John Weeks of the San Bernardino County Sun takes a look at “Things that Haven’t Changed” in the Southern California Inland Empire.

One of them is on the Mother Road:

Want a good old-fashioned sandwich? Head to Peppi’s at 17670 Foothill Blvd. in Fontana. It’s a classic Route 66 eatery that has been serving up sandwiches and burgers since 1948.

(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 species, and most of the city’s gardeners are out in the suburbs: Jenks, Bixby, Broken Arrow.

A perfect storm of big-box stores, urban sprawl, heavy debt, and crop-scorching drought is bearing down on the longtime Tulsa institution and its third-generation owner, Bill Sivadon, and barring any last-minute miracles, it looks as if the business may close for good.

Sivadon and his wife, Kathey — pictured above — reported Tuesday that the store is set to close any day. If they can sell off their remaining stock at retail prices, they may be able to raise enough to pay off their debt and save the business — but time is of the essence. Their creditors have been poised to pull the plug for the past week or so. Wait a day — or even a few hours — and it may be too late to buy one last souvenir and make one last effort to help keep a Route 66 institution alive.

Bill said there is an off chance he may be able to reopen in 30 days, although the odds are slim.

Despite the impending closure of his family’s business — which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 — Bill is not bitter. He harbors no ill will toward his creditors, whom he calls “good people” who extended deadlines and helped him as far as they could, and if he’s worried about his future, he isn’t letting it show.

(Sign taped to the glass in the front door of the Country Store)

“The Lord’s taken care of me for 57 years, and I don’t think he’s gonna stop now,” Bill says.

He will, however, miss his customers, many of whom have become friends.

We know the feeling.

In a column by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Matthew Hathaway, we learn that Trailnet, which runs the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge that connects a pedestrian/biking trail from north St. Louis to Madison, Ill., is closing a parking lot on the Missouri side of the river indefinitely because of vandalism to vehicles there.

In an e-mail to the Post-Dispatch, Trailnet Executive Director Ann Rivers Mack announced Monday that the parking lot on the Missouri side would be closed indefinitely. She wrote that the group had tried to improve security at the lot, with little success. “Vandalism nonetheless continues, and we are working on a long-term plan,” Mack said.

Kathi Weilbacher, a spokeswoman for the group, said that the parking lot closure could be temporary and that the lot on the Illinois side of the bridge would remain open. Pedestrians and cyclists can still enter the 5,353-foot-long bridge from either side.

Hathaway isn’t thrilled with the closing, nor am I. He points out that with the closing of the lot, security on the Missouri side of the bridge probably will get worse because fewer people — and thus, fewer eyes — will be around to spot ne’er-do-wells there.

Trailnet presumably saw the folly in this move, and later told Hathaway that the Missouri parking lot could reopen soon if the group had “long-term partners” and more “regional stakeholder investment,” whatever that means.

Hathaway encourages fans of the bridge and readers to contact Mack at 314-416-9930 or annmack (at) trailnet.org if you think closing the lot is a poor solution.

In the meantime, if you want to visit the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, park on the Illinois side.  If you’re driving west on Chain of Rocks Road, aka Route 66, in Granite City, you’ll come to the base of the bridge anyway.

If you’re not on Route 66, the easiest way to get to the Illinois side of the bridge is to exit at Illinois Highway 3 off Interstate 270, then turn south toward toward the Chain of Roads Road intersection (map is here). From there, you go west on Chain of Rocks Road, over a bridge that spans a canal, then west to the base of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge (map is here). There is parking on the side of the road and it’s safer, mostly because it’s more sparsely populated.

A few weeks ago, we passed along a report by the Kankakee (Ill.) Daily Journal that said the city of Wilmington was going to take over the historic Eagle Hotel on Route 66 on Jan. 15 because its owner, William Scales, didn’t have it operating as a business by a city-imposed five-year deadline.

On Monday, the Joliet Herald-News reported that may not be the case after all.

[Assistant Administrator Sheryl] Puracchio based her announcement on a contract signed by Scales and Tony McGann, the former mayor. The document was dated Jan. 15, 2001.

