ROUTE THE MAGAZINE THAT CELEBRATES ROAD TRAVEL, VINTAGE AMERICANA AND ROUTE 66
April/May 2020
Magazine
ODYSSEY HOTLIST
Our Editors’ All-time Favorite Places to Dine on Route 66 The Tragic Tale of Olive Oatman
THE TREW STORY
Straight Outta Texas
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THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE DOG MARTIN SHEEN TRAVELS THE MOTHER ROAD ROUTE Magazine i
Oklahoma City Museum of Art American Banjo Museum
THE MODERN FRONTIER
When your heart is nudging you to hit the open road, follow it and discover a city that's wide open with possibility. Oklahoma City's stretch of Route 66 promises an experience that's alive with adventure and a welcome that's genuinely warm. ii ROUTE Magazine
The Road is Alive
SPRINGFIELD, IL Josh Waldmire – Cozy Dog Drive In
Sam Quais – Maid-Rite
Ron Metzger – Route 66 Motorheads Bar, Grill & Museum
Doug Knight – Knights Action Park & Route 66 Drive-In
John Fulgenzi – Fulgenzi’s Pizza & Pasta
Stacy Grundy – Route History Museum
Don Thompson – Weebles Bar & Grill & The Curve Inn
Michael Higgins – Maldaner’s Restaurant
Meet the local Living Legends of Route 66 making history every day Springfield’s new Living Legends program introduces you to our iconic Route 66 local business owners. Pick up your Explorer Passport, meet the legends face-to-face, snap a pic, get an autograph, and create your own Route 66 story.
#VisitSpringfield
WE’RE
THAN ONE DAY
Get the full picture at visitspringfieldillinois.com/ ExplorerPassports ROUTE Magazine 1
Out on a Limb — Oklahoma City Nestled in the heart of the buzzing Plaza District, this boutique sells handmade jewelry, accessories, home goods and clothing.
Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios —
Blast off to Tulsa to meet Route 66’s Muffler Man. Then, browse an eclectic collection of memorabilia and art.
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Bramble Breakfast & Bar — With two locations, this Tulsa brunch nook is a prime spot to savor a stack of pancakes or a pickled chicken sandwich.
Eden Boutique — One of many shops and galleries in the historic Paseo Arts District, this Oklahoma City boutique helps patrons look and feel their best.
Discover more splendid spots to brunch and browse at Travel
Grill on the Hill — An Oklahoma City café with a small-town vibe, this diner nails comforting classics like biscuits and gravy and breakfast platters.
.com.
Mohawk Lodge Indian Store —
The first trading post in Indian Territory, this Clinton store has sold authentic Native American goods since 1892.
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Fort de CHARTRES Les Amis du
300 YEARS OF HISTORY AT
This year, one of the most historic places in the state of Illinois is celebrating it’s 300th anniversary. Fort de Chartres was originally built in 1720 as a government center for France, in the part of Illinois that they considered ‘New France.’ Today, it hosts thousands of visitors every year – most notably for their June Rendezvous, complete with re-enactments and much more.
ILLINOISouth.org | !($+* 4 ROUTE Magazine
June Rendezvous - June 6-7
Aside from it’s 300th anniversary, Fort de Chartres is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of it’s everpopular June Rendezvous. The two-day event held annually the first weekend of June, features shooting competitions, military drills, dancing, music, food and traders of 18th century-style goods.
Powder Magazine
Events
When the state of Illinois acquired Fort de Chartres in 1913 as a historic site – the only building that had not been destroyed by flood waters at that time was the stone building that served as the powder magazine. It was the first piece of history restored on the site, and is regarded as the oldest existing building in the state of Illinois.
Winter Rendezvous & Woodswalk
Celebrate the history and tradition that the Fort stands for. Historic re-enactors will portray soldiers, trappers, traders and Native Americans that gather to trade goods, buy supplies, and some will take part in a shooting competition that requires them to walk through the woods and fire flintlocks at pop-up targets.
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Gathering Place — Tulsa
Get the Free TravelOK Trip Planner App Streamline your road trip planning with this user-friendly app. Build your dream Route 66 itinerary — then plan, share and customize it as much as you want!
Start planning your Route 66 adventure today. Download the TravelOK Trip Planner app or visit TravelOK.VisitWidget.com.
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CONTENTS
Oatman family massacre site. Photograph courtesy of Marine 69-71.
12 Go Wild in the Ozarks
New to one of the hippest cities on the route, Springfield, Missouri, Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is an awesome attraction that will keep you and the family busy for hours. But its story is just as captivating.
20 Route 66 Odyssey: Top Places to Dine Along the Mother Road
When motoring down Route 66, there is a plethora of amazing food options to choose from. In this issue, ROUTE has selected our best hot spots to make your journey all the more memorable.
40 The Legend of the White Dog
As a child of Oklahoma, Nelson King could not have imagined the unique and exciting journey that his life would take. But now that he is back in small-town Clinton, the real adventure has begun.
50 A Conversation with Martin Sheen
Few actors have risen to the iconic position of this month’s featured actor. In the business for over 64 years with over 250 film and television projects under his belt, plus a slew of notable awards, Martin Sheen is still on top.
62 The Trew Story
Texas is home to all sorts of unexpected delights, from giant crosses and steers to ghost towns and weird art installations, but what is perhaps most notable in Texas, is the state’s 8 ROUTE Magazine
larger-than-life personalities. Discover one of Texas’ most energetic, dedicated sons and get a whole new appreciation for barbed wire.
68 The Girl with the Mojave Tattoo
The Old West is packed with tales of cowboys and Indians, outlaws and the romance of the land. When Arizona comes into the discussion, one name stands out more than most. Kidnapped as a young girl after her family is murdered by Yavapai Indians while migrating west, Olive Oatman’s life and experiences have lived on well after her death.
74 Buggin’ Out in Texas
Less famous than their cousins in Amarillo, the VW Bugs that call little Conways, Texas, home have their own fascinating story to tell.
ON THE COVER POPS Restaurant and Shop, Arcadia, Oklahoma. Photograph by David J. Schwartz – Pics on Route 66.
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EDITORIAL Spring is finally here, and excitement is in the air. Travelers have already started to hit the road and are enthusiastic as they motor down the historic highway and venture off to big and small-town destinations. The end of winter always brings with it tremendous optimism and a motivation to explore and pursue adventure. The open road seems to call to us, and many months of working and hibernation indoors leads to anticipation of a break from the monotony and tediousness of routine. The very human heart and soul naturally seeks after discovery and change. This issue is our annual answer to your regular requests for a comprehensive list of the top places to dine along Route 66. Our Odyssey hotlist does not, of course, encompass all of the amazing culinary options available to travelers or locals, but it does pull together ROUTE’s top picks for our favorites along America’s Main Street. That said, there really are so many wonderful options, and we encourage all of you to spend some time this year sampling America’s gastronomic possibilities. In this issue, we have so many amazing stories to tell. As you know, ROUTE likes to get to know the fabulous people who have made a mark on the American landscape. Most people know that Texas is a state lauded for its larger-than-life roadside attractions, landscapes, and history. However, the Lone Star state is also home to many larger-than-life personalities, and none are bigger than Delbert Trew, a man of the land and a son of Route 66. Discover the journey that propelled Trew to open one of the most respected, but unexpected, museums on Route 66, The Devil’s Rope Barbed Wire Museum, in tiny McLean, Texas. Trew has lived a fascinating, colorful life on and off of Route 66. Now you get to meet him for yourselves. As I get older, I often ask myself: Have I done enough to feed my soul? Have I used my time well? In the April/May issue, we introduce you to one man who most certainly can say that he has. Nelson King spent a fair portion of his adult life in sunny Florida, jet-setting the world and hobnobbing with the rich and famous, but then he made a decision. He determined that he wanted to go home, home to his quirky little Route 66 town of Clinton, Oklahoma. And then he decided that he wanted to open a restaurant and to call it White Dog for reasons only the story can tell you. And so, he did. Today, King is a pillar in his small Mother Road town, and boy does he have a story to tell. I receive more emails about our celebrity interviews than perhaps anything else in the magazine. People simply love connecting with their favorite actors around travel, history, culture, and other topics of common importance. This time around we are featuring one of my all-time favorites, the legendary Martin Sheen. You will be delighted to realize that Martin is quite familiar with Route 66 and has some great stories to share from his time on the road. Martin also gets very personal as he talks about his children, his most defining film role, and shares a life that has been undeniably well-lived. These stories and so much more can be found in the April/May 2020 issue of ROUTE. I would like to take the time to thank all of our advertising partners who work so hard to showcase their towns and states, hotels and attractions. Unlike much of corporate America, these people and destinations commit themselves to preserving and protecting the history that characterizes them. They want to ensure that visitors from abroad and right here at home are aware of all that they offer and very much want you to pay them a visit. This year why don’t you plan to do so? Skip the airplane and cruise ship. Jump in the car or truck, RV or motorcycle, and explore America. Experience all the wonderful towns, big and small, for yourselves. They have so much to offer, and your support is what keeps them alive. Likewise, here at ROUTE we love our readers and look forward to every new issue, knowing that we will receive your thoughts, feedback, and personal stories. If you’ve not yet taken up a subscription to ROUTE, we would love for you to do so this year. Please remember to visit us online at www.routemagazine.us and on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Best wishes, Brennen Matthews Editor 10 ROUTE Magazine
ROUTE PUBLISHER Thin Tread Media EDITOR Brennen Matthews DEPUTY EDITOR Kate Wambui EDITOR-AT-LARGE Nick Gerlich LEAD EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER David J. Schwartz LAYOUT AND DESIGN Tom Heffron EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Alex J. Rodriguez Sarah DeLynn Cox Theresa Romano DIGITAL Matthew Alves ILLUSTRATOR Jennifer Mallon CONTRIBUTORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS Alex Marks Efren Lopez/Route66Images Heide Brandes Jack Knox James Livingston Jeff Vespa Moyan Brenn National Baseball Hall of Fame Scott Elliott
Editorial submissions should be sent to brennen@routemagazine.us To subscribe visit www.routemagazine.us. Advertising inquiries should be sent to advertising@routemagazine. us or call 905 399 9912. ROUTE is published six times per year by Thin Tread Media. No part of this publication may be copied or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or staff. ROUTE does not take any responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photography.
