The Route 66 Chick

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 ...

Monday, July 4, was the official release date from Arcadia Publishing of Route 66 in Kansas ,  when it became  available from Amazon, Arcadia, and other book sellers. Route 66 in Kansas is the second book collaboration between Joe and me, the first being Route 66 in Illinois , which was released in 2014. The Kansas book is my sixth book for Arcadia, and Joe's bazillionth...or maybe ninth or tenth.  Joe and I worked hard on this project, enjoyed every trip to this special 13.2-mile stretch of Route 66, and sincerely hope you like the book! Our first signing for the new book is Sunday, July 10, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the 18th Annual World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival at Woodland Park in Collinsville, Illinois. We hope a lot of friends in the Edwardsville - Collinsville - St. Louis area can stop by! We are really looking forward to sharing the new book, AND, you'll have a ton of fun at the Catsup Bottle Festival. Think car show, tater tots with catsup, and...

Here's this year's press release about our 2nd annual Blue Carpet Corridor festival weekend! It's BCC II ! Visit the Blue Carpet Corridor on Saturday-Sunday, June 11-12, and experience Midwest Americana on 100+ miles of Illinois Route 66! From Chatham to Collinsville, 13 communities will be welcoming visitors to their events, attractions, and Passport Stops. Joining in the fun for this second annual event are the following communities: Chatham, Virden, Girard, Carlinville, Gillespie, Staunton, Hamel, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Litchfield, Mt. Olive, Troy, and Collinsville. From internationally-known attractions like the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, Henry's Rabbit Ranch, and Soulsby Station, to long-running festivals like Chatham's American Legion Homecoming and Edwardsville's Route 66 Festival, Blue Carpet Corridor weekend is the perfect weekend family trip. From vintage stops like Doc's Soda Fountain and Weezy's Route 66 Bar and Grill ...

The second annual Blue Carpet Corridor weekend (BCC II) is coming up June 11-12, but in the meantime, it's not just spring flowers that are opening on this stretch of Illinois Route 66 from Chatham to Collinsville. Hot news is the new Tourist Information Center in Edwardsville! Through a partnership between Cindy Reinhardt, Edwardsville historian and author, and LuAnn Locke, owner of Afterwords Books, travelers can now stop and pick up brochures and information about Edwardsville's attractions, restaurants, and lodging! The new tourist stop is located inside Afterwords Books at 454 E. Vandalia (Route 66), the former Cathcart-Goddard Tourist Inn which served travelers during the Route 66 era. Here's the link to an article about the new tourist stop in the Edwardsville Intelligencer :   http://www.theintelligencer.com/local_news/article_25b4426a-f362-11e5-b7e1-7f206585a36e.html This past weekend, there were at least three events on the BCC--in Litchfield, Hamel, an...

This past week, Joe Sonderman and I received some news about our Route 66 in Kansas pamphlet, er, book. (As expected, we have taken a lot of ribbing about producing a whole book about 13 miles of our favorite highway!) Anyway, Arcadia Publishing informed us of the publication/release date of Route 66 in Kansas . Talk about patriotic. Our official release date is July 4th! We had guessed that the book would likely be released in May, since that is roughly six months after our materials submission date. But that's okay. We think July 4th is cool.  Tentatively we will have some book signings in July and/or August in Galena and Baxter Springs. We'll post those dates once they're firmed up. And one or both of us will be at the following festivals with the new book: Aug. 12-14    Birthplace of Route 66 Festival                                Springfield MO Sept. 3        ...

(First published in Show Me Route 66,  Vol. 23 No 4, 2013 Second published in the Prairie Land Buzz , February 2014) In 1961, two AWOL Texas GIs went on a cross-country killing spree from Florida to Colorado, killing seven people in a two-week orgy of robbery, violence, and murder. Their travels brought James Douglas Latham, 19, and George Ronald York, 18, to Illinois' Metro East, where they made several tragic stops. Their senseless, brutal slayings of Albert Eugene “Gene” Reed and Martin Drenovac along Route 66 sent the Illinois communities of Litchfield, Edwardsville, and Mitchell/Granite City reeling. Reed and Drenovac were victims #4 and #5 respectively of nine victims assaulted (seven of which died) at the hands of Latham and York from May 26 through June 10, 1961. On the morning of Thursday, June 8, 1961, Martin Drenovac was at work at his Twin Oaks Gas for Less service station on U.S. Bypass 66 in Mitchell, Illinois. The service station, along with a restaurant ...

(First published in Show Me Route 66 , Vol. 23 No. 3, 2013 Second published in Prairie Land Buzz , January 2014) In 1961, two AWOL Texas GIs went on a cross-country killing spree from Florida to Colorado, killing seven people in a two-week orgy of robbery, violence, and murder. Their travels brought James Douglas Latham, 19, and George Ronald York, 18, Illinois' Metro East, where they made several tragic stops. Their senseless, brutal slayings of Albert Eugene “Gene” Reed and Martin Drenovac along Route 66 sent the Illinois communities of Litchfield, Edwardsville, and Mitchell/Granite City reeling. Reed and Drenovac were victims #4 and #5 respectively of nine victims assaulted (seven of which died) at the hands of Latham and York from May 26 through June 10, 1961. Stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, Latham and York each seemed to have a large chip on his shoulder and a big nose for trouble. As a result of theft and AWOL charges, both were serving terms in the stockade when...

On Thursday morning (January 8), I was ready for a few hours of soaking up history before I headed for home. From the Nashville Music City KOA, I drove back south through Nashville to the small city of Franklin.  My mom and I had visited the Carnton Plantation and the Carter House in Franklin a dozen years ago. Since then, I had read Widow of the South , the spellbinding novel by Robert Hicks, which is based on the true story of Carrie McGavock. And so I was ready to return. The Franklin area was part of the last big campaign of the Civil War, and the Battle of Franklin played out around and within the city in 1864. At the Carter House, the family sought refuge in the cellar while the battle raged white-hot around their home. When you take the tour, guides are quick to point out the bullet holes and chips in the bricks. Read more about it at  The Carter House . Carnton Plantation  was the home of John and Carrie McGavock, but it was taken over by Confe...