Attorneys reviewing the documents learned that for some reason the actual deal for the building did not officially close until April 2003. The closing documents were not included with the recorded contract.

“I contacted Mr. Scales immediately and apologized,” Puracchio said. “In addition, I stated that the city has the same goal in mind, to have the hotel restored and operational.”

This new finding gives Scales an April 2008 deadline.

“There is no way I am giving up on this project,” Scales said. “I am just as passionate for this project as I was when it started many years ago.”

The story makes it clear there was confusion between the city and Scales on the agreement, if there was one at all. Regardless, it seems apparent the city has backed off, and Scales will have about 14 months to open the Eagle Hotel, built in 1836, as a hotel/restaurant. This is certainly a better situation than having the hotel be in limbo all over again.
(Hat tip to Lynn “Lulu” Bagdon.) 

Production recently wrapped on the thriller film “Devil Girl,” which was shot on Route 66 and uses the historic road as its setting.

Here’s synopsis of the film, according to its Web site:

Fay is a small town girl on a road trip to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. When her muscle car breaks down during a drag race, she finds herself stranded in a creepy desert town along Route 66. In order to make enough money to repair her car, she resorts to exotic dancing, and before she knows it her road trip has become a nightmare. Trapped and desperate, she discovers the locals: a neurotic drug-abusing clown, an overzealous preacher, and a sexy woman with horns and a tail.

“Devil Girl” producer and co-writer Tracy Wilcox confirms in an e-mail that much of the movie was shot in the Route 66 town of Amboy, Calif., with other Mother Road scenes in Groom, Texas, and St. Louis.

It is such an amazing stretch of road. There is so much history! The Devil Girl crew was full of car enthusiasts who loved driving the Route 66 stretches! [...]

We don’t have a release date yet. We are finishing up in post(-production) and should be done by March 2007.

The film’s Web site contains a trailer, images from the production, and a list of the cast and crew. Although there are exotic dancers in the film, I found no nudity on the site, so it’s work-safe.

Also, Scum of the Earth is one of several hard-rock bands that contributed music to the film. Here’s a YouTube video containing footage from “Devil Girl” for the band’s song, “Beneath the Living”:

Traffic at Route 66 News jumped to record levels today, fueled mostly by a link from the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif. The motel showed how its teepee design inspired the Cozy Cone Motel in the animated hit movie, “Cars.”

That link to here has existed for nearly 10 months, so I was flummoxed on why the traffic surge was suddenly occurring now.

We think we tracked down the reason. My in-laws report that MSN featured Top 10 Offbeat Hotels on its homepage today. A Wigwam Motel is on the list and is linked.

Note that I said a Wigwam Motel. The MSN article about the Wigwam Motel is about the one in Holbrook, Ariz. However, the link with the article goes to the Wigwam in Rialto.

Oops.

Make sure you check those links before sending stories online, kids.

Both motels, by the way, are recommended for stays during your Route 66 traveling.

In case anyone’s wondering, Route 66 News averages about 50,000 page views a month. In recent months, it’s ranged between 1,400 and 2,000 views per day. Today, it’s surpassed the 3,000 mark.

For the second time in a month, a class ring that was found years ago at the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., was returned to its rightful owner, according to the Tulsa World.

The ring was was stolen from the owner’s house in the burglary in the 1980s. It either was pawned to someone else who later lost it at the Blue Whale, or the burglar lost it at the Route 66 landmark.

The ring was returned to Randal Wise, who graduated from Warsaw High School in Indiana in 1975.

“It has a lot more value now because of what it represents,” Wise said. “It just floors me … somebody would go through all that effort to return it.” [...]

“It reminds me of what might have happened in the small town I grew up in,” he said. “It’s not something you see much anymore.”

This story in the Lincoln (Ill.) Courier tells about a situation that’s common even in prosperous towns along the Mother Road — a business district that is indeed busy, but still has a lot of vacancies.

One of those vacancies is The Tropics restaurant:

Tropics co-owner Tami Goodrich of Lincoln said last week she and two brothers continue to look for a tenant or buyer since the famed restaurant on Old Route 66 at Woodlawn Road closed a few years ago.

