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News

Category: News

Your Route 66 Motor Tour Impressions Requested

June 14, 2017 by Editor Gina Leave a Comment  

A note to Motor Tour Participants from Emmy Bates, Recording Secretary and Motor Tour Committee Member…

Well we just put another Motor Tour in the book. I hope everyone had a good time.


Photo courtesy Dave Sullivan

I would like your input on this and any Motor Tour you have been on. I would appreciate you giving me 3 of your favorite places you have EVER been to on any of our Motor Tours. I’d also like to hear any complaints and suggestions for future tours. We have meetings all year to plan a tour and YOUR input is very important for us. Actually if you want to be a part of that committee, just let me know. We’ll let you know when and where the meetings are held.

PLEASE e-mail ME at ebates1947@gmail.com with your comments. This will help us
with our future tours.

Thank you so much.

Filed Under: News

Marty Blitstein Awarded President’s Award

October 17, 2016 by Scott Leave a Comment  

The following was the presentation by Duke Cartwright to Marty Blitstein presenting him with one of the President’s Awards 2016.

October 18, 1998, Bloomington, Illinois, The Country Buffet Restaurant for the Quarterly Route 66 Association of Illinois meeting and elections. Marty became the newly elected Treasurer. We (the Association) was flat broke. Not enough money in the bank to send out letters to the membership that we were in trouble and in need of help. I stood up and made a suggestion that we “pass the hat” around for donations to get enough money for postage to send out letters to the membership. We received almost $500 which was enough for postage.

With that Marty started his campaign for the Route 66 Association of Illinois and has been campaigning ever since. For the next 18 years, he has been influentially involved in everything that has to do with Illinois Route 66. Probably the biggest thing would be the relocation of the Hall of Fame from McLean to Pontiac.

The purchasing of the glass display cabinets to show off the artifacts of Route 66. The ordering, and selling of the t-shirts, jackets, patches, cookbooks, and other items we make a profit on. The yearly tour. He shops for the best location for the banquet, menu for the food, every detail involved including the silverware that we eat with and the napkins we wipe our mouths with, he negotiates for. Marty KNOWS the business and how to get things done.

He orders the materials used for the Tour (window stickers, dash plaques, license plates, sends out the letters announcing the tour, etc.) every year. He records and tabulates the participation of the Tour process. Posts the monies in the bank and records in the books so that people like me can understand where the money comes from and how it is used. Throughout the tour, at all stops he is there to handle our membership and make certain that all goes according to plan.

Marty is a “super salesman.” He loves what he does and enjoys doing it. The Route 66 Association of Illinois is not merely a “hobby” to Marty, it is his life.

Another real accomplishment to him is the Bob Waldmire bus and van that is on display at the museum. He played a big roll in securing these items, and proudly entertains visitors on tours through Bob’s bus.

He is present at the museum almost every weekend, doing his thing, not because he has to but rather because he WANTS to. He loves the organization and what it stands for.

If I were to stand up here and try to mention everything Marty has done for us, I would be here half the night and you don’t need to hear me run off at the mouth that long.

Marty has brought our organization from “poverty” to “solvency” and has enjoyed doing it, and it was all done as a volunteer. He has not been paid a nickel for his expertise and his efforts. He is witty, energetic,honest in his dealings, steadfast in his love for Route 66. He is constantly talking about Route 66. I am very happy to have worked with him the past 18 years. I only wish he had been with us when the organization started in 1990, we would probably be better off today than we are, which is really not bad.

Many years ago, a man with only a high school education, who started as a Deputy Sheriff in a small Illinois town and rose to be the Director of the State Police and Prison System, said in a lecture one time that “the person who handles the purse strings of the company or organization, RUNS the company or organization. I have found that to be true, and especially so with Marty. We may have Presidents, and Vice-Presidents, but the man with the control of the money “RUNS” things.

Marty is like the song that Toby Keith sings “He’s not as good as he once was, but he is as good once as he ever was.” His parents, “Mother Nature” and “Father Time” are slowing him down. He has been good to us through the years and we owe him far more than we could every pay.

I only wish this plaque was a million dollars, but it isn’t. I know in my heart that it is worth a million dollars to Marty for having received it. I am proud to have worked with him all these years and even more proud to call him my friend.

Thanks for allowing me this honor to present to Marty Blitstein this honor.

