Long before the glory days of Route 66, the Route 66 town of Dwight, IL, was the center of the world thanks to a Civil War surgeon who established the world's first treatment center for alcohol and drug addiction. Dr. Keeley's method involved having patients ingest flecks of gold dust, which was very secretive at the time.
Join Dr. Timothy Hickman, from Lancaster University (United Kingdom) as he talks with Route 66 Podcast host Anthony Arno all about a little known treatment center that continued to exist well into the glory days of Route 66.
By the 1900, Dr. Keeley was perhaps the most famous physician in the world that people loved to hate because of his methodology. Many thought that he was a real "quack," but he was certainly a pioneer in treating addictions with over 200 treatment centers around the world by the beginning of the 20th Century.
Don't miss one of those episodes about Route 66 that truly contains a bizarre but true story about life along The Mother Road.
The El Vado, a 1937 Route 66 Motel, was recently purchased by Chadd Rennaker and not only restored the motel to its original charm, but he also converted select rooms into a gathering space for area merchants. The result is a Route 66 destination that allows travelers not only a place to stay, but also a place to sample the local food and crafts from the regions. Join Route 66 host Anthony Arno as he talks with Chadd about restoring the El Vado Motel in Albuquerque, NM.
Tom Peters is the Dean of Library Services at Missouri State University, and an oral historian. Join Route 66 host Anthony Arno as he talks with Tom about his series of interview with twenty two individuals directly associated with the trucking industry along Route 66.
Tom talks about the the importance of trucking
The final in a three part series featuring The Fred Harvey Company. This episode features a talk with three women who worked for The Fred Harvey Company during the final days of the company, 1958. In addition, episode features a talk with Katy Miller, great, great, great granddaughter of Fred Harvey.
Arizona based entrepreneur Allan Affeldt has successfully proven more than once that he can purchase old, abandoned railroad buildings along Route 66 that has had the Fred Harvey footprint and converted them into historically beautiful hotels in the southwest.
Join Route 66 host Anthony Arno, as he talks with Allan Affeldt, who has dedicated his life to restoring Route 66 buildings successfully proven to grow the local economy beyond what anyone had ever imagined. Allan begins talking about various social causes he promoted as a college student that gained international attention to stumbling upon a dilapidated 1929 hotel in Arizona that was once a Fred Harvey station.
In addition, Allan also talks about his restoration of historic hotels in Las Vegas, NM, including his latest project restoring the 1898 Fred Harvey hotel, La Castanada.
Stephen Fried, author of Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the American West, talks all about the life of Fred Harvey and how Route 66 would later emerge once the railroad was being replaced by the automobile.
A three part series, highlighting the life and work of 19th Century entrepreneur Fred Harvey. Episodes include talks with the author of the most comprehensive Fred Harvey book ever researched, a businessman who has successfully restored former Harvey House buildings into destination hotels, surviving Fred Harvey employees who were there during the mid-20th Century just prior to the closing of Fred Harvey restaurants, and the great, great, great granddaughter of Fred Harvey- Katy Miller.
The proprietor of The Rock Cafe, Dawn Welch, is a Route 66 icon and was the inspiration for the character Sally Carrera in the CARS movie. The Rock Cafe was constructed in 1936 from leftover sandstone rock that was used to construct Route 66.
Dawn talks all about her oriiginal plans to open a cafe in South America and literally rollerblading into The Rock Cafe after expressing an interest in purchasing the fixtures. From famous patrons visiting the cafe, to rebuilding the cafe after a devastating fire, Dawn tells all about her life since The Rock Cafe.
The original Launching Pad Restaurant opened in 1960 by John Korelc under a different name, and while attending the National Restaurant Convention, Korelc paid $3500 for a fiberglass Muffler Man to draw attention to his restaurant. Korelc had his newly purchased fiberglass giant updated to keep in line with the 1960’s space race as an astronaut with helmet and rocket, and renamed the restaurant, as the "Launching Pad”. There was a naming contest and the fiberglass giant soon became known as The Gemini Giant which has always been a popular photo opp for many traveling through Wilmington, just 60 miles out of Chicago.
In 2007, the Launching Pad was purchased from Jerry and Sharon Gatties, the owners at the time, by Morey Szczecin, but, after a struggle, the landmark closed again in 2010. In October 2017, it was purchased by Holly Barker and Tully Garrett, who announced plans to restore it "to what it was in its glory days," with the Gemini Giant remaining as a recognized Route 66 landmark.
Both the Launching Pad and the Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.
