The Route 66 Chick

You may recall that my new (to me) van, Alice, had a previous incarnation as a State Farm mobile office. She came home with me from DeSoto, Missouri, still equipped with a very large ladder rack on the roof and a heavy desk and attached office chair wedged crosswise in the cargo area. So that I could get to work cleaning, measuring, and planning the interior, (and also so that my neighbors could quit wondering about my new hobby of buying white vans with ladder racks), I was anxious to get the equipment off and out of the van. Alice looks spiffier after the rack removal and a trip to the car wash. Steve Rensberry and his son Ben to the rescue! Last week they arrived one evening armed with a step ladder and tool boxes. After ascertaining that the ladder rack was bolted to the rack rails and so could be removed leaving the rails intact (and not needing to plug holes in the roof), father and son went to work. Steve removed the bolts and together on ladders they were able to sli...

On Tuesday, April 18, U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis (13th District, Illinois) kicked off a two-day tour  of Illinois Route 66 to highlight its significance and importance, and to draw attention to two new pieces of legislation. Illinois Representative Avery Bourne and Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway  staff, Executive Director Bill Kelly and Assistant Director Geoff Ladd, accompanied Davis on Tuesday's portion of the tour.  The Wildey Theatre marquee announced the Route 66 tour. Tuesday's stops included Livingston, Litchfield, Carlinville, and Girard after a tour kick-off under the marquee of the historic Wildey Theatre  in Edwardsville. In Edwardsville, City Administrator Tim Harr, Alton Regional CVB Executive Director Brett Stawar and staff, Wildey Theatre Manager Al Canal and staff, media, and yours truly attended the event. Representative Davis took to the lectern at 10:00 a.m. and was presented with an Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway cap by Bill Kelly. Da...

Introducing Alice, my adventure van and soon-to-be mini-glam-van-camper! Alice the Van, at the restored Texaco station in DeSoto MO. You know that feeling when you went shopping and came home with the wrong thing? You know, pants that don't fit, shoes that hurt your feet, dress that just looks all wrong? Well, I did that in February with the first van that I bought. A van to convert to a mini-RV was the right idea, but that specific van was not. I had been researching the little Ford Transit Connects for months. I loved the first-generation style of the 2010 through 2013 models, but the majority of them are high mileage. So I talked myself into a 2015 second-generation Transit Connect. Less headroom and not so cute; long wheelbase and low mileage. But that van had one more thing--that "new car" (translation:  chemicals) smell. Most of you know I'm asthmatic, and chemical and fragrance smells and I do not play well together.  I tried boxes of baking soda, a...

Five things that are happening with my Women of Route 66 project: Thing #1: On March 7, I gave my new program, "Dreams, Designs, and Dastardly Deeds:  the Women of Missouri Route 66," at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis. Wish you could have all been there! Some of the stories I shared were:  Julia Chaney, cook/owner/operator at Red's Giant Hamburg; Mayme Ousley, four-term mayor of St. James; outlaws Bonnie Parker and Blanche Barrow; and the women of the Boots, Wagon Wheel, and Munger Moss motels. I hope to have a couple more bookings of this program to announce soon. Thing #2: Watch for an article on some of the Missouri 66 women in the summer issue of Show Me Route 66 , the excellent quarterly publication of the  Route 66 Association of Missouri . Thing #3: My column in the next issue of the Buzz will be about the Mansholt family--particularly the women--and their hotels in Litchfield, Illinois. The Mansholts, now well into their second generat...

As I've been working on my forthcoming book, tentatively titled Women of 66 and Their Contributions to the Culture of the Mother Roa d, two program opportunities have arisen. These two programs will be the first based on the new book (unless another opportunity arises before the second scheduled one). The first is coming up on Tuesday, March 7, at 7:00 pm, at the Missouri History Museum at Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis. The title of the program is "Dreams, Designs, and Dastardly Deeds:  The Women of Missouri Route 66." I'll share remarkable tales of some of the women along Missouri's 300 miles of Route 66. The program is free, and we'll be located in the Lee Auditorium.  The second program is scheduled for Monday, October 2, at 7:00 pm, at the Macoupin County Historical Society's library at 920 W. Breckenridge St. in Carlinville, Illinois. The title of the program is "Adventurers, Crusaders, and Entrepreneurs:  The Women of ...

The first day of a new year usually brings thoughts of new beginnings, a fresh new slate on which to inscribe our best intentions, a new fall of snow all ready for our footprints in a new or renewed direction. 
 My thoughts this new year are on (a) a renewed commitment to a book project that I began several years ago, and (b) a new commitment to fight threats to women's rights. I woke up on January 1st thinking about my main writing project for 2017 and how it relates to women's rights. And what is that book project, you ask. 
 Several years ago, I began to think about the women during the historic Route 66 era who made significant contributions to what we collectively think of as Route 66 culture. I began to search out and collect their stories. My recent 33-day trip to California and back afforded me some time for inspiration and research to add to the already considerable pile of books, notes, brochures, scraps of paper, business cards, and three-ring binder that re...

Last weekend I took the new Route 66 in Kansas book on the road for a mini book tour to the Tri-State area. Three events were planned, sponsored by three terrific museums, for Friday through Sunday, July 22-24. It was a great weekend, and as a bonus, I stayed three nights at the wonderful Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, and enjoyed the new neon. The first event was a book display and signing sponsored by the Powers Museum of Carthage at the Carthage Art Walk in - where else? - historic Downtown Carthage on the Square on Friday evening. Michele Newton Hansford of the Powers Museum secured a prime space for me inside the Carthage Deli, and she and her husband, Gary Hansford, joined me for the evening at the deli. Owner Chris was a gracious host as usual, and we enjoyed a fine supper and great conversation. The oppressive heat and humidity caused some of the artists to cancel out of the art walk. That, combined with construction around the square and the weather itself, made ...