American Road Trip Talk

For many years the designation of an American Byway meant the recognition of a very special route and a very special history of the American Road. In the Spring 2012 issue of American Road Magazine, we caught a quick glimpse of a brand new byway in the birthing, The Quaker Heritage Scenic Byway in southern Ohio. On this TripTalk our guest Ruth Dobyns, curator of the Quaker Heritage Center on the campus of Wilmington College of Ohio shares the fascinating history of the Quakers, a group of American founders who were not only pioneer but also dedicated warriors in the battle against slavery. She then outlines the path the byway will take and the history it will visit. (You can get trip information, brochures and maps of the coming Quaker Byway by visiting http://www.wilmington.edu/qhc .) Thanks to Springfield, Illinois for sponsoring this American Road Trip Talk.

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It’s loud, it’s funky and definitely a whole lot of fun. It’s The Heritage Tractor Adventure in Morris, Illinois held this year from June 8-11, 2012. Nearly 200 vintage tractors that have been lovingly restored and carefully tended take to the road with a roar to celebrate the farmer’s iron work horse and best friend. To give you some of the history of the Heritage Tractor Adventure we spoke with Max Armstrong, the Voice of Agriculture on WGN Radio for the best part of 40 years. Max's agricultural reports are now heard on a network of smaller stations throughout the Midwest and on the Internet. Max Armstrong is as colorful as the festival that he has organized and you won’t need to be a farmer to catch his enthusiasm for this great family adventure on the American Road.

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For the last two years we have followed the progress of one of the most eccentric art projects on the American Road: Bowl Plaza in Lucas, KS. And now the moment of truth has arrived: June 2, 2012 The First Flush. We met Rosslyn Schultz, the curator of the Grassroots Museum in Lucas, back in 2010. At that point she was midway through the construction of Bowl Plaza, a public restroom/ art project behind the museum built in the shape of an actual toilet. You really need see the photo album attached to our interview at the American Road Magazine blogsite. While laughter may be one of Rosslyn’s gifts, she and her fellow artists are deadly serious about this artsy outhouse, as you will hear in this interview.

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In Part 2 of our series on the Indianapolis Speedway Donald Davidson, the track historian talks about the curious links between the Speedway and Miami Beach and the birth of the National Road. But Don is most excited when he describes his realm, the magnificent Indianapolis Speedway museum. Part 2 of our interview with Donald Davidson is brought to you by the Heritage Tractor Adventure coming June 11 – 15 along the I&M Canal Heritage Corridor. For more information visit Heritagetractortour.com. Illinois ...Mile After Magnificent Mile

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Donald Davidson is the track historian for the Indianapolis Speedway. In this first part of our exclusive interview with Donald he tells how he came to be the track historian and how the Indianapolis Speedway grew from the ambitious dream of an early promoter named Carl Fisher.

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Behind all the romance of the motor courts that grew up in the early 50’s, there is a story of dedication and hard work on the part of the families that owned them. In this second part of our conversation, Vicki Troyer, talks about how she landed at the Ace Motel in northwest South Dakota. She left home to pursue her own dreams, which took her to the gaming tables of Las Vegas where she became a skilled dealer. I fact Vicki was so good she was chosen to deal cards for the World Championship of Poker. But as they say, there’s no place like home and we pick up the conversation with Vicki Troyer as she talks about returning home to help her parents run the family motel in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

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Our spring edition of the American Road Magazine is now on the newsstands. One of our regular columns called Memory Motel features the Ace Motel in Belle Fourche, South Dakota in keeping with our gaming theme. Behind all the romance of the motor courts that grew up in the early 50’s, there is a story of dedication and hard work on the part of the families that owned them. In this first part of our conversation, Vicki Troyer, the current owners of the Ace Motel, talks about Belle Fourche and how her family came to own the motel. It’s all part of the enduring charm of these family run hostels that make you want to get off the highway and go the extra mile to enjoy some real homemade comfort.

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During the last 5 years we have interviewed dozens of people behind the articles in our American Road Magazine but this time the subject has to do with one of our regular columns: On the Yellowstone Trail. A delight Wisconsin couple, John and Ann Ridge, specialize in the history of the Yellowstone Trail. Their story was so fascinating that we decided to keep the whole thing but to divide it into three parts to make it easier to listen to. In this first of our three parts series on the Yellowstone Trail, John and Ann take us through the unique history of one of America’s great transcontinental highways that developed in the early 1900’s. It is a fascinating story that began in the middle of the country and worked its way west and then east. The history of the Yellowstone Trail is interwoven with the development of interconnecting roads in the United States spurred on by a marvelous new machine…the personal car.

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American Road TripTalk is where you normally meet the people behind the stories and places on American Road Magazine. This show, however, will introduce you to a new companion for your next trip down that road. If you can figure out how to listen to a podcast, there is a good chance that you understand some things about digital devices like iPods, smartphones and the device we’ll about. This special American Road TripTalk podcast is about a new digital way of taking your favorite traveling tunes, audiobooks and radio stations on the road with you. Host Foster Braun interviews Jake Sigal, inventor of Livio Radio, a car kit and free downloadable application that allow you to connect smartphones wirelessly to any car radio. It's a perfect companion for long road trips.

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Each issue of American Road Magazine has a regular column called On the Yellowstone Trail dedicated to the people and places along this historic highway. The idea for this northernmost of America’s transcontinental highways actually began 100 years ago in the wheat fields of the Midwest. So it’s fitting that one of the centennial parties for the Yellowstone Trail would take place Spring 2012 in northwest Wisconsin. May 11-13th Hudson, Wisconsin on the beautiful St. Croix River will kick off the 100th birthday party with Yellowstone Trail Heritage Days. Andrea Jorgensen of the Hudson Convention and Visitors Bureau has all the details for our American Road listeners.

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