Book review: “2 for $6 on Route 66”

If you want to know what it’s like to run a motel on the Mother Road, Debra Whittington’s “2 for $6 on Route 66” provides a vivid glimpse.

Specifically, the book (140 pages, self-published, soft cover, $10) offers a glimpse from behind the desk of the now-gone Pony Soldier Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The Whittington family owned motels on Route 66 in Tucumcari for almost 50 years, and she and her husband, Mark, ran the Pony Soldier from 1976 to 2004, when it closed for good. The last vestige of the motel, its large sign, was taken down in November to make way for a ShopKo at the corner. Whittington has written three other books and is a columnist for the Quay County Sun newspaper.

The first third of “2 for $6 on Route 66” delves into Tucumcari’s history as an overnight stop for travelers, well before the Route 66 era. Hotels sprang up near the railroad, but most travelers stayed overnight in Tucumcari in so-called wagon yards, which basically were crude campgrounds.

Early in the automobile age, the surrounding countryside outside Tucumcari also saw a lot of “tin can tourists” — those who pulled over by the side of the road uninvited, pitched a tent and left tin cans and garbage in the morning. Whittington said ranchers eventually chased off these travelers — swelling the numbers in wagon camps more.

Wagon camps became more refined. Some started charging a fee to stay overnight. Other camps added amenities such as water, firewood, and outhouses or toilets.

The first Route 66 motel in Tucumcari was White Cottage Camp during the 1930s, on the west edge of town, consisting of cabins. Motels continued to refine amenities. Many added adjoining cafes. The first chain motel, Holiday Inn, made its appearance in Tucumcari in the 1960s.

A saturation of lodging led to price wars during the mid-1960s, inspiring the book’s title. This prompted many older motels to close or be converted into something else. The Pony Soldier, for instance, in 1964 supplanted Reed’s Mountain View Courts, built in the 1930s. This part of the book is illuminating, because it was primal market forces that doomed many of Tucumcari’s old motels years before the interstate arrived.

Whittington’s father-in-law built the Circle W Motel, known later as the Golden W Motel, in 1954 and the Sahara Sands Motel in 1959. Whittington was thrust into the motel business even before she married, when she traveled to meet her future in-laws and was given a crash course on front-desk reception.

The Whittingtons bought the Pony Soldier at an apparent courthouse auction. Its former owners built the Apache Motel and a Denny’s in Tucumcari, the latter which now is the Kix on 66 restaurant.

Whittington said being owners-operators of the motel felt like “living in a fish bowl.”

There was no privacy at all, as people were constantly curious to see what our living quarters looked like. Until we moved our bedroom to the back of the motel, we had to keep the curtains closed at all times.

The had a further problem, as a person standing at the desk had a straight and clear view of the bedroom. We had to learn to keep that door closed, especially if we were just coming out of the shower.

She tells about a woman who walked into the kitchen as she prepared lunch, saying, “Oh, I just wanted to see what was back here.” Another time, while Whittington was walking the dog, she returned to find a stranger in her living room.

The book goes into detail with how the motel was furnished (often with barely used appliances) and how it was cleaned. Maintenance was a constant challenge, as water-pipe leaks tended to happen often, and water-heater failures occurred at the most inopportune times.

One section of the book describes “Destructive Customers.” One family’s children accidentally set fire to a shower curtain, causing smoke damage to the room. Another time, a room was trashed by ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and potato chips. An overnight guest flooded the room (and soaked adjoining rooms) and stuck dozens of postage stamps all over the place. One time, a guest apparently had a cock fight in the room, as it was littered with feathers and chicken excrement.

One of Whittington’s most bizarre stories was where a man checked into the motel mid-afternoon, asked about where to eat dinner, and disappeared. His luggage was left in the room unpacked. No one asked about his whereabouts, the address on his registration card was incorrect, and his car information was incomplete. Police found no reports of missing persons or criminals on the loose. The Whittingtons kept his belongings in the lost-and-found for years until they finally were donated to a local charity.

Whittington tells how a few customers tested her patience, describes stuff guests left behind (including a child), how they dealt with races, cultures, snowstorms and accidents, and how the couple managed to go to church on Sundays.

The motel took a hit when construction of new U.S. 54 spur to Interstate 40 in the late 1980s necessitated the razing of seven rooms, a reduction in parking and no direct access to the new highway. The couple decided to close the motel for good in 2004 because of Whittington’s health problems.

The book contains a lot of other information about Tucumcari’s history, including its gas stations, curio shops and the evolution of area highways. It also is required reading for entrepreneurs considering a vintage motel. A few of the Whittington’s stories are out-of-date, such as her musings about switchboards and pay phones. But she also provides a list of 10 unusual aspects of living and working in a motel (one is: “You can never walk away from your job. As long as you are on the premises, you are at work”) that remain relevant today.

Highly recommended.

(“2 for $6 on Route 66” is available by sending $10 plus $3 shipping in the U.S. in check or money order to Debra Whittington, Debra Whittington, 923 S. Hawthorne St., Tucumcari, NM 88401)