The Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, will undergo an extensive renovation and expansion in the next few years -- the first since the museum opened in 1938. The Joplin Globe reported: Letters from Will Rogers’ adolescence, glass slides of movie posters, studio contracts, movie scripts and costumes are just a few of the … Continue reading Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore to undergo a $14 million expansion and renovation
Category: Publications
Third edition of Route 66 Passport now is available to travelers
Touch Media, best known for its Route 66 Navigation app, announced Thursday it has introduced the third edition of the Route 66 Passport for the 2022 and 2023 tourism season. The new edition, which comes with a dark blue cover and an embossed Route 66 shield on it, is available at many Route 66 distribution … Continue reading Third edition of Route 66 Passport now is available to travelers
Revival of “Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide” planned later this year
Mark Hamilton, the creator of the Backroads66 website, stated in a recent post he is planning to revive the "Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide" in November or December after updates on the publication ceased about seven years ago. Hamilton stated his guide would contain listings of only independently owned properties on or just off … Continue reading Revival of “Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide” planned later this year
Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway soon will publish a special-edition magazine
The Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway recently announced it was about to publish its first-ever magazine, Illinois Route 66 Special Edition. The byway also will publish a 2022 Illinois Route 66 Visitor Guide. The cover of the magazine, as you can see above, features the Gemini Giant at the Launching Pad Drive-In restaurant in Wilmington, … Continue reading Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway soon will publish a special-edition magazine
29,000 Oklahoma Route 66 Passports distributed in just a few months in 2020
Remember the Oklahoma Route 66 Passport created by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism a couple of years ago? It turns out the agency distributed that little booklet by the truckload. The department this week sent out a news release about the 2020 tourism season, during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic. It contained this … Continue reading 29,000 Oklahoma Route 66 Passports distributed in just a few months in 2020
Joe Sonderman’s “Route 66 Then and Now” book finds an unexpected second life
Thanks to an out-of-the-blue feature by a British newspaper, Joe Sonderman's "Route 66 Then and Now" book suddenly has found new interest nearly four years after its publication. Sonderman's "Route 66 Then and Now" (Amazon link) was published by London-based Pavilion Books in May 2018. The book compares old images of Route 66 to what … Continue reading Joe Sonderman’s “Route 66 Then and Now” book finds an unexpected second life
Threatt Filling Station wins grant from National Trust for Historic Preservation
The Threatt Filling Station near Luther, Oklahoma, on Thursday was one of 40 recipients of $3 million in grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. This is what the National Trust wrote about the Route 66 station in a news release: Constructed c. 1915 and still family-owned, the … Continue reading Threatt Filling Station wins grant from National Trust for Historic Preservation
Pulitzer-winning columnist takes aim at MoDOT regarding Gasconade River Bridge
A Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist has written about the Missouri Department of Transportation's apparent unwillingness to deed the closed Gasconade River Bridge to the Route 66 Association of Missouri. Tony Messenger, metro columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, filed his latest piece Thursday. Messenger, who often casts light on local or state government's wrongdoing or indifference, … Continue reading Pulitzer-winning columnist takes aim at MoDOT regarding Gasconade River Bridge
The improved second edition of Route 66 Passport now is available
Touch Media, best known for its Route 66 Navigation app, has released an improved second edition of its Route 66 Passport after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The passport already is available to travelers at many Route 66 distribution points and at its e-commerce website. A full list of the 39 locations … Continue reading The improved second edition of Route 66 Passport now is available
Lonely Planet features a Route 66 trip through Arizona and New Mexico
Lonely Planet, which publishes a bunch of travel guides and has a popular website, posted this three-minute video of an Atlanta couple who traveled Route 66 in Arizona and New Mexico. Lonely Planet said this about the video: Historic Route 66 is full of hidden gems -- towns that seem frozen in time from the … Continue reading Lonely Planet features a Route 66 trip through Arizona and New Mexico