Grifters, chem trails and myth are all a part of the American story. They are intertwined with our political history, stories of legendary adventurers, and the embracing of conspiracy theories.

Route 66 Myths and Grifters

Do a Google search about the 1939 nuptial’s of Clark Gable and Carol Lombard. You will find countless references to their March 1939 marriage in Kingman, Arizona, and their honeymoon in Oatman, Arizona. Even the National Park Service website page about the Durlin Hotel notes their homeymoon night in Oatman.

To plagiarize a statement of two from Paul Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, tell a story, or lie, with conviction and authority, and before you know it, fiction and myth have become fact.

The Gable and Lombard myth was launched in the 1960s when the old Durlin Hotel, now the Oatman Hotel, was sold. The new owners needed a hook.

With a population of less than 100 people, the dusty mining town barely had a pulse. Old desert rats that dug a bit of color from the rocks in the Black Mountains, retirees, and a few die hard shop owners kept it alive.

The pre 1952 alignment of Route 66 passed in front of the hotel, but that highways renaissance was years in the future. So, the owner began telling the story of finding a guest register with the celebrities names. Unfortunately, and conveniently, he also claimed that the register had been lost in a stroage building fire.

Fact of Fiction

Truth always struggles to overcome fiction, especially if a myth has been embedded in stone. Newspaper articles noted that the happy couple married in Kingman, and followed U.S. 466 north to Boulder City, Nevada where they spent the evening. The plan was to visit Boulder Dam before continuing on to Los Angeles for a press conference.

There is a possibility that an impromptu wedding reception was held at the Brunswick Hotel in Kingman. But that is a local legend. However, unlike the Oatman Hotel story, this myth actually has some historical grounding.

Separating fact from fiction, legend and myth from truth is never easy. And the task becomes even more challenging with the passing of time, especially if from the beginning truth was overshadowed urban legend.

A Curious Case

Some years ago Andy Sansom, former archivist at the Mohave Museum of History & Arts, in Kingman, Arizona, set out to prove or disprove a persistent local legend. The claim was that a large sign proudly proclaiming Kingman was a sundown town stood along Route 66 near the city limits.

Kingman, as with many Route 66 communities, was a sundown town. The White Rock Court was the only lodging option noted in the Negro Motorist Green Book. Hood’s Court, managed by Joe Hood, a former Cochise County Sheriff from Tombstone, Arizona also provided lodging to African American travelers, but he chose not to advertise that fact.

Those are facts. The sign, however, is another matter. When questioned, dozens upon dozens of older residents claimed to remember the sign warning “Negro travelers to be off the street after dark.” But not one agreed about the signs location, or even if there was one on each end of town. Even though the tsunami of interest in Route 66 has turned up thousands of historic photos, not one photo of the mythical sign has been found.

This doesn’t mean that the sign never existed. It simply means that there is the very real possibility this is an urban legend told so often it became truth, a memory. See the statement from Paul Joseph Goebbels previously reference.

Grifters, Chem Trails and Myth

At Jim Hinckley’s America, we tell America’s story. We strive to separate myth from truth. But we also realize that myths are a big part of the American experience. Likewise with our fascination, and even obsession, with conspiracy theories such as has recently made mainfest in stories about chem trails.

Tales about grifters definitely add some zest and spice to the American story. Shakespeare, New Mexico is one example. In 1872 a team of grifters made a fortune by salting a mine with diamonds in order to raise prices on mining stock. Even William Ralston, founder of the Bank of California, was suckered.

The history of American politics is peppered with grifters. I would prefer avoiding controversy at this time. So, for now, I will let you delve into the fascinating history of political machines and grifters, and the long lasting ramifications.

Adios 2023

If all goes as planned, I will have time for one more blog post this year. I have a few ideas about content. Perhaps a story about interesting crimes along Route 66 would be of interest. Do you have suggestions?

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