This is a special music video. Not only does it contain audio of live-in-concert performance of "Route 66" by Asleep At the Wheel during the 1970s, but it's interspersed with footage of Route 66 from a 1980s news report and vintage photos of the band. You'll even spot the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, a … Continue reading A trip into the past
Category: History
Radio series explores eastern Oklahoma’s Mother Road
In the few weeks, KRPS, a public radio station in Pittsburg, Kan., produced a series of short stories about Route 66 in eastern Oklahoma. You can hear them here. The Hogue House, a Sears home, in Chelsea, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-7.mp3] Afton Station in Afton, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-6.mp3] Totem Pole Park near Foyil, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-4.mp3] Hammett House restaurant … Continue reading Radio series explores eastern Oklahoma’s Mother Road
Longtime owner of Truxton motel and cafe dies
Mildred Barker, longtime co-owner of the Truxton Cafe and Frontier Motel in the Route 66 hamlet of Truxton, Ariz., died Thursday at age 87, according to an obituary today in the Kingman Daily Miner. Ray and Mildred Barker purchased the Truxton cafe and its attached motel in 1957. She and her husband were born in … Continue reading Longtime owner of Truxton motel and cafe dies
A music video for a festival
The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau of Springfield, Mo., put together this music video about the upcoming Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. Most of the images come from Route 66 in Springfield or the surrounding area. The music, "The Middle of Everywhere," is by The Road Crew, which has recorded a lot of tunes that … Continue reading A music video for a festival
A tour of the Wigwam Motel’s lobby
Kumar Patel, operator of the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif., shows the souvenirs, memorabilia, and artifacts that are displayed in the lobby of his historic Route 66 motel: https://youtu.be/GwEhy19cXkQ The old photos of the wigwams when they were being built in the late 1940s are especially fascinating.
An early image of La Bajada Hill
Take a look at the above photo. It's a photograph of a circa-1922 Dodge Bros. Touring Car at La Bajada Hill, southwest of Santa Fe, N.M. Date of the image is unknown, but likely before Route 66 was certified in 1926. The back of the photo read: Ma and Dad. This is at the top … Continue reading An early image of La Bajada Hill
Low river exposes remnants of Springfield mill
The low water level of the Sangamon River has exposed what is likely the foundation of Carpenter's Mill, which operated in the mid-1800s on the north side of Springfield, Ill., reported The State Journal-Register. The location is near the Business 55 Bridge, also is Route 66. The newspaper reported: The mill operated between 1830 and … Continue reading Low river exposes remnants of Springfield mill
A chat with Ariston Cafe’s owner
"Hope In Your Hometown," a video series by The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Ill., has posted an interview with Nick Adam, longtime owner of the historic Ariston Cafe, a Route 66 landmark in Litchfield, Ill. https://youtu.be/zIZznYAHpn8 Adam has several good stories to tell. But you may have to turn up the volume on your computer or … Continue reading A chat with Ariston Cafe’s owner
A virtual tour of old Cajon Pass
Backroads West, which recently posted excellent videos about Route 66 from Victorville to Barstow in California, has just posted a new clip about the pre-Route 66 alignment of the Cajon Pass. https://youtu.be/w05830KU78o Much of the road shown in the video dates to 1914 -- more than a decade before U.S. Highway 66 was commissioned.
Several Missouri Route 66 oral histories placed online
Missouri State University has placed online several interview transcripts and photos from the Route 66 Oral History Project, conducted by members of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. Conducted in 2005-06, the interview subjects were: Robert Boots, whose parents owned the Boots Motel and Boots Drive-In in Carthage, Mo. Julia Chaney, wife of Red Chaney, … Continue reading Several Missouri Route 66 oral histories placed online