The Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader has a story about Chester Henry of LeRoy, Ill., who was a Illinois state trooper in District 6 of the Pontiac area from 1957 to 1984. Henry attended this past weekend's Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor event. Henry was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in … Continue reading Retired from the patrol
Category: History
Book review: “The Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook”
First-time author Norma Maret Bolin's "The Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook" has the words "St. Louis" in slightly larger type than the rest of the title of the book's cover. This is telling. Her book (paperback, 174 pages, $19.95) is considerably more focused on famed restaurants of the entire St. Louis area than just those … Continue reading Book review: “The Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook”
Marker at Sidewalk Highway proposed
Laurel Kane of Afton Station and other roadies are trying to raise money to buy and erect a monument at the south end of the fabled Sidewalk Highway of Route 66 north of Afton, Okla. Kane provides the details on her Thoughts from a Route 66 Business Owner blog: The $3920 cost of the installation … Continue reading Marker at Sidewalk Highway proposed
Quite a find
Longtime roadie Kip Welborn was near the Route 66 town of Devil's Elbow, Mo., when he found something interesting. I'll let him tell the story: When we got to Devils Elbow, a bizarre find ... we stopped at the scenic overlook. ... I climbed down the hill in search of old beer cans ... did not … Continue reading Quite a find
Mystery of the Missing Monument
Delbert Trew, who owns a ranch on old Route 66 near Alanreed, Texas, and has been a longtime Route 66 supporter, writes in the Amarillo Globe-News about a long-missing Texas highway monument that once greeted Route 66 westbound travelers at the border town of Texola, Okla., during the mid-1930s. It was an art-deco, granite monument … Continue reading Mystery of the Missing Monument
Why’d they name it that?
The Daily Oklahoman has a list of bridges, roads, buildings and other things that were named after prominent Sooners. Here's the ones that are relevant to Route 66: Interstate-40 Business — "Roger Miller Memorial Highway” — 1994: Between State Highway 30 in Erick and I-40 (Exit 11). Miller was a singer and songwriter. [Editor's note: … Continue reading Why’d they name it that?
Illinois reopens 11 historic sites
The state of Illinois has reopened 11 historic sites, including the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, that were closed in December as a cost-cutting move by now-deposed governor Rod Blagojevich, reported the Chicago Tribune. Gov. Pat Quinn ordered the reopening of the sites on April 15. He said Blagojevich's move was a "huge blunder" that cost … Continue reading Illinois reopens 11 historic sites
Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame inductees announced
Today, the Illinois Route 66 Association announced its annual Hall of Fame inductees and the winner of the Tom Teague Ambassador Award. First, the inductees, as described by the association: The Crossroads Diner in Mount Olive, Ill. The Route 66 diner the Crossroads is a favorite place to stop and eat while traveling Route 66 … Continue reading Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame inductees announced
New museum opens next month in Santa Fe
The new New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., that is slated to open May 24 should be of interest to roadies. According to the Salt Lake Tribune: The museum explores how the West's various cultures clashed and blended over 400 years of written and spoken memory. It starts with new Mexico's native inhabitants … Continue reading New museum opens next month in Santa Fe
A visit to the Joads’ hometown
Rafael Rachael Alvarez, a contributor to the Christian Science Monitor, pays a visit to Sallisaw, Okla., the home base for the fictional Joad family in the John Steinbeck novel that takes place on Route 66, "The Grapes of Wrath." The first striking observation that Alvarez makes is the recession hasn't hit Oklahoma as hard as … Continue reading A visit to the Joads’ hometown