The Route 66 Chick

Two weeks ago today, I had the pleasure of meeting my brother's son and his wife for the very first time! (I had never known my brother.) Jim and Ramona Tennison were in Illinois for a granddaughter's wedding and made a stop in Edwardsville for our delightful family reunion. I've decided to share the story of how this happened...almost a fairy tale, but it's all true. Here goes... On November 28, 1892, Gene Eichar was born in Clarksville, Iowa. Gene and his older sister, Hazel, showed a talent for music early on, and by the time they were in their early teens, they were performing at their local theatre. At the age of 14, Gene went on the road, playing piano for silent movies. When the “talkies” came in, he switched to vaudeville and played with the likes of Jimmy Durante and Jack Benny. All his life, Gene would say, “The only difference between them and me was they got famous.” Gene married young, and he and Lucy had two children, a boy named Grant in 1915 and...

One of the fun results of the release of our book, Route 66 in Illinois , a year ago has been all the programs I/we have been asked to do. When we were preparing for the release a little over a year ago, Joe and I planned the program and slide show so that we could do a tag-team presentation with both of us (that's the most fun) or so that either one of us could do the program solo. I've given quite a few solo, due to Joe's work schedule and due to the fact that I have a hard time saying "no" when anyone is interested enough in Route 66 and/or our book to ask! I mentioned at the end of the last post ("We're not in Kansas anymore") that I had to get home from the tri-state area to give a program in nearby Collinsville, Illinois. I did make it home in time Monday but without much time to spare! First thing on the agenda for the Collinsville Historical Society was dinner, and I made it just in time for that. Next they had a brief business meeting and ...

But we were there - for a couple days of work on the new book.  I drove out to Baxter Springs on Saturday to get there in time to spend a couple hours at the Baxter Springs Heritage Center. There, I needed to pick up scanned photos from Museum Manager Linda Kennedy and take another look at the exhibits.  (On our trip there back in April, co-author Joe Sonderman and I enjoyed a guided tour of the museum from Linda. Then we spent hours perusing the exhibits and photos, snapping reference photos, and compiling a list of what we would use from their great collection.) Late Saturday afternoon, after some time at the Center and a visit with Linda, I took some photos of the Fort Blair site on nearby grounds. Baxter Springs has a significant military history, which we'll reflect in the book. Then it was downtown (a whole couple blocks away) onto Military Avenue/Route 66 for some photos and a light supper at Cafe on the Route.  Next was...

R and R. Which can stand for rest and relaxation. Rules and regulations. Or rock and roll.  After the run-up to Blue Carpet Corridor weekend, I was really interested in some rest and relaxation. Also, Steve and I had family reunions the next two weekends (his in Michigan one Saturday and mine in Wisconsin the next Saturday). So we took the week in between off work and headed north.  We took off on a Friday and had to be in Flint, Michigan, for Steve's family gathering on Saturday at noon, so we couldn't do much two-lane stuff. We did take time for a leisurely lunch at the Palms Grill Cafe and some photos while in Atlanta. While at the Palms Grill we ended up running into Bill Thomas and Rachel Neisler, who make things happen in the 66 kind of way in Atlanta. We took a look at the new "high striker" (strength tester, strongman game) installed near Tall Paul. We took a couple photos but didn't do any strength testing. We spent our first evening on the road ...

The inaugural Blue Carpet Corridor rolled out June 13-14 and we're leaving it unrolled! Part of the idea behind the BCC was not just to celebrate once a year, but to help our communities celebrate 66 and attract visitors all year long. To that end, we're asking our communities to have their passport stamps and extra passports at a designated spot all year which we'll list soon on the website. And we'll add news of events and attractions in our communities all year. You can see photos of our first event weekend on our scrapbook page at  www.bluecarpetcorridor.org A few thoughts about our first annual event - despite the rain and the threat of rain, and some kinks to work out before next year's event, the consensus of opinion is that the first-time event was a rousing success! Check out Geoff Ladd's blog on the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway site.  http://www.illinoisroute66.org/Stories-of-the-Road/Details/ArticleID/4748/Traveling-the-Very-First-Blue-Carpet-Corri...

You can find just about anything on Route 66 - including 14 authors representing a variety of genres gathered together in one local author fair at the grand re-opening of a great indie book store in a historic tourist inn in Edwardsville on Blue Carpet Corridor weekend. What?? It's the Blue Carpet Corridor Local Author Fair Sunday, June 14, at Afterwords Books, 454 East Vandalia Street - old Route 66 - in Edwardsville.  The hours are 1:00 - 4:00 pm, and, depending upon the weather, you might find authors sprinkled about not only in the main building, but on the lawn and/or in the front cabin as well. This will be the scene of a variety of activity this weekend, namely: Grand re-opening of Afterwords Books Mini walking tours of Route 66 sites along this block Edwardsville's Passport Stop - get your Blue Carpet Corridor passports stamped here Tourist Information - brochures, visitors guides, directions AND the Blue Carpet Corridor Local Author Fair featuring...

The only problem that Route 66 roadies should be facing in Illinois June 13-14 is how to fit everything into one weekend! An amazing array of activities and attractions await! When a handful of us gathered in Carlinville in November 2014 to establish the Blue Carpet Corridor, one of the first decisions to make was choosing the date. We eventually concluded that the second weekend in June made the most sense. We could build visitation onto two established and long-running festivals that weekend - Chatham's American Legion Homecoming and Edwardsville's Route 66 Festival. It also meant that the Blue Carpet Corridor would coincide with the Route 66 Association of Illinois' annual Motor Tour! And on alternate years, the Illinois Motor Tour begins in Edwardsville! This year's Illinois Motor Tour - the 26th annual! - kicks off on Friday evening with dinner at Solerno's in Hodgekins, leaves the Berwyn Car Museum on Saturday morning, and ends its first full day with the ...