Key figure in Our Lady of the Highways Shrine dies March 21, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, People, Religion.1 comment so far
Loretta (Marten) Ludek, 74, who was instrumental in founding the Our Lady of the Highways Shrine along old Route 66 near Raymond, Ill., died Tuesday at her home in Anderson, Ind., according to an obituary by Brown-Butz-Diedring Funeral Home.
The Our Lady site explains Loretta’s role in getting the statue there:
In June of 1958, members of the Litchfield Deanery’s Catholic Youth Council sought to erect a monument to the Blessed Virgin. The group included kids from Litchfield, Staunton, Mount Olive, Hillsboro, Morrisonville, Divernon, Farmersville and Taylorville amongst others, and one of the members from rural Raymond, Loretta Marten, asked her father Francis to donate space on his farm along US Highway 66 west of the town. He gladly agreed.
Ground was broken on February 11, 1959, with Father Robert Leo Heintz of St. Mary’s in Taylorville presiding over the ceremony. A cararra marble statue of Mary was imported from Italy at a cost of $400, and over the summer the kids worked on preparing the Shrine: building the wooden alcove, laying the brick base and placing the cobblestone walkway up to the statue. Lights were installed so passers-by could view the Shrine day or night. Total cost for the Shrine, including the statue: around $900.
The shrine has looked over old Route 66 — and adjacent Interstate 55 — ever since. Francis Marten, who was elected to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame, died in 2002, but his family continues to maintain the site.
Loretta worked a nurse at St. John’s Hospital in Anderson and after retiring, taught in the nursing education program at Ivy Tech and worked as a nurse in the clinic at Anderson University. She served as local and state chairwoman of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Francis and Anna Ruth; husband, Michael; daughter, Lisa; and brother, John.
A Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Anderson with The Rev. Richard Doerr presiding and The Rev. Robert Williams concelebrating. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Anderson.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Brown-Butz-Diedring Funeral Home. The Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Ambrose Catholic Church, St. Vincent DePaul, or the charity of choice.
Church expansion takes on a Route 66 theme November 24, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion, Restaurants.add a comment
The Wildwood Community Church in Norman, Okla., recently built an addition that includes a Route 66 theme, according to an article in the Norman Transcript.
According to the newspaper:
The general idea of the expansion centers around a Route 66 theme. All of the art is original and much of the general decor are things repurposed from junkyards, like a real Spartan travel trailer estimated to have been manufactured in Tulsa around 1949.
“They (Team JYD) found it buried up to the windows outside of a truck stop in Chandler. It was one of those things where if you can get it out of here, you can have it. They dug it out and they drove it back to Oklahoma City and they didn’t know for sure where they would use it, but they found someone to give it to. It fit the Route 66 idea,” Robinson said. “I love the icon of the trailer, too because it’s the idea that church is your home away from home.”
There are four halls in the building and they all have different geographic areas — the beach, the mountains, the desert and the forest.
Team JYD, which came up with the addition’s design, is the same firm that bought the 66 Bowl’s neon sign in Oklahoma City when the property changed hands a year ago.
Team JYD didn’t post photos of the church addition on its website. However, you can see 360-degree panoramic photos of it here (images may take some time to load).
Also, Team JYD is designed a restaurant in the Route 66 town of Edmond, Okla., called Red’s Southern Diner. Cameron Eagle at Team JYD said in an email:
It also has a an 8 foot tall rotating bucket of chicken inside hanging from the ceiling, a 1949 Spartan eat in trailer, and fans made from lawn mowers.
It also features a giant neon chicken sign in the front.
The address of the restaurant is 840 W. Danforth Road (map here), about a mile northeast of Route 66′s closest point, at Edmond Road and Broadway.
Bloopers from “Route 66: A Road Trip Through the Bible” October 10, 2011
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The final chapter of “Route 66: A Road Trip Through the Bible” was posted last weekend. However, its creators have sent out this reel of bloopers:
The final chapter October 2, 2011
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Here is the 66th and last entry of “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible.” It delves into the Book of Revelation.
As you might expect for a final chapter, the video gets a little elaborate:
Revelation is the Bible’s most-misunderstood and misused book. I’m glad they came up with a simple way to explain it.
Don’t make it bad September 25, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Religion.add a comment
This latest edition of “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible” takes the long and winding road with the Gospel of Jude. You probably now know where this is going …
Mixing the metaphors September 12, 2011
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One of the fellers from the “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible” needs to keep his cliches straight.
This entry covers the third book of John.
Almost need a scorecard September 7, 2011
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Here’s the latest video entry from “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible.” This one focuses on the second book of John.