A legend that’s actually true November 18, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Motels, Movies.1 comment so far
The historic Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., reputedly boasted film star Clark Gable as an overnight guest at least once during his periodic cross-country trips.
It seemed this sighting always came secondhand, and I always wondered whether such a thing really happened or whether it was urban legend.
But this recent article in the Carthage Press seems to affirm that Gable did stay at the Boots Motel at least once. It’s a story about Don and Maxine Myers and their 72nd wedding anniversary, which they observed Thursday.
As for Gable, this anecdote in the story seems to confirm that he indeed was in Carthage:
The couple have many happy memories in Carthage. One in particular for Maxine remains vivid in her mind.
“You’ve heard those stories about the Boots Motel,” she said. “Well the one where the lady ran across the street to see Clark Gable – I’m that Maxine.”
In 1947, Don and Maxine lived in an apartment across Garrison Avenue from the Boots Motel. Maxine said when she found out who he was, she rushed over to get an autograph with her daughter, Kathy, who was six at the time.
“No one knew he was in town,” Maxine said. “He was sweet, with that big smile. He gave Kathy a kiss – he didn’t give me one.”
Think of it — Maxine Myers is a living eyewitness to Clark Gable staying overnight at the Boots Motel.
Incidentally, this isn’t Gable’s only connection to Route 66. He and Carole Lombard reputedly honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel in the small Route 66 mining town of Oatman, Ariz., in 1939. However, this well-researched article disputes whether that ever happened.
Coal conveyor will run next to Route 66 November 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.3 comments
A 5.5-mile coal conveyor belt is nearly finished and soon will be operating next to Route 66 between Williamsville and Elkhart, Ill., reported the Springfield State Journal-Register.
The newspaper reported:
Arch Coal Co. of St. Louis is completing a $20 million project, begun two years ago, that includes a new portal for the Viper Mine near Williamsville and the conveyor belt, which will carry the coal to the processing plant at Elkhart. [...]
The conveyor belt, which runs parallel to Old Route 66 and is easily visible from Interstate 55, will have capacity to carry up to 18,000 tons of raw coal daily from mine portal to preparation plant.
Construction is on schedule and coal should begin moving between Williamsville and Elkhart in the spring, she said.
This is where Route 66 runs on the eastern side of Interstate 55.
The article says that such above-ground conveyors now are unusual in Illinois. I do remember a conveyor that ran over Illinois Highway 13 near Marissa, and another over Illinois 104 near Kincaid. There may have been others I’ve forgotten. But I’m also certain these conveyors are fewer in number since the decline of the Illinois coal industry starting in the 1980s.
Bicycle trail proposed from Springfield to Strafford November 16, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, Highways.add a comment
A bicycle and pedestrian trail is being proposed next to Route 66 from the eastern edge of Springfield, Mo., to the nearby community of Strafford, according to a document by the Ozark Transportation Organization’s Journey 2035 long-range transportation plan.
This video shows an image of Route 66 next to modern-day Strafford, which then melts into an artist’s rendering of the bike trail:
The description of the video says:
The main transportation improvement shown here is the addition of a trail paralleling Route 66 along the south. This trail is intended to connect Springfield, through Strafford, to the ball fields at Farm Road 249 on the east end of Strafford. The additional land use changes are inspired by the Route 66 Corridor Management Plan, as well as Strafford’s DREAM Plan for their downtown.
According to Google Maps, Farm Road 249 would be 8.5 miles to U.S. 65 in Springfield, which is where the proposed bike trail would stop.
As I’ve said before, public sentiment to create bicycle-friendly trails or lanes along Route 66 continues to grow. And if local governments are willing to contribute to that effort, it will make it easier for a cross-country bike trail to be established on the Mother Road.
Straight from the garage November 16, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Here’s a 1965 version of Bobby Troup’s most famous song, performed by The Bootjacks, based in Sweden. The song came from a 1960s garage-rock compilation called “Pebbles, Vol. 28.”
You can hear the influence on The Cramps’ later version of that song.
A word from our sponsor … November 15, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Road trips, Vehicles.2 comments
This Chevrolet spot is easily one of the best advertisements on television right now.
Of course, it helps immensely to have Ray Charles singing his now-classic version of “America the Beautiful.”
Campbell Hotel promotional video November 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels.add a comment
This is a new promotional video about the historic Campbell Hotel along Route 66 in Tulsa. It was expertly shot and edited by Brettley Ruggles.
Here’s a report I wrote about the Campbell Hotel a few weeks ago. It’s one of the best hotels on Route 66 right now.
And a word from our sponsor … November 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Road trips.1 comment so far
This is an ad for Carlsberg, a Dutch beermaker. From the hair styles, I’m guessing the ad is not new.
Music was produced by Candle Music, based in London.
Book review: “32 Minutes in May” November 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Weather.add a comment
Like me, I suspect many will encounter mixed feelings while reading the first comprehensive book about the deadly tornado that ravaged Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011.
But on further reflection, there are good reasons to buy “32 Minutes in May — The Joplin Tornado” (142 pages, hardback, Pediment Publishing, $34.95) — other than a portion of proceeds will benefit Bright Futures of the Joplin School District.
First and foremost, “32 Minutes in May” acts as a historical record to America’s worst tornado in 60 years. With 161 dead, more than 1,150 injured, and 8,000 buildings destroyed, it stands as the biggest disaster to hit a Route 66 town since the Mother Road was certified in 1926. The tornado cut a six-mile path through Joplin in 32 minutes — hence the title.
All the source material for the book was compiled by the Joplin Globe newspaper, which did a marvelous job covering the ongoing story despite more than a dozen staffers losing their homes and one copy editor dying during the disaster.