Filed Under: Featured, News

Fossil Hunting on Route 66

July 13, 2016 by Scott Leave a Comment  

By Preservation Chairman, John Weiss

The towns of Braceville and Godley border one of the best areas for fossil hunting in the state. Collectors come from all around the country. This area is famous because it was here that the Tully Monster fossil was discovered. This long extinct creature is named for the man who found it in 1957, Francis Tully. The Tully Monster is also considered to be the official State of Illinois Fossil.

 

The best place to easily find common fossils is away from the popular fish and wildlife area. Some places here are so abundant with fossils that no digging is even required. Maps for the entire area are readily available at the visitor center of the Mazonia State Fish & Wildlife Area just off of Route 66. There are help-yourself boxes with trail maps in front of the facility.

 

The trail we took was 6 miles long through some beautiful areas that went completely around Lake Ponderosa. At about the half way point around the lake the loose stones are in great abundance. Jellyfish and Shrimp fossils are laying everywhere. To easily find this area leave Route 66 at Godley by the Mining Museum. Travel through town on Kankakee St. to 5000 N Rd., and turn left. Travel about one mile on this rough gravel road to the second pull-in parking area on the right side. Then travel farther in to the interior parking area.

Don’t worry, the walking trail is rough but you won’t get lost. Our group was of all ages and none of us had any concerns and we made it just fine. Remember that the trails are not paved, and there are no washrooms and no water, so plan accordingly. Bring a shoulder strap style bag to carry your rocks in. Be aware that big stones tend to get heavy on a long walk.

The reason this area is so abundant with fossils is because of all the strip mining that occurred here in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. This area millions of years ago was under water. Throughout the years this area dried out. However, rich veins of coal were in abundance near the surface of the land. So during the 1800s strip mining methods were used to extract the coal. In strip mining, the top layers of soil are removed to expose the veins of coal. This scraped-off top soil is now referred to as slag heaps. Many places now are hilly areas of slag surrounding lakes created where the coal was removed. Laws in the early days did not require the slag to be put back into the holes created from the coal removal. As a result the bottom of ancient oceans are readily available to all who are adventuresome enough to seek out this unique nature site.

Jamie Anderson and his friend Rose

Fossil hunting is allowed here from March 1st to September 30th.

Filed Under: News, Preservation

Jim Jones Awarded President’s Award

June 29, 2016 by Scott Leave a Comment  

Our thanks to Pontiac, Illinois Tourism Director, Ellie Alexander, for the following story:

Jim Jones, one of the guiding personalities behind the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, was recently recognized by the Route 66 Association of Illinois for his years of service to the preservation, promotion, and history of America’s most famous road, Historic Old Route 66. Mr. Jones was honored with the Route 66 Association’s President’s Award for 2016. In making the award, Route 66 Association President, Cathy Stevanovich noted, “Thru thick and thin and all that has happened, Jim has persevered and [he] has been available as much as he can for us.” Jones was involved at the creation of the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum located in Pontiac, Illinois. Since its opening in 2004, Jones and the Route 66 Museum have welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe. His knowledge of the Mother Road and its history has enlightened many, and his stories of growing up on “America’s Main Street” have entertained all who have been lucky enough to hear them.


Jim & his Miata at the World’s Largest Rocking Chair, Fanning, MO

Jim began his association with Route 66 at an early age. His father, Richard Jones, opened a service station along Route 66 in Odell, Illinois in early 1940. Young Jim Jones, aged 8, washed windshields, checked oil levels, pumped gas, swept the garage, and put air in tires for his dad. To make a few pennies in spending money, Jim sold bottle of soda pop to passersby. With that sort of personal history, it seemed a natural development for Jones to end up as one of the leading organizers and historians at the Illinois Route 66 Museum.

With the presentation of the Route 66 Association of Illinois’ President’s Award, Jones joins an elite group of Route 66 supporters that includes such notables as internationally famous artist, Bob Waldmire and Pontiac Tourism founder, Betty Estes. Jones, now in his 80s, continues to stop daily at the Route 66 Museum in Pontiac to chat with visitors and share his love of the Mother Road.

Filed Under: News

My Good Friend Bob Waldmire – A Story and Memorial

December 18, 2011 by Scott Leave a Comment  

Ken Turmel gave us his permission to print the following story he wrote about Route 66 Artist, Icon and Friend, Bob Waldmire. Here is Ken’s story in its entirety, as originally published in the National Historic Route 66 Federation Magazine

Greetings Fellow Route 66’ers and those of you who are a personal friend of my dear and close roadie buddy Bob Waldmire. It pains me to be the messenger of most unfortunate news. Bob has passed away this morning on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at 8:30am. This is a solemn day for me. We will all surely miss him dearly.

