KC Keefer, continuing with his Genuine Route 66 Life video series, talks to Dawn Welch, longtime owner of the historic Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma. Welch talks about the Route 66 restaurant's up-and-down history, including her role in the Disney-Pixar "Cars" movie and the restaurant nearly being destroyed by fire in 2008. https://youtu.be/rXZ5p1qfm8Q More can … Continue reading A chat with Rock Cafe’s Dawn Welch
Category: History
Building in Springfield, Missouri, added to National Register
The McDaniel Building in downtown Springfield, Missouri, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places effective Oct. 22, according to an email Friday from the National Park Service. The six-story building, built in 1914, was around when Cyrus Avery and John Woodruff worked on details during meetings in Springfield about what became the fledgling … Continue reading Building in Springfield, Missouri, added to National Register
Woman documenting every building on Albuquerque’s Route 66
An Italian woman who is a graduate student at the University of New Mexico is photographically documenting every building and landmark on Route 66 in Albuquerque, according to a story on the university's news service. Donatella Davanzo, a University of New Mexico graduate student, walks along some part of Route 66 in Albuquerque almost every … Continue reading Woman documenting every building on Albuquerque’s Route 66
Book review: “Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery”
Some may assume Cyrus Avery became known as "The Father of Route 66" simply because he was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when the highway became designated and federally certified in 1926. But as Susan Croce Kelly's well-researched new biography shows, Avery's involvement in Route 66's birth and … Continue reading Book review: “Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery”
Group seeks to restore old schoolhouse in Phelps
A nonprofit group is raising money to shore up and restore a long-abandoned, century-old Phelps School in the tiny Route 66 hamlet of Phelps, Missouri, reported the Joplin Globe. According to the article, Phelps School was finished in 1889 until it and other one-room schools in the region were consolidated into the Miller School District … Continue reading Group seeks to restore old schoolhouse in Phelps
Roof of Richardson Store building collapses
The roof and awning for the long-closed Richardson Store on Route 66 in Montoya, New Mexico, collapsed in recent weeks, reported an officer with the New Mexico Route 66 Association. Andy House, president of the association, reports that the collapses probably occurred in August or September, after heavy rains in the region. Here is an … Continue reading Roof of Richardson Store building collapses
Stories sought about certain Albuquerque businesses
Two authors are seeking stories about several long-gone businesses along Route 66 in Albuquerque that used Zeon Corporation-designed signs to attract customers, according to a story in the Albuquerque Journal. University of New Mexico professors Ellen Babcock and Mark C. Childs are working on a book titled "The Zeon Files" that will be published UNM Press … Continue reading Stories sought about certain Albuquerque businesses
Former trooper tells about experiences in Mojave Desert
A former officer with the California Highway Patrol has published a book about his experiences during the 1940s in the Mojave Desert -- much of it on Route 66 -- in a memoir. L.A. "Buzz" Banks has published "Policing the Mojave Desert," mining his stories from the time the highway patrol assigned him to Victorville, California, … Continue reading Former trooper tells about experiences in Mojave Desert
New road would partly restore old section of Route 66
The Phelps County commissioners may apply for a grant to build a north outer road near Interstate 44 that would partially restore an old section of Route 66 near Rolla, Missouri, according to The Leader Journal newspaper in St. James, Missouri. The new section of road would run between U.S. 63 and Missouri Highway V. The board would … Continue reading New road would partly restore old section of Route 66
A visit to the Ariston Cafe
Continuing with his Genuine Route 66 Life video series, KC Keefer sat down with Paul Adam, a third-generation manager for the historic Ariston Cafe on Route 66 in Litchfield, Illinois. This video comes out during the restaurant's 90th anniversary. It started a couple of years before Route 66 existed in Carlinville, Illinois, which wound up … Continue reading A visit to the Ariston Cafe