In 1889 a shot rang out. A land run started. And El Reno, Oklahoma would become the front door to the American West.
Photo courtesy of Canadian County Museum.
Historic El Reno, Oklahoma, where the glamour of Route 66 meets the Old West drama of the Chisholm Trail. Where the world’s largest fried onion hamburger is celebrated, and where you can ride a rail-based trolley through historic downtown. Nearby Fort Reno is home to the colorful U.S. Cavalry Museum, as well as the graves of Buffalo Soldiers, Indian scouts and World War II prisoners of war. For information, visit www.elrenotourism.com.
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Go W i l d i n t h e Oza r k s
T
here are many reasons why Springfield, Missouri, should be on everyone’s radar. Known as the “Birthplace of Route 66”, Springfield is credited to birthing the Mother Road in 1926, when businessmen Cyrus Avery and John Woodruff baptized the road linking Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66, opening up the American West. Springfield is also nicknamed the “Queen City of the Ozarks” due to its location on the Ozark plateau, the largest mountain range in the country. Springfield lore says that a Mr. S. H. Boyd - a local congressman and judge from the 19th Century who presided over the trial of Wild Bill Hickok in the shooting death of Davis Tutt - first coined the term back in 1876 during a speech in celebration of the nation’s centennial. The title served to eulogize Springfield’s majestic peaks, winding rivers, abundant wildlife and attractions. Recently, Springfield has added another moniker to its list - “America’s Conservation Capital”. One Missouri native, Johnny L. Morris, has taken his love and appreciation for Missouri’s nature and wildlife to a whole new level with the establishment of the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. Regarded as one of the most visionary and influential retailers of the last 50 years, Johnny L. Morris inherited his passion for the outdoors from his parent’s love of fishing and hunting. Even though his parents came from humble beginnings - his father, John A. Morris, grew up indigent and was primarily raised by his aunt, while his mother, Genny, was one of ten children raised in a two-bedroom home - they nurtured in Johnny a respect and appreciation for wildlife and nature that has culminated into an outdoor empire: Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats, Dogwood Canyon Nature Park and Top of the Rock among others. On his return from World War II as a decorated veteran and a participant in the Battle of the Bulge, Johnny’s father opened, “Brown Derby”, a successful liquor store in Springfield. It was in the back eight square feet of his father’s liquor store that Johnny, at age 21, started selling lures and bait. The small business venture was a hit with anglers and the rest, as they say, is Bass Pro history. Today, Bass Pro Shop is the largest supplier of outdoor gear in the world. Known in certain circles as a modern-day Teddy Roosevelt, largely due to his passion for preserving natural resources, Morris pulled some of the nation's leading conservation organizations together to create one of the largest, most immersive conservation attractions in the world. Nearly 10 years and about $300 million later, the Wonders of Wildlife (WOW) National Museum and Aquarium had its grand opening in September 2017. Spanning 350,000 square feet with
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more than 1.5 miles of trails to explore, the complex celebrates the critical role that responsible hunting and fishing plays in conserving the great outdoors. The attention to detail— from the architecture and design, to the constantly changing light, sounds, and smells of each and every exhibit—speaks to the passion behind its creator. There are escalators, seats strategically placed just in case you need to catch your breath, and iPad screens at various points, which provide detailed descriptions of the animals you are viewing. Everything has been meticulously thought out, and nothing has been left to chance. The wildlife galleries feature 4D dioramas ranging from Sheep Mountain, Polar and Penguin experiences to the African Savannah which hosts an array of life-size animals like elephants, giraffes, rhinos, crocodiles, and zebras. Here you can take an African safari right in the heart of the Ozarks. The 1.5-million-gallon Aquarium Adventure boasts 35,000 live sea life, ranging from seahorses, impressive sharks, enormous anacondas, gigantic crocodiles, and even a touch-astingray experience. Here you come eye-to-eye with this amazing, other worldly, underwater existence. When first entering the dimly lit spacious lobby one feels a sensation of being outdoors, of being in a feral world where the very lighting and natural colors define the experience that visitors will encounter. A huge cylinder, home to 6000 herring, quickly comes into view, mesmerizing as the fish swim constantly, moving together in a formation that is intended to confuse predators. As you continue inside, there is a representation of the Great Barrier Reef with its Maori Wrasse, colorful reef fish, and goliath groupers. The vivid colors of the endless coral stand out against the deep blue background. There is a section to showcase river monsters and Florida swamps. Lobster and eels and other aquatic species make their way gingerly around and through a mysterious shipwreck. The aquarium is huge and without a doubt the finest along Route 66. Proudly showcased for every aquarium visitor to see, Morris pays tribute to his parents: “Dedicated to my Mom and Dad, who always took the time to take me fishing and to America’s hunters and anglers, our nation’s true conservationists.” The WOW National Museum & Aquarium is considered the crown jewel of Springfield, Missouri. Here, the nostalgia of Americana meets with the purpose of laboring to preserve both a historic thoroughfare, and the conservation of our remaining precious resources. “For purple mountain majesties,” and all that makes America Beautiful, make a point to stop in at the WOW and share in the wonders of wandering the Mother Road.
WELCOME TO
Springfield, Missouri As the Birthplace of Route 66, Springfield is the perfect place to celebrate the legacy of the Mother Road. Learn how it all began at the newly-opened History Museum on the Square, see classic cars at the Route 66 Car Museum and enjoy a burger and shake at one of our vintage American diners.
SpringfieldMo.org/Route66 ROUTE Magazine 13
q A TALE OF
T WO c GRITS
B
y the mid 20th Century, “Western” stories had become a large part of America’s entertainment, and the growing appetite for legendary cowboys, fearsome gunslingers, notorious outlaws and wide-open arid country, fueled novels, movies, television and even radio. The windswept landscape provided the cinematic backdrop, while the lawlessness of the time provided plenty of drama for both print and screen. Today, interest in the Wild West has only increased, with big-name actors and musicians signing on to portray characters like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Jesse James, icons that depict a period in history when America was still an untamed territory in places. The 1968 novel by Charles Portis, True Grit, considered one of the great American novels, captured this period in America’s history vividly. Portis’ fifth novel, first serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, tells the rousing story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross on her quest to find a murdering coward named Tom Chaney and avenge her father’s death. Looking to enlist a man with a quality she calls “true grit,” she locates the grumpy, overweight, one-eyed U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn. During a hard winter, the two, accompanied by a handsome Texan named LaBoeuf who has been tracking Chaney, set out across the wild territory to find the drifter who killed her father, and administer frontier justice. The story, which takes place in 1873, is narrated by Mattie many decades later. It is Mattie’s voice, dry and sarcastic but straightforward, that makes the telling of the greatest adventure of her life extraordinary. When the 1969 film adaptation of the book came along, it had some big, best-seller shoes to fill. Thankfully, they found a big actor to fill them: John Wayne as the lead, Rooster Cogburn. Wayne, who had been in Westerns since the 1930s, had a well-developed wild west persona, and folks fell in love with his cantankerous portrayal of Cogburn. Mattie, played by Kim Darby, and the lead in the book, took on a secondary role in the film. However, even with the film’s success, not everything was perfect on-set. The casting of Glen Campbell as LaBoeuf and Robert Duvall as Ned Pepper, who was another foil for Mattie and her group, was not received with open arms by John Wayne. “He was not in favor of Glen Campbell, nobody was. In fact, the initial person was Elvis Presley,” explained Michael R. Grauer, curator of the “Two Grits - A Peak Behind the Eyepatch” exhibition at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. “Apparently, [Wayne] didn’t get along with Duvall. There were a lot of flare ups on the set, as you can imagine.” Despite the issues while shooting, the film was a huge hit, standing 14 ROUTE Magazine
on its own merits as a classic, hailing Wayne’s talents and the comical nature of the film. It also gave Wayne his first and only Oscar win. Forty-one years later, when the Coen Brothers announced their plan to remake True Grit, die-hard fans were skeptical about an alternate adaptation of the book with Jeff Bridges as Cogburn, Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie, and Matt Damon as La Boeuf. But the 2010 revival of the beloved film has been praised for being more accurate to the book than its predecessor. However, it still didn’t quite check all the boxes. “The publicity machine for the 2010 Coen Brothers’ film emphasized how much closer to the novel their film hewed; this is ironic, of course, as they still allowed Mattie to become a secondary role,” said Grauer. When making the film, the Coen Brothers primarily relied on the novel as their basis for making the movie and didn’t look to the 1969 version for inspiration. The film went on to earn over $170 million domestically, $250 million worldwide, and was nominated for a slew of awards. In 2011, both Bridges and the Coen Brothers were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Picture respectively. It was a roaring success. Amidst the two films, two Mattie Rosses emerged, with very different depictions of the character. “Kim Darby played “Mattie” as a little girl, almost out on a lark. Darby’s “Mattie” was clearly a fairly strong character, but she could be cowed and falter at certain points,” explained Grauer. “Hailee [Steinfeld] played “Mattie” as completely no bullshit; no whining allowed. Even when she was frightened —facing Tom Chaney for example — she showed “true grit” by getting right back in his face.” Though the 2010 True Grit film was truer to Mattie’s original character in the novel, her relegation as a secondary character in both film versions prompted the creation of the exhibition “Two Grits - A Peak Behind the Eyepatch” at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, which runs until May 10, 2020. This exhibition, which commemorates the 51st anniversary of the 1969 film and the 10th anniversary of the 2010 film, will explore the similarities and the differences in the two versions, highlighting the forgotten voice of Mattie as the narrator and protagonist of the book. Westerns trace America’s vibrant and colorful history as it has evolved from a young rough-and-tumble nation and have been ingrained in American culture and iconography abroad. They represent a time of violence and romance, exploration and adventure, and voices like Mattie’s and Cogburn’s will continue to represent an essential chapter in America’s vivid tale.