There have been inquiries, but …

Here’s a nice photo of The Tropics’ cool neon sign. Here are images of a 1960 menu from the restaurant.

Part of the problem, the article reports, is that many of the empty properties aren’t easily adaptable for reuse. So they sit.

The Albuquerque library system had a traveling exhibit of vintage postcards that displayed varying times in the city’s history. That, of course, included images from Route 66.

The exhibit ran from April 2005 to last December. However, there was enough continued interest that the postcards will be on display again through March 24 at the Special Collection Library, at Central Avenue and Edith Boulevard NE, reported the Albuquerque Tribune.

If you can’t make it to the Duke City, you can browse these postcards online. The collection is broken up into several categories, including Alvarado Hotel, Old Town, Downtown, Tijeras Canyon and Route 66.

The Gallup (N.M.) Independent has an interesting story about Riverwalk in the nearby Route 66 town of Grants, N.M.

San Antonio has the best-known Riverwalk; it appears Grants decided to have one of its own.

The Riverwalk in Grants is a greenbelt along the Rio San Jose that in the midst of a three-stage development. It contains sculptures, a playground, benches, a gazebo and an amphitheatre on one end. Just off the Riverwalk on Route 66 is the Uranium Cafe.

It sounds like the sleepy little town is doing a good job taking advantage of its natural assets.

 
According to an e-mail from the director of the National Park Service, Glenrio’s historic district — which comprises most of the Route 66 community straddling the border between Texas and New Mexico — was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 17.

Glenrio’s location in two states (and two counties) at once meant that the laws varied from one side of town to the other. For instance, Deaf Smith County, Texas, is dry, while Quay County, N.M., is wet — so all the bars in town were built on the west end of town, across the New Mexico state line. Differences in property and income tax rates influenced decisions about where to construct homes and businesses. And because the state line is also the dividing line between the Central and Mountain time zones, everything happens an hour earlier on the west end of town.

Glenrio is probably best known to Route 66 travelers as the home of the often-photographed First and Last Motel in Texas (visible in the background of the photo above). The motel’s two-sided sign informed eastbound travelers that it was the “First Motel in Texas,” while westbound travelers were given to understand that it was the “Last Motel in Texas.”

Glenrio, like many Route 66 towns, was a casualty of the interstates. Bypassed by I-40, the little town at Exit 0 faded for want of tourist traffic. Today, its population includes a few humans (most of whom live in large, relatively new homes south of 66); free-roaming horses, cattle, and goats that graze in front of abandoned gas stations and motel rooms on Route 66; and a large, brown dog of uncertain pedigree who watches over the old buildings and can occasionally be persuaded to pose for a photograph.

Tucumcari’s Odeon Theater, an old Art Deco gem located just off the Mother Road at 123 S. Second St., also was added to the National Register on Jan. 17. The theater boasts glass-block windows and a large, pink neon marquee with yellow zia symbols at the top and bottom. We happily forked over $3.50 each to see a movie there a couple of years ago. The film itself — Kangaroo Jack — was quite possibly the worst film we’ve ever seen, but the building’s historic character and reasonably priced concessions more than compensated for the screenwriters’ failings.

An extensive list of recent additions to the National Register can be found here. 

(Photos by the Red Fork Hippie Chick.)

Here’s a video of a new song, “Route 66,” by the Jimmy: Damm Suess Band. It’s self-deprecating and rocking at the same time. The singing’s not great, but the guitar riffs are aces. The song is from the San Diego band’s album, “Summer Time Fun.”

The video was definitely shot on 66, but I’m not sure where. I’m thinking Glenrio at the Texas-New Mexico border in one scene, and central New Mexico in another.

Buena Vista announced in early January the coming releases of a bunch of special Blu-ray Discs specially made for HDTVs. Among the coming Blu-ray releases is “Cars” this summer.

