With a bunch of roadies coming from all over the nation to attend the Tri-State Route 66 Festival near Quapaw, Okla., the folks in the Authors and Artists vendors area took the opportunity over the weekend to introduce very new products. Here are the ones I found to be of interest.
The first is photographer David Schwartz and his 2011 Route 66 calendar, titled “Pics on Route 66.”
Looking over the calendar, I thought Schwartz did a magnificent job finding fresh angles to familiar Route 66 people and locations. Check out this image of the late Bob Delgadillo at the Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Ariz., squirting a gag mustard bottle. The hand-coloring makes the black-and-white photo really stand out.
More of the calendar can be perused and ordered here for $18.50, including shipping.
Longtime St. Louis roadie Kip Welborn wrote a guidebook about Route 66 in the Gateway City. This is a welcome addition to any Route 66er’s library, mainly because St. Louis contains at least six alignments of the Mother Road. This book attempts to sort them out.
Best of all, proceeds of the sale of this spiral-bound book will go to Friends of the Mother Road, a nonprofit preservation group. If you want one delivered to you, mail a $12.25 check to Friends of the Mother Road, 3947 Russell, St. Louis, MO 63110.
Another new publication is “Keeping You on the Mother Road,” loosely called the Route 66 Yellow Pages, It contains comprehensive information about events, campgrounds, tourism bureaus, maps, roadside services, stories, attractions, color photos and radio stations down the Mother Road.
The price of this publication is $19.66, and a new, updated version of this is planned for March 2011. For more about buying the guide, go here.
Route 66 artist and author Jerry McClanahan showed a print of his latest painting, “Neon Sixty-Six,” that’s inspired by neon signs on the Mother Road. McClanahan researched each sign to make sure the colors were correct in the painting. Contact him here if you’re interested in the print.
Finally, of the arts and crafts I saw at the festival, I was most impressed with the merchandise designed and made by Betty Baumann. Much of her Route 66-related merchandise can be found at 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan., and Afton Station in Afton, Okla.
My favorite Baumann creation is this one, inspired by the Scrabble game and the Pixar Studios “Cars” movie:
Baumann can be reached at 918-253-8553 or 918-964-1136.
I’ll have a report about the two guidebooks in more detail later, after I examine them more fully.