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#SWEETDREAMS60s
#THE60sARECALLINGYOU A night’s stay at the Roadrunner Lodge is a step back to the 1960s. This refurbished Route 66 motel is a classic piece of Americana, built in 1964. Call ahead or reserve a room online for an experience you won’t forget. 16 ROUTE Magazine
1023 East Route 66 Boulevard Tucumcari, New Mexico 88401 www.roadrunnerlodge.com (575) 282-RT66 (575-282-7866)
Traveler rating since 2015
ROUTE Magazine 17
THE ENERGY VORTICES OF
O
ne cannot escape the feelings of nostalgia, the romantic yearning for a time long past, when seeking adventure along Route 66. Each of the eight states that claim this historic pavement has their own unique history and reasons why their stretch of legendary highway is so special. When it comes to Arizona, this is where travelers will find the longest unbroken stretch of the Mother Road. It is also the section that takes travelers deep into the magic of the southwest. But perhaps not as well known, is the fact that visitors from all over the world come to Arizona every day in pursuit of peace, healing, and rejuvenation, and sometimes that is found via a short sidetrip off of Route 66. In 1963, Robert P. McCulloch was doing some searching of his own. He needed a location where he could test his boat engines and decided that Lake Havasu and its 211 billion gallons of water was just the place. McCulloch ended up liking the area so much, he enlisted the help of Disneyland developer C.V. Woods and built a city there. Surrounded by warmth and beauty, Lake Havasu City started to thrive and eventually became known as Arizona’s playground. “Play like you mean it” has become the trademark motto of Lake Havasu City. In 2019, things became even more exciting in the lakeside town with the unexpected discovery of a number of energy giving vortexes, a gift from Mother Earth that makes Lake Havasu not only a historic town (London Bridge) and a destination for adventure and adrenaline, but one for muchneeded rejuvenation too. Across the Grand Canyon State, people have been heading to specific locations, hot spots if you will, that offer a bit of extra natural connection to human physical and psychological peace of mind and healing. These special places have what is known as vortexes. “The word vortex is just a label for any place that makes it easier to do prayer, meditation, mind-body healing, inspirational reflection, or outside-the-box creative thinking,” according to MIT honors graduate, Pete A. Sanders, Jr. “Top physicists around the planet are now saying that everything exists in a minimum of ten or more dimensions,” said Sanders. The energy present at vortex sites helps people tap into the dimensions beyond what we can currently see and touch. “There’s a whole layer of the brain called the limbic system, specifically designed to make people feel lousy.” The limbic part of the brain is from our 18 ROUTE Magazine
evolutionary past and helped us survive. “Brain sciences say that anything that pulls you to the higher cortex gets you out of limbic. Upflow energy vortexes such as a mountain or mesa top soothe limbic.” For those of you who don’t really get that explanation, vortexes are basically places on the planet where there is more natural energy. There is a belief that our bodies have a natural connection with the planet and that some places offer up more of this energy, which positively impacts our mental, emotional and physical health. People who travel to energy vortices report everything from tingling in their bodies to the alleviation of PTSD and autism symptoms. There seems to be a great deal that we still do not understand. And here is where Lake Havasu enters the discussion so powerfully. Water is also a powerful limbic soother and perhaps the biggest part of what makes these recently discovered vortexes so unique. Down in Lake Havasu, visitors have both the lake and the Colorado River to enhance their experience. “Lake Havasu can be a very, very peaceful place for meditation and rejuvenation [and] anytime of the year is [a great place] to see our vortexes,” said Terence Concannon, President and CEO of Go Lake Havasu. “A lot of the things that people like to do here bring peace.” For the traveler seeking enhanced healing and peaceful meditation, “the area is surrounded by vortices: they are on the island, surrounding the city, up in the mountains behind the city, and even down in SARA Park.” The discovery of vortexes in Lake Havasu sets it apart from other Arizona destinations, such as Sedona, as its aquatic opportunities provide an enhanced experience for those seeking healing and relaxation. Although the energy vortexes around Lake Havasu City were only recently identified, the forces that formed them have been around for long over a millennia. According to Sanders, they were formed by uplift, resulting from tectonic plates pushing together. The stress-relieving experience can be quite powerful when allowing yourself to float under the stars, such as in the buoyed swim area at Rotary Community Park. In today’s hyper busy, overly stressful culture, perhaps we should all be seeking more than just fun in the sun and choosing your destination is key. Pete Sanders has some sage advice: “Take a vacation that gives you sustainable wellness, not just a momentary release.” Remember that when you hit the highway in 2020.
Photograph courtesy of Moyan Brenn.
LAKE HAVASU CITY
Williams, Arizona has something for everyone. Plan a visit and see why visitors have fallen in love with Williams. ROUTE 66
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ROUTE Magazine 19
F
ood cements itself as one of the most prominent and integral pillars of Route 66’s monolithic history. From the founding years when neighborly businesses offered Dust Bowl migrants much needed nourishment, to the heydays of vast, quirky diners, the wonderful variety of food found along the Mother Road serves as the lifeblood of the American road trip. With each twist and turn of the pavement, a new flavor emerges, making the country’s cornucopian cuisine as fulfilling as the ride itself.
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With that in mind, take your taste buds for a cruise; explore the familiar and the new, the bold and the classic, and savor the story, style, and character imbedded in each bite. Whether you pine for a home cooked meal or feel like spoiling yourself with a little splurge, you can always count on the culinary diversity that Route 66 offers. While some historic Route eateries have permanently closed their doors, a myriad of great establishments continue to thrive along America’s Main Street—in addition to a booming new generation of restaurants. Rest assured, Route 66’s food scene is alive and well. While not a definitive list, we have compiled a comprehensive tour of our suggested restaurants, best kept dining secrets, and trendsetting gems for your Mother Road journey. If the aforementioned history demonstrates anything, it is that places come and go; so, relish the ride, and don’t hesitate to witness what these catalogued eateries have to offer. Read on to see our top picks for this year’s ROUTE 66 dining odyssey.
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Y E S S Y D O r o f s k c i P s ’ e g n i n z o l a A g t a a M E E o t T d s U a e o c RO a R l r P e p h t o o t he T t he M
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Route 66 True
Who doesn’t love those piled-high pancakes, endless menus and bottomless cups of coffee? Whether you’re in the mood for burgers, breakfast, or banana splits, these places on our list, some of which have played host to generations of diners, will ensure that your food and drink is accompanied by true charm and character.
Lou Mitchell’s, Chicago, IL Lou Mitchell’s has been serving breakfast since 1923, three years before Route 66 ever came into being. Jackson Boulevard, on which this eatery sits, was the starting point for the original Route 66, so when Mother Road travelers came, the family-run, Lou Mitchell’s was there to feed them. As the oldest continually running restaurant in Chicago, Lou Mitchell’s clientele reads like a who’s who list. From mayors to governors to U.S Presidents, stage, screen and sports stars, plus everybody else in-between and from across the globe. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the restaurant maintains its old school vibe and well-worn air of a Chicago institution with deep and comfy booths, a diner counter, sleek aluminum and lots of character. But Lou Mitchell’s is more than just history. It doesn’t hold back when it comes to over-the-top comfort food. So, grab a stool, booth, or counter, and settle in.