Bob and Me

Bob and I spent many days together. We both had a common thread of interest of capturing the beauty and history along The Mother Road. Bob with his nature observant pen and ink drawings and I with photography and collecting postmarks. His were artwork masterpieces and mine were historical documents, yet both our works were displayed side by side on many walls along Route 66. We both had fallen in love with the highway long before we had met each other, yet when we first shook hands we were instantly brothers as if we had already known each other since childhood. It seemed that we were just two little boys playing in the same sandbox that stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles. We chuckled and laughed together often everytime that one of us found a road treasure that the other never saw before. Kind of like a scavenger hunt along the Mother Road. We always shared each idea that popped into our heads in hopes that we could find a way to cherish that idea, or what Bob referred to as a “new find.” We went as far as making plans for an artwork collaboration together between us which we were going to combine the expertise of his “bird’s eye view” drawings in pen and ink along with my photography and the collection of postmarks from various historic locations. What were we going to call this new artwork? BobKenArt, of course. BKA!

The both of us knew from the start that this idea was going to top the charts in popularity, yet we never seemed to be able to find the time to complete our magical collaboration, for each of us suddenly and unexpectedly fell head over heels with a new love. He with an unbridled desire to design and build his own eco-friendly dream paradise homestead located in a lone remote section of the Chiricahua Mountians in southeast Arizona, and I with a rekindled passion for motorcycles which thus began a participation as a lead guide bike rider touring foreigners along Route 66. Over the years we both grew apart, not spiritually nor mentally, but in the physical sense of being so many miles away from each other. He being tucked away nice and cozy at his homestead site nestled in the desert mountain foothills, while I was always away on the move being a motorhorse vagabond along the road. It’s like we traded places with each other in order for us to reach our own personal goals. It was strange indeed. So, off we both went in a search to recapture and nourish the dreams of our youth. Bob and I had spent so many great times together that it would take several weeks and many chapters for me to share them all. Being that as such, it only makes sense for me to briefly share my story describing the first few days that I had spent with Bob and the last few days as well. Here is my story…

The Story Begins in Hackberry, Arizona

It was a cold and blustering day early on in our new found brotherhood when I pulled into the gravel drive of his General Store in Hackberry, Arizona. I had already been there a number of times before and in the timeline sense he had already graced the Route 66 PostmarkArt with his signature along with the inked stamp of his General Store. My previous initial visits with Bob were of fairly short durations due to my tight traveling schedule going from post office to post office gathering postmarks onto the Route 66 commemoration document. This visit in particular was different though. With temps well below freezing and a thick dusting of fresh snow upon the ground, I came upon Bob outside in front of his store. He was squatting down low doing something unfamliar to me all the while dressed only in side pocket shorts, unlaced combat style boots and wearing only a bathrobe for covering. “Holy cow,” I thought to my self out loud, “he must be freezing his ass off out here!” As I unsaddled down from Ol’ Betsy and was approaching Bob from behind, he never turned around while diligently poking a spatula at something that was inside some sort of shiny box-like contraption. Hey Bob! Whatcha doing out here in the snow? He turned around smiling as if he already knew that I was going to ask him that question. “Hi Ken,” he replied, “I’m out here baking a homemade veggie pizza in my solar oven! Want some? It should be done in ten or fifteen minutes or so.” Well, of course Bob! What the heck, it sounded good and I was hungry. I never had pizza baked outside like this before. “What is this crazy looking thing?” I asked. Bob replied, “This is my solar oven.” Come here close and feel how hot it gets. Look at that thermometer inside… it’s almost 200 degrees inside there even though there is a 20 degree windchill here outside.” “Wow! That is remarkable, Bob!” I had never ever seen anything like this before. Bob was always coming up new inventions and odd things to show me. From a gizmo to heat water from the sunlight, to a water saving sink built atop of his toilet tank. Everything had a special purpose for saving money and energy for Bob. Incredible fellow indeed!

