Pony Soldier Motel sign in Tucumcari removed

The big Pony Soldier Motel sign, the last vestige of a Route 66 motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, demolished years ago, was dismantled this week for a new business project on the site.

A photo of the sign’s dismantling was posted Thursday on the Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now page on Facebook. Several readers on the page reported a Shopko retail store is going there.

The Whittington family owned the Pony Soldier for many years. According to my records, the motel was torn down in 2010.

According to Joe Sonderman’s book “Route 66 in New Mexico,” original owners Marvin and Alice Whittington built and operated several other Tucumcari properties during the 1950s, including the Sahara Sands Motel, Golden W Motel and the still-standing La Cita restaurant. Alice died in 1995, and Marvin died at age 90, according to this obituary.

Debbie Lindsay Whittington posted a message on the 2 for $6 on Route 66 page on Friday that assured the sign will not be destroyed. The full message below:

After 50+ comments, I decided it was time to speak up about the Pony Soldier sign. First, let me say there is NO ONE in this community who loves that sign more than I and will do everything I can to make sure it is preserved. Second, I can assure everyone it will remain in TUCUMCARI! We lost too many of our signs that were either destroyed or sold and moved elsewhere.
Some of the comments really hurt my feelings. The reason I wrote my new book, “2 for $6 on Route 66” was to preserve our family’s experiences in the motel business for almost 50 years. Mark and I spent 28 1/2 years at the Pony Soldier and sacrificed a great deal running it over those many years. The book is at the printers and will be available soon.
Tucumcari is my home. I came here as an 18 year old bride and fell in love with the community. I immersed myself in the history and share it with anyone who will listen. In the motel, I told guests this is a great place to visit and live. I would share numerous places to go see and experience.
Eventually there will be a new businesses at the location of the old Pony Soldier. No, I don’t’ know anything about it, and choose not to know. I cried when the Pony Soldier was a torn down and decided then the sign will be preserved for future generations.
Please don’t judge us when you don’t know the entire story.

Gail Sanders, executive director of the Tucumcari / Quay County Chamber of Commerce, said in an email Friday the Whittington family is putting the sign into storage. She did not mention what business is going on that property.

Some may question the building of a Shopko at Route 66 and Mountain Road, aka U.S. 54 bypass, when there’s a Kmart across the way. The entire Kmart chain has been dying on the vine for years, however, and it’s probably just as well Tucumcari residents get some sort of retail alternative when the inevitable occurs.

(Hat tip to Nancy Mueller; image of Pony Soldier Sign via Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now Facebook page)