Redforkhippie has composed a thoughtful photo essay about the deteriorating ruins of John’s Modern Cabins along old Route 66 west of Rolla, Mo.
Redforkhippie has composed a thoughtful photo essay about the deteriorating ruins of John’s Modern Cabins along old Route 66 west of Rolla, Mo.
My husband and I ,back in August, 2006, took a trip down Route 66 from Chicago through Oklahoma, looking to photograph all the icons that are fast disappearing from our beloved highway. John’s Modern Cabins was a top priority on our list. We almost missed them, but I happen to look over as we were almost passed and almost caused my husband to have a wreck when I yelled, “there they are”! I so appreciate the pictures and thoughts that Redfork Hippie has written above. I also felt so sad at the one time bustling business these cabins, of an era long gone, enjoyed and what the need for faster and bigger has destroyed in our country. I also took many pictures and tried to imagine as I was walking around the grounds, of the families that stayed in these cabins on their way to a better way of life. How simple things were back then and I can’t help but feel that we need to go back and take the time to enjoy the peace and tranqility that these cabins had. I, like Redfork Hippie, don’t think John’s Modern Cabins will survive much longer, and am so glad that out of the corner of my eye, I caught the ghostlike faces of the once proud cabins and have those pictures for my grandchildren to see what life use to be like for the traveler who ventured to go where the interstates bypassed. Enjoy your column and pictures. Keep it up.
More photos from the road (mostly from 66, although I tossed in one additional photo at the top) are online here if anybody wants to see them. Sites pictured include Our Lady of the Highways, Soulsby Station, Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, and the late Larry Baggett’s tribute to the Trail of Tears.