Route 66: America's longest small town

163 Pages·2017·82.78 MB·English

by  Hinckley, Jim;Hinckley, Judy

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© 2017 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Text © 2017 Jim Hinckley
Photography © 2017 Jim Hinckley and Judy Hinckley, ISBN: 978-0-7603-5162-8
except as otherwise noted Digital edition: 978-0-76035-753-8
Softcover edition: 978-0-76035-162-8
First published in 2017 by Voyageur Press,
an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.,
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Names: Hinckley, Jim, 1958- author. | Hinckley, Judy,
quartoknows.com photographer.
Visit our blogs at quartoknows.com Title: Route 66 : America’s longest small town / text by Jim
Hinckley; photography by Jim Hinckley and Judy Hinckley.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in Description: Minneapolis, MN : Voyageur Press, 2017.
any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All Identifiers: LCCN 2016039068 | ISBN 9780760351628
images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge (paperback)
and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility Subjects: LCSH: United States Highway 66—Guidebooks.
is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement | United States Highway 66—History. | United States
of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this Highway 66—Pictorial works. | BISAC: TRAVEL / United
publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits States / West / Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, UT, WY).
accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize | PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional (see
for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve also TRAVEL / Pictorials). | TRAVEL / United States /
inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of West / General.
the book. Classification: LCC HE356.U55 H5587 2017
| DDC 917.804/34—dc23
Voyageur Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016039068
quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. For details
contact the Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing Group Acquiring Editor: Todd Berger
USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
55401 USA. Art Direction and Cover Design: Cindy Samargia Laun
Page Design and Layout: Simon Larkin
Cover photo © Andrey Bayda/Shutterstock
Back cover photo © trekandshoot/Shutterstock
Printed in China
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route 66
AMERICA’S LONGEST
SMALL TOWN
TEXT BY
JIM HINCKLEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
JIM HINCKLEY AND
JUDY HINCKLEY
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T N E
EI G H S E V E SIX FI V E F O U R T H R E T W O O N E