After the manhugs and our usual catching up on news chit chat, we went inside and enjoyed the pizza along with some slices of his special fruitcake made with only Bob’s specially approved “healthy vegetarian” ingredients, of which included some roasted hemp seeds. You heard right… hemp seeds! “This is awesome fruitcake Bob but what the f…” then he interupted with a comment saying, “Just gotta have that delicious hemp seed ‘crunch’ inside my fruitcakes.” That was Bob for ya! We broke into a hearty laugh. After the unusual yet wonderfully tasty lunch, Bob poured a couple glasses of his homemade brew herbal sun tea, then whipped out his hand crafted tree branch smoking pipe and loaded it up with his special blend of herb while saying, “Come on Ken let’s do a bowl or two while I show you some of my new projects that I’ve been working on.” Once again Bob made me smile as he did his usual head bopping with his shit eating grin on. “Go ahead man, fire it up!” It wasn’t long after that when we both stumbled off all squint-eyed and smiles to his newly constructed plexiglass lean-to hothouse for a showing of all the plants and vegetables that were growing in there at the famous Hackberry General Store. The edible ones that is.

When it was time to depart Bob had asked me to come back to his Hackberry Store the next day for another visit and lunch. Although very anxious to head west to Los Angeles to meet up with family and friends who were expecting me, how could I at all resist Bob’s invite? I told him yes but that I wouldn’t be able to stay very long for my sister was preparing a family gathering dinner on the day of my arrival. There was never any uncertainly in my mind that Bob was either going to make another wild and crazy delectable meal or he was going to show me some more of his artworks and projects,… or both. I told Bob that I would be returning the next day around lunch time before continuing my trek into California. That night I returned to Kingman for a bit of relaxation with a couple cold ones, a jump or two into the pool, and a good night’s rest.

The next morning I arrived earlier than at the planned lunch hour and strolled into the General Store. I called out for Bob but didn’t receive any reply. I checked the bathroom and kitchen and found no one there. I walked back outside and grazed around towards the back of the store. “Hey Ken, I’m up here,” Bob yelled out. I looked up and found Bob watching me as he was perched on the back porch of his school bus. His mouth was full and munching away on various dried fruits and a bowlful of mixed nuts and seeds. We did the usual meet and greet then asked him what was for lunch. “This is it,” he replied. My suprise when he handed me the bowl of nuts and seeds made me squawk out a loud “what?” “What’s wrong, man,” he asked with that shit eating grin on. I told him that I skipped breakfast just to save room for a Waldmire lunch. He instantly quipped back saying “Well then! Since you’re too late for breakfast and you’re too early for lunch just consider this be your brunch instead.” We both exploded into a crazy laughter as we scurried into the school bus to warm up and finish snacking on his choice of a meal. That was Bob for ya!

I had never been inside his school bus before and was quite suprised to find its interior to resemble anything but of what a school bus should look like. Heck, the place was like a library that seemed larger than a few libraries in some of the small towns that I’ve visited. This place was a museum as well, with shelves displaying hundreds if not thousands of various collectables, toy cars and trains, posters, license plates, with countless odds and ends scattered about everywhere including on the ceiling! Rounding out Bob’s collection of archival stash was a king size overhead bedroom, a decent sized kitchen with an icebox, a wood burning stove with a stack of wood, and an enclosed five gallon bucket bathroom. Amazing! We poured over many items one by one and Bob told of the history behind each item. Everything he collected had a very special meaning to him. Each story told was very unique in its own way yet very simple in its meaning. Less was more and simplicity was bliss. My discovery of what Bob’s school bus looked like and Bob’s treasures inside would eventually turn out to be an ongoing event of the many new and untold stories that would all be unfolded unto me during my future years of visits with Bob. That day’s visit with Bob ended much too quickly for me. Bob and I parted ways so I could get to Los Angeles before dark. We hugged our “see you later dude” (never a goodbye) as I got into Ol’ Betsy and slowly drove off. As I was driving away towards the Golden State I thought to myself of what a special day that it had been for me.

