The Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center in the Sandia Mountains village of Tijeras, New Mexico, is celebrating its 10th year of operation. The museum is housed in a vintage house along Route 66 with four interpretive rooms, a special collections library and a podcast. The museum began as online-only, settled for … Continue reading Museum of the American Military Family in Tijeras marking its 10th anniversary
Category: History
Longtime Missouri Route 66 advocate Glenda Pike dies
Glenda Pike, a longtime champion of Route 66 in Missouri along with her husband Tommy, died Friday, reported the Route 66 Association of Missouri in a Facebook post. She was 77. Tommy Pike was the president of the Missouri association for many years, and Glenda often was by his side at many Route 66 events … Continue reading Longtime Missouri Route 66 advocate Glenda Pike dies
Owner of historic log cabin wants city of Crestwood to move it to Sappington House
The two-story Joseph Sappington cabin in Affton, Missouri. The new owner of a 200-year-old log cabin in Affton, Missouri, once owned by Joseph Sappington will give away the structure to the nearby city of Crestwood if it pays to move it to the Historic Thomas Sappington House Museum site there. According to Call Newspapers, the … Continue reading Owner of historic log cabin wants city of Crestwood to move it to Sappington House
More details found about MIA who is memorialized at Cool Springs Camp
For years, a section of a wall inside Cool Springs Camp near Kingman, Arizona, paid tribute to Tech Sgt. Thomas Walker, who went missing during a bombing run over Germany in 1944 and later was declared dead. Walker's parents, Tom and Mary, owned Cool Springs Camp from 1936 to 1940. A visitor to Cool Springs … Continue reading More details found about MIA who is memorialized at Cool Springs Camp
Golden Driller Plaza in Tulsa undergoes renovations
The plaza for the Golden Driller just off Route 66 in Tulsa is undergoing a face-lift, including a new coat of paint for the statue itself. The Tulsa World newspaper had the details on the $3 million project at Expo Square: A key element of the new design is the construction of three drop-off lanes … Continue reading Golden Driller Plaza in Tulsa undergoes renovations
Demolition begins on Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge in San Bernardino
The razing of the historic but closed Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge in San Bernardino, California, began a few weeks ago. Though it's not on Route 66, many travelers heading to and from the Mother Road undoubtedly used the railroad viaduct over the decades. The span lies immediately south where Route 66 turns west onto West … Continue reading Demolition begins on Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge in San Bernardino
‘Valentine Sally’ identified nearly 40 years after her body was found near Ash Fork
About a year ago, Route 66 enthusiast Blue Miller wrote on her Never Quite Lost blog about the mystery of "Valentine Sally," an unidentified young woman whose body was found near Ash Fork, Arizona, in an apparent homicide in February 1982. This week, Valentine Sally finally has her true name. She is Carolyn Eaton, a … Continue reading ‘Valentine Sally’ identified nearly 40 years after her body was found near Ash Fork
El Vado Motel developer to revamp Imperial Inn Motel in Albuquerque
The same developer who revamped the El Vado Motel and Monterey Motel in Albuquerque also will transform another Route 66 motel in that city -- the Imperial Inn Motel. According to Albuquerque Business First (subscription required), the motel will become a mix of residential, restaurants and retail: The city announced Saturday it is moving forward … Continue reading El Vado Motel developer to revamp Imperial Inn Motel in Albuquerque
Chat ‘n Chew near Route 66 in Normal catered to black customers in Jim Crow era
The Route 66 Bloomington-Normal, Illinois page on Facebook recently posted an interesting, if obscure, historical item for Black History Month -- the Chat 'n Chew restaurant and grocery in Normal. Here's the post, with Terri Ryburn of Ryburn Place (formerly Sprague Super Service station) in Normal supplying the photo: https://www.facebook.com/Route66BN/posts/153881979883693 A 2017 article, titled "Jim … Continue reading Chat ‘n Chew near Route 66 in Normal catered to black customers in Jim Crow era
Is the Mystic Maze near Needles a sacred tribal site or gravel mining operation?
A recent discussion thread on the National Old Trails Road page on Facebook recently centered on a site I hadn't heard of before -- the Mystic Maze, aka Topock Maze, just south of Needles, California. For the uninitiated, the Mystic Maze is a series of rows of parallel lines in the desert, just south of … Continue reading Is the Mystic Maze near Needles a sacred tribal site or gravel mining operation?