Fun Run attendance down about 15 percent May 6, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Motorcycles, Vehicles.add a comment
Participation in the Arizona Route 66 Fun Run was down about 15 percent this year — from 841 participants signed in 2010 to about 700, reported the Kingman Daily Miner.
The story cited higher gasoline prices as a possibility for the drop. Nearby Laughlin, Nev., holding its annual Laughlin River Run motorcycle event the same weekend probably siphoned off a fair number of people, also. The newspaper said the River Run was up from last year, but down from more recent times.
The Fun Run is always hosted on the first weekend of May, which includes when the first day of the month falls on a weekend like it did this month, Davis said. The River Run is normally scheduled for the third weekend in April but was pushed back a week because of the Easter holiday.
Davis said Fun Runners had no problem with their classic cars sharing the road with the motorcyclists. Most even looked forward to it.
The routes of the River Run and the Fun Run overlapped in the Kingman-to-Oatman stretch. That part of Oatman Road is twisty and narrow, and had to be a bit precarious with a double-dose of a motorcycle and classic-car festival.
Local police said no major incidents occurred over the weekend and just 10 accidents during the River Run, with three injuries.
A blue tie affair May 5, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, Preservation.3 comments
Tonight, I was volunteer for the Blue Tie Affair, a fundraising dinner for the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla.
The event featured an outdoor dinner at the Blue Whale grounds, and was catered by the nearby Molly’s Landing restaurant. The weather and atmosphere were perfect.
It’s not often that you see a string orchestra performing inside the mouth of a giant aquatic mammal:
The grounds and souvenir shack were decked out with white and blue lights for the evening.
This event is part of an ongoing effort by Catoosa Arts & Tourism and Fins of the Blue Whale to maintain and restore the Blue Whale and its other attractions — including the long-neglected Ark — for future generations.
And for much of the day Saturday, the group will open the souvenir shack for tourism season. There will be other announcements about improvements to the Blue Whale in the coming weeks.
Historic theater in Lincoln will be honored May 5, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation, Theaters.add a comment
The city of Lincoln, Ill., and Main Street Lincoln soon will honor the historic Lincoln Theatre as a part of National Preservation Week, according to the Lincoln Daily News.
The theater, now a four-screen movie house, sits just a couple of blocks from Route 66 in downtown Lincoln, at 215 S. Kickapoo St. It’s been operating since 1923, and is the city’s only remaining theater from the Route 66 era.
During a May 20 screening of the new film “The Conspirator,” a drama about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, participants have their names placed into an Abraham Lincoln stovepipe hat. The winning name drawn from the hat will receive free tickets to movies shown in July.
On the evening of the drawing, a framed copy of a historic preservation proclamation from Main Street Lincoln will be given to the theater owner, along with a framed copy of related articles in the news media.
On May 16, a resolution from the mayor and city council regarding National Historic Preservation Month will be presented for adoption. This will be in recognition of the preservation of the Lincoln Theater. [...]
Main Street Lincoln thanks the owners of the Lincoln Theater for their efforts to preserve the marquee. The theater’s historic features will always be a focus as upgrades are taking place.
A photo of this Lincoln Theater can be found here.
Fire damages historic building in Barstow May 5, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Restaurants.add a comment
A blaze early Thursday heavily damaged a portion of the historic El Rancho Motel complex in downtown Barstow, Calif., along old Route 66, reported the Desert Dispatch.
The newspaper said the fire destroyed the Cedar Restaurant and Travel Store — formerly known as El Rancho Restaurant — at the complex. A fire chief said the blaze started in the attic when the building was unoccupied.
Residents of the El Rancho Motel behind the restaurant weren’t notified about the fire until 2 a.m.
“A cop woke me up and told me to get out of my room,” William Snider, said. “ I didn’t have any idea what was going on, I just did what I was told.” [...]
In the past different parts of the historical structure have caught fire. The El Rancho Motel caught fire once in 2005 and again in 2006, causing an electrical power failure and an injury to a firefighter.
Good photos of the El Rancho Motel from 2006 can be seen at The Lope’s blog here.
Frankoma Pottery, contents go on the auction block May 4, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.5 comments
Frankoma Pottery, which sits on old Route 66 near Sapulpa, Okla., will be auctioned on May 18, effectively ending a business that operated in Oklahoma since 1933, reported KOTV in Tulsa.
Frankoma had been closed for over a year, and had gone through a series of owners who tried to revive the flagging business.
Mary King and Candy Steeples spent most of their adult lives working at Frankoma Pottery. Now they’re helping the auctioneer get ready to sell it. [...]
They said the bank shut the place down on March 19, 2010. They came in and told them to stop what they were doing.
They were packing up boxes of dishes. It was as if the clock stopped and everyone just walked away. [...]
The Frankoma name and the master molds will be sold separately. Someday Frankoma pottery could be produced somewhere, but probably not here.
It’s a sad situation, but not a surprising one. Frankoma simply wasn’t selling enough pottery to keep its doors open.
Hawks Auction Co. will be in charge of the event. “It is with great sadness that we are selling this Oklahoma historical institution,” Hawks’ website says.