The Story Continues in Rochester, Illinois

Fifteen years later my last few days with Bob were quite different from all the rest, but they meant just as much to me. I was most fortunate and blessed to spend three wonderful and “quality time” one-on-one days with Bob last month in November, while he was still residing inside his vintage school bus. I arrived into Springfield, Illinois via Greyhound bus and was to meet up with Bob’s friends Lynn “LuLu” Bagdon, Fred Zander, and Rich Henry. We had planned this visit to Bob for over month and that day finally arrived with excitement for us all. We took turns sitting beside Bob during all our visits because there was not much room for a crowd and the fact that Bob was reclined on his couch for almost the entire 3 days that we were there. There was much going on there with visits from many of Bob’s friends showing up each day. As always, Bob asked me how Melissa and the kids were doing. I told him that everyone was doing very well these days and that they all send their prayers and blessings to him. “How are the girls doing?” he asked. I mentioned that both girls, JerichoRose and Alicia had graduated from high school with honor role grades and now they both attend college with scholarship grades. With some careful thought as if he already knew, Bob asked me about my youngest daughter JerichoRose and wanted to know what college was she attending. I proudly told him University of Oklahoma, of course! Like some kind of miracle, Bob got up from his bed for the very first time during the days of my visits with him. As Bob slowly walked towards the backdoor, he said, “Ken, let’s go outside to my archival room barn. I have something that I want you to give to JerichoRose for me.”

I couldn’t imagine at that time what he was going to do, so I helped him down his back porch steps and stood arm in arm beside him as we walked there to the barn. It was so good to see Bob up and walking around! When we got inside the barn he went straight to a stack of his larger sized posters. He rifled through them for several minutes as he was showing the rest of the crew these early career days of artworks which he had created for various colleges across the United States. Then like magic he pulled out two posters which commemorated the University of Oklahoma. Wow, I thought to myself as he handed the posters to me. Bob then said, “I want JerichoRose to have one of these and the other one is yours Ken for raising such a smart young lady. I started to cry. As the salt water began to well in my eyes, “Thank You Bob” were the only words I could speak. Bob added the info that the OU posters were a sold out edition and that he had only about a dozen or so left. My heart and breath sighed as I mentioned to Bob that he had always been so good to me and thanked him for that and again for the two posters. From only being up and walking around for just a short time, Bob was tiring quickly and said to me, “Now, let’s go back inside so I can autograph them.” Without any words spoken we both smiled at each other. “Come on Bob, and I’ll help you get back into your bus.” When Bob graced his signature on JerichoRose’s poster, he also drew a beautiful rose flower. An artwork masterpiece within an artwork masterpiece. By the way,… JerichoRose loved Bob’s gift and it is the envy of all her college friends at the university.

On the last day of my 3 day visit quite a number of Bob’s local friends stopped in to see him. He began telling a few stories about the vegan cozy dogs and pizzas that he loved eating, and also continued on by sharing with us of how he broke his vegan practices a few times lately. Yep, Bob confessed to eating some eggs for dinner! But he went on to add, “These are not just ordinary eggs, but rather they are eggs from happy hens that are range fed here locally at Happy Farms, where all of the chickens are treated humanely and are never slaughtered for their meat.” Bob then proceded to pass around a plate of his vegan style cookies for us to enjoy. As I was eating a few cookies, my mind began to drift and wander back to a time during Bob’s Hackberry Store days of when he obtained an old vintage upright grand piano. I had sat down on the bench and started playing a song that I wrote and recorded titled “New Life,” when suddenly Bob came up hehind me quickly picking up the chord pattern and started playing a flute accompanyment to my song. This gave me an idea while I inconspicously scanned the school bus to find his flute.

There it was under a pile of papers and artworks barely visable at all behind a stack of books. I moved to the back of the bus while everyone was looking the other way towards Bob as they chatted with him. I slowly pulled out Bob’s flute without anyone noticing and held it high in the air behind everyone’s head. Bob looked up and said, “Hey, I’ve been looking for that thing. Pass it over here and I will play you a song.” Everyone’s eyes grew big and mouths dropped. No one there ever knew before that Bob played the flute. One of his favourite musicians was Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. Bob just loved the two albums ‘Thick as a Brick’ and ‘Living in the Past’. To everybody’s amazement, Bob broke out with a musical flair playing the instrumental song titled ‘Bouree’ from Jethro’s ‘Living in the Past’ album. When he finished playing solo everyone applauded and began conversations with him that stemmed from their newly found knowledge of learning that Bob Waldmire played the flute.