Dixie Truckers Plaza, McLean, IL Truck stops have been fixtures on the American highway since the 1920s, providing hearty home cooking and a place of respite for those on the road. Truckers driving down Route 66 have been able to call the Dixie Truckers Plaza their “home away from home” in McLean, Illinois, since 1928. This old-style restaurant, complete with a trucker’s counter and old-school memorabilia, started as a humble business out of a garage during the tumultuous period of the Great Depression and WWII. The truck stop not only offered a warm meal for weary truckers, but it also offered them six cabins and gas to refuel their rigs. A fire in 1965, a closure for one day and a buyout in 2012 by Road Ranger (who remodeled the truck stop to its former glory, keeping its Route 66 iconography with its original signs) later, Dixie’s continues to do what it does best: serve large portions of comfort food in a comfortable environment. The full-service restaurant offers everything from fresh vegetables at the salad bar, an all-American Buffet and seafood, to some oldies but goodies such as the Country Fried Steak, Meatloaf and Liver and Onions. If you are on the Mother Road and getting that country food craving, then go where the truckers go, Dixie Truckers Plaza. 22 ROUTE Magazine
Big Texan Steak Ranch, Amarillo, TX Priding itself on “serving up the biggest and the best of what travelers want to find in Texas,’’ the Big Texan has been welcoming visitors since 1960. Styled after a main street right out of a Western film, with an oversized long-legged cowboy, the home of the “Free 72 oz. Steak” is a must-visit Route 66 landmark. R.J. “Bob” Lee was thoroughly inspired by Texan folklore. Tales of cattle ranchers, cowboys, and the Wild West thrilled him all the way down to the boots and spurs. Upon relocating to Amarillo and encountering a lack of rancher-worthy steakhouses, he took matters into his own hands. The Big Texan became a favorite destination for flame-grilled steaks, especially for the cowboys working in nearby stockyards. Lee held a contest one evening to see which of the cowboys could eat the most steak in one hour. The winner consumed the equivalent of four and a half pounds of meat accompanied by a shrimp cocktail, salad, baked potato, and one dinner roll. Lee proclaimed that anyone who could repeat this feat in one hour would receive the meal for free. The “Free 72 oz. Steak” was born, and the numerous signs along America’s Main Street became memorable landmarks. They relocated to I-40 shortly after the opening of the interstate, but then a fire in 1976 saw them have to rise from the ashes, which they did. A visit to The Big Texan encompasses more than tasty steaks. Second generation owners Bobby and Danny Lee have partnered with brew master Tom Money to brew onsite. Try the Rattlesnake Pale Ale when you stop in. The gift shop is filled with a ton of conversation pieces and a live rattlesnake. The restaurant as a whole is an experience in its own right and one not to miss.
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Upscale Dining
Sometimes you just need a luxurious setting for your dining experience. While famous for its burger joints and iconic food spots, the Mother Road is also home to a host of amazing culinary options. Mix and match on your trip across America and experience some restaurants that will really leave you with a memory.
The Preston, St. Louis, MO Situated on the ground floor of the venerable Chase Park Plaza hotel in St. Louis’ West End is The Preston, an upscale restaurant that serves up inventive American cuisine in a handsome setting. Named after Preston J. Bradshaw, the original architect of The Chase, the restaurant embraces the vintage feel of the classic hotel, but with a style of its own. The rustic hardwood floors, bold columns in warm grey muted taupe, plaid semi-circle booths, framed artwork and antiques that adorn the walls, to the massive open stainless-steel kitchen, provide the perfect backdrop for an elegant dining experience while in St Louis. Top on the must-try items on the menu include the dry-aged ribeye, served with a side of home-cooked cheddar gratin, and the exotic “salmon hot pot” with shiitake, bok choy, soba noodles, and lotus root. But the true showstopper is the Pretzel Croissants. Crunchy, buttery, and just-salty-enough, these pastries are in a class of their own. If a more casual dining experience is more your style, then the Chase Lounge, The Preston’s sister restaurant, also on the ground floor, has you covered. Enjoy poolside patio views and a tasty local brew from one of their 18 rotating taps.
Gamlin Whiskey House, St. Louis, MO If you prefer your whisky neat or in unorthodox mixes, then you are going to have to toe tap your way down to Gamlin Whiskey House. The very name conjures up images of crystal tumblers filled with clinking ice and amber nectar. Stained wooden tables, dark tile floors and grey walls, plus elements of copper and reclaimed white-oak whiskey barrel accents, make for an upscale speakeasy-style interior. Using their combined experience and expertise in the industry, brothers Derek and Lucas Gamlin opened the whiskey house in 2013, with a selection of 270 whiskeys from around the world. Not only did they put St. Louis on the map, they also revolutionized the way whiskey is enjoyed, making whiskey the new spirit of the hour. The unique nature of the whiskey house permeates throughout the venue, from the book length drinks list - stored in wood boxes - to the food fare offerings. The house-made toasted ravioli appetizer is the perfect starter - it’s a local and national favorite. For an entree, the char-crust roasted beef marrow bone is unique and highly recommended, served with apple-fennel mostarda and toasted focaccia, plus the option to add a shot of perfectly aged bourbon. With the finest whiskey and bourbons along Route 66, cocktails to drink them in and great food to match, the Gamlin Whiskey House lives up to its distinguished sounding name. 24 ROUTE Magazine
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The Order, Springfield, MO The uniqueness of the 100-yearold historic building that this restaurant calls home, tucked neatly in downtown Springfield and just steps from Route 66, makes it a most alluring place to eat, every time. After serving as a Masonic Temple, then as an office space, the original 1906 building was reimagined into the upscale Hotel Vandivort in 2015, with The Order as its in-house restaurant, by incorporating the building’s key elements such as the brick wall and wood accents, while introducing contemporary touches. From the moment you enter, it’s clear that an immense amount of intention has been put into every element of the beautiful space. From the upscale decor, to the 92 luminescent glass bulbs atop the dining area’s tall ceiling (which were hand-blown specifically for the restaurant by local artisans), to each thoughtfully crafted dish on the menu, The Order simply embodies a consistent attention to detail. The rotating seasonal menu invites you to try American fare inspired specifically by the Ozarks and all dishes are, of course, best paired with flavorful and quirky sounding cocktails that the venue offers from their extensive drink menu. If you are spending a few days in Springfield, and you really need to, then make sure to put this place on your list.
Metropolitan Grill, Springfield, MO A former army paratrooper and now avid foodie, owner and chef, Pat Duran, is at the heart of this restaurant that offers an elevated casual dining experience matched perfectly with its small-town essence. The vibe alone tells you that this restaurant offers a lot more than just food. It’s where people gather, where stories are shared and where laughs permeate deep into the walls. Self-styled as “the Jedi knight of everything culinary and cool,” the restaurant has an eclectic menu, which features a mix of cooking techniques, an extensive selection of fine wines from around the globe, and plenty of southwest Missouri personality. There truly isn’t a more fitting description for such a unique, eccentric space. The quirky menu lists a number of dishes named after local Springfield men and women. The Cured Pam, for example, is the restaurant’s take on lobster bisque and the Jennifer Lamb is an exquisitely prepared rack of lamb. A must-try item is the famous flash-fried spinach, perfectly balanced with garlic, lemon zest and Parmesan cheese. The food here is delicious, the service is attentive but unobtrusive, and the energy is palpable. All these things and more make the Metropolitan Grill destination worthy. 26 ROUTE Magazine
Amelia’s Wood Fired Cuisine, Tulsa, OK Located in the Brady Arts District in downtown Tulsa, across from the renowned Guthrie Green Center and the Woody Guthrie Museum - a great venue that pays tribute to the iconic singer - is Amelia’s, a trendy upmarket restaurant that offers a “charmingly Tulsan” dining atmosphere. From the tall glass door that ushers you in, the bespoke red leather banquettes, the high brick walls, and skylights that let in a heavenly glow, down to the crisp white tablecloths, everything about Amelia’s promises you a culinary journey like nowhere else. Combining their 30+ years of experience in the food industry and relying on two main inspirations to produce their unique “Oklahoma gaucho” style of cuisine, owner Amelia Eesley and chef Kevin Snell, have established an impressive food menu that is unusual, yet offers delicious food combinations that will surprise and delight. Using fresh local ingredients, each dish is a riot of flavor, presented thoughtfully and displaying a passion for gastronomic creativity. Space is a little tight but just like the food, creativity in its use is delivered in the chef’s counter that overlooks the cooking area and in the outdoor patio. Marked by elegance and style - just like its owner – a visit to Amelia’s will leave you feeling like a sophisticated road worthy jetsetter, right in the heart of Route 66.
