Sangamon County Board Member John Lucchesi brought this interesting story to our attention. Enjoy!

This story of Frank Nuckolls of Auburn, IL who became the state’s first police officer appeared on the Sangamon County Historical Society website.

Read the entire article here.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Day 2. 

The room at the Braidwood Motel was quiet and comfy. The last bullet train came  through around 10:00 and after that there were none of those noises or disturbances  commonly associated with older vintage motels. With the weather being in a cool dry  spell, I was able to turn off the air conditioner that had a tendency to talk a little loud.  The much more peaceful hum of the refrigerator was my night music.  

Morning arrived with the way way early (before 5 am) light peeking around the dark  curtains. I awoke to a mild sinus headache, courtesy of some long ago cigarette break  in this motel room. For now, I’ll avoid the temptation to the pre-emptive strike of the  extra strength aspirin. 

Today’s agenda looks like this: “Wander.” That’s easy enough, but with a ride-along  passenger, this exceedingly familiar day plan becomes a whole new, untested  endeavor. I’m not worried about it, but not fully comfortable either. I’ll learn as we go  along. 

I rolled over for one final catnap before getting out of bed.  

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We got on the road in good time, about 8 am. And wander we did; Lulu and I were on  the same page with the Wander thing. I can’t remember all the places we stopped at,  nor can I recall very much detail of the thousand stories Lulu told me about her life and  times of being a Roadie. It’s a colorful life, I’ll say that much. We put about 180 miles  on the odometer today, through all of the small towns that form the jewels of the  necklace that is Illinois Route 66. For the first time ever, after countless attempts, I  finally figured out how to enter Springfield, Illinois on old Route 66 without having to use  the interstate. We’ve stayed completely off the superhighway up to this point. 

One fascinating thing I saw today, a helicopter trimming trees. The copter hovers over  the tops of the trees that are near the power lines, suspending in the air a vertical stack  of rotating buzzsaws. Then he moves along, parallel to the power lines, while those  giant saws do their work. Never saw that before. 

The peculiar “line thing” is following faithfully. I probably shouldn’t mention it, for fear of  damaging my good karma. But it goes like this … we walk into a business, order or  purchase what we came for, and sit down. Five minutes later, there’s a line out the  door. I suppose there’s nothing really uncommon about lines forming in waves, just like  heavy traffic moves in rubber bands. But it is amusing to watch. 

For lodging tonight, we’ve settled on another historic motor court, the Carlin VillaMotel in  (where else) Carlinville. Always a pleasant experience here, in the only motor court I’ve  ever seen that has a genuine lobby. At the end of a long-feeling day in the sun and on  the road, I turned in early. Gotta save some energy for the next day.

Follow along with Journey Joe’s travels! Click to read the following entries in this series as they’re published.

As part of a series on the influential, colorful, historic people, places and things along Illinois Route 66, we present…

Dorothy Seratt McMullen

Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 2021

Dorothy has been involved in thePreservation Committee from its beginning. As a matter of fact, she insisted that John Weiss become the first Preservation chairman. She did all the research and completed the massive amount of paperwork necessary that resulted in the following properties being placed onto the National Register of Historic Places:

The Standard Oil Station in Odell, IL

The Red Brick Road in Auburn, IL

The Historic Bridge designation for the Auburn Brick Road

The Old Carriage way road (Route 66) in Springfield, IL

(Note – These sites would no longer exist if they’d no been saved by the Preservation Committee and the excellent paperwork Dorothy did to make it happen.)

With Terri Ryburn’s assistance, Dorothy formulated the Multiple Property Documentation Form. This saved our Association many thousands of dollars because we didn’t need to hire professionals like other states. Dorothy has shared her expertise and MPSF to help others document and certify properties for inclusion onto the National Register.

Dorothy has lived most of her adult life in Route 66 cities and towns. She was a teacher who spent most of her career working with prisoners incarcerated in the Pontiac, IL correctional prison and the old Collins Street prison in Joliet, IL.

In addition to all that, Dorothy has demonstrated her commitment to preserving Illinois Route 66 as a member of our board and Motor Tour committee.

Click to read stories about the ever-growing list of Hall of Fame inductees.

As part of a series on the influential, colorful, historic people, places and things along Illinois Route 66, we present…

Jubelt’s Bakery and Restaurant – Litchfield, IL

Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 2017

303 North Old Route 66, Litchfield, IL
217-324-5314
Jubelt’s website

Here’s the story behind this historic landmark:

In May of 1922, three brothers, Paul, Fred and Albert Jubelt bought an existing bakery in the coal mining community of Mount Olive, Illinois. Bread was by far the most important product of the bakery. The brothers worked hard and were successful. In 1929, Albert died and Fred opened a second bakery in Granite City. In 1935, the partnership dissolved and Paul continued to operate the Mount Olive location himself.