For the uninitiated, Blu-ray discs contain a lot more data than standard DVDs or even HD-DVDs, making them ideal for the burgeoning high-definition television market. The picture and sound are reportedly awesome, but it’ll cost you — it’s hard to find a Blu-ray player for less than $1,000. Here are the FAQs on Blu-ray.

The news release at the Disney Blu-ray site doesn’t have a firm date for “Cars” that I could find, other than Summer ‘07. The Upcoming Pixar blog reports that the release date for Blu-ray “Cars” will be June 5. Either way, we know it’s definitely coming after months of speculation.

That just adds to the speculation, however, of a special two-DVD version of “Cars,” along with a lot more extras, being rolled out about the same time. Stay tuned.

I think it’s time to describe Geoff Ladd as A Guy Who Gets Things Done.

First, the Logan County tourism director fended off a very likely demolition of The Mill along Route 66 in Lincoln, Ill., eventually will rehab it and convert it into a tourism center.

Now, according to today’s Lincoln Courier, Ladd has secured the Giant Abe Lincoln in a Giant Covered Wagon from Divernon, Ill., and moved it to Lincoln.

Getting the wagon was accelerated by a donation from Larry Van Bibber.

“I saw it and I saw they were trying to raise money for it,” Van Bibber said, “and I wanted to do it. I am happy to be in the position to make the donation. I know it will benefit the people of Lincoln and Logan County.”

Van Bibber expects the wagon, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, to draw tourists through Route 66 promotions and events.

“God has blessed me in my finances and I feel like giving back to my community,” said Van Bibber, who has also given more than $43,000 to The Oasis senior center.

The fiberglass Abraham Lincoln is 12 foot in length (seated) and weighs 350 pounds. Abe is seated on the front of a wagon that hand-built of oak. The wagon is 24 feet tall, 12 feet wide, 40 feet long and weighs 5 tons. The front wheels are 10 feet tall and the back wheels are 12 feet tall.

According to the article, the Abe and wagon will be at Woodlawn Road and Route 66. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the wagon sometime next week.

UPDATE: The Bloomington Pantagraph also has a story, along with photos.

As a Route 66 aficionado, I don’t need encouragement to patronize mom-and-pop businesses. Visiting independent stores remains a vital part of the Mother Road experience. So a documentary that advocates supporting mom-and-pops is preaching to the choir.

However, I learned from the just-released DVD of “Independent America” (subtitled “The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop”) that my practice of shopping at local businesses not only helps them, but it also provides a much bigger boost to the local economy than shopping at national chains.

The documentary “Independent America” was created by the husband-and-wife journalist team of Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes. They saw ripples of a revolt developing across the nation against “big box” national chains, and they drove cross-country to talk to Americans about it.

During their journey of 13,000 miles in 52 days in a cramped SUV, the filmmakers had to abide by two rules:

1. No interstates. They must travel only on secondary highways and country roads.
2. The could do business only with mom-and-pops. That meant no chains. That meant no McDonald’s, no Holiday Inns, no Wal-Marts.

During their trek, Hosein and Hughes managed an excusion down Historic Route 66 in Arizona. They spoke with John Pritchard, owner of the Hackberry General Store. They chatted with John Delgadillo between pranks at the Snow Cap Drive-in in Seligman. And they talked with Angel “Guardian Angel of Route 66″ Delgadillo at his barbershop / souvenir store in Seligman.

Even during the beginnings of Route 66’s rebirth, foreign tourists urged Angel not to change his approach:

“In 1988, tourists say, ‘Angel, when you let a McDonald’s come in here (to Seligman), I don’t want to come in here anymore. I can see that in Germany.’

“We are losing our own identity by going too much with the big conglomerate businesses. America still needs America of yesterday.”

Angel’s daughter Myrna Delgadillo, who helps run the store, agreed:

“Someday there isn’t going to be this. It’s all going to be corporate business. No one’s going to know what mom-and-pop is like … no one is going to know what customer service is like. It’s going to be just one big, square box. There’s going to be no uniqueness to anything anymore, and that’s what we’re trying to preserve.”

It’s been rough for independent businesses. Forty percent of indie bookstores have closed in the past decade. Nearly 11,000 independent pharmacists have shut down. Entire downtown business districts have been decimated. There are plenty of national chains to blame, but the filmmakers concentrate on three — Starbucks, Borders and Wal-Mart.

The chains’ influence is pervasive. In Yelm, Wash., the city council prohibited the use of the words “big box” and “Wal-Mart” during the public comment portion of meetings. When cities show reluctance in allowing another big box, the chain finds a way to put the issue on a ballot initiative and then floods the local media with ads to sway voters.

In one particularly disturbing instance, Wal-Mart ran a full-page newspaper ad that compared Flagstaff, Ariz., government to Nazis. (Wal-Mart later apologized and fired the ad agency.)

But people are fighting back:

• Teenagers in Port Townsend, Wash., try to draft an anti-chain law after an independent video store is threatened by a nearby Hollywood Video.
• Unhappy residents in Durango, Colo., vandalize a downtown Starbucks.
• Independent stores in Austin, Texas, scare off a nearby chain.
• More towns consider zoning restrictions against big boxes.
• 24 states consider legislation against retailers that have a disproportionate number of employees enrolled in government-health programs.

The film makes a compelling case for mom-and-pop shopping by citing the “multiplier effect.” For each $100 spent in local businesses, it benefits the local economy an average of 3 1/2 times more than spending the $100 at chains. That’s because money spent in chains is funneled out of town to corporate headquarters. Money spent in local businesses spreads out among other local businesses.

And the Santa Fe Alliance espouses a “10 percent challenge.” It urges residents to spend at least 10 percent of their income at local shops so that more money cycles through the community. (The filmmakers said in a recent blog entry that their rate is close to 50 percent.)

In Powell, Wyo., the couple found a mom-and-pop success story in the Powell Merchantile Inc., aka The Merc. Powell sat too far from the interstate for national chains to be interested. So residents pooled their money at $500 a share and opened their own clothing retail store. The store has made money “since day one” and attracted national attention.

If the subject matter sounds a bit clinical, it’s not. “Independent America” is a crisply edited, fast-moving film over its 81 minutes. It also helps that Hosein and Hughes are engaging hosts. While searching for an independent motel in Brownfield, Texas, we react with the same shock and dismay as they drive down a deserted, boarded-up downtown.

What’s refreshing about “Independent America” is it’s not all finger-pointing. In the film, Jennifer Rockne of the American Independent Business Alliance says “people (must) realize the solution lies within themselves” to help local shops survive and dilute the influence of corporate behemoths.

Watching “Independent America” could have been a depressing experience. Instead, it inspires viewers to patronize mom-and-pops. It provides ideas and solutions. “Independent America” induces you to take action, not mope.

Highly recommended.

(”Independent America” is available for $19.95 from its Web site. As for my review copy, which the couple generously mailed to me free of charge, it’s going to be donated to my local library to help spread the word.)

Periodically, I get e-mails from the good folks at Roadside America, informing me about updates to the site.

The latest edition has few new reader tips that should be of interest to Route 66 fans:

• The big cross just off Route 66 in Edmond, Okla.  It’s big, but not nearly as huge as the one just off 66 in Groom, Texas.
• The late Larry Baggett’s Trail of Tears memorial near Jerome, Mo.
• The gas station ghost off old 66 at Bristow, Okla.

And here are Route 66-related field reports from Roadside America editors:

• The world’s longest map of Route 66 at Meteor City Trading Post in Arizona.
• The restoration of the Cool Springs Camp between Oatman and Kingman, Ariz. Cool Springs has its own Web site here.
• John Hargrove’s OK County 66 near Arcadia, Okla. As far as I know, this is the only online information about this attraction. He has built replicas of many attractions on Route 66.

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 souvenir store shoehorned into his insurance and tag agency. His building is such a authentic-looking reproduction of an old Standard gas station that it fooled an EPA official, who demanded that Henry remove the nonexistent underground gas tanks.

Henry also has a couple old trucks and trailers from the defunct Campbell’s 66 Express trucking line of Springfield, Mo., complete with the Snortin’ Norton camel mascot. He also has plenty of other Route 66 memorabilia.