The Boiler Room, Tulsa, OK Located in the magnificently renovated historic Mayo Hotel, The Boiler Room (previously known as Trula) is the perfect place for a nice quiet dinner surrounded by the opulence and history of the Mayo. The hotel originally opened in 1925 and became the place to see and be seen, ‘hosting prominent guests, including celebrities, political figures and titans of the oil industry’. It was sold in 1968 and went through various versions of repurposing, but by 1981, with several failed attempts at a comeback, the Mayo closed its doors. However, the Mayo’s star was to shine again when it was purchased by a local Tulsan family, underwent a $42 million-dollar historic renovation, and resumed its place as the Leading Lady of Tulsa. The Boiler Room models the hotel’s elegance with its chic, muted design, two level-seating, and vibrant artworks, which add pops of color to the walls. If you want to people-watch, their outdoor patio is perfect! The restaurant received its unique name from the old steel boiler that used to sit in the Mayo’s Penthouse Bar. Pieces of this boiler are now on display behind the host stand and bar, giving it an elegant, historical touch. Whether you’re staying at the luxurious and historic Mayo Hotel or needing to refuel in Tulsa before starting back out on the long stretch of road ahead, the restaurant offers a selection of breakfast, lunch and dinner to please any palate.
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The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro, Oklahoma City, OK Equipped with a well-appointed bar, a renowned rotating wine list featuring over 400 handselected wines, pleasantly soft lighting, attentive service and a seductive menu, it’s easy to see why The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro is consistently regarded as one of the finest restaurants in Oklahoma City. Opened in 1988 - just three years after the official decommissioning of historic Route 66 in the Nichols Hills neighborhood of Oklahoma City - husband and wife team, Chris and LaVeryl Lower, were a few of the first restaurateurs at the time to commit to building such an expansive wine list, much less offer wines by the ounce as they do today. The mood is mellow, yet sophisticated, with oak accents, deco curves, painted coffered ceiling and pops of local fine art. Begin with a glass of sweet, refreshing white wine or a full-bodied red to pair with an appetizer like the Crab Cakes, served in a light lemon butter. For dinner, opt for a romantic, candle-lit table and indulge in one of their exquisite entrees: the Filet of Flounder doused in citrus butter or grilled Pork Tenderloin served with eggplant relish and mango chutney in a luxurious red wine sauce are both sure to impress. Those in the know spend many memorable nights here. Now you know.
Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, Oklahoma City, OK As the 5th highest beefproducing state in the country, it’s no secret that Oklahoma knows a thing or two about great steaks. Among the many award-winning steakhouses that call Oklahoma City home is Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, a luxurious dinner spot that serves premium, customaged Midwestern beef, aged for tenderness and grilled to perfection. This is the kind of place where the food and service is well worth putting on a proper shirt. The focus is on local ingredients and supporting sustainability within the surrounding community. A steak from Mahogany is about as close to the source as you can get. While beef is certainly the star here, it’s clear that owner David Osborn has carefully scrutinized every other detail in the restaurant as well. From the sleek and beautifully designed interior to his outstanding service team, Mahogany’s overall ambience is truly elevated. Once you’re settled in with a decanted bottle of wine, get ready to explore a menu filled with some of Oklahoma’s finest. The massive Porterhouse Steak is always a knockout; each bite is melt-in-your-mouth level good, serving as a true testament to the quality of the meat. Polish off the night with a visit to Mahogany’s all-glass wine cellar to take a piece of the special experience home with you. You’ll be glad you did. 28 ROUTE Magazine
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Flint, Oklahoma City, OK Opened in 2012 and conveniently located on the first floor of the historic Colcord Hotel, Flint offers well-crafted and creatively presented American cuisine, all served in an elegant space. Built in 1910, the building served as commercial office space until 2006, when it was renovated into the stunning hotel that it is today. Flint tempts with a striking dining room featuring a patterned ceiling, warm lighting, leather booths, bronze hardware and a fireplace, elements that succeed in creating an upscale tavern vibe. The hip outdoor dining patio, which looks across the lush Myriad Botanical Gardens, gives a visual of the beautiful and intricate architecture of the Colcord Hotel and features a waterfall, a decorative fire pit, and sunset views. The perfect spot to unwind with a glass of one of their classic or specialty cocktails. And if you stop by on a Sunday, you’ll also be treated to live music. One more thing, they do offer complimentary valet parking, so put this winner on your agenda and enjoy some Oklahoma City warmth.
Ludivine, Oklahoma City, OK Just north of downtown Oklahoma City is the lively Midtown community, known best for its dining and nightlife scene. Ludivine, a posh farm-to-table restaurant created by renowned chef Russ Johnson, sits at the center of it all, inviting guests to enjoy New American cuisine and the art of Oklahoman scratch cooking. Nearing a decade in business, Ludivine has earned a reputation over the years as “one of the crown jewels of the Oklahoma culinary community,” and boasts one of the best weekend brunches in the state. A word that translates to “divine light,” Ludivine is a fitting name for Johnson’s establishment. With a warm, open patio full of sunlight and lush, green plants to greet visitors, arriving at this cozy venue almost feels as though you’re stepping inside of an oasis for an afternoon or evening of relaxation. Ludivine’s menu is entirely inspired by the current season, changing daily in an attempt to focus on locally sourced produce from Oklahoma farmers and ranchers. The modern American cooking styles only highlight this and beautifully complement the impressive lineup of spirits, wine, and beer at the bar. If you’re feeling adventurous, we recommend trying the roasted bone marrow, a Ludivine classic. Or, opt for an Oklahoma Wagyu Sirloin served with poblano grits, roasted tomatoes and king oyster mushrooms. You’ll love every bite. 30 ROUTE Magazine
WANDERERS WELCOME Your perfect stop on the Mother Road. Occupying the historic Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Oklahoma City, 21c Museum Hotel is a multi-venue contemporary art museum coupled with boutique hotel and chef-driven restaurant. Best New Hotels in the World - Travel + Leisure, It List 2017
900 W Main Street Oklahoma City 405.982.6900 | 21cOklahomaCity.com ROUTE Magazine 31
D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro, Albuquerque, NM D.H. Lescombes - formerly called St. Clair’s Winery - is a sixthgeneration French winemaking family who can trace its roots to three continents: Africa, France, and North America. Hervé Lescombes, the patriarch, ran a successful winery in Burgundy, France, before relocating his family to New Mexico in 1981, where they have been growing wine grapes ever since. Their first vintage came in 1984 and today, the family runs a 220-acre vineyard and tasting room west of Deming, produce 70 different wines under several labels, including St. Clair’s, Blue Teal and D.H. Lescombes, and have three Winery & Bistro locations in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Farmington. The vibe at D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro, in old town Albuquerque, is incredibly warm and welcoming, brimming with all the hallmarks of a classic Parisian bistro and a whole lot of joie de vivre. Here the food is designed to complement the wine, so the epicurean-style menu that lists small plates, savory main courses and delectable desserts will tease your taste buds no matter the season. What to try: Take advantage of the friendly, knowledgeable staff who will direct your palate towards an incredible dining experience. From French oak-aged reds to crisp whites and sparkling wines, the hand-picked wine pairings accentuate most of the food items. You’ll be sorry you never found this place sooner.
The Artichoke Cafe, Albuquerque, NM Artisan cocktails meet creative, exquisite cuisine on Central Avenue, aka Route 66, at The Artichoke Cafe in Albuquerque’s East Downtown district. The sustainably focused rotating menu, created by owner Pat Keene and executive chef J Martin Torrez, relies on fresh, seasonably available ingredients. Everything is made in-house, and the pair continually constructs interesting flavor profiles while tackling a mix of French, Italian, and modern American cuisine with classic cooking techniques. In other words, prepare to fall in love with whatever dish you order, be it a perennial entree or a temporary seasonal addition to the menu. Inside The Artichoke Cafe, artistry is ubiquitous. The light-colored walls display a collection of fitting wall art that adds panache and sets the tone for a lovely dining experience, while every appetizer, entree, and signature cocktail is served to guests in a beautifully presented manner. To start, the steamed artichoke in clarified butter, lemon-caper aioli, raspberry vinaigrette is a cinch. Their steak and lobster dish, in particular, is served on a beautiful plate on which the underlying sauce mimics brush strokes on a painting. Be sure to save room for essentials like wine and dessert; the deconstructed lemon meringue, served with candied lemon zest and a homemade graham cracker crumble, paired with a delicious sparkling wine is the perfect way to complete just about any meal at The Artichoke Cafe. 32 ROUTE Magazine
Tinderbox Kitchen, Flagstaff, AZ Opened in 2009 and located in one of the earliest commercial buildings in downtown Flagstaff, the Tinderbox Kitchen helped rejuvenate the surrounding community and foodie movement in Flagstaff as a whole, by being the first elevated-cuisine restaurant on the city’s south side. In fact, the eatery was so well-received that owner Kevin Heinonen was able to acquire the nearby space to open The Annex, a hip indoor-outdoor cocktail bar, to perfectly complement the contemporary, “soul-satisfying” dishes served at Tinderbox. The pork porterhouse, for example, is served with charred, honey-glazed yams on a bed of bacon-braised kale, and pairs nicely with a glass of Tinderbox Red, a house wine created at their very own vineyard, Sutcliffe Vineyards. It’s also important to note that while the atmosphere inside is certainly upscale in nature, Tinderbox Kitchen is careful not to take itself too seriously. Whether you’ve come dressed to the nines or straight from one of Flagstaff’s renowned hiking trails, everyone is welcomed here. A visit to Tinderbox Kitchen would serve as a perfect pit stop while en route to the Grand Canyon or offer a much-needed break after a long day of exploring Flagstaff’s historic Route 66.
