The International Route 66 Mother Road Festival and Car Show in Springfield, Ill., on Sept. 24-26 will pay tribute to deceased Route 66 artist and area native Bob Waldmire, according to a preview story in the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Organizers announced Wednesday that proceeds from the event will go toward the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum in Pontiac, which is building a permanent exhibit to showcase Waldmire’s work and vehicles. […]
The festival’s “Travel Illinois Expo” will feature a commemorative exhibit honoring Waldmire. The display, which is being put together by his son, Jimmy Graham, and brother, Buz, will feature Waldmire’s Volkswagen bus and Mustang along with displays of his artwork.
It was previously reported that Waldmire’s Volkswagen minibus would be displayed at a Route 66 museum in Tulsa that eventually will be built.
But Jim Conkle, chairman of the Route 66 Alliance and caretaker of the minibus, clarified that the Volkwagen will essentially be a moving exhibit. Conkle said he promised to Waldmire he would honor his wishes — to share the Volkswagen minibus with the Route 66 community and keep it moving on the Mother Road periodically. That means, Conkle says, that the minibus would be on loan for up to a year at a time at a Route 66 museum — including Tulsa’s — but would be moved to other Route 66 museums or similar-themed events.
However, the Illinois Route 66 museum probably will take permanent possession of much of Waldmire’s artwork and a school bus he converted into a home.
Waldmire died in December 2009 from abdominal cancer.