The formation of a new, national Route 66 organization was proposed during the Route 66 Summit on Thursday at the National Route 66 Festival in Clinton, Okla.

The organization would be similar to the old U.S. Highway 66 Association, which operated from 1927 to 1976, and the current-day Lincoln Highway Association, which has a paid executive director, office staff and representation from all the member states.

Michael Wallis, author of the best-selling “Route 66: The Mother Road,” advocated an “active, national organization governing the whole road with equal representation from each state on the highway.”

Forming a new national organization has taken on new urgency because the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program sunsets in 2010. Also, the National Historic Route 66 Federation has scaled back its activities, and one of its co-founders is in poor health.

Referring to the late national Route 66 boosters Jack and Gladys Cutberth of Clinton, Wallis said “we owe it to these people, the highway and the people eking out a living. … and we owe it to ourselves … to preserve this road.”

During the discussion, it was suggested that members not only include the road’s beloved mom-and-pop businesses, but also corporations, on a tiered membership-fee system. Some of that money would be funneled to Route 66 associations in the eight states.

Most attendees were strongly in support of a new national 66 group, including Swa Frantzen of Historic66.com. The Belgium resident said the many Europeans who travel the road would find it easier to use one Route 66 association as a clearinghouse for information. “It needs coordination,” he said.

Michael Taylor of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program advocated such a group, and said it would be a natural progression after the corridor program ends. He also noted that federal funding is available for start-up costs for such programs, and cited the Scenic Byways program as an example.

After the general discussion, a smaller group of members of the Route 66 state associations met with Wallis and Pam Lewis, Scenic Byways manager of the University of Oklahoma Outreach, to draft a proposal that will be sent to all the state associations for their consideration. A neutral Web site also will be set up so Route 66 advocates can exchange ideas about the proposal.

After the smaller meeting adjourned, Wallis said he was encouraged by the reaction to the idea for a national Route 66 organization.

“I was approached by people who were very enthusiastic,” he said. “We went a lot further than I anticipated, and I’m an optimistic guy.”

I got this e-mail today from Ramona Kiewert, co-owner of the Bent Door in Adrian, Texas, on how progress has been with th old Route 66 business:

The Music is playing and the Plane’s flying at The Bent Door. Progress has been good this summer so far; the office area has now been painted as well as the souvenir area. The ceiling is in the process of being painted and the outside has one coat paint. We are waiting for a day when the wind is calm so we can finish the outside. So when you come out our way stop by and look inside. We are still making trips back and forth from East Texas to the Panhandle. Hoping to get more done each time we are there. Our June date has come and gone and our work goes on.

We have had a lot of visitors this month [...]. Meeting everyone and hearing their stories, to know that there is so much interest in The Bent Door has been a blessing. After 60 years The Bent Door is now the official name, and our web site is www.bentdoor.wordpress.com. Thanks for all the encouragement from around the world. May God bless everyone, Roy & Ramona Kiewert and family.

The plane is an illustration of a plane with an animated propeller that was long part of the Bent Door’s decor. And a jukebox was used for many of a Saturday night dance at the restaurant/dance hall before the days of the interstate and the bypass.

(Photo courtesy of Ramona Kiewert.)

The White Dog Hill restaurant east of Clinton, Okla., is distributing a flier for attendees at the National Route 66 Festival in town. The top of the leaflet says:

Come for the food … Stay for the view.

It is truth in advertising. The White Dog Hill, formerly the Clinton Country Club decades ago, is perched on a hill about three miles east of Clinton, just a quarter-mile or so north of Route 66. It provides a gorgeous view of the setting sun, the city of Clinton below, and of the rolling hills, intense blue skies and puffy clouds all around it.

The steakhouse isn’t quite ready for prime time yet, but it is opening for desserts only from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, the week of the festival. Owner Nelson King and the chef, Jason Dodson, said they hope to open the establishment for good around the Fourth of July holiday.

The interior allows for much natural lighting, and the wooden furniture, textured brick, stucco walls, and exposed wooden rafters accentuate the effect.

And the strawberry shortcake we had was refreshing on a warm, windy Oklahoma day.

The affable King regaled us with stories about his dogs Hamilton and the namesake White Dog, straight-line winds that damaged the roof of the building months ago, and about a Cheyenne Indian who blessed the property at a time when King was having troubles with the property.

Yet the star of White Dog Hill is the scenery around it. I could easily imagine myself, cold beer in hand, relaxing in one of the Adirondack chairs and watching the sun set. It’s that gorgeous of a setting.

(White Dog Hill is three miles east of Clinton, Okla., on the north outer road off exit 69 of Interstate 40. The phone number is 580-323-6922.)

I gave a couple of presentations during the workshops Thursday at the Route 66 Festival in Clinton. For those who missed them — or those who just want a closer look — they are online here:

Media relations (writing press releases, being interviewed, interacting with reporters)

Powerpoint version of the media relations presentation (downloadable) 

Route 66 preservation (Soundslides show on successful preservation projects) 

If other presenters’ information is online, they are welcome to send us the links, which we will add here.

Emily (the Red Fork Hippie Chick)

Although there are just 400 drive-in movie theaters left in the country after a peak of about 4,000 five decades ago, the remaining ones are mostly thriving, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Among the survivors cited in the article are the Route 66 Drive-In in Springfield, Ill.; the Skyview Drive-In in Litchfield, Ill.; and the 66 Drive-In in Carthage, Mo. Those three are on Route 66, and there are more that the Post-Dispatch didn’t mention. A more complete list can be found here.

The article also provides some handy advice for drive-in novices.