I received word Monday that Betty Courtney, 79, one member of the team that helped form the much-praised 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan., died Sunday.
She, along with Melba Rigg, Judy Courtney and Renee Charles, helped lead the charge to take an abandoned gas station on Route 66 in Galena and transform it into 4 Women on the Route — a cafe, souvenir store and tourism center. 4 Women on the Route was named New Business of the Year in 2008 at the Will Rogers Awards Evening.
Betty Courtney was the mother of Larry Courtney, also a prime mover and shaker in the Galena area.
Initial word of Betty’s death came from Melba’s daughter, Shelby, on her Facebook account.
According to the Joplin Globe, services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Granby First Baptist Church in Granby, Mo. Burial will be in Grand Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Clark Funeral Home in Granby.
— Arcadia Publishing, which has released a number of regional Route 66 history books, will publish “Route 66 in Springfield” in September (that’s Springfield in Illinois, by the way).
— Sears is looking for teams of people to explore America, including Route 66. Apply now.
— Willem Bor, the artist from the Netherlands who makes miniatures of Mother Road landmarks, went to the Lebanon Route 66 Museum in Lebanon, Mo., to deliver a model of the Nelson Tavern. The Lebanon Daily Record has the story.
— The racers in the American Solar Challenge have been making their way across the country on Route 66. Jane Reed for the Cuba Route 66 Mural City blog snapped a few photos of them in Cuba, Mo.