Route 66 Podcast

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.

• When you think of Route 66 in the Mohave desert, most people think of Amboy and probably one of the most photographed sites in the mojave.
• But dennis settled in Goffs, a town about 50 miles NE of Amboy
• Where he bought and restored an old school house and eventually turned it into a museum to promote a better understaning of areas natural and historical history.
• Now, I might be a bit parital along with many of my listeners about Route 66, but dennis is a pioneer when it comes to that other road…. The Mojave Road which predates Route 66.
• Dennis has written many books about the region, documenting every mile of the Mojave Road and there are people out there who will drive the original road in specially equipped vehicles.
• I'd like to play for you a clip where dennis is talking about his passion for the Mohave Trail Road and how he wanted to preserve and document the road, which was a dirt road that crossed the Mohave way before Route 66 and still exists today in it's original form- all 130 miles of it.
• Then, we're going to jump to where dennis talks about how the area was used as a very important training site for General Patton in preparation for the African invasion during world war 2

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.