Josephine’s Modern American Bistro, Flagstaff, AZ Nestled just a few blocks from historic downtown Flagstaff is the John Milton Clarke home, a 1911, one and a half story Craftsman Bungalow - a style of architecture that was prevalent in Flagstaff in the early 20th Century - that is now home to Josephine’s Modern American Bistro. Opened in 2002 by siblings Tony (chef) and Jill Cosentino, and named in honor of their late mother, the restaurant has become a Flagstaff staple where culinary adventures connect with a historic past. Much of the natural charm and character of the home has been maintained, with its expansive porch, with battered rock columns, a round-arched transom window, stone fireplaces, board and batten wainscot covers, and geometrically coffered ceilings. Home-cooked, feel-good meals populate the menu, highlighting some of the best produce and seafood selections that the country has to offer. The bacon-wrapped Arizona filet mignon, topped with sautéed cremini mushrooms and a luxurious red wine demi-glace, served with a side of mashed smoked gouda potatoes, is not to be missed. Be sure to pair your meal with a bottle of wine from Josephine’s extensive wine list that has been perennially featured on Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the past six consecutive years. Whether you’re enjoying a summer brunch on the large outdoor patio or cozying up by one of the two working fireplaces in the restaurant, you’re sure to have a memorable experience because Josephine’s is not just a pretty venue with incredible food, it is so much more. The historic old walls have stories to tell. ROUTE Magazine 33
Eat Like A Local
Hitting the spots that locals go to is always the ambition. This list will get you started.
Doc’s Smokehouse, Edwardsville, IL While still a young restaurant at five years, Doc’s Smokehouse is so highly regarded by locals that it just cannot be missed when in picturesque Edwardsville, Illinois. Owned and operated by husband and wife team, Doc and Susan Richardson, Doc has had years of BBQing experience, having competed in BBQ competitions for a decade before they even opened the restaurant. Plaudits have come from far and wide. His consistent, mouth-watering BBQ, that is ‘smoked low ‘n’ slow and seasoned with unique rubs and sauces’ has garnered him 300 awards for his incredible fare, with his most recent being the National BBQ News’ Best of the Best award in 2019, for the second time. Given its popularity, hectic weekend foot traffic and the legions of Doc’s Smokehouse converts, it is no surprise that Doc’s had to move into a bigger and better place at the brand-new Parkway complex in Edwardsville. If BBQ is your thing, and of course it is, then Doc’s is worth a visit.
St. James Winery and the Public House Brewing Company, St. James, MO If you haven’t yet sampled the delightful wines from Missouri’s most awarded and largest winery, then you are in for quite the treat. Located in the heart of the Ozark Highlands or what is fondly referred to as “Little Italy of the Ozarks”, thanks to a rich Italian heritage that has roots in the late 1800s, is the family owned and operated, St. James Winery. Founded in 1970 by Jim and Pat Hofherr, not far off of Route 66, the winery set itself apart through the use of locally sourced ingredients, creating wines that not only paid homage to the region, but were specifically unique to it. With 8,000 gallons of wine produced in its inaugural year, today, St. James Winery has risen to the top of the wine hierarchy, producing 500,000 gallons of wine per year. Swirl, sip and discover wine flavors ranging from reds, to premium dry wines to dessert wines and juices via the tasting and tour experience. St. James wines are a celebration of the Show Me State, so you will want to grab a bottle, or a couple, to bring home with you. The Winemaker Norton 42, Estate Norton and the Pioneer White top our list. Within the same complex is The Public House Brewing Company, the brainchild of Josh Stacy and Josh Goodridge. Originally started in Rolla, the brewing house has a unique collaboration with St. James Winery that perfectly marries the worlds of wine and craft beer, featuring a menu that offers both beer and wine pairings with each meal. Get an exclusive look at the production process in their fermentation campus or enjoy their delicious wood-fired pizzas out in The Gardens. This is without a doubt the perfect place to kick back and enjoy some real Ozark hospitality.
Cave Gang Pizza, Carthage, MO Owners, Eli and Vanessa Bruton, opened Cave Gang Pizza in 2016 to roaring success in a building that used to be an old gas station back in 1918. But unless you’re in the know, you might miss the fact that Cave Gang Pizza is actually located above a cave, complete with stalactites, an underground lake, and a fascinating history. The story goes that in the early 20th Century, a group of young boys calling themselves the 10th Street Cave Gang used the cave as a rite of passage for members by making them take a toy far into the cave without a torch. They would leave it on the ground for the members to collect afterwards. If the members deemed that the boy had brought the toy in far enough (and was therefore brave enough) he could join the group. While the street gang no longer practices its chilling member initiations, one can still enjoy its unique history in the comfort of Cave Gang Pizza; a venue that relies solely on a woodfire oven to create decadent pizza, wings, and nachos. The outdoor patio is the perfect spot to sample the over 70 drink flavors of local and unique beers, draft beer and sodas from the restaurant’s full bar, while you take in the mystical Carthage night. And if you are enjoying the hospitality of the iconic Boots Court, it is an easy walk back after a delightful meal. 34 ROUTE Magazine
PULA’ FAST ONE. Get ready to stop and grab a selfie. Our iconic
33-mile stretch of historic Route 66 is filled with photo-ops like the painted frog rock (known as WH Croaker by the locals), the old Gascozark Café, and this 1923 steel truss bridge over the Big Piney. Plus, you’ll find some of the best chicken wings, craft beers and frog legs along the way. Plan your trip at PulaskiCountyUSA.com.
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HWY 66 Diner at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Catoosa, OK Be ready to step back in time to an era when pancakes and burgers and shakes ruled the roost. You can’t miss the huge marquee sign with the word ‘Diner’ on it and arrows coming down that flash brightly. It sits well within all the glitz and lights of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. This diner has retro charm in spades. Chrome fixtures, booths, counter with stools, soda fountain, and a working jukebox that plays tunes from the 1940s to the 1980s from more than 1,000 CDs. There is also the checkered floor. Even the wait staff wear classic 1950s attire, and all through the diner, there is art and signs that give a nod to old Route 66. The makings of the all-American diner. The menu is straight out of the era of all-day breakfast specials, blue plate specials, and plenty of classic desserts to spare. Try the foot-long hot dogs, American Farm Raised Catfish Platters, or their varieties of mac and cheese. Retro charm, a hip buzzing atmosphere and delicious food, this is one diner that will take you way back.
Slapfish, Winrock, Albuquerque, NM We love a good story and this place has one. What started out as a food truck in California has morphed into over 20 franchised stores across the country. But this is no ordinary brick and mortar franchise operation, this self-described “modern seafood shack” has the goal of getting Americans to eat more fish by offering a quality seafood centric menu - think fish, lobster and shrimp - in a trendy but fast and casual space. That’s right, quality seafood but fast and casual; you stand in line and order at the counter, get a number and your drink, and wait for your meal to be delivered to your table. John and Bridget Wilson and their son Eric opened the first Slapfish in Albuquerque in October 2017, and the second Winrock location in 2019. Seafood in the desert may have sounded crazy to some but for this local family, they have vision and enthusiasm in spades. Slapfish is one fast food place you will want to visit again and again.
Safari Grill, Albuquerque, NM This local joint’s Africa motif aesthetic, which includes giraffe and elephant statues, cerulean blue walls, zebra print tables and wildlife art on the walls decor, fits right in with the quirky charm of the Mother Road. And the fact that it is right on Central Avenue, Route 66 in Albuquerque, makes it a must-visit no brainer. Starting out as a food truck in 2009 by current co-owner Nabill Young, the eatery moved into its Nob Hill neighborhood, brick and mortar home in 2018, and to great success. Using his family’s Tanzanian origins as inspiration, Young has masterfully combined East African ingredients with the food cultures of India and the Middle East and brilliantly put a New Mexico/American twist to it. The result? A flavor profile that is out of this world. Tip: Make sure to order an ice-cold Tusker and get a taste of Kenya’s pride. 36 ROUTE Magazine
tucumcari
Still a kick.
visittucumcarinm.com ROUTE Magazine 37
The Beaver Street Brewery, Flagstaff, AZ The Beaver Street Brewery is considered the flagship brewpub in Flagstaff, having opened its doors 25 years ago, when microbreweries were just a promising idea. Inspired by an article about brewpubs, Flagstaff locals and Co-Founders, Dick and Jean Wilson, convinced their daughter, Winnie and son-in-law Evan Hanseth, to move back to Flagstaff and together make a go at this up-and-coming movement. Their instincts and gamble paid off. Today, the brewery is a local and visitor favorite with high accolades - four Great American Beer Festivals gold medals, and three World Beer Cup medals, to prove it. Wooden bench booths, cottage style chairs, a checkered floor, railroad signs and low lighting create an old-world charm. A large vintage ‘Food Town Super Market’ sign on a wall pays homage to the origins of the building; a 1938 former food market merchant store. On cold evenings, a trusty old big pot belly wood-burning stove keeps you warm indoors, while the seasonal outdoor beer garden is perfect for those balmy summer nights. On top of a broad food menu, their Whistle Stop in-house cafe burgers, unique sandwiches, and selection of delicious wood-fired pizzas are fan favorites. The brewhouse churns out a wide variety of mainstays, including the Railhead Red, an amber ale that was the most popular brew when they first opened, to a range of seasonal options like the crisp and refreshing, Boxcar Blonde. Thanks to its unpretentious ambience, the mood at the brewery is relaxed and perfect for the whole family.