As that day’s sun was beginning to set over the skies of Rochester the phone rang. None of us were trying to evesdrop, but it was obvious to everyone by the look of excitement in Bob’s eyes and with his ear to ear smile that someone just gave Bob some enlightening news. When he hung up the phone he immediately got up from his bed for the second and last time during my visit with him. Bob proclaimed, “Good news everyone! My VW Bus that is being hauled here on a trailer from Arizona is just a few minutes away from arriving… so please everyone out so that I can get dressed to see my darling arrive on that trailer!” We promptly receded as asked. Within 10 minutes or so, Bob reappears from the bus dressed in a long hooded robe and carrying a wooden staff. Of course, he was wearing those famous side pocket shorts underneath with his old worn out high top tennis shoes. Unlaced as usual! All of us turned to each other with smiles that could not be contained as our smiles turned into laughter! He looked just like Moses! That was Bob for ya! He took all of our joking very well as he started his head bopping thing with his you know what kind of grin! Lo and behold, Bob’s VW Bus finally arrives shortly before dark. According to Bob, it was in the very same condition as he remembered it to be when he left her back in the Grand Canyon State. He made a beeline to her side and gave her a hug. The van was started up to be sure everything was alright. Her engine turned over with just a click and purred like a kitten. A tear came to his eye. We all cheered and rejoiced for Bob, for this was surely the pinacle of joy for him.

The pinacle of the very last visit with my good friend Bob Waldmire.

Bob’s friendship had given so much to me over the years, that it was time for me to give some back. It was a time to be humble. It was such a great feeling that Bob asked me to help him out with a few things each day while I was there. It was an honor for me to fix and shore up his collapsed back porch steps for him, gather up his rain water from the bus gutter drain barrel, refill the seeds in his two bird feeders, run into his archives barn to fetch some artworks for him that were being requested by his other visiting friends, start up the bus for him to circulate the oil in the engine, have a ceremonial smoke of his sacred herb one last time with him, share the stories of some of our most memorable and crazy times we had spent together, and to eat the very last bowl of Bob’s homemade veggie stew with him fresh from the pot on his wood burning stove. That was our last supper together combined with many wonderful heartfelt memories that went back to the time of when we had our first supper together eating veggie pizza there at the Hackberry General Store.

Then came the time that I dreaded. The time for me to leave Bob to get back onto that Greyhound bus and head back home to Oklahoma City. A time for me to give him that big hug and kiss. As forementioned, not being as a goodbye, but rather a “See you later Bob, my good friend”. I cried then as I cry now. It saddened me that day to know that it was going to be quite a while before I get to see Bob again. Someday I will. My faith tells me so. My tears today are not those of sorrow, but rather they are tears of joy, for Bob is with the Lord today and is joined by the many other Route 66 Angels who have gone before us. They are there today as we speak, welcoming Bob into those golden and pearly gates of Heaven. Always remember Bob as he lived, not now as in his passing, but as in his New Life. Bob Waldmire is not gone, but is here with us always and forever in our hearts.

Bob’s legacy will continue to live on forever and ever.

Angel of Art on SkyWay 66Some have referred to Bob’s passing away as him reaching the “end of the road.” That doesn’t make any sense to me. There is no doubt in my mind that this Angel of Art is now commissioned by the Lord to create new and heavenly masterpieces everywhere along SkyWay 66. Remember Bob each time that you look up into the sky. He is there soaring with all the birds that he enjoyed feeding and watching,… and mostly likely he will also be rearranging some of the stars and the clouds. That’s Bob for ya!

God Bless To All. Amen.

Sincerely and with Best Regards.

Bob’s landrunnin’ buddy,

KEN TURMEL ~

Route 66 Motorcycle Tour Guide,
Adventurer, Historian, Artist, Writer
Creator of the “First and Original Historic Route 66 Artwork that Actually Traveled the Entire Length of The Mother Road”
Website: http://www.PostmarkArt.com/66more.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Route66KenTurmel
To view and purchase Bob Waldmire’s artworks please visit: www.BobWaldmire.com

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bob waldmire

Web Site Update October 2010

October 4, 2010 by Scott Leave a Comment  

I thought it might be interesting to share some of the more technical details about the upgrade and what was done.

The current site has been up and running for nearly 3 years now running on the fantastic, powerful and yet occasionally frustrating Drupal framework. Drupal really is a tremendous system for a site of this nature. It’s stable, runs well, is generally secure, and offers a staggering amount of functionality.

So for a few years now it’s been chugging along nicely on Drupal 5. As the site requirements have changed, along with our finding out how people use it, our increasing use of Social Media, our e-announcements, and just the overall evolution of technology, it was determined that it really was necessary to upgrade to the newer and better supported Drupal 6 version.