Lifelong resident of Route 66 dies May 3, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums, People.add a comment
Gene Hodkin, who was born and married in the Route 66 town of Carthage, Mo., and also resided in the Mother Road town of Barstow, Calif., died at age 95 on April 25, according to the Desert Dispatch in Barstow.
An excerpt in a 2009 story about Gene and Clara Hodkin’s 70th wedding anniversary details his connection to 66 very well:
Gene, 93, and Clara, 87, were childhood sweethearts when they were married just before midnight by a justice of the peace in Carthage, Mo., where they grew up.
They were married on Route 66 – they lived there, had their first child there, and when they moved to Barstow in 1952, continued their connection to The Mother Road in their new home.
“We practically lived our whole life on Route 66, Gene recalls. “We traveled it a lot to visit relatives back in Missouri.”
He is survived by his wife and five children, 16 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.
His daughter-in-law, Deb Hodkin, is curator for the Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum.
A memorial service was held Monday. The family requests donations be sent to St. Jude Cancer Research, P.O. Box 50 Memphis, TN 38101-9929.
A word from our sponsor … May 3, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Motorcycles, Road trips.add a comment
This outfit is based in Scotland, but it filmed a chunk of this segment near the Santa Monica Pier.
If you’re across the pond and are interested, Route 66 Rider Training’s website is here.
Kingman releases tourism survey May 3, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions.add a comment
A survey from around the Kingman, Ariz., area revealed that tourism accounted for $165 million in direct expenditures and 2,100 jobs to the local economy in 2010, according to a report in the Kingman Daily Miner.
That impact grows dramatically to $268 million and 3,101 jobs for Mohave County when including indirect and induced expenditures: Revenues resulting from inter-industry transactions and dollars recirculated within the community by tourism industry employees. [...]
Respondents of the survey represented all but two states, 21% from California, and 55 countries, 31% from Canada.
International traffic to Kingman represented a whopping 28% of the sample. “That is a good percentage of foreign visitors – relatively few communities in rural Arizona have that high a number,” said Thomas Combrink, senior research analyst. “It is because of your location and because of old Route 66; foreign visitors love old Route 66.”
More than 2,500 surveys were completed, so officials hold a great deal of confidence in the results’ veracity.
Respondents rated very high their interest in “Route 66 Experience” or “scenic drives.” The only activity that rated as high was “visiting national and state parks” — i.e. the nearby Grand Canyon. All other activities listed were rated well below those levels.
A 205-page PDF report of the surveys can be seen here.
Project seeks to install art murals on Oklahoma Route 66 May 2, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions.add a comment
Organizers have launched a Kickstarter fundraiser for a project that aims to create art murals on several sites along Oklahoma’s Route 66.
The Dwelling Spaces store in Tulsa and El Reno resident Rick Sinnett want to place 11 murals along the Mother Road in the Sooner State, and hope to raise $6,600 in 28 days. The project has been endorsed by Michael Wallis, co-founder of the Route 66 Alliance, and also landed Oklahoma City resident Wayne Coyne, frontman for the popular psychedelic rock band Flaming Lips, as a spokesman.
The project’s aim involves gracing Oklahoma’s RT 66 with 11 Oklahoma inspired murals. Mural #1 of 11, titled Indian Warrior, has been painted on Route 66 in Tulsa, Okla., in the Blue Dome Arts District on Rose’s Second Hand Pawn Shop which was funded by Dwelling Spaces. Oklahoma artist Rick Sinnett and crew will paint “Guardian of the Mother Road” the second of 11 public art pieces on the 50-by-50-foot Drive-In Saloon in El Reno, Okla., off historic Route 66. Through coming months, nine more “Public Art Project 66″ works will follow, each celebrating Oklahoma’s rich history.
Festival will pay homage to first Dairy Queen May 2, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, History, Museums, Restaurants.add a comment
As if the Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival wasn’t busy enough this coming weekend, Joliet is celebrating the creation of the first-ever Dairy Queen restaurant, according to the Joliet Herald-News.
The public is encouraged to come to the Joliet Area Historical Museum, 204 N. Ottawa St., and experience: free admission to the Route 66 Welcome Center; free kids crafts, while supplies last; free Dairy Queen Dilly Bars, one per person while supplies last; and live free entertainment by the Route 66 Female a cappella quartet 2-3 p.m.
The event is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will also feature onsite displays of Dairy Queen memorabilia, including photos and product sample packages from the first Dairy Queen site on North Chicago Street.
The first DQ was a storefront at 501 N. Chicago St. (aka Route 66), and is now a church. More about the first Dairy Queen can be found on the corporation’s website.
UPDATE 5/5/2011: The Herald-News reports that an executive from Dairy Queen will come to Joliet on May 20 during a celebration to mark that first DQ store. The ceremony will be from 10 a.m. to noon that day, starting at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, then move to the original store at 501 N. Chicago St.
Joining local officials will be Dairy Queen President and Chief Executive Officer John Gainor and others from the company’s corporate offices in Minneapolis. [...]
“We’re excited about it, and it should be a lot of fun,” Dean Peters, associate vice president of communications for Dairy Queen, said today.