Today, we’ll be visiting one of the most popular stops along Route 66, known for its wild burros, beautiful mountains and of course Route 66. I’ll be talking with Jackie Roland Murray, who wrote a book highlighting the history of Oatman and more.
The Jack Rabbit Trading post is a famous Route 66 curio shop located in Joseph City, Arizona. The trading post is known for its large fiberglass jackrabbit that visitors are often photographed riding out front. In addition, The Jack Rabbit Trading Post popularized the store by placing large HERE IT IS billboards all along Route 66. The Classic CARS film depicts the Jack Rabbit with a Model T Ford in place of a jackrabbit and Lizzie is the store's owner.
The Jack Rabbit Trading post is a famous Route 66 curio shop located in Joseph City, Arizona. The trading post is known for its large fiberglass jackrabbit that visitors are often photographed riding out front. In addition, The Jack Rabbit Trading Post popularized the store by placing large HERE IT IS billboards all along Route 66. The Classic CARS film depicts the Jack Rabbit with a Model T Ford in place of a jackrabbit and Lizzie is the store's owner.
The story of Times Beach is not a celebratory one that showcases Route 66. Instead, the story of Times Beach is one that not may people are familiar with, even 35 years later.
Times Beach was a beach community along the Meramec River that hired the services of a local waste hauler, Russel Bliss, to spread used machinery oil over the dirt roads to keep the dust to a minimum. It would later be discovered that the recycled oil would contain one of the deadliest compounds known to man, dioxin.
Listen in as host Anthony Arno talks with the final mayor of Times Beach, Marilyn Leistner, as she talks about her role of supervising the complete distruction of a community of 2000 residents and all personal property.
The Wagon Wheel Motel is the longest continously operated motel along Route 66.
A talk with Mark Linder, who is bicycling Route 66 in honor of his son who passed away at the age of 6.
A talk with Dora XXX, and the upcoming Shamrock Festival in Texas, where 3,000 attendees are expected.
Decades before Route 66 the Mojave Desert Road took travelers miles across the Mojave Desert. Dennis Casebier talks about his original intention of creating a 130 mile hiking trail across the Mojave Desert along one of America's first highway, but realizing that a 4 wheel drive trail would be more practical.
Guest Dennis Casebier founded the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association, and he tells the story about converting an old school house into an area museum to promote the rich history of the Mojave area.
Meramec Caverns is one of the most famous sights along Route 66 and consists of almost 5 miles of a cavern system outside St. Louis, Missouri. Join host Anthony Arno as he talks with the grandson of the founder of the caverns, Les Turulli.
Les talks about how his grandfather came up with the idea of painting the sides of barns along Route 66 to promote the caverns to travelers, far and wide. In addition, as a young boy, Les tells about how he helped his grandfather affix promotional tags onto the bumpers of cars, which eventually gave birth to the bumper sticker.
On March 4, 1928, 199 men lined up in Los Angeles, California, to participate in a 3,400-mile transcontinental footrace to New York City. The Bunion Derby, as the press dubbed the event, was the brainchild of sports promoter Charles C. Pyle. He promised a $25,000 grand prize and claimed the competition would immortalize U.S. Highway Route 66, a 2,400-mile road, mostly unpaved, that subjected the runners to mountains, deserts, mud, and sandstorms, from Los Angeles to Chicago.
Route 66 is sometimes referred to as The Will Rogers Memorial Highway, but not many people know who Will Rogers was. Rogers, Oklahoma's favorite son, was a stage and motion picture actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator who was born and raised along Route 66.
Join Route 66 Podcast host Anthony Arno, as he talks with Tad Jones, Director of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum all about the life of one of the most beloved personalities of his generation that starred in over 71 movies and was the highest paid entertainer of his time.
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.
Burma-Shave was a popular brand of brushless shaving cream, made famous by a brilliant advertising campaign that featured a series of witty rhyming poems appearing in a sequence of roadside signs that would entertain the motorist driving down the road.
In this episode of The Route 66 Podcast, Anthony Arno interviews Clinton B. Odell, grandson of the founder of Burma-Shave. This episode begins with over twenty Burma-Shave jingles professionally recorded to give the listener a brief background of some of the earliest jingles, the most humorous, those promoting road safety, and even those that were released during the war years to unite the country.
Mr. Odell talks about the creation of the Burma-Shave company, which was originally created as a liniment product for burn victims. When the founder switched products in 1925 to brushless shaving cream, he gave his son $200 to create a marketing campaign. The result was the Burma-Shave rhyming campaign.
Clinton talks about his his father, Alan Odell, who came up with the Burma-Shave campaign.