In the wake of Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire’s death, I received this e-mail from Route 66 Alliance co-director Michael Wallis that deserves some attention:
When it comes to those who truly helped Bob Waldmire, his family, and the greater Mother Road community a true unsung hero is Tom Wanko. This native of St. Louis who heads up T.A.W. Promotions, one of the most active and visible purveyors of quality merchandise on the Mother Road, devoted untold man hours, money, and sweat equity for the past many weeks as Bob began preparing for his ultimate journey.
It was Tom Wanko who drove solo to southern Arizona to pickup Bob’s beloved 1972 VW Van and tow it to the Waldmire family farm near Springfield, Ill. Tom asked for no money, no thanks, and he will surely be perplexed that we are now calling attention to his courageous effort. Tom and his lovely wife, Teresa, also helped organize part of the successful art show staged to benefit Bob, and they made many trips back and forth to from St. Louis to help Bob distribute some of his incredible artwork.
It dawned on me that with all the kudos going out to various folks, the Wankos had been entirely overlooked. [… ] When Jim Conkle and I rushed to Bob’s deathbed last week, it was Tom Wanko who picked us up at the airport in St. Louis and drove us to Bob. Tom brought along some W.C. Fields movies — Bob’s true hero — and one of Teresa’s dynamite apple pies. Bob couldn’t eat any of it, but he had Tom put the still-warm pie beneath his nose so he could breath in the sweet aroma. That put a big smile on Bob’s face.
I’m sure more praise will be heaped on the Wankos during Bob Waldmire’s memorial service this weekend.
But it doesn’t surprise me that someone stepped in to help Waldmire and his family. People’s fondness for Waldmire would naturally produce such an outpouring.
And having grown up near a small town in Illinois a few dozen miles from Route 66, I saw such quiet, selfless acts fairly regularly. I remember a specific time in which a local farmer was seriously ill in the hospital and couldn’t harvest his crop in the fall. A bunch of other local farmers pitched in with their combines and fuel and trucks, harvested the grain in a flurry, took it to the elevator, and gave the ill man’s wife the check for the grain — all for no charge. It was just done; no praise was expected.
But I guess if you’re from another part of the country, or if you step back to examine such generosity, it really is remarkable what the Wankos have done.
There are many unsung heroes in this world, and it sounds like Tom Wanko is another. Bless him.
i grew up in a small town in Illinois as well, and it was an annual event with the harvest. If a fella was down and couldn’t harvest, there was never a question, or a second of hesitation.
The combines and trucks just came lumbering down a gravel road before sunup, and the wife looked out the kitchen window as the fields were harvested, and she knew the guy from a mile down the road would be by with a check the next day after the elevator opened and the guy from a mile and half down the road could unload his trucks. About the only things exchanged were waves and smiles.
Maybe I’ve been a city boy for too many years, but i sure miss that sort of human kindness in this world.
If I remember correctly, I had the pleasure of meeting Tom back in Tulsa several years ago. Bob, of course, was the gentleman that introduced us. And Tom definitely is every bit as wonderful, kind, and caring as Bob. It’s good to have so many wonderful people as Tom and Bob in our “family.”