Pierce Pennant Terminal in Tulsa Steve Clem, operations director at Public Radio Tulsa for 11 years, retired last week from his post and is planning two books about defunct theaters and Route 66 motels in that city. During a Q&A session with his now-former employer, Clem revealed about projects he has in the hopper: PRT: … Continue reading Retiring Public Radio Tulsa director plans books on Route 66 motels, theaters in Tulsa
Category: Books
Program features Route 66 artist Jerry McClanahan, Round Barn volunteer Mr. Sam
The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, which contains a network of PBS stations across the state, recently aired a 28-minute "Gallery America" segment about Route 66 artist and researcher Jerry McClanahan and effervescent Arcadia Round Barn volunteer "Mr. Sam" Gillaspy. The program is well-produced. Check it out below: McClanahan's art gallery just off Route 66 in … Continue reading Program features Route 66 artist Jerry McClanahan, Round Barn volunteer Mr. Sam
“On Route 66 for the First Time” issues expanded third edition in more languages
Touch Media, developer of the Route 66 Navigation app and creator of the Route 66 Passport, this week announced it has released a third and extended edition of its "On Route 66 For The First Time" e-book. The free, 230-page guidebook "explains to the traveler what awaits them on historic Route 66 and how to … Continue reading “On Route 66 for the First Time” issues expanded third edition in more languages
Book review: “Overground Railroad”
Candacy Taylor's book, "Overground Railroad," about the Negro Motorist Green Book and the history of African-American travel, will prove provocative and even shocking to some readers -- including the chapter devoted to Route 66. Subtitled "The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America" (Abrams Press, hardcover, 360 pages, 150 illustrations), the years … Continue reading Book review: “Overground Railroad”
Oklahoma City station features Route 66 researcher and artist Jerry McClanahan
KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City recently ventured to Chandler, Oklahoma, to do a 2 1/2-minute feature about Route 66 artist and researcher Jerry McClanahan at his shop there. The best part from the video's transcript: Just outside sits an idling 1954 Chevy station wagon, not so different from the cars his father used to drive on … Continue reading Oklahoma City station features Route 66 researcher and artist Jerry McClanahan
Book review: “A Matter of Time”
The new book "A Matter of Time" (272 pages, 174 photos, hardcover, University of Oklahoma Press) featuring Ellen Klinkel's black-and-white photographs may appear to be a coffee-table book -- and a very good one. But it's the text by co-author Nick Gerlich that sets the book apart from typical Route 66 volumes, offering a modern … Continue reading Book review: “A Matter of Time”
Much chatter about not much with Budville story
A lot of people got excited on social media the other day with a story about the possibility of the long-closed Budville Trading Co. in New Mexico reopening. However, a closer look at the story itself reveals nothing new or noteworthy. It makes one wonder why Albuquerque TV station KRQE did anything at all. Here's … Continue reading Much chatter about not much with Budville story
End of an era: Final Dust Bowl Festival held at Weedpatch Camp
Weedpatch Camp, immortalized by John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," recently held its 30th and last Dust Bowl Festival on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California. Simply put, the festival is being shut down because the survivors of that calamity have gotten too old to run it. A local television station did a preview about … Continue reading End of an era: Final Dust Bowl Festival held at Weedpatch Camp
Book review: “Murder and Mayhem on the Main Street of America”
This book isn't your typical nostalgic road trip down Route 66. Instead, Jim Hinckley's "Murder and Mayhem on the Main Street of America" (paperback, 256 pages, Rio Nuevo Publishers, photographs) exists as a travelogue of the horrific wrecks, disasters, gangsters, race riots and mad-dog killers along even bucolic towns on Route 66. Subtitled "Tales from … Continue reading Book review: “Murder and Mayhem on the Main Street of America”
OKPOP museum breaks ground in Tulsa
Local and state officials participated Wednesday in the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, or OKPOP, in downtown Tulsa. The museum, which anticipates an opening in late 2021, will be filled with memorabilia and information about musicians, film stars, authors and artists with Oklahoma ties. It will be across the street from … Continue reading OKPOP museum breaks ground in Tulsa