Tornadoes cause damage in Oklahoma Route 66 towns May 19, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Towns, Weather.add a comment
Powerful twisters on Sunday afternoon danced around the Route 66 corridor between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and damaged homes in Wellston and Edmond, reported The Oklahoman newspaper and other media outlets.
As of Sunday evening, there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The Oklahoman posted this video from Edmond:
Tornadoes also were reported near the Route 66 towns of Arcadia and Luther. But the twisters tended to go north of those locations. Pops in Arcadia tweeted that its landmark convenience store / restaurant was unharmed by the storm. And Route 66 author and photographer Shellee Graham, who lives near Arcadia, saw no damage but posted a photo of the tornado on her Facebook account.
KFOR-TV posted several photos of homes in Wellston that were damaged or destroyed by the twister.
The Associated Press filed a story about the damage in Edmond:
“I knew it was coming,” said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young boys in their Edmond’s home’s safe room when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street.
“Then I realized it was swirling debris. That’s when we shut the door of the safe room, said Grau, adding that they sheltered in the room for 10 minutes.
UPDATE 3/20/2013: Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce sent these photos after a storm raked the east side of Carthage, Mo., on Sunday night. He said the storm didn’t affect any Route 66 landmarks which he’s aware.
Also, you’ve doubtlessly heard about the awful tornado that struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, Okla., on Monday afternoon. The storm that produced the tornado traveled northeast near the Route 66 corridor, but it weakened considerably by the time it reached the Tulsa region.
Driving Route 66 in Amarillo May 18, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Television, Towns.add a comment
Meaghan Collier posted this story she did for KAMR-TV about Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas.
Much of the segment focuses on the Sixth Street Historic District in Amarillo, and longtime roadies will recognize Bob “Crocodile” Lile being interviewed.
Local artist painting mural on McDonald’s Museum May 15, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Museums, Restaurants, Towns.add a comment
Cartoonist Phil Yeh is painting an elaborate mural on the McDonald’s Museum in San Bernardino, Calif., reported the San Bernardino County Sun.
Yeh, who created a comic book about Route 66 several years ago, started the mural last year but was slowed by a stroke. Due to partial paralysis, he painted left-handed until he recovered enough to paint right-handed again.
The newspaper described the mural:
The museum’s 12-foot-by-100-foot south wall illustrates San Bernardino’s history, its landmarks and inspirational people of the city, including favorite sons and celebrities with ties to the city.
The Earp family; Gen. George Patton, who used San Bernardino’s California Hotel as his headquarters while he trained soldiers in the desert; Pinky Brier, the first woman flight instructor in America; author Ray Bradbury; Xerox inventor and San Bernardino High School grad Chester Carlson; Dorothy Ingraham, the first African-American teacher in San Bernardino County; Silver Star recipient Chase Ash; animatronics pioneer Garner Holt (with a dinosaur); the rockers who performed at the Swing Auditorium – Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. And of course, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, who made their first U.S. appearance in 1964 at the Swing.
The north side, which is the same size, depicts cities – focusing on those in San Bernardino County – that line Route 66. Motorcycles, train cars and trucks, some of them bearing the names of sponsors, line the route as it passes through familiar towns and cities on its way from the Santa Monica Pier, the Route 66 culmination.
Yeh also says he hopes to restore the original McDonald brothers’ offices on the back part of the museum into a gift shop with works by local artists.
The McDonald’s Museum, located on an old alignment of 66, is owned by Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain in Southern California. Okura also owns the Route 66 town of Amboy, Calif. There, he is slowly restoring the Roy’s restaurant and motel.
Soar near Route 66 on a zipline in Williams May 7, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Towns.2 comments
A zipline that allows riders to fly near Route 66 in Williams, Ariz., likely will be running by Labor Day, reported the Williams-Grand Canyon News.
The zipline will be operated by Soaring Eagle Zip Line, based in Utah. This YouTube video shows what it’s like to ride one:
The newspaper said:
The company will install the zipline at the Grand Canyon Boulevard and Railroad Avenue intersection. The high tower will go in the parking lot by the Recreation Center and the low tower will be in the east visitor parking lot. The zipline will cross Grand Canyon Boulevard, with about 30 feet of space between the ride and the street. [...]
Soaring Eagle will construct two Route 66 themed ziplines next to each other. The ride does not require people to climb a tower. Riders will sit in the ride’s racecar seats and staff will buckle them in. Then the ride will start going backwards at about 30 mph while traveling upward about 110 feet.
“They get up to the top, then they’re going to be able to be seeing everything around them from the freeway to the mountains and Route 66,” said Logan Checketts from Soaring Eagle Zipline.
After that the ride will go forward at 30 mph. Throughout the experience, riders will hear the sounds of an engine revving up, squealing tires, downshifting and braking to correspond with the ride. It takes about two minutes.
The cost will be $12 per ride.
