Today, "Route 66 Backroads" author Jim Hinckley sent me a link to a 1949 edition of the Negro Motorist Green Book. The guidebook says it provides a "list of hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, beauty shops, barber shops and various other services can most certainly help solve your travel problems. It was the idea of Victor … Continue reading My, how times have changed
Category: People
“I have a dream”
NOTE: I posted this two years ago. Now, with a black man about to become president of the United States, it's worth looking at again. This is the full version of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. So what does King have to do with Route 66? Well, there's this … Continue reading “I have a dream”
Changes in Route 66 Preservation Program
Changes are afoot in the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Longtime program manager Michael Romero Taylor has moved on to a new post at the National Parks Service's National Trails office. His cohort for the entire tenure of the program, Kaisa Barthuli, will become the acting program manager until it sunsets late this year -- … Continue reading Changes in Route 66 Preservation Program
Movie star becomes spokeswoman for World Monuments Fund
Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn has decided to be a spokeswoman for the World Monuments Fund, reports United Press International today. The WMF is an independent group dedicated to preserving the world's historic treasures. Route 66 was placed on the group's Watch List in 2008. Tripplehorn's involvement is good enough news. But there's this: "I am especially … Continue reading Movie star becomes spokeswoman for World Monuments Fund
“Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”
Check out the neon sign during this video by Gary Allan. It's from the Holiday Motel on the Strip in Las Vegas -- one of the last survivors of vintage motels there. The song itself has a interesting history. Allan recorded it shortly after his wife committed suicide. Several of the songs from the excellent … Continue reading “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”
Interview with a Harvey Girl
The Gallup (N.M.) Independent has a interview with 92-year-old Mary T. Montoya, who became a Harvey Girl at one of Gallup's Harvey Houses beginning in the 1930s. Here's the interesting part: The nationwide decline of rail travel led to the decline of the Harvey Houses, including Gallup’s. According to his recently published book “Fred Harvey … Continue reading Interview with a Harvey Girl
Co-founder of Boots Motel dies
Ilda Boots, co-founder of the Boots Motel on historic Route 66 in Carthage, Mo., died Friday at age 102 at a nursing home in Glenpool, Okla., reports the Carthage Press. The Bootses also founded the Boots Drive-In restaurant across the road, which is defunct. According to the newspaper, after talking to Ilda's son Bob: She … Continue reading Co-founder of Boots Motel dies
Swing set
I guess this proves that anything can be named after Route 66 these days. From the Amarillo Globe-News: About two dozen protesters organized by Repent Amarillo spent New Year's Eve carrying signs, singing and praying outside a business in downtown Amarillo that they claim is a swinger's club. A party organizer with the Route 66 … Continue reading Swing set
Last call coming at the Riviera
Chicago Sun-Times columnist and longtime roadie Dave Hoekstra paid a visit to The Riviera restaurant and roadhouse bar on Route 66 in Gardner, Ill., before it closes after New Year's Day. Longtime owners Bob and Peggy Kraft, both in their 80s, want to retire and haven't yet found a buyer for the property. Go read … Continue reading Last call coming at the Riviera
Craft sales help Indian families
If you're itching to buy American Indian jewelry or crafts and won't be able to soon travel Route 66 to the desert Southwest to buy them, you ought to look at getting them by mail order from the Southwest Indian Foundation. This article by the Associated Press lays out the reasons why: When Margie Lee's … Continue reading Craft sales help Indian families