An oilman and entrepreneur based in Weatherford, Oklahoma, with substantial roots on Route 66 is giving away a vintage car to celebrate his forthcoming 66th birthday.
Rick Koch is giving away the 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle to also celebrate Route 66’s centennial. The giveaway will be held on Aug. 6, Koch’s birthday, at his Lucille’s Roadhouse in Weatheford.
More details about the giveaway can be found here. No purchase is necessary to enter, though the deadline to enter is July 31.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association talked to Koch about his life:
“My grandfather owned East Side Salvage on Route 66,” Rick said in a phone interview as he reminisced about his time growing up in Weatherford. He was just a boy when I-40 was being completed, but he had a distinct memory of being on Route 66 when parts of it were still the main highway. He remembered thinking, “Who would ever design such a bumpy road?” as they passed over the concrete panels that are still prevalent in many parts of Western Oklahoma today. “They might have built it bumpy, but they built it to last.”
Rick opened his first service station in 1979 with his brother, right on Route 66. Then, they opened a second one. Rick remembered when he managed a station next door to a small Valentine diner on Main Street that is now on display at the Heartland of America Museum. Back then, it was known as the Cliff House. “The thing that most people don’t realize is that they didn’t have bathrooms,” he said, noting that he always took good care of the restrooms at the station. “Edna and Annie, the two ladies that worked there, they had an extra key.” The waitresses paid him and his staff back with a free cheeseburger on Saturdays.
Eventually, Rick founded ASAP Energy Inc. Today, they operate twenty convenience stores in Oklahoma and distribute fuel across eight states.
About 20 years ago, Koch purchased and restored the late Lucille Hamons’ service station on Route 66 near Hydro, Oklahoma. The nearby Hamons Court motel was torn down, but a similar-looking building was erected in its place. Koch said he hopes to re-create the “Hamons Court” neon sign there.
Koch then built Lucille’s Roadhouse — a tribute to Hamons and her station — in Weatherford.
(Image of the 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle at Lucille’s Roadhouse in Weatherford, Oklahoma)