Ted Landphair has provided a report on the history and current days of Historic Route 66 for the Voice of America. The Mother Road report provides a lot of attention in Oklahoma, including author Michael Wallis and Seaba Station owner Sue Preston. This also gives me the opportunity to try out this new audio plug-in … Continue reading History of Route 66 on the Voice of America
Category: People
Bicycle ride will assist Iraq veterans
The Desert Dispatch of Barstow, Calif., reports that Vietnam War veteran Ken Rhodes plans to bicycle Route 66 to Washington, D.C., to raise funds for Iraq War veterans and muscular dystrophy research. He's going to leave Santa Monica on April 4, the anniversary that the helicopter he was riding in was shot down in 1969. … Continue reading Bicycle ride will assist Iraq veterans
Country Store may close
(Sign hanging above the cash register at the Country Store) When the Country Store opened on 11th Street in Tulsa nearly 40 years ago, it was, in fact, in the country. Four decades of urban sprawl later, the Country Store's location on historic Route 66 is considered part of midtown Tulsa. Farmers are an endangered … Continue reading Country Store may close
Down at the ol’ Rabbit Ranch
It's always a treat to visit to Henry's Rabbit Ranch, located on old Route 66 in Staunton, Ill. Not only is proprieter Rich Henry an affable host, but it's fun to pet the ever-mellow Montana, one of his 37 pet rabbits, and see the new stuff Henry has acquired or planned. Henry's has a well-stocked … Continue reading Down at the ol’ Rabbit Ranch
“Guy with the horns” dies
Arlen Strehlow's name probably doesn't ring a bell for most people. It probably wouldn't even jolt memories for many of his fellow Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders. However, Harley owners knew of him because of his look -- wearing a helmet fitted with a pair of outlandishly long Texas longhorns. He was known as "The Guy with … Continue reading “Guy with the horns” dies
“I Have a Dream”
This is the full version of Dr. 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 passage: There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" [...] We can never be satisfied as … Continue reading “I Have a Dream”
The mother of “The Mother Road”
Remember last summer's PBS-TV documentary, "The Mother Road," where filmmaker Lauren Cardillo and her mother, Irene, traveled Route 66? The Cape Cod (Mass.) Chronicle interviewed Irene shortly before a re-airing of the one-hour program this Sunday on a local station. The story contains quite a bit of background about the film, which was originally shot … Continue reading The mother of “The Mother Road”
A death in the family
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today tells the tragic story George F. "Fred" Kiesel. Kiesel lived in one of the rooms at the Wayside Motel, one of the few surviving vintage motels along old Route 66 in the suburb of Marlborough. The Wayside is across the road from the famed Coral Court Motel, which was torn … Continue reading A death in the family
Live chat with the Cancer Rider
American Road magazine is going to have a live Internet chat at 8 p.m. EST Jan. 14 with Michelle Thompson, the woman who recently cycled Route 66 to raise awareness of oral cancer and raise funds for her stricken brother. To participate or read the comments, you have to go to this site, then click … Continue reading Live chat with the Cancer Rider
Ring was lost; now it’s found
Here's a story from the Tulsa World that involves the iconic Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., on Route 66. A woman lost her class ring at the site in the early 1970s, when the Blue Whale was still a swimming hole. She searched for it at least one time, but assumed it was gone for … Continue reading Ring was lost; now it’s found