A ROUTE 66 ALPHABET SOUP

by | Mar 6, 2012 | Uncategorized

This is a bit rough as it is from the first draft but here are a few excerpts from the Route 66 encyclopedia. Consider it a bit of alphabet soup, Route 66 style. 

Abbylee Motel –
Promoted as “the prettiest location on Route 66 in Missouri,” the Abbylee Courtopened in 1940 thirty-two miles east of Springfield. The complex consisted of a café and eight clapboard cabins and warranted mention in A Guide Book To Highway 66written by Jack Rittenhouse in 1946.
In 1950, the café burned but the motel remained operational. The remaining cabins rented by the month as of 2010, stand at the intersection of two county highways, CC, formerly U.S.66, and M.

Adamana, Arizona–
Adamana, located twenty-five miles east of Holbrook on the north bank of the Rio Puerco River, was established as a station on the main line of the A.T. & S.F. (Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe) Railroad about 1890 as a departure point for tourists visiting the Petrified Forest. The name is a derivative combining the name of Adam Hanna, a partner with Jim Cart in a large sheep ranch that operated in the area.
An article in the Oakland Tribune dated July 12, 1914, indicates this was a flag station on the main line of the Santa Fe Railroad. This article describes the community as consisting of, “station house, water tank, store, hotel, and a half dozen other buildings.”
The little oasis has an association with the National Old Trails Highway and as a result may have served the needs of motorists on the first incarnation of Route 66 that followed that highway. However, the consensus among historians is that U.S. 66 actually passed to the north by a short distance.
The establishment of a post office at the ranch headquarters occurred in 1896. Modern references to the small community are at exit 303 on I-40, Adamana Road, and a named railroad siding to the south.

Bosque Farms, New Mexico –
There are references to a farming community on or near this site as early as the mid 18thcentury. The first concrete documentation of occupation at the present site dates to an 1848 reference to a farming community named Bosque Redondo.
The Bosque Farms name dates to a 1934 and 1935 resettlement project initiated by the federal government for families displaced by the Dust Bowl. The association with Route 66 terminated with the realignment of 1937. 
Castle Kourt –
The Castle Kourt, later Castle Motel, at 2403 West Seventh Street in Joplin, Missouri, at its zenith during the 1950s consisted of thirty-five stone-faced cabins, the result of enclosure of the original garages between units. Jack Rittenhouse included the facility in his guidebook published in 1946, and the 1954 edition of the Western Accommodations Directory published by AAA noted the complex offered one or two room units with air conditioning or fans, and radios upon request.
The complex is no longer existent.
Cicero, Illinois–
The initial post office application approved on May 15, 1867 was under the name Hyman. Amendment on April 17, 1900 changed this to Hawthorne and another on January 28, 1910, to Cicero.
The name is in reference to Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman orator and statesman. However, the consensus is the selection was in deference to Cicero, New York, the hometown of Augustus Porter who platted the town site of Ciceroin 1857.
Of particular interest to Route 66 enthusiasts today is Henry’s Drive In, 6031 W. Ogden Avenue, dating to the mid 1950s. This restaurant is a famous attraction known for its food and giant hot dog sign.
Correo, New Mexico–
Between 1902 and the establishment of a post office under the name Correo in 1917, the community appears on maps under a number of names. These include San Jose, Rio San Jose, Suwanee, and Suanee.
In 1920, the town located near the junction of the pre and post 1937 alignment of Route 66 consisted of a post office, general store, and bar. In regards to Correo, Jack Rittenhouse noted in 1946, “Here there are two establishments, one on each side of a railroad which crosses U.S. 66. Correo offers gas, groceries, small café, and a few cabins.” As of this writing, only a scattering of houses and foundations remain.
Desert Power and Water Company –
Built in 1907, The Desert Power and Water Company building remains the oldest reinforced concrete structure in the state of Arizona. The company supplied power for Kingman, surrounding communities, and numerous mines in the Cerbat and Black Mountains.
With completion of Boulder Dam, now Hoover Dam, electricity production ended in 1938. From this date to 1997, when it was restored and converted into a museum and visitor center the building served as storage for Citizens Utilities transformers, city equipment, and similar purposes.
In 1997, work commenced to transform and renovate the property rather than demolish it. Today, it houses the office of the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce, the Powerhouse VisitorCenter, the offices, as well as gift shop for the Route 66 Association of Arizona, and a Route 66 museum operated by the Mohave Museum of History & Arts.
The Grand Canyon West Resort managed by the Hualapai Tribe, opened offices in the building during the spring of 2011. This further solidified the buildings new role as a tourism center for the Kingman area. 
http://ss.webring.com/navbar?f=j;y=jimhinckley1;u=defurl2
Powered by WebRing.
ICEBERGS, TRAIN WRECKS, AND OTHER DISASTERS

ICEBERGS, TRAIN WRECKS, AND OTHER DISASTERS

by | Mar 6, 2012 | Uncategorized

Where to begin? That is the question. To ensure the sordid tale is full of suspense, intrigue, and adequate emotion we will begin around the 20th of this past month. 