Lumberyard, Flagstaff, AZ With the success and popularity of Beaver Street Brewery, the Hanseths looked to expand and were on the lookout for their next location. So, when the City of Flagstaff put the historic 1900s Halstead Lumberyard building up for use, the Hanseths seized the opportunity to restore the last standing building from Flagstaff’s lumber era, into the Lumberyard Taproom and Grille. While the Lumberyard offers innovative pub fare: breaded cauliflower, bavarian pretzels, mac n’ cheese balls, and all the staples: wings, ribs and burgers, the beer which comes on tap and in cans (perfect for your to-go-bag), is a draw on its own. If you are a biped with kidneys that can metabolize alcohol, they pour everything from heavierbodied ales with high bitterness such as the Flagstaff IPA, to light and refreshing golden ales like the Backcountry Blonde. So, whatever your preferred brew style, the friendly staff at Lumberyard will guide you to beer nirvana. Before you go, check out the life size mural on the south side wall of the Lumberyard. It is pure Route 66 goodness.
Rickety Cricket Brewing, Kingman, AZ Created by husband and wife team, Terry and Stacey Thomspon, from a beer brewing hobby and a passion for creating something delicious, Rickety Cricket has developed into a successful craft brewery that has amassed a passionate following, so much so that there are now three locations: Prescott, Kingman and Flagstaff. The Rickety Cricket in Kingman, tucked away in the heart of historic Route 66, has been pumping out equally delicious and unorthodox creations since it opened its doors in 2017. The pared down rustic tinged industrial space hints at memories of hanging in your fav neighborhood bar, the perfect atmosphere for sampling the microbrewery’s range of offerings. The best beers here are meant to be sipped, not slammed, and with names like Anaconda Squeeze IPA, Utterly Abducted, Drama Mama and Kingman Club Kolsch, plan to stay a while. Terry’s legendary pizzas - he has won awards for them - are killers. Don’t miss the coin-operated arcade games that add to the craft-beer fun. This is a stop on old Route 66 that will only add to your journey. 38 ROUTE Magazine
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the White Dog By Heide Brandes Photographs by David J. Schwartz – Pics On Route 66 ROUTE Magazine 41
N
elson King may never have opened his wildly popular restaurant White Dog Hill in Clinton, Oklahoma, if he had ignored the ghostly messages coming from the glove box of his sister’s car. He might have named the Route 66 establishment something boring if he didn’t adopt that white dog that he didn’t really want. He may have hired less talented chefs if Jacqueline Davies-Thunderbull didn’t have a wild vision one night that led her from Bond Street in London to Cheyenne, Oklahoma, (although, looking back, the vision might have intended her to go to Cheyenne, Wyoming). His business may have continued to fall apart if the ghost of a murdered woman wasn’t smudged away by a Native American shaman and if the locals didn’t tell him he needed to focus on steaks. In a lot of ways, White Dog Hill restaurant was created by messages from the universe. Sure, the steaks and the daily specials have fans booking reservations weeks in advance, but the magic of Route 66 and the little white dog that inspired it is the true reason the restaurant and bar are among the most popular places to visit along Oklahoma’s enviable stretch of Mother Road.
The Mystery of the White Dog Nelson’s journey to White Dog Hill is as winding as the dirt road that leads to the restaurant. He was born on December 9, 1950, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to Iris and Lee King. His
Nelson King. 42 ROUTE Magazine
mother and father were both from Buffalo, a tiny town in Oklahoma’s panhandle. Nelson and his two older sisters, Coleen and Kathryn, spent summers with aunts and uncles in Buffalo, which gave them the freedom to happily explore the wideopen spaces. “We used to spend a lot of summers there from the time we were yay-high, which was great for us. The freedom of it was great,” Nelson said. “We got shipped off to this small town where grandpa and grandma were a block away from an aunt and uncle. And then there’s a great-grandma and there’s another uncle and then there’s another. And then there were the ones that you call aunt and uncle that aren’t actually, but you’ve grown up calling them that. What a safe environment to be in!” Nelson was born the week his dad graduated from Oklahoma State University, earning his architectural engineering degree, after serving in World War II. He got a job at the oil company Conoco and the family moved every three or four years, finally landing in Houston. Nelson graduated high school in 1969 in Houston and attended Texas A&M University to learn architecture. After graduating college in 1973, he moved around a bit. The restless spirit that he developed growing up had never left him. He stayed with friends in Nebraska to help remodel a house and returned to Texas A&M where he lived in his professor’s house. “I was sculpting and drawing a lot. I was just kind of a jack of all trades and vagabonding for a lot of years. Through some friends, I ended up in Vail, Colorado, and worked on interior design and things,” Nelson said. “But it just seemed like it was time for a change, and I had a friend in Fort Lauderdale.” After moving to Florida, Nelson was approached by a jewelry and fragrance company about designing displays for the Western hemisphere. “So, I just relocated from Fort Lauderdale to Miami in the 1980s. That fringe company was Cartier. Our office pretty much handled international locations like the Caribbean, North and South America, Central America, so most of my travel was out of the country.” In the late 90s, change was in the wind, however. Cartier did a global restructuring and a new boss came in.
“I left Cartier in 1999. The whole atmosphere of the company changed. So, I moved back to Oklahoma in 2000,” Nelson said. “I had been working odd jobs since I quit Cartier. My mother had died, and my sisters and I needed to go visit daddy in Denver, where he was living, to go through all the boxes and stuff.” While visiting his father, Nelson decided to use his travel points to visit his sister Coleen and her husband Reid Buckmaster in Weatherford, located just east of Clinton. “I thought I’d come to visit for a few days,” he said. Nelson didn’t plan to stay… until the glove box started talking to him.
Messages from the Glove Box On the first day he was in Weatherford, Nelson borrowed his sister’s car to visit an aunt in Enid, located in the northwestern part of Oklahoma. “Before I got even that far - and I know this sounds really loopy - I started having a conversation with the glove
compartment, which told me that I needed to move to Oklahoma,” Nelson said. Talking out his ideas out loud in the car helped Nelson focus, and the glove compartment seemed like as good a sympathetic ear as any. Nelson knows exactly how quirky that sounds, but it worked. “I asked the glove compartment when I needed to move. It said, ‘When you finish the house you’re working on in Miami.’ So that would be April or May of next year. And I said, ‘Okay, so where am I moving in Oklahoma?’ It said, ‘Well, your brother-in-law’s grandma’s old house was outside Weatherford.’ The glove compartment is telling me I need to move to Grandma Buck’s old house out in the country.” College students lived in the house, so Nelson asked his brother-in-law if he could evict them. “He said ‘I guess I could. Why?’ and I said, ‘Because Coleen’s car’s glove compartment told me I need to move here next spring.’ So, he evicted them. I went home and finished the house in Miami, sold it and moved up here.” ROUTE Magazine 43
Coleen had no idea that her car had such an influence on Nelson. “He never told me that story,” she said. “I just remember that when he did move up, he redid my husband’s grandmother’s house. It’s still really nice.” By fall, Nelson found another place to live. “My sister and I were out on a Sunday drive and we were behind the Clinton Indian hospital and through the bare trees, I could see this beautiful little stone house. The little farm was for sale, so I took down the number and called. I ended up buying it,” said Nelson.” He also had his eye on a strange old building that sat high up on a nearby hill. “One of my few friends at the time was Ima Jean Herndon, a local Cheyenne who had a native craft shop over in Cheyenne, close to the Texas line. I would go over there once a week and we’d go to lunch,” Nelson said. “I always saw this big old two-story building.” Nelson, with the help of his sister, learned that the property owner was selling, and just that like, he ended up with a farm and the old building on the hill. “We went to see it after dinner one night, and there was this bright orange sunset. I said, ‘Oh, Nelson, this could be gorgeous,’” Coleen said. “Nelson always had a vision. Most people would have just bulldozed it down, but he wanted to bring it back to its original glory.” The structure was built in 1925 as the original Clinton Country Club and Golf Course and was the local place to be. Parties and proms were held there and only the most prominent people of society were members. By the late 1950s, however, a bigger golf course was built, and the Clinton Country Club closed down. “Then it was a nightclub, gambling den, whorehouse - a little bit of everything - until the 1970s. Then I think one or two families lived here,” Nelson said. “The last man that I can trace back was somebody’s eccentric uncle who was kind of a hermit. He died in the early 1980s, and then it
44 ROUTE Magazine
was abandoned.” The once impressive building lay silent for some time. Nelson had never owned or operated a restaurant before, but he wanted to bring the old building back to its glory. “That place stayed empty, but it was such a prominent and popular place on Route 66 in its heyday,” said Pat Smith, director of Clinton’s Route 66 Museum. “It was pretty exclusive. All the fancy people went there.” Nelson had originally thought to turn the property into a private home, but everyone in town urged him to open a steakhouse. “People got really excited,” Smith continued. “It’s even more popular now that he opened White Dog. And his success really is word of mouth.” But before he could open the restaurant, Nelson needed a dog, a chef, and someone to get rid of the ghost. Oh, yeah, unfortunately the building was haunted.