Henry has a new 9-foot-tall fiberglass bunny in which kids of all ages can ride in the saddle, similar to the one at the Jackrabbit Trading Post in Arizona.

Henry wrote:

Eventually it will be on a small fabricated trailer made just for it, where I can move it around on the ground here and, also, take it to Route 66 events, like Litchfield, Edwardsville, and maybe even Springfield, Illinois.

The big news is that Henry, taking a page from Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, is creating his own Rabbit Ranch. It will be made of seven Volkswagen Rabbits planted nose-down into the ground, with one emerging face-up from the ground. He hopes to have that finished by June 1.

Henry also sent a picture of the Tale of Ears, a memorial park for his departed pet bunnies.

If you’re traveling near Staunton during the daytime, I recommend a stop at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch.

Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers has a story about the ongoing restoration and re-erection of the historic Meadow Gold neon sign on 11th Street (Route 66) in Tulsa.

Much of the information has already been reported, but the article fleshes out new material about the sign’s restorer, Claude Neon Federal Signs, and its work:

The sign couldn’t have fallen into more capable hands than CNF Sign’s old signs restoration designate, Tony Record, whose real title is fabrication supervisor. Record headed up the sign company’s team of craftsmen who restored the vintage Atlas Life sign and the Circle Cinema marquee, both Tulsa landmarks in their own right.

The goal is to structurally restore the sign to its original state while retaining its vintage look and feel. The sign’s insides had long served as home for pigeons and their associated acidic droppings that eat through the corrosion resistant aluminized steel sheets used to make sign boxes and channels. As much as possible of the old portions of the sign boxes will be saved and patched up with similar metals and riveted together to restore structural integrity. The porcelain sign faces will be carefully buffed back to their original luster and all the neon tubing and fixtures will be replaced.

“This is a beauty and when we get through with it people will enjoy it for years to come. We really love this kind of project,” says Record.

The Meadow Gold sign will be re-erected on a new canopy near 11th and Peoria Avenue in Tulsa.

Today, Randy Newman’s song, “Our Town,” performed by James Taylor, was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Song.

Here is the song and its key scene from the hit Pixar animated movie, “Cars.”

“Our Town” is available on the “Cars” soundtrack. And, yes, the album and song both are available on iTunes.

The Disney/Pixar animated movie “Cars,” which takes place on Route 66, was nominated for two Academy Awards today.

One nomination was for Animated Feature Film. The other nominees were “Happy Feet” and “Monster House.”

The other nod was for “Our Town,” written by Randy Newman and performed by James Taylor, for Original Song. Three of the other nominees in that category were from the musical “Dreamgirls” — “Listen,” “Love You I Do” and “Patience.” The fifth and final nominee was Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up,” for the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The complete list of Oscar nominees is here. A complete list is also here at the Academy Awards Web site, but it wasn’t up before the wire services got it.

My initial reaction is that “Cars” is nearly a lock to win for Animated Film. As for original song, its chances are good. “Dreamgirls” having three nominees in that category actually dilutes its chances of winning. The Etheridge song is really good, though. I’m a bit shocked that “Song of the Heart,” written and performed by Prince for “Happy Feet,” wasn’t nominated. The exclusion of “Song of the Heart” greatly improves the chances for “Our Town,” which is tied to a memorable scene in the film and is performed by a beloved baby-boomer singer.

I’ll post more “Cars”-relevant stories about the Academy Award nominations later today as they become available.

UPDATE: Variety got a reaction to the nominations from “Cars” director John Lasseter:

“Cars” director John Lasseter and his son have an Oscar tradition.

“Ever since he was 9 years old, my oldest son would crawl under the covers and watch the nominations with me,” Lasseter explained. “Now he’s 26 and living in L.A., so he was on the phone with me today.

“I feel this was a very strong year for the animation industry,” Lasseter said. “It’s special because I hadn’t directed a movie since the category was created. ‘Cars’ is a very personal story for me. With my new job (as chief creative officer of Disney Animation), I’m not sure when I’m going to get the chance to direct again.”