Roamin’ Rich Dinkela, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri, announced Monday morning he was giving an antique gasoline pump he owns to replace one that was stolen from the Brew Brother Coffee shop at the Owl Court site in Oklahoma City.
Dinkela, based in the St. Louis region, announced it on Facebook along with a fundraiser so the pump could be transported. About $240 was raised in less than a day for the effort:
Go here to donate money to the cause if you wish.
The gas pump at the shop at 731 W. Britton Ave. (aka Route 66) was stolen in late April, less than six months after Elijah Vick opened a coffee shop in the long-closed motel’s office building.
Vick told Fox 25 in Oklahoma City he feared he would lose business from the theft because the pump helped him stand out.
“It was already tough getting by as is and as soon as we are starting to get people who are actually coming,” said Vick, “People just taking stuff, that’s just not cool.”
Vick started leasing the property this past winter for his coffee venture. An ownership group acquired the Owl Court about 2 1/2 years ago. John Dunning previously bought the property in 2006 and had kept the long-neglected lot from deteriorating further.
According to the National Park Service, the Owl Court was built to serve travelers on the 1931 Route 66 bypass around Oklahoma City. The Owl Court complex operated a gas station, motel and cafe until the 1970s.
(Archived image of the stolen Texaco gas pump at Owl Court in Oklahoma City from the Brew Brother website)
That’s just so cool!
A first-class move by Roamin’ Rich!
As Linda Barker said, that is very cool of Roamin’ Rich. Way to help out a person that is trying to preserve his small part of the world.