My office and the aftermath of an 18 month project. 

We had completed the quiet celebration that marked completion of the final stage in the writing of the Route 66 encyclopedia, the captions. Now, my attentions were turned toward the task of restoring my office, preparing for the appointment with the tax accountant, and a trip to Prescott. Then I received the email. 
As it turns out the editor had sent the cull list instead of the approved list, and then had become ill enough to require two weeks off from work. So, I had written 23,000 plus words of captions for pictures that were not to be included. 
Fortunately I had added photos (and written captions) to that list as they were very important, quite rare, or added a great deal of context. As many of these were featured in the approved list I only needed to write about 14,000 words in captions for this second endeavor. 

To give you an idea as to how much research went into this book, consider this pile of newspaper archives. The reason it stands on my desk is because the two drawer filing cabinet is full. 
In addition to sorting through through more than a century of newspapers, I acquired a wide of array of primary materials to ensure accuracy. These include AAA lodging guides from the period 1925 to 1960, travel guides from the period 1900 to 1960, and carefully selected books from numerous authors.
Well, the writing of captions has kept me a bit busy this past week or so. It also resulted in abandonment of the  schedule for the rest of February and the first week of March. 
Still, I am quite grateful the editor is back on her feet. In addition, I really feel that the end result will be an even better book. 
Now, the office computer, with external hard drive, is used exclusively for writing related endeavors and photography. The secondary computer is used for internet purposes and photography. 
My overly paranoid distrust of these little magic boxes dictated the avoidance of down time resultant of virus issues by keeping the writing computer severed from the electronic superhighway. Now, our internet computer has been showing its age as of late (9 years which I believe is equal to a century in computer time) but my dearest friend and miracle worker has kept it alive and functioning. On more than one occasion she was able to even resurrect it from the dead. 
On Friday it became quite apparent that the end was near. Now, I am not overly fluent in computereze but when the hard drive sounds like a blender filled with rocks and assorted bolts it seems to me that the end is very near. 
Now, that explains the lack of posts the past couple of days. So, here is my question. What are your thoughts on the new All-in-One systems? I am thinking Dell as they have served us quite well. 

Meanwhile, I used the lag time over the weekend to restore my office, the brightly lit cubicle that has served as my primary residence for a great deal of the past thirty months (Ghost Towns of Route 66 and the Route 66 Encyclopedia). I was quite relieved to rediscover that there was a desk among the piles. 
After the completion of each project, and during the subsequent office restoration, there is a sense of relief, a sense of anxious anticipation for the next project, and a sense of emptiness that results from having blank spots in the schedule after months of not having time to spit or pay attention. This year there was added reason for the sense of loss, for emptiness. 

Scattered throughout my office are a wide array of gifts and little treasures from friends that range from the wooden shoes hand crafted by Dries Bessels to an Arizona map penned by Bob Waldmire. There is also an Australian wall tapestry, and a couple of brochures for an auto show in Brookton in Western Australia, gifts from Dave Gurney, a fellow I met several years ago as he explored Route 66. 
Dave was a man of my own heart, a fellow who loved the empty places and the vast desert landscapes of the southwest. My dearest friend and I greatly enjoyed his visits as well as the opportunities they presented for us to play tour guide. 
His delightful and colorful tales of life in Western Australia had us giving some very serious consideration as to how we could explore that wild, untamed land. In the mean time, we had some delightful dinners and looked at various properties as his plan was to relocate to Kingman.
Tragically, just weeks after his return home, Dave died of a heart attack. As he returned every March, my wife and I have had a bit of difficulty with this anniversary, especially as I cleaned the office and unveiled the various reminders. 
Now, it is time to prepare for the tax man, make the trip to Prescott, fund and acquire a new computer, entice a publisher to approve the next project or projects, continue the development of a very busy promotional schedule, hang on to the day job, catch up on some home repair, and, in my spare time, make sure there is adequate room in the schedule for the most important item of all – time spent with my dearest friend, my son, and the grandchildren, as well as friends and fans of the legendary double six and the road less traveled. 




http://ss.webring.com/navbar?f=j;y=jimhinckley1;u=defurl2
Powered by WebRing.