The Road Crew – America’s Route 66 Band takes the Mother Road to their audiences throughout the world. “We spread the history and stories of Route 66 to every generation through our ‘Songs From The Mother Road.’ We encourage our audiences to discover America’s Main Street for themselves.” The band received the first time ever ‘Bobby Troup Artistic Recognition Award’ from the International Route 66 Association in 2011. The Road Crew – The official musical ambassadors for The Mother Road!
Fort Reno in Oklahoma was once the home to 1300 German Prisoners of War (POW's) during World War II. Originally established in 1874 to protect the Darlington Indian Reservation. Fort Reno was used as a horse training camp for WW I and WW II, and the site was later used to house German soldiers who were captured in Northern Africa during WW II.
Carolyn Barker shares some of the most fascinating (and unknown) stories about the Fort Reno POW camp. While nothing but a water tower remains from the POW camp, there is a cemetery with 62 soldiers who were laid to rest. These solndiers died from war injuries, illnesses, accidents, and even a murder where five POW's were charged and eventually hung.
Carolyn tells a number of very touching stories, including the reaction from German soldiers who honestly believed that New York was entirely leveled during the war and wondered how the city could have been built back so quickly; the loyalty of German soldiers to the local community who assisted local farmers during the war effort, and the repatriation of soldiers who were buried in Oklahoma and later relocated back to their motherland after family members discovered they were laid to rest in Oklahoma.
Tom Coffin remembers as a child being asked by his teacher to create drawings to help decorate his classroom for holidays and other special events. From there, he eventually wound up in NYC where he worked for the NYC Historic Landmark Commission where he restored historic buildings, such as The Pierre, Carneige Hall, and the Smithsonian Museum for the American Indian.
Wanting to return back to the southwest, Tom entered a Route 66 competition to design a Route 66 monument as part of the state of New Mexico Highway Commission. Tom tells all about the process from design, creating a miniature model for the selection committee, to taking up residence in Tucumcari to physically build the monument.
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The Coral Court Motel can undeniably be grouped with The Munger Moss and Blue Swallow, as an iconic Route 66 landmark motels. However, The Coral Court Motel is long gone from the suburbs of St. Louis.
John Carr opened The Coral Court in 1942, during the US World War II mobilization effort. The motel had an unusual art deco design and each room had an adjacent garage for travelers to park their automobile.
The Route 66 News website at www.Route66News is a clearinghouse of news and historic events taking place along The Mother Road. Join The Route 66 Podcast host Anthony Arno as he interviews the curator of Route 66 News, Ron Warnick.
Ron has been publishing Route 66 news on almost a daily basis since October 9, 2005! Listen in as Ron tells about:
Ron has lived on or near the Mother Road his entire life and remains dedicated to providing up to date information about Route 66. He's participated in preservation projects from Illinois to Texas when it comes to America's Main Street. Ron has traveled the entire length of the highway at least three times.
Are you a dedicated fan of Route 66? What makes you think so? Do you have tons of Route 66 memorobilia in your home? A wide assortment of Route 66 t-shirts? Something special that screams out Route 66 on your car?
Join host Anthony Arno on The Route 66 Podcast as he interviews the ultimate Route 66 fan, Ron Jones. Ron has over 150 tattoos on his body dedicated to Route 66.
Ron will tell the many stories about his tattoos, including a very special one that honors the work of Laurel Kane of Afton Station.