Kingman a front-runner for 2014 festival May 5, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Towns.1 comment so far
The western Arizona town of Kingman is considered a top candidate to play host to the 2014 International Route 66 Festival, according to the Kingman Daily Miner newspaper.
Local author and Route 66 enthusiast Jim Hinckley said in an interview that Kingman holds “front-runner” status in landing the event, which generally is hosted in a different Route 66 city each year.
And Route 66 Alliance co-founder Rick Freeland confirmed that Kingman is a strong candidate for the festival, which in 2013 will be in Joplin, Mo., in early August.
The newspaper said:
If Kingman does land the hosting gig, the event would be held in conjunction with the August 2014 edition of Chillin’ on Beale Street, said Hinckley.
The initial plan, he said, calls for a Saturday car show, an exhibition of artists and authors in the Southwest whose work focuses on Route 66, a barbecue at Hualapai Mountain Park and live music. [...]
Freeland confirmed Kingman is the front-runner, but an announcement won’t be made until Aug. 3, the final day of the Joplin festival.
“This will be great for Kingman,” said Freeland. “Every town or city that has hosted the event has seen a significant bump in the local economy. And this is a true international event. Route 66 truly does have a global following.”
It’s estimated the festival draws 5,000 to 10,000 people, although that number has been considerably higher, most notably in Springfield, Ill., about a decade ago.
Route 66 Rendezvous moving to another town with a new name April 22, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Towns, Vehicles.4 comments
The Route 66 Rendezvous classic-car show, canceled this year in the traditional host city of San Bernardino, Calif., because of the town’s financial woes, is moving to nearby Ontario, Calif., with a new name, according a post over the weekend from the Rendezvous’ Facebook page.
The event will be renamed the Route 66 Reunion, and will take place along Euclid Avenue in Ontario on Sept. 20-22.
According to the Facebook page’s writer:
I am existed to say that I have been hired by the Ontario Convention & Visitors Bureau to make this car show bigger and better. The San Bernardino Convention & Visitors Bureau has given me their full support and is backed me in my efforts to continue to keep the car show in the Inland Empire. However, they will keep custody of the name “Route 66 Rendezvous.”
I know you want an event like the Rendezvous to continue, and there are several other organizations willing to put their hat in the ring, but this could be the only solution to continuing a QUALITY car show like the Route 66 Rendezvous. The challenges with doing the car show on the downtown streets of San Bernardino became greater with an unpleasant element at night. We want to give the car enthusiast back the freedom they once had to relax and enjoy the reunion of family and friends while sitting next to their babe.
The Route 66 Reunion would have the same elements as the Rendezvous with vendors, entertainment, contests and a continuous 3-mile cruise route looping around Euclid Avenue from Holt Blvd to 6th Street. Euclid has 3-lanes to park cars on both sides and cruise down the middle. There are businesses, historic homes, and a beautiful grass median about 50 feet wide with trees for participants to sit under, historic monuments, and a gazebo. It really has a great feel and I think it would be a perfect location for the car participants.
I believe the Route 66 Reunion could pull the same if not more attendance and car participants as the Rendezvous. I hope you will stand by me and participate.
Organizers in February canceled the Rendezvous, scheduled for Sept. 19-22, after the City of San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy and the state eliminated funding for the San Bernardino Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The City of Ontario offered to host the Rendezvous just days after its cancellation. And organizers in March reportedly were in talks with Beaumont, Calif., to host the event.
Ontario sits about 20 miles west of San Bernardino. It never was part of Route 66, but lies just a few miles south of the Mother Road communities of Rancho Cucamonga and Upland.
UPDATE 4/23/2013: The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that Shelly McNaul, former director of special events for now-defunct San Bernardino Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote the Facebook post.
UPDATE2: The San Bernardino County Sun reported that San Bernardino is hosting a competing car festival the same weekend:
Meanwhile, an alternative car show, Rendezvous Back to Route 66, is scheduled for the same weekend at San Manuel Baseball Stadium in San Bernardino. The car show is being planned by the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce and car clubs, including Over the Hill Gang, according to chamber president and CEO Judi Penman.
More Route 66 murals coming to Joplin April 15, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Towns.add a comment
Alth0ugh one decorative mural on Route 66 in Joplin, Mo., was announced recently, at least three more are in the pipeline, reported the Joplin Globe.
Here are the murals that will probably be created in the coming months:
- Phoenix Fired Art is creating a large ceramic mural, “Rise of the Phoenix,” at the corner of a strip mall at 1603 S. Main St.
- Missouri Southern State University art students will convert an out-of-code billboard at Covert Electric Supply on North Main Street into a welcome sign. A mockup can be seen here.
- The cultural arts committee of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce plans a mural at Eighth and Main streets.
- Images in Tile soon will fashion a Route 66-themed ceramic mural at Seventh and Main streets, at Pearl Brothers True Value Hardware.
It’s fairly apparent the locals are excited about the International Route 66 Festival in early August. Residents probably also are eager to show the city is recovering after the deadly tornado in 2011.