Many Route 66 travelers may not know Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis runs a side business that has nothing to do with dessert. For about a month during the holiday season, it sells Christmas trees and other greenery harvested from Nova Scotia. Here's more about it in a recent report from KTVI-TV in St. Louis: … Continue reading Ted Drewes Frozen Custard’s other business
Category: Businesses
Amarillo officially declared a cultural district
Amarillo officially recently was designated a cultural district by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Amarillo was one of 35 cities receiving the cultural-district tag, according to a story in the Amarillo Globe-News. It took two years for the city to get that designation. The Amarillo Cultural District encompasses five areas, including Historic Route 66 "with its … Continue reading Amarillo officially declared a cultural district
New firearms store / gun range using pieces of Hawkins Mill
A new firearms store and gun range is being built along Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, at the old Hawkins Mill site and using pieces of it in its design. Cherokee Firearms of Springfield is building a new facility at Kansas Expressway and College Street (aka Route 66). The new place's resemblance to the historic … Continue reading New firearms store / gun range using pieces of Hawkins Mill
MoDOT accelerates replacement of Carthage bridge
The Missouri Department of Transportation is greatly accelerating the replacement of a railroad bridge on Missouri 96, aka Route 66, on the northeast side of Carthage, Missouri, giving hope the project will prove much less disruptive to Route 66 businesses. According to the Carthage Press, the highway agency will: Seek bids for the bridge's replacement in December, … Continue reading MoDOT accelerates replacement of Carthage bridge
Two buildings at Rio Pecos Ranch Truck Terminal torn down
Two buildings of the long-closed Rio Pecos Ranch Truck Terminal along old Route 66 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, were leveled to their foundations earlier this month, according to a recent print edition of The Communicator newspaper in Santa Rosa. The Rio Pecos sign and historic garage will remain standing and eventually will be refurbished, according to … Continue reading Two buildings at Rio Pecos Ranch Truck Terminal torn down
DeCamp Junction will be auctioned Dec. 3
The historic DeCamp Junction bar and softball field and its memorabilia on old Route 66 near Staunton, Illinois, will be put up for public auction Dec. 3 because its owners are retiring. Ahrens & Niemeier will begin the auction at 8:30 a.m. that day at the site at 8767 E. Route 4 (aka Route 66). I've been … Continue reading DeCamp Junction will be auctioned Dec. 3
Savior of Twin Arrows landmark found dead in murder-suicide
Mary Smeal, who reportedly was responsible more than any other person for the restoration a few years ago of the Twin Arrows off Route 66 in Arizona, was found dead Wednesday an apparent murder-suicide. Coconino County sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Smeal, 55, and her companion, Jeffery Jones, 57, at Smeal's residence near Twin Arrows. … Continue reading Savior of Twin Arrows landmark found dead in murder-suicide
Zettlers Route 66 store in Ash Fork put up for sale
The owners of the Zettlers Route 66 store in Ash Fork, Arizona, have put the business up for sale less than a year after opening it. Kirk and Yvette Slack finished about 15 months of cleaning and renovations to the historic building on Route 66 and reopened it as a crafts and collectibles business April 1. The Slacks … Continue reading Zettlers Route 66 store in Ash Fork put up for sale
Jack Brown, CEO of Stater Bros. Markets, dies at 78
Jack Brown, 78, longtime CEO of Southern California's Stater Bros. Markets chain, died Sunday night surrounded by family members, according to a news release from the company Monday. Stater Bros. was the longtime chief sponsor of the Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, California, until the city's bankruptcy forced the stoppage of that classic-car event in 2012. … Continue reading Jack Brown, CEO of Stater Bros. Markets, dies at 78
Exploring the ruins of Ella’s Frontier
Crowd-funded filmmaker Dan Bell recently explored the ruins of Ella's Frontier off old Route 66 near Joseph City, Arizona. He interspersed the film with footage from the 1980s shortly after the business closed with the owner's death in 1984. https://youtu.be/LDK24ux8xfE According to the GhostTownAZ website: The business was owned and operated by Ella Blackwell, who … Continue reading Exploring the ruins of Ella’s Frontier