As more highways were built in the 1930s, competition from national bread companies increased. A house to house route was started with great success but World War II and shortages of material and manpower ended this effort, In 1950, with the general decline in coal mining in the area, Jubelt’s expanded with another store in Taylorville, Illinois. Another store opened in downtown Litchfield in 1952. Over the next 40 years, more stores were opened in Jerseyville, Lincoln, Carlinville, Staunton, Gillespie and Springfield. In order to meet customer demand, the family again changed direction, adding prepackaged vending-type sandwiches in the Litchfield store. After some sessions in the test kitchen at Bunn Capital, lunches offering freshly made sandwiches, salads and soups were available in all their stores.

As the business in Litchfield began to shift to the west side of town, the family needed to find a bigger place with parking. When the Burger Chef Building on Route 55 became available, the family decided to open the current restaurant there in 1982. The economy once again changed and the family independent bakery became a dying breed. The family began closing the stores. The decision to keep only the Litchfield location open was made and in January 2008, Jeanmarie Jubelt purchased the business – this was the 86th year of Jubelt’s being in business. Over the last 90+ years, Jubelt’s has changed direction many times in order to adjust to the changing times and lifestyles. With the hep of loyal customers and travelers from around the world, Jubelt’s Bakery and Restaurant. is now in their 10th decade. Hand-dipped milkshakes are still served with a smile!

Click to read stories about the ever-growing list of Hall of Fame inductees.

Throughout the summer, we’ll be sharing weekly installments of a Route 66 travel journal written by association member Joe Razumich. It’s his entertaining account of a recent road trip from his home down Route 66 to Rolla, Missouri for the 75th anniversary of the iconic Munger Moss Motel. On his adventure, Joe passes through Illinois so you’re sure to recognize many of the places he mentions. So, without further ado, here’s Joe!

Sit back and enjoy a Journey Joe travel adventure. Is Journey Joe a real person? Well, not really. But he’s as real as any nickname, any stage personality, any thought or collection of travel experiences that any roadie might have. The real “Joe” is Joe Razumich, a lover of cars and the open road ever since his childhood, growing up around the corner from a hot rod shop, a busy Broadway, and a railroad track. But really all Real Joe does is drive. And put gas in the tank. And put Mr. Suitcase, Mr. Duffle Bag, Ms. Cooler, Mr. Road Atlas, etc., collectively known as the “Inanimate Objects”, in the trunk or behind the passenger seat. Or, to put it another way, Joe loves to drive. Journey Joe loves to write about it – and take you, Dear Reader, along for the ride.

Oh, and the car has a name too. The one we’ll be riding along with on this particular trip, is Angel the Corvette. She’s blue like the sky and she believes she can fly.

OLD TELEPHONE POLES 

Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Day 1

Munger Moss Motel. Missouri. Mother Road. Marla. Oops I promised not to call her  that. It won’t happen again. 

Welcome to the next great Journey Joe adventure: A pilgrimage down Route 66 to  Rolla, Missouri for the 75th anniversary of the iconic Munger Moss Motel. Journey Joe  has been invited to the party and he was not to be denied. Angel the Corvette was  more than ready for the trip; she hasn’t been on Route 66 since 2018. “Vagabond’s  been having all the fun lately” lamented the feisty gal of my six-speed dreams. And so it  was, that the familiar passel of inanimate objects made their way into the garage and  into Angel’s spacious storage locker. Well, not all of the objects. It is June, after all. So  Mr. Space Heater will sit this one out. 

So there’s some extra room for a change. What better opportunity for a new twist on  the familiar adventure? The “Twist” came in the form of a request from a friend of a  friend. One of my Facebook friends from a Route 66 group, Lulu, contacted me for a  ride to Missouri. Lulu’s expected ride cancelled out, and she’s already bought and paid  for her room at the Munger Moss Motel, for the celebration. I mulled it over in my head  … 

“Taking a virtual stranger along with you, for a whole week, down Route 66. Are you  crazy?” 

“Yes! Yes you are crazy!” retorted the Journey Joe voice. “It’s Route 66, the road where Magic was born. We got the means, so let’s share that magic with someone else  who loves Route 66 as much as we do.” And so I told Lulu (who I knew previously as  Marla), “Sure, if you can get in and out of a Corvette, you’re in the passenger seat!” 

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“Are you crazy?!?!”  

“That’s what my friends said to me”, recounted Lulu, “when I told them I just hitched a  ride with a Facebook friend, to head down Route 66 to Missouri in a Corvette!” 

I picked up Lulu at her apartment right on time, at 3:00 this Tuesday afternoon. Our first  stop will be the Braidwood Motel in Braidwood, Illinois, where we will launch our Route  66 exploration to Missouri. 

Well, so we’re both crazy, aren’t we. That certainly evens up the score. I got a good  inside laugh when Lulu was telling me about her friend’s exclamation, which was  exactly the same thing I had thought to myself. 

Today was perfect top-down weather. Clear blue sky, low 80’s, low humidity. And it  aint gonna last, so we bobbed and weaved our merry way westbound through Indiana,  avoiding road closures to cross the state line to Illinois, then on county roads through 

Illinois backcountry, narrowly avoiding Kankakee and then cruising up along the Kank  River up to Braidwood. Check-in was a breeze, and for the fifth time in my travel  career, a room at the Braidwood Motel is immaculately fit for purpose. I’m in room 12,  and Lulu is in room 10. The televisions work, the AC units work, and there’s plenty of  bathroom tissue in each room. Lulu retired early, and I took Angel out for a tank-up and  car wash. 