R R R R R R R R
E E E E E E E E
T T T T T T T T
P P P P P P P P
A A A A A A A A
H H H H H H H H
C C C C C C C C
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contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6
INTRODUCTION 7
CHAPTER ONE: THE LAND OF LINCOLN 8
CHAPTER TWO: THE LAND OF THE OZARKS 40
CHAPTER THREE: THIRTEEN AMAZING MILES 64
CHAPTER FOUR: WHERE THE WEST BEGINS 72
CHAPTER FIVE: ACROSS THE PLAINS 90
CHAPTER SIX: THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT 98
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY 112
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE END OF THE TRAIL 134
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND PHOTOGRAPHERS 158
INDEX 159
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acknowledgments Introduction
The theme from The Twilight Zone would be a fitting the United States and abroad, the ambitious and daring
backdrop to the story of my association with iconic people who restore motels or cafés, and the families
Route 66. My family’s first trip west was on Route 66 in that have managed businesses on Route 66 for decades
1959. In 1966, we moved west to Arizona—on Route 66. through hard times and good times.
On the bypassed pre-1952 alignment in the shadow It is the Route 66 people affectionately referred to
of the Black Mountains in western Arizona, I learned to as “roadies” who inspired this book and that, as with
ride a bicycle and to drive. My first paying job was in the the highway itself, give it a sense of vibrancy. It would
garden at Ed’s Camp, a business that traced its origins to be impossible to acknowledge everyone who provided
the era of the National Old Trails Highway, predecessor to assistance or inspiration. There are a few, however, who
Route 66. merit special mention.
My wife’s family owned and operated an auto court The first of these is my dearest friend, my wife
and small grocery on Route 66 for several decades. When of more than thirty-three years, who is also a talented
we began dating, I would drive into Kingman on Route 66 photographer. Without her steadfast support and
from Ash Fork. The first time we crossed the Mississippi encouragement, none of the fourteen books published to
River together as husband and wife, it was on Route 66. In date would have ever been more than an idea or dream.
fact, most milestones in my life are linked to this amazing Dries and Marion Bessels, and fellow members
old highway. of the Dutch Route 66 Association, provided valuable
What makes Route 66 truly special are the people— perspective and insight about Route 66 in the era of
the ones who travel the road and organize festivals, in renaissance. Likewise, Wolfgang and Anja Werz, Zdenek
and Eva Jurasek, Swa Frantzen and Nadine, Dale Butel,
Toshi Goto, George and Bonnie Game, Sam Murray, and
the legion of international Route 66 enthusiasts that we
are privileged to call friends.
Daring entrepreneurs such as the Mueller family,
the Brenners, Connie Echols, Allan Affeldt and his wife
Tina Mion, Gary and Lena Turner, Laurel Kane, and so
many others who have taken on the task of preserving
the special places also deserve special mention. Then
there are the pioneers, the people such as Bob and
Ramona Lehman, Nick Adam and his family, and the
Delgadillo family, that kept the lights on when it looked
as though Route 66 was about to become little more
than a historic footnote.
To each and every one who contributed to this book,
thank you. And to those who make Route 66 something
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acknowledgments Introduction
Route 66 is firmly rooted in the nation’s historic roads compared to the era of the highway’s renaissance. Today,
and trails that were born of our insatiable quest for there is a tangible, infectious enthusiasm found all along
greener pastures and curiosity about what was over the the route of the old highway and in the international
next hill. The Pontiac Trail and Wire Road, Ozark Trails Route 66 community.
Highway and Santa Fe Trail, Spanish Trail and National Intertwined along the Route 66 corridor are ghost
Old Trails Highway, Beale Wagon Road, and Mojave Road towns and abandoned truck stops, somber Civil War
are the foundation for what is, arguably, the most famous battlefields and dynamic cities, recently renovated motels
highway in the world. and cafés, and businesses that have been under the same
However, unlike these roads and trails that became management for decades. When driving Route 66 today,
historic footnotes after being rendered obsolete by you are almost as likely to meet travelers from Australia,
the nation’s evolving transportation needs, Route 66 Germany, or Japan as you are to meet someone from
remained relevant. It has also continued to evolve even Alabama, Alaska, or Arizona.
though, technically, it no longer exists as a US highway. From its inception, Route 66 was a road in a near-
From that perspective, it is rather fitting that constant state of evolution. That trend continues today.
Route 66, in the twenty-first century, has transitioned Electric vehicle charging stations share a place
into a living, breathing time capsule. Though certification with vintage gasoline pumps at renovated historic
of US 66 occurred in 1926, there are tangible links service stations that now serve as information centers
to centuries of American societal evolution along the or gift shops. The Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum,
highway’s corridor from Chicago to Santa Monica. the first of its kind in the world, opened in Kingman,
It is America’s longest attraction. Museums, festivals, Arizona, in 2014. Formerly abandoned segments of
scenic wonders, neon-lit landmarks, and classic tourist highway with picturesque steel truss bridges are
traps entice travelers from throughout the world to travel repurposed as bicycle corridors.
the storied highway where the past, present, and future However, it is the travelers and business owners,
intersect seamlessly. the preservationists and the visionaries who make this
In 1927, a marketing campaign branded US 66 as highway truly unique and special, and who give it a
the Main Street of America, a descriptor that is still fitting sense of infectious enthusiasm. With animated tales of
even though the highway officially ceased to exist in adventure, the people who travel Route 66 fuel its ever-
1984. John Steinbeck referred to it as the “Mother Road” growing international popularity, and Route 66 today is a
in The Grapes of Wrath a decade later. Then, in 1946, linear community, the nation’s longest small town.
Bobby Troup penned the highway’s anthem, and Nat King This book is not merely another guide to iconic
Cole had most everyone in the country singing a tune Route 66, an almost magical highway. It is a cultural
about getting your kicks on Route 66. odyssey. As we travel from the shores of Lake Michigan
However, as exciting as the glory days of Route 66 to the Pacific Coast, I will introduce you to some of the
in the 1940s and 1950s were, at least for the segment people who are at the heart of the highway’s renaissance,
of American society not restricted by prejudice and as well as the places that ensure a journey along this T
segregation, in many ways they seem pale when highway is a memorable one.
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THE LAND OF LINCOLN
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