The International Route 66 Festival in Victorville, Calif., is about a month away. Efforts to spruce up the town before the event seem to be creating a few nice side effects, reported the Victorville Daily Press.
Marcy Taylor stood under the scorching sun Monday in Old Town, painting a white car on a blue wall of a vacant building.
The 59-year-old retired teacher living in Apple Valley has been decorating boarded up buildings along Seventh Street with murals. […]
“(Old Town) Victorville used to be the heart of the High Desert,” Taylor said Monday, looking at the rundown historic district with a brush in her hand. “It was beautiful. We used to come from Apple Valley and go shopping. I got so depressed looking at it until I quit coming. It really bothered me, and when I heard they’re doing something about it, I decided to volunteer.” […]
Taylor is painting the walls with Route 66-themed pictures and signs, sometimes climbing up on the roof to do the work. She’s been painting about six hours a day for the past 11 days. She said she’s about half-way done. She will next work on the former Johnny Rebs’ building. […]
Carlos Chavez stopped by to compliment Taylor’s work Monday. The 56-year-old said he likes to drive out to Old Town from his Adelanto home.
“I used to walk here and all these were broken windows,” Chavez said. “Somebody’s got to start something to clean up because this is our home. We live here. I’d like to see Old Town get fixed like old times.”
Sometimes a few coats of paint will do wonders for the looks and morale of a town — as Tucumcari and Cuba, Mo., can attest.
To volunteer for the Old Town Route 66 Ad Hoc Committee, call chairwoman Barbara Powers at 760-217-4495.