Bob Moore of Route 66 Magazine reports that his Route 66 Radio Show, based on KTOX in Needles, Calif., will be streaming on the Web on Saturdays from noon to 1 p.m. EDT on B.O.U.N.C.E. Radio. Click on the link, and it should simply start playing.

Needless to say, Moore’s show will have longer reception.

The city of Miami, Okla., may restore a 1929 Marathon service station on Route 66, reports the Miami News-Record.

And apparently it’s quite a find:

Eller said the property, currently occupied by Bravo Salon on South Main Street, could likely be the oldest Marathon station still standing and may be the only circa-1929 original Marathon station surviving in the United States.

“Research conducted with the National Route 66 Association and Marathon Oil Company of Ashland, Ohio has only tended to verify this fact,” Eller said. “Research has been unable to locate another circa 1929 Marathon gas station anywhere else in the United States that has not been substantially altered. I have issued a challenge to anyone who can identify a Marathon station older than this one.”

Plans to restore the station include the installation of replica pumps - a reminder to travelers of historic Route 66 that, in the 1930’s, motorists had to hand-pump their gasoline. [...]

“The purpose of the proposed project is to restore the exterior of station, a national register property, to its original circa 1929 appearance,” Eller said. “The proposed project will commemorate the importance of roadside gas stations to the development of the national Route 66 highway system.” [...]

After the restoration, the gas station will continue to function as a beauty shop location, according to city officials. [...]

The beauty shop operator and her husband plan to incorporate gas station memorabilia in the interior of her shop.

Bravo to Miami and its preservation efforts.

I’ve been unable to find a photo of the station so far, but I’ll try to track one down.

Rod Harsh of Route66TVOnline.com has acquired a vintage Sinclair service station on Route 66 in Carterville, Mo., and is converting it into a Route 66 Visitors Welcome Center and an office for his video production and Visit66.com Web site businesses.

A current-day photo of the gas station is above. A photo of the station and its owner from 1937 is seen below. It’s at 401 W. Main St. (map is here).

According to Harsh’s news release:

The property includes an adjacent grassy lot which has several trees which will become a picnic area for visitor use (the Route 66 Diner is next door, and will prepare box lunches). Convenient access to the building and parking lot is suitable for larger traveling groups, and RV overnight parking will be offered along with free Wi-Fi high-speed wireless internet access. A computer will also be available for visitors who may wish to check their e-mails. The VISIT 66 Welcome Center and Gift Shop will be open seven days a week, beginning later this month. The Gift Shop will offer a full array of Route 66 gifts, books, videos, postcards, caps, wearing apparel, maps, Route 66 sodas, guide books and exhibits. A tour guide brochure of southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas Route 66 businesses and attractions will also be handed-out to visitors who are traveling in either direction.

Harsh also said he would travel the route several times to film documentaries about the Mother Road that will be offered on DVD.

One of their first productions will focus on the National Route 66 Festival, which is scheduled for late June in Clinton, Oklahoma. Using video footage from this event, several 15- and 30-second promotional spots will be produced for distribution to national broadcast, satellite and cable television networks, and will also be placed on numerous Web sites for access worldwide.

Although it won’t be fully open for a few weeks, the Route 66 Visitors Welcome Center will be open during Carterville’s 125th anniversary celebration on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I’m glad to see this happen. Carterville is a town between Joplin and Carthage that has tried its darnedest over the past few years to play up its Route 66 connection, and it can use all the tourist money it can get.

Also, Route 66 tourism efforts in that part of southwest Missouri have been relatively meager. Harsh’s efforts should help rectify that situation.