As part of a series on the influential, colorful, historic people, places and things along Illinois Route 66, we present…
Ed Waldmire Family, The Cozy Dog Drive-In
Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame Class of 1991
2935 S 6th St, Springfield, Illinois
Here’s the story behind this historic landmark:
The Cozy Dog is an original and traditional Route 66 business. Before our association was even formed, its founder and owner, Ed Waldmire, was supporting the road’s revival with displays at the Cozy Dog. His son, Bob, has drawn many scenes and maps of the highway. And Ed is credited with perfecting a classic form of American roadside fast food – the corn dog – on Route 66.
Ed was visiting a brother in Oklahoma in 1941 when he saw the first corn dog being made. “We stopped at a greasy spoon in Muskogee,” Ed said. “They were making it in a contraption like a waffle iron. They poured batter in a trough, put in three wieners and baked it for 15 minutes.”
Toward the end of WWII, Ed was stationed with the Army Air Corps in Amarillo, Texas. With a lot of time on his hands, he began thinking about those corn dogs in Muskogee – and how he could make them faster and in greater quantity. “Finally, I called a fraternity brother in Galesburg who ran a bakery and I asked him to make a batter I could dip a weenie in and deep fry like a doughnut,” he said.
Cooked in a gas-fueled fryer at the base PX, the corn dogs were an immediate success. Soon Ed was ordering hundreds of pounds of the batter mix at a time. After the war, Ed continued perfecting his hotdog on a stick. Cozy Dogs were first sold at the Lake Springfield Beach House; they were introduced at the Illinois State Fair the same year. The first Cozy Dog House was located in Springfield on South Grand between Fifth and Sixth Street. A second Cozy Dog House was located at Ash & MacArthur. In 1949, the Drive-In was born, built along “Route 66” South Sixth Street. In 1996 Cozy Dog moved to its current location, 2935 S 6th St.
At first, he called his batter-dipped specialty Crusty Curs. But his wife, Virginia, convinced him a more inviting name would help the product sell better. She suggested Snuggle Puppies, Long Johns and finally Cozy Dog. The last one stuck and she drew a logo showing two hot dogs in love. Only Snortin’ Norton on the trucks of Campbell 66 Express and the Fat Man at the Club Cafe in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, rank alongside the Cozy Dog couple as classic logos of Route 66.
Ed’s son, Buz, ran the Cozy Dog at the time of their induction to our Hall of Fame while Ed wholesaled the mix throughout the country. Meanwhile, Ed and Virginia became proprietors of Cardinal Hill Crafts, a unique shop built in an old corn crib near Rochester. They also built their solar-heated home onto the side of the crib.
Their son Bob lived on the grounds in a converted 1966 School bus. A freelance artist, he specialized in Route 66 scenes and maps. He designed our association’s letterhead, T-shirt, bumper sticker,1991 Motor Tour shirt and much more throughout the years. Bob was to become an avid Route 66 preservationist and icon. Sadly, he died of cancer in 2009
Today, Sue (Ed’s daughter in law), Josh, Eddie, Tony & Nick (Ed’s grandsons) continue on with the business right next door to the original location.
Click to read stories about the ever-growing list of Hall of Fame inductees.
Dorothy Seratt McMullen
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.
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.
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.
America once had 4,000 drive-in theaters, 33 of which were on Route 66. Nationally, there are less than 500 drive-ins left today. On Route 66 there are only five. The longest-lived of them is the Sky View Drive-in in Litchfield, Illinois. 