A Dog, a Chef and a Ghost When Nelson bought his cute little farm, he wanted a dog. He called around to try to find an animal shelter, but one of the veterinarians he reached out to had different ideas. “They told me that they had this great little white dog that needed a home,” Nelson said. “I wanted a bigger dog. I didn’t want a white dog with red earth Oklahoma. But I took him home and we just immediately bonded. I looked in all these baby books to find a name, but nothing sounded right. I just named him White Dog and named the farm White Dog Farm after him because it seemed to fit.” White Dog was Nelson’s lucky charm. It made sense to call the new restaurant White Dog too. But first, Nelson needed to find a chef. He found Jackie Davies-Thunderbull. Jackie was born “in the late 60s” just outside London. “I don’t want to say the year because I spar with my staff all the time about how old I am,” she said. She grew up just outside London with her parents Jessie and Reginald, who instilled a love of travel into their daughter. “Traveling is how I was brought up,” she said. “I was very lucky to have visited many different countries. My parents embraced all cultures and all people, and that had a great effect on me.” She attended a girls’ boarding school, which also exposed her to girls from many different cultures and backgrounds. After graduating from boarding school, Jackie attended Oxford University to study business management.
The road leading to the restaurant off of Route 66.
She graduated in 1983 but took some time to travel the world before focusing on her career. “I actually went into venture capitalism when I returned. I didn’t know much about it, but ended up as a research tech for Thompson Clive and Partners Ltd.” While the job was fascinating, it was also high-pressure and stressful. To help balance out the stress, Jackie learned to cook from her best friend who was a Cordon Bleu-trained chef. But the stress of venture capitalism took its toll. After 17 years in London, Jackie was ready for a change. She decided to travel to the United States to visit an old school chum in North Carolina before “backpacking” around the rest of America. Before she left, she had a dream - a vision, if you will. “There was a place called Cheyne Walk in London that I would visit with my girlfriends. In this dream, we were at Cheyne Walk and leaving a restaurant. I looked up and the road sign was spelled ‘Cheyenne.’ It was so vivid,” Jackie said. In 2000, she took her trip to America. “I had planned to go through the south to Texas, up through Oklahoma to Wyoming and Montana and over to Oregon,” she said. “I looked up western Oklahoma, and I read about Washita Battlefield National Historic Site where the Cheyenne village of Chief Black Kettle and the Battle of Washita occurred. It was in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. I thought that was a peculiar coincidence, so I decided to visit.” When she arrived in Cheyenne, she met a Native American crafter named Ima Jean Herndon. They became friends, and Herndon felt that she would get along famously with her friend Nelson.
“So, my friend Ima Jean calls me and says, ‘There’s this fascinating lady from London. You have to come meet her.’ We just hit it off,” Nelson said. “She was a superb chef, so I knew I could rope Jackie into at least helping me get set up.” Jackie always wanted to return to college, and Herndon convinced her to attend college in Weatherford. “I ended up going to college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. In 2006, I graduated with two degrees - one in American History and one in Psychology,” Jackie said. One day, while Jackie was visiting Herndon, the woman pulled out a picture of her cousin, Marvin Thunderbull, who was a policeman. “He was in a movie called ‘Last of the Dogmen’ that had Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey in it,” said Jackie. “I went to a Labor Day Powwow in 2001. I had never been to a powwow before, and he was there. Ima Jean introduced us.” The sparks flew, and soon the two were dating. But the terrorist attacks on 9/11 changed everything, and Marvin was called up to serve as part of the National Reserves. In 2000, he was sent to Iraq where the war had just begun. At that point, Nelson was also badgering her to lend a hand with the new restaurant. She helped develop financial projections and the business plan while attending school. When Marvin returned, he and Jackie married in a traditional Cheyenne wedding in May 2004. Two weeks later, the civil ceremony was held at White Dog Farm. “Nelson started talking to me about becoming the chef,” Jackie said. “Finally, I said, ‘Fine, but only for a short time.’” Nelson and Jackie asked around to see what kind of fare the community wanted. The consensus was that White Dog Hill should be a steakhouse. ROUTE Magazine 45
“someone” peering around the wait station into the kitchen. “I don’t really feel scared about it. I think it might just be residual energy,” Jackie said. “This place has so much history.”
Steak and a Burger
But opening a restaurant wasn’t as easy or smooth as Nelson hoped it would be. Financing was hard to come by and even a Small Business Administration-backed loan didn’t help convince bankers. Once financing was secured, bureaucratic red tape and construction delays caused even more problems. And then there was the ghost to take care of. “There was a fine upstanding family in Clinton, but their son was apparently a little off track. In the early 1980s, he brought his wife up here and stabbed her with an ice pick 27 times,” said Nelson. “We called the ghost Dottie, but actually, that was her mother-in-law. I don’t know the woman’s real name.” As soon as Nelson fixed something in the restaurant-tobe, it would break again. Over and over, Dottie would ruin whatever Nelson was working on. So of course, Nelson did the most logical thing; he found a shaman named Moses Starr to help. “Moses came up and we went through a whole ceremony,” Nelson said. “He went around doing his chanting with his abalone shells and his sweet grass and he said, ‘What do you want me to bless?’ And I said, ‘Oh, Moses, pick something - me, the dog, the building, the property, we’re all cursed here.’” The blessing worked, but the restaurant has still other ghostly sightings. Jackie has heard sounds of a party when no one was in the restaurant. She and her staff have seen 46 ROUTE Magazine
Nearly eight months after getting financing and battling red tape, White Dog Hill restaurant opened on August 1, 2007, offering only core items like steak, shrimp, burgers, salmon and baked potatoes at first. “We gradually added to the menu and more art showed up, too,” said Nelson. White Dog Hill is covered in paintings, and though some depict bucolic landscapes, most feature a white dog. White Dog himself became a favorite sight for customers and was Nelson’s constant companion. One customer brought in an old Victorian painting of a white dog. Someone else painted a portrait of White Dog and gave it to Nelson. “Everyone loved White Dog,” said Nelson. “I think they liked him better than they liked me.” Jackie wanted to keep local fans happy, but she had a mission to offer dishes that they may not have a chance to taste anywhere else. Her specials ranged from Cuban stew and Brazilian vegetable dishes to African fare, Indian curry and even Japanese offerings. “I wanted to bring in unusual dishes to encourage people to try something new,” Jackie said. “Steak is prominent, of course, since we are in cattle country. We wanted to give people what they expected, but more.” Three years after opening the restaurant, Nelson added Beany Bar, named after his little brown dog Beans. “White Dog got the restaurant and Beans got the bar,” Nelson said. Sadly, White Dog was run over in the restaurant parking lot late one night and died on April 13, 2016. He is buried under a sprawling tree in the center of the White Dog Hill parking circle. His loss had a huge impact on Nelson, but he has positively pushed forward. Visions, a white dog, talking glove compartments and ghosts may have all led to the legend of White Dog Hill, but the spirit of Route 66 is what keeps the restaurant so popular. “We want to stay true to Route 66 and what made it so special, which was coming into a town, feeling welcome and celebrating local community,” said Nelson. Up on its wind-swept hill, overlooking miles and miles of open golden plains and historic land, with the old highway meandering right on past out front, White Dog is a special place that continues to delight those who grace its door.
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50 ROUTE Magazine
A CONVERSATION WITH
Martin Sheen By Brennen Matthews
Photographs by Jeff Vespa
F
ew actors have reached the acclaim and recognition that the much-applauded thespian Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez, better known as Martin Sheen, has achieved. At the young age of 79, Sheen continues to represent characters that we love on screen, fight for causes that he believes passionately in, and invest deeply in his growing family. Never one to sit idle, Sheen was named honorary Mayor of Malibu, California, in 1989, nominated for ten Emmy awards and eight Golden Globes during his career, and even received a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Perhaps best known for his role as President Bartlett in West Wing or perhaps for his Big Screen leads in Apocalypse Now, The Departed, Gandhi, and The Way, Sheen is not someone people easily forget.
You are originally from Dayton, Ohio. Do you ever get back? Sure, I’ve got tons of nieces and nephews, my brother and his wife, John and Barbara, are still there. He’s retired from public television there in town.
Do you still feel at home there? Oh yes, very much so, you know. In fact, I was scheduled to join a memorial service for the victims of August 4th this past year. Unfortunately, I had to go to Texas to start a job unexpectedly, so I missed the peace march and the memorial for the victims.* *On August 4, 2019, Connor Stephen Betts, 24, fatally shot nine people and wounded 17 others using an AR-15 style pistol.
I grew up about six blocks from where those shootings occurred. I grew up on Brown Street and we used to walk through [that area]. All those old buildings became part of the National Register. They were fixed up and made to present this very beautiful renewal of the whole community, and it’s become a tourist attraction. That’s why it was so full that night of the shