Joe Loesch and his cousin Chris Loesch and their companies are going to be involved. Chris has a studio on old Route 66 in St Louis, and Joe is out of Nashville. So we have a really great team.”
- He said the show might be considered reality TV, but could evolve into something else. “The idea is to be multi-faceted in that we will feature in each episode the people who live, work and travel the road as well as the places to eat, sleep, shop and visit on the road. Sort of like what Huell Howser does with his California Gold show or Charles Kuralt used to do [...] The show is NOT about me it is about the entire Route 66 community nationally and internationally.”
- Conkle really wants to get the production crew fully on the road by late spring or early summer.
- Conkle said a pilot episode has been created, but “we are not happy with it, so a new one is in the works.”
- Conkle was asked about New Jersey-based Vincent Video, which spent much of the summer on Route 66 and soon will shop a series for television. He said he was unaware of the company before my e-mail. “At this time, I don’t see a conflict and wish them luck.”
Back from near-extinction January 18, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Preservation.1 comment so far
For nearly three decades, the black-footed ferret was considered extinct after previously thriving in the Great Plains.
And now those ferrets have been reintroduced to about 20 sites in North America. And one of them is right off Route 66, west of Seligman, Ariz.
Matt Miller of the Mother Nature Network writes:
Both Jon and I had doubts we’d be able to see ferrets in the wild, but the ferret biologists assured us that we’d have no problem spotting them on ranchlands along historic Route 66.
“You’ll see ferrets tonight, guaranteed,” said Binford-Walsh.
It didn’t take long. Five minutes, in fact.
Driving slowly along the road with spotlights, we picked up the distinctive green eye shine of black-footed ferrets.
We approached slowly on foot, only to have three curious ferrets approach within a few feet of us.
An amazing moment: A creature, one presumed gone forever, now stared into my eyes.
The ferret’s prey is prairie dogs, which are in abundant supply west of Seligman. In fact, on one Route 66 trip, we heard from the car window the prairie dogs barking. So we stopped to take a listen and watch the prairie dogs chatter, scamper around, and maintain a watch for predators. Although we were there just a short time, I have little doubt the area has become a good habitat for those black-footed ferrets.
More about the black-footed ferret reintroduction program can be found here.
Miller uses the story of the ferret’s revival as a teaching moment: Sometimes hope is found when it appears hope is lost.
Site updates January 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Web sites.3 comments
I’ve made improvements to Route 66 News in the past few days you should know:
- The Events calendar has been updated for 2011 to the best of my knowledge.
- I’ve fixed broken links, deleted defunct sites, and added new ones to the Attractions, Restaurants, and Lodging pages. Updates on those pages have been overdue.
- I’ve added an e-mail subscription option to Route 66 News. The button is located in the upper right portion of the page.
If I overlooked anything you feel should go on the site, don’t hesitate to contact me at route66news@yahoo.com, and I”ll do my best to add it. Remember, this is your site as much as mine.
Kicks on 366 January 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Photographs, Road trips.2 comments
Filmmaker Ester Brym has put together a slide show of 366 photos when she was shooting footage on the Mother Road for her upcoming documentary, “Autumn of Route 66.”
More about the project can be found at Brym’s blog here. A poster for the film can be found here. She plans to release the film this year.
‘Legitimate’ Route 66 museum may open in Berwyn January 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums.add a comment
Jon Fey of Downers Grove, Ill., is looking to open a legitimate Route 66 museum in the Mother Road city of Berwyn, Ill., instead of a small-time one, according to Suburban Life Publications.
Fey rearranged his SWF Products storefront at 7003 Ogden Ave. (Route 66) so that it may be a permanent location for the museum.
Previously, the museum had consisted of a handful of display cases crammed against restaurant walls and tucked into the parts department of a car dealership. Now, Fey is almost single-handedly leading the charge to transform the fledgling collection of artifacts and memorabilia into a legitimate museum.
“I never thought I’d open a museum. What have gotten myself into?” Fey said. “We started working on this last April, and it’s really grown quite a bit since we gave it its own space and put a lot of energy into it, but we still have a long way to go.”
Fey is driven by a zeal for history and a love of Berwyn.
“I spend more time in Berwyn than I do in any other spot on the earth, and I have for 30 years right here on Route 66,” Fey said.
The museum is currently in what Fey calls a “semi-open state” from 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He hopes to be in full swing by April, when tourism traffic on Route 66 kicks into gear.
Berwyn Route 66 Museum can be reached at (708) 484-9349 or through its website.
New redevelopment plans sought for De Anza January 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.add a comment
The City of Albuquerque is seeking new redevelopment proposals for the historic De Anza Motor Lodge on Route 66 after the previous one was terminated, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
The city bought the property for $891,000 in 2003. A redevelopment plan in 2006 for the property was ended by mutual agreement due to “a lack of progress,” city planner Maryellen Hennessy told the newspaper.
The now vacant, fenced off property sits on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Washington. It’s listed on the state Register of Cultural Properties and National Register of Historic Places. The motel was completed in 1939 and “was among the new generation of motor lodges born along U.S. Route 66,” a planning department staff report states.
The lodge was developed by C.G. Wallace, a Zuni trader and American Indian art collector, who in 1951 commissioned Zuni artist Tony Edaakie to paint murals on the walls of a basement room. The imagery of a Zuni ceremonial procession remains intact “and is considered by cultural professionals to be a rare example of such artwork to be found outside of the pueblo,” the staff report further reads. “The former ‘Turquoise Coffee Shop’ at the southwest corner of the site retains a terrazzo floor with turquoise chips and inlaid silver figures.”
With the redevelopment, the city wants to maintain historic aspects of the motel.
“It’s still the city’s intention to preserve those murals, and the RFP is also noting that the city would like for a portion of the site to be available for a small museum, visitors center,” Hennessy said. “We’re trying to draw from the biggest pool of interested parties we can, but that (cultural preservation) is certainly an integral part of the city’s expectation for redevelopment.”
A good vintage image of De Anza can be found here.