Each major version update of Drupal usually brings with it some significant changes to both requirements, database structure, themes, and overall availability of modules and add-on functionality.

While porting the old design was possible to this version, to accomodate the changes and to take advantage of the enhanced functionality we decided to also pursue not only the data upgrade but also a site redesign as well.

A redesign isn’t something we take lightly. We know that people get used to how a site works and where they find the information that they need. What we have been finding though is that we just had too much stuff, notes, announcements, important reminders, that always seemed to be of great importance and require front page exposure. We hope that with the slider show and the quick tabs, along with the increased number of information blocks that we can present all of this information to you but in a format that is still accessible and easy to use.

Now that this first stage of the upgrade / redesign is released, we plan to really pursue some of the great things that this upgraded framework and layout enable us to do. We want to increase community and make it easier for you to share your stories and photos with us. We want to be more social, taking advantage of the tools that sites like Facebook and Flickr can offer us.

I would still expect some pretty significant tweaks and changes to overall look and feel over the next few weeks as we get feedback and see how well we did in bringing this phase of the Route 66 Association of Illinois web site to life.

I’m really pleased with how it came out – please let us know what you think as well.

sb

Filed Under: News

Route 66 Treasures Arrive at New Home!

September 24, 2010 by Scott Leave a Comment  

It’s finally here – the long awaited arrival of two exciting acquisitions to our Route 66 Association of Illinois Museum and Hall of Fame in Pontiac, IL!

This coming Sunday, September 26, 2010 is the day when Route 66 icon and artist, Bob Waldmire’s, VW van and converted schoolbus will arive at our museum for eventual display! According to Association Treasurer, Marty Blitstein, who was instrumental in making these acquisitions come to fruition, it will be a couple more weeks before the van and bus will be available for viewing at the museum. First, the items need to be prepared for display.

Here’s an exerpt from a correspondence from Route 66 enthusiast and author, Ken the Landrunner, to Marty Blitstein which expresses the excitement felt by many about these items being on display:

…Been looking forward to the day that Bob’s vintage school bus, VW Van, and all of the many treasures within will finally be archived and on display for all 66 Roadies to enjoy and appreciate! Glad to know that the Pontiac Hall of Fame and Museum has taken ths first steps in doing just that. Thank you for making all of this become a true milestone event in Mother Road history. Well done! I tip my bandana to Illinois Route 66!… where the road begins.

Although the Waldmire van and bus will not immediately be on public display, you can be certain that we will keep you informed as to when you can visit these iconic  Route 66 items for yourself here on this site, on our Association Facebook page and on Twitter.

Filed Under: News, Preservation

Preserving the Memory of a Dedicated Preservationist

July 16, 2010 by Scott Leave a Comment  

On July 3, 2010, the Preservation committee held a very special picinc at the Standard Oil Station in Odell, IL in honor of a very special lady, Lenore Weiss.

Lenore was a dear friend of Route 66 in general, our Association in particular and of many of our members. She passed away earlier this year and in her honor, the Preservation committee decided that a memorial to her dedication to Route 66 was in order.

After a tasty picnic lunch consisting of burgers, hot dogs and an assortment of side dishes and desserts contributed by the attendees, a brief ceremony was held. In Lenore’s honor, a pear tree was planted on the property of this, our Association’s flagship preservation project, the Odell Standard Oil Station. Lenore rolled up her sleeves along with the other preservationists to bring this treasure of the Mother Road back to its former glory. That’s why this particular location for the picnic and dedication was so fitting to her memory.

There were fond memories recounted and tears shed as her husband John and several friends spoke about Lenore, thanking the committee for their dedication which in itself honors her memory.

Route 66 is all about the people and the relationships forged along the Mother Road. This day was a fitting tribute to the comaraderie felt by those who are the her guardians, preservationists and historians.

Thank you, Lenore, for bringing us all together in this worthy cause.

Filed Under: News, Preservation

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Donations Fuel Our Mission!

Your donation to our Association helps support our efforts to preserve, promote, educate and enjoy Route 66 in Illinois. We are a volunteer organization; 100% of donations are allocated to preservation efforts along the Mother Road in Illinois (never to administrative or housekeeping expenses). We thank you for your generous donation toward maintaining our nostalgic slice of Americana.


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Listen to Association member, Route 66 expert and author, John Weiss, describe the allure of the Mother Road. What makes Route 66 a treasure worth preserving? John explains it all.

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