The car wash tried to scam me. I put in seven quarters, and after that, it rejected twelve  quarters before accepting one more. Hah, the scam didn’t work. I got the bugs cleaned  off of the Angel-Vette, and thus ended this most delightful day. 

Follow along with Journey Joe’s travels! Click to read the following entries in this series as they’re published.

An exciting new project highlighting Route 66 will open at this year’s Illinois State Fair on August 12!

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Visitors to this year’s Illinois State Fair will be able to visit one of the nation’s more historic highways with the creation of the Route 66 Experience.

The multiyear project will turn the Springfield fairgrounds’ Gate 2 into a year-round destination for visiting a microform of the Mother Road in Illinois, from Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River in Madison. It will highlight communities and attractions along the way.

The project sponsor, the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, will have the first phase completed by the state fair’s opening Aug. 12, executive director Casey Wichmann said.

“Being able to provide visitors a central location to experience what our historic road has to offer is an amazing opportunity prior to the 100th anniversary of Route 66,” Wichmann said.

The 2,448-mile (3,940-kilometer) highway, one of the nation’s first interstate “hard roads,” was begun 95 years ago. It was dubbed the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in his novel, “The Grapes of Wrath.” It runs from Chicago’s Loop business district to Santa Monica, California. Its path through Illinois is similar to that of current-day Interstate 55.

Once running, the exhibit will feature Quick Response codes and story boards detailing historic attractions and businesses. Those communities lining Route 66 will be invited to participate by working with the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway to develop their areas.

The project will be completed before the centennial in 2026.

As part of a series on the influential, colorful, historic people, places and things along Illinois Route 66, we present…

Our Lady of the Highways Shrine

Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 1990

22353 W Frontage Rd, Raymond, Illinois

Here’s the story behind this historic landmark:

Located along Historic Route 66 in the panhandle of Montgomery County, Illinois, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Highways has watched over travelers along the Mother Road and Interstate 55 since the late 1950’s. While much of the pavement of Route 66 has been returned to the fields of rural Central Illinois, the Shrine remains as a testament to the weary traveler and Mother Mary’s guidance and protection over the highway and her travelers.

The Carrara Marble Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes from Italy was originally constructed as a high school project. It is inscribed “Mary, Loving Mother of Jesus, Protect us on the Highway.” Also along the road from this site is a trail of Burma Shave type signs of the Hail Mary.

Francis Marten was honored with induction to our Hall of Fame for erecting the monument.

Click to read stories about the ever-growing list of Hall of Fame inductees.

As part of a series on the influential, colorful, historic people, places and things along Illinois Route 66, we present…

Brooks Catsup Bottle

The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle – Since 1949

Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 2008

800 South Morrison Avenue, Collinsville, Illinois

Brooks Catsup Bottle website

Here’s the story behind this historic landmark:

Businessmen raised $5,000 and created the Collinsville Canning and packing Co. The plant struggled and went through a few different owners/operators until 1908 when the Brooks brothers took over. They operated under the name of Triumph Catsup and Pickle Company. In . In 1920, the brothers sold out to American Cone and Pretzel Company, and in 1933, the G.S. Suppiger Company purchased the plant. The catsup factory had great success in those years, surviving the Great Depression and growing by leaps and bounds through the 1940s. They retained the Brooks label because it had acquired such an excellent reputation. After World War II, a fire protection sprinkler system needed to be installed throughout the plant. Since the plant already put a strain on the City of Collinsville’s water pressure, it was decided to build a new water tower for plant operations. The president of the company suggested the water tower should be built in the distinctive tapered shape of one of their catsup bottles, amusing everyone.

In 1947, W.E. Caldwell Tank Company of Louisville, KY, entered a contract to build this unique water tower. Final drawings for a 70-foot tall bottle atop 100-foot steel legs was approved. In October of 1949 the tower was in place, holding 100,00 gallons of water. By the early 1960s the plant was closed. The water tower was empty and the plant was used as a warehouse. After years of neglect, the rusted, timeworn tower seemed destined for demolition and the parent company decided to sell the property.

Larry and Jim Eckert of Bethel Eckert Enterprises purchased the factory site along with the Catsup bottle in June of 1994. A 14-member Preservation Group was formed to do what needed to be done to preserve the landmark. An engineering study to repair and repaint the structure was reviewed. The group began fund-raising events and raised over $100,000 for the project. By 1995 the completely restored red, white and blue landmark was unveiled to the public. In 1999, the 50th anniversary of the catsup bottle, a new logo was produced for memorabilia to be sold. In 2002, the World’s Largest Brooks Catsup Bottle was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

And in 2008, The World’s Largest (Brooks) Catsup Bottle was inducted to our Association’s Hall of Fame.

Click to read stories about the ever-growing list of Hall of Fame inductees.