Pontiac will dedicate trees to two late roadies

Downtown Pontiac, Ill., will dedicate trees tomorrow to two deceased Route 66 fans, Betty Estes and Lenore Weiss, at 11 a.m. during a car-cruise event, according to a news release from Pontiac Tourism.

The “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” cruise will be in their honor. At 11, the Rev. David Sabel of St. Mary’s Parish will bless two new trees and dedicate them to the memory of Estes and Weiss.

From the news release:

Betty Estes was Pontiac’s first tourism director and one of the leading spirits in the creation of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. Over the years Betty was honored with a number of awards, including the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year. She has been given the President’s Award by the Route 66 Association of Illinois, and with her husband, Dal, was instrumental in the creation of the Livingston County War Museum.

Lenore Weiss co-wrote several books about Route 66 with her husband, John.  She was very active in Illinois Route 66 preservation projects and inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.

Betty and Lenore were great friends who shared a love for the Mother Road.  Both women were victims of cancer, and the “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” Car Show, which will begin the evening of May 31 and continue all day June 1, will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the show to the American Cancer Society – Relay for Life in memory of these two civic-minded women.

A Betty Estes Community Scholarship winner also will be announced Saturday night at the Chautauqua Park pavilion before the Vermillion Players’ performance of “At the Hop.” Before the announcement, a brief tribute to Estes and Weiss will be presented.