The book contains hundreds of color photographs, including Roger Nomer’s now-famous image of a police officer carrying an 11-year-old girl from the rubble of a business. Fortunately, the book’s editors didn’t include graphic images of the dead and wounded.
Many of the Globe’s stories contain enough horror. One father suffered broken arms when he tried to keep his 18-year-old son from being sucked out of the window of his Hummer when the twister struck. (The teen was later found dead in pond.) Checking a nursing home after the tornado struck, a passerby encountered “bodies and broken bones and blood and stuff.” (Ten died at the scene.) The first man in the local hospital’s emergency room after the storm had been nearly eviscerated. “It’s the tornado. It’s devastated everything,” he told a nurse. The man later died from his injuries.
One heartbreaking moment was witnessed by a freelance Globe photographer.
” … I remember a woman walking around the foundation of a house calling out for her missing son. Her voice was hoarse and her initial panic had since been replaced with despair as she repeated his name. … Later, I would read his name in a list of confirmed dead.”
The Globe also uncovered these interesting nuggets of information:
— Joplin also had been struck by fatal tornadoes in 1883, 1902, 1971, 1973, and 1996. The description of the twister’s damage from the 1903 report proved eerily similar to what occurred a little more than a century later.
— The powerful F5 tornado was the product of two storm systems that merged near the Kansas state line. A scientist with the National Storms Laboratory said when two storms merge into one, its power usually dissipates. Instead, the merged Joplin storm became stronger.
— The tornado was so powerful, it moved the nine-story St. John’s Regional Medical Center building four inches off its foundation.
One of the most sobering sections is “Faces of the Storm” — more than 20 pages of photographs and/or biographies of the people who died. Victims range in age from 14 months to 94 years.
A second reason, I suspect, this book was made published is it serves as a sort of communion and remembrance for the survivors and their families. Years from now, they’ll flip through “32 Minutes in May” and think: “I can’t believe I survived this. I can’t believe the community survived this.”
And the community is indeed surviving. Several of the book’s final chapters strike an optimistic note. More than 85,000 volunteers pitched in after the storm. Hundreds of building permits were issued in June alone. About 370 of the 500 businesses damaged by the tornado have reopened. And the town’s public school opened on schedule in August, albeit in another building that wasn’t in the tornado’s path.
During the citywide memorial service after the storm, the media gave much of its attention to speeches by Gov. Jay Nixon and President Obama. However, some of the most inspiring words came from the Rev. Aaron Brown of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. “32 Minutes in May” reprinted his entire speech, “Death Does Not Get the Last Word.” Exhorting God’s name, Brown said:
“His mission for us is to get busy living. Get busy serving. Get busy rebuilding our city … Get busy loving more deeply than you ever have.
“For those of you who have lost loved ones, get busy living out their legacy. They have lost their lives, but none of them would want you to stop living yours because they’re gone. Get busy living.”
Recommended. Especially because portions of the book’s sales go to a good cause.
Monument dedicated at Sidewalk Highway site near Afton November 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Highways, History.1 comment so far
A new Will Rogers Highway monument was dedicated Saturday afternoon at the site of the historic Sidewalk Highway of Route 66 near Afton, Okla.
Laurel Kane of Afton Station reported this on her Ramblings of a Route 66 Business Owner blog:
The weather cooperated (except for a strong wind that didn’t really bother anyone except those, like me, who were wearing skirts). The crowd was bigger than even I anticipated, about 70 for the monument dedication, maybe 40-45 who came back to Afton Station for the reception, then while many were still there, the group of 24 from the Eastern OK Mercedes Benz Club arrived in their neat old cars. It was party, party, party all day! [...]
We had Route 66 folks from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri attend. Quite a few local citizens came too, including the Mayor of Afton. Brad Nickson, our OK Route 66 Association’s Eastern VP, gave a great speech telling a bit of the history of the Ribbon Road and the monument program and thanking all the appropriate people.
There were also 11 other “drop in” travelers who came for a visit. They were from Wichita KS, Modesto CA, Riverton KS, Yukon OK, and Nottingham England.
Here’s a shot of the crowd during the ceremony:
In case you can’t read the marker, here’s the text:
In 1922 a new nine-foot-wide roadway was completed between Miami and Afton, OK. Because no standards existed and so few roads were paved, it’s width was not unusual for the era. It consisted of a concrete base and edges with a surfaces of rock asphalt. In 1926 the “Sidewalk Highway”, as it would be known, was adopted by US 66.
Rt. 66 was paved piecemeal from 1926-1937. Since the Miami-to-Afton section was paved, it became the last segment upgraded to the standards established in 1930. It was also realigned and included a new bridge on the Neosho River.
On Sept. 13, 1937, the opening of the bridge completed the last segment of Rt. 66 paving in Oklahoma. The “Sidewalk Highway” thus became one of the early stretches of the Mother Road paving to be bypassed and today is the only Rt. 66 roadway of its type in existence.
“Columbus discovered the New World. But the old Tin Lizzy has made us discover America.” — Will Rogers.
Erected 2010 by the Oklahoma Rt. 66 Assn.
An explanation about the marker’s dedication date: The monument had been finished for some time, but getting the permits to install it took longer than anticipated.
Afton Station also hosted a reception after the event.
In case you want to see the monument for yourself, its approximate location is here.
(Photos courtesy of Laurel Kane)
“Route 66″ sparks a love of jazz November 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Pianist Brigham Larson explains how his grandfather’s vinyl records led him to a music-related career. One Bobby Troup song in particular inspired him: