Second edition of “Route 66 Yellow Pages” makes improvements September 10, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Publications.4 comments
When the inaugural “Keeping You on the Mother Road” (aka “The Route 66 Yellow Pages”) appeared two years ago, I noted it was a good rookie effort by the Kansas firm that produced it, but improvements were needed.
Mother Road LLC published Volume 2 of “Keeping You on the Mother Road” a few weeks ago. I spent a few hours this weekend perusing it. As I’d hoped, I saw that many of the prescribed remedies had been made:
— More pages. Volume 2 boasts 432 pages, almost double the number of the 2010 edition. The publishers had hoped to offer a 300-page publication the first time around, but fell short. The current edition soared well past that goal. Best of all, it keeps its original price of $19.66.
— Better representation of the western half of Route 66: The first edition devoted just 64 pages to Route 66 west of Oklahoma City — a distance of 1,300 miles. This time, more than 150 pages cover that part. More pages and ads on western Route 66 still are needed — especially California — but it’s a huge improvement, regardless.
— More-readable maps. In the first edition, the maps for Route 66 were printed with too much detail and were hard to read. In the new edition, the publishers made most of the maps simpler and easier to follow.
— Better editing. The first publication contained dozens of errors of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Someone obviously spent a little time with the copy for the second edition; I was hard-pressed to find any goofs.
Samples of the publication can be see in PDF form here.
One welcome addition is 50 pages of “Route 66 Community White Pages,” an alphabetical listing of businesses. It’s a handy way to look up a business’ phone number, especially if you don’t remember what town or region it’s located.
The publication also contains brief sections or listings on artists and authors, Route 66 history, state associations, museums, photographs, chambers of commerce, and tourism bureaus. Actual yellow pages are periodically sprinkled into the guide by city or region, with everything from restaurants and motels to towing services and motorcycle rentals.
The new “Keeping You on the Mother Road” has articles written by Dave Clark, Jim Conkle, Jane Dippel, Ron Hart, Claudia Heller, Joe Sonderman, John Weiss, Kip Welborn, and the deceased Lenore Weiss and Skip Curtis.
A few improvements still are needed. The maps include many older alignments, including Illinois 4, the Santa Fe Loop, Glenrio-to-San Jon, and the dirt-road segment from Geary, Okla. But the Admiral Place alignment in Tulsa was inexplicably omitted.
But that’s a relatively minor concern. The second edition of “Keeping You on the Mother Road” has grown by leaps and bound, both in size and quality. That’s what you want to see, and the “Route 66 Yellow Pages” should be a great addition for travelers, businesses, tourism centers, and other entities.
(If you’re interested in buying the guide, send an e-mail to motherroadinc(at)yahoo(dot)com. Review copy courtesy of the Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo.)
A gift that keeps giving August 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Publications, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
In an effort to boost tourism in Kingman, Ariz., roadie Jim Hinckley and several city officials assembled a Route 66-themed gift basket worth $600 to be given away through 66: The Mother Road, an Internet-only magazine.
The Kingman Daily Miner reported:
Contents include a two-night stay at the El Trovatore Motel, gift certificates to local restaurants and cafés, three sets of tickets to Kingman museums, various pieces of memorabilia – including a framed Route 66 photo from the Miner’s own JC Amberlyn – a pound of coffee from Beale Street Brews and a necklace of Kingman turquoise. [...]
There’s undeveloped tourist potential all along Route 66, Hinckley said. Herds of international travelers come through here, he said. The goal is to get them to stay for a bit when they pass through.
“Our community loves to share,” Hinckley said of the basket. “Whoever wins this gets to see Kingman through the eyes of the people.” [...]
“Tourists come through here in droves,” (Councilwoman Carole Young) said. “Getting them to stop is another thing.”
John Springs, the publisher of 66: The Mother Road, told the Miner that the magazine also exists to give publicity to the Mother Road.
“If you’re a small business on Route 66, we’re going to make sure you get some exposure whether you can afford to pay for it or not,” he said. “Our goal is to help businesses out.”
In many ways, the couple has done that. The magazine is read in over 80 countries, he said, and it went from having 70 percent of advertisers getting exposure for free to 30 percent in its short lifespan. [...]
The magazine is a one-stop shop for Route 66 enthusiasts to come together digitally and learn what’s out there, he said.
“We make it easy for everybody to get up and down the road and find these places,” Springs said.
More about The Big Palooza giveaway can be found on this page:
The drawing will be Oct. 21-22 at the Wagon Wheel Motel during Cuba Fest in Cuba, Mo.
The gift basket is a terrific idea for businesses and towns seeking tourists and publicity. Kingman, in spite of a substantial population of about 30,000, tends to get overlooked by Route 66 travelers because of the ample attractions and colorful characters in tiny Seligman, Ariz. (pop. 450).
Still, Kingman is a far enough distance from Seligman, is a geographically natural overnight stop, and boasts a number of Route 66 attractions of its own. It ought to be doing better with Mother Road tourism. Perhaps the generous gift basket is a step in the right direction.
To & From the Mother Road August 7, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Publications, Road trips.3 comments
If you’ve got some time to kill, I recommend you sit back and peruse this online issue of To & From magazine, which devoted a special issue to Route 66. You can flip the pages right here, and enlarge them as well:
Diana Nguyen, editor of the magazine, said the Route 66 issue “could have easily been more” than its 232 pages. She said the photographs and experiences came during her and her husband’s trip down Route 66 in June.
Santa Rosa newspaper makes a sequel November 27, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Publications, Sports.add a comment
Last year about this time, the Guadalupe County Communicator newspaper, based in Santa Rosa, N.M., printed a special edition in case its local high-school football won the state championship.
To top it off, the newspaper timed it so the congratulatory edition would actually be distributed at the game the minute the state title was won. The publisher took a gamble, risking $700 in printing expenses that Santa Rosa would win. If the team lost, the special edition would be quietly tossed into a Dumpster.
On Saturday, Santa Rosa — and the Communicator — did it again. The Lions defeated previously unbeaten Eunice 21-14, with the winning touchdown scored with less than a minute remaining. And a congratulatory edition was distributed immediately after the game.
You can see the front page of the special edition in this Facebook post.
And, at 3:35 in this video recap of the game, you can see a Santa Rosa player showing off that special edition:
The Communicator, as you may recall, is owned by M.E. Sprengelmeyer, who lost his job as a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News when the newspaper went belly-up in early 2009. He argued that newspapers could still be financially viable and took a gamble on a struggling weekly newspaper in Santa Rosa.
More than two years later, it appears he’s succeeding. The Communicator recently took home about two dozen awards at the state’s newspaper-excellence contest. His advertising percentages in the newspaper continue to hover at a healthy 50 percent level. And, with such stunts as Saturday’s, he’s adding excitement to the community.
State honors Arizona Route 66 passport program July 27, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, Publications, Road trips.add a comment
The Arizona Route 66 passport program received the prestigious Governor’s Tourism Award during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism earlier this month in Phoenix, reported the Williams-Grand Canyon News.
The Arizona Historic Route 66 Passport, spearheaded by the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona (Association) on behalf of the Route 66 communities, received the distinguished Cooperative Marketing Award at a luncheon, which recognized 10 individuals and organizations for their best practices, accomplishments, and contributions to the Arizona tourism industry.
The Cooperative Marketing Award is presented to the project that best exemplifies creative partnerships to develop and execute a cooperative marketing initiative. The criteria used by the panel of judges to select the winner included demonstrating an exceptional effort, innovation, uniqueness, effective use of resources, measurable results, and its overall contribution to the tourism industry of Arizona.
According to the Association’s press release, The Historic Route 66 Passport is the first joint marketing effort between all the communities across Arizona’s stretch of Route 66. The Association said while the overall goal for the Passport Program is to increase visitation to the Route 66 communities, attractions, and businesses across northern Arizona, a major objective has been to demonstrate the power of working together (my emphasis).
Here’s a list of Arizona Route 66 passport locations. A mail-in order form for the passport can be downloaded here. One also can call 928-753-5001 to order the passports.
This “working together” objective on Arizona’s Route 66 is a significant development. The eastern and western halves of the state have long grumbled at each other.
Part of the rancor sprung from the annual Historic Route 66 Fun Run always being held in the western half of the state — never mind that long stretches of unavoidable interstate would make logistics of an eastern Fun Run nearly impossible.
In fact, I received a news release today from Sharlene Fouser, byway leader of the Historic Route 66 All-American Road in Arizona, about a summit on July 21 in Winslow where 50 community leaders from across the state attended. “Coming together, sharing together, working together, succeeding together” was the theme.
The news release also contained a few newsworthy nuggets:
This year two major projects were identified to tie into Arizona’s upcoming Centennial celebration. Planned are a Route 66 Centennial Passport, and a Historic Route 66 Geocaching Project. Both of these projects are designated Arizona Centennial Legacy Projects.
In addition, the 25th Annual Historic Route 66 Fun Run, the Association’s major fundraising event held the first week in May each year, has been designated as an official Arizona Centennial Event.
I haven’t yet received answers to follow-up questions I had for Fouser. Regardless, these are very encouraging developments for Arizona’s portion of the Mother Road.
Notes from the Route 66 festival June 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Books, Events, Motels, Movies, People, Preservation, Publications, Web sites.6 comments
A lot is going on this weekend at the International Route 66 Festival in Amarillo. But Friday, most of the newsworthy stuff Friday could be found at the artists and authors exposition, housed in the San Jacinto Christian Academy cafeteria.
The inside of the cafeteria provides a good indication why it was used. Check out all the road signs:
Photographer Shannon Richardson was selling his new book, “Route 66 American Icon.” He’d received his very first copies just the day before. We’ll have a review about this volume in the coming days.
Carolyn Hasenfratz showed the QR codes (explanation can be found here) on flyers that will help promote her new website, Sell66Stuff.com. Her site has been live for several weeks, but she’s planning a full rollout soon.
I also saw QR codes being used on promotional materials used by 66 The Mother Road magazine.
Author Michael Wallis also attended the festival, promoting his new books about Davy Crockett and The Wild West. Here he is, chatting with Emily Priddy (aka Redforkhippie).
Also, he announced he would launch a Michael Wallis app for iPhones, iPod Touch, iPads and Androids for $3.99. The app will contain new stories, videos and photos posted weekly. The app is expected to arrive in the iTunes and Android stores within two weeks.
Wallis also is launching an online fan club at MichaelWallis.com for $9.99 a month, which also will contain original stories, photos and videos each week, along with a chance to win prizes and memorabilia monthly.
On a related note, Lynn Miller of the California Historic Route 66 Association said Wallis would be leading a Route 66 caravan from Chicago to Los Angeles in summer 2012 to commemorate the opening of the Cars Land amusement park in Disneyland Resort.
Organizers hope to schedule the 2012 International Route 66 festival, likely in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., during the same week Cars Land opens.
(The festival had originally been set in Santa Monica, but organizers found it difficult to secure affordable lodging.)
A firm date on the Cars Land opening hasn’t been announced, but it will probably be known within six weeks. Cars Land is inspired by the original 2006 Disney-Pixar movie “Cars” and the upcoming “Cars 2,” which opens June 24.
A collection jar for donations was set out by co-founder Rick Freeland of the Route 66 Alliance to help Harley and Annabelle Russell (aka the Mediocre Music Makers of Erick, Okla.) defray their medical expenses. Annabelle is undergoing an experimental treatment for ovarian cancer, and Freeland said she was progressing.
While roaming the exhibition hall, we spied artist Pete Morris at his booth, painting a watercolor of the Dolly’s Diner on Route 66 and Portraits by Tracy building across the street:
We also saw these cool-looking drinking glasses at the New Mexico booth:
Much of the festival area is along Amarillo’s Sixth Street corridor (aka Route 66), which contains a variety of antique stores, art shops, and restaurants in historic buildings. Here’s a couple of examples of old gas stations being converted into restaurants:
Traffic was fairly light Friday, but the crowds should increase dramatically when the city will close about 10 blocks of Sixth for a street fair.
Friday also turned into a scheduled work day at the Triangle Motel in Amarillo, where about a dozen volunteers dug out half-buried gutters and painted windows.
The Triangle Motel, after many years of neglect, is the subject of a long-term restoration project by owner Alan McNeil. Restoration should quicken in pace after a new roof was installed several weeks ago.
The day began with the annual Route 66 e-group breakfast, hosted by the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo (which also serves as the official festival host hotel). Here, Mike Ward gives away dozens of door prizes:
And at the breakfast, longtime roadie George Game shows a poster from the very first national Route 66 gathering in 1996, which occurred in a tent in the near-ghost town of Landegrin, Texas.
Needless to say, the festival has come a long way since then.
Online Route 66 magazine launches its first issue April 23, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Publications.add a comment
66 The Mother Road launched its inaugural online issue on Friday.
It’s 36 pages, and you can view it online here. I spent some time surfing around on it, and it works very well. You can enlarge the full-color content, and turning the virtual pages is a snap.
Stories in the magazine include:
- A feature about the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, and the upcoming Bob Waldmire-inspired festivities in early May
- A useful story about Quick Response codes and how they can be useful to Route 66 business amid the smartphone era
- A portion of Missouri Route 66′s earlier history with the Civil War
- A short story about 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan.
- The changes coming with the Route 66 Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum in Miami, Okla.
- A blurb about the International Route 66 Festival in Amarillo in June
- A long feature about Richard Talley and his Motel Safari in Tucumcari, N.M., and his Smalltown America initiative
- A profile on Terry Lee Smith-Kafides, who is the official National Route 66 Ambassador
In case you missed the earlier announcement about this Web-only magazine, here’s the magazine’s mission statement:
It’s actually pretty simple: if it’s good for the entire Road, do it.
We are dedicated to helping business survive and thrive across the entire Route 66 corridor. We take preservation, protection and enhancement of the historic highway seriously. The history is well documented. Our goal is to accept that history, and move forward in the 21st century and beyond, using the most modern technology available to ensure future generations carry the work forward.
The magazine comes endorsed by prominent Route 66 author Michael Wallis and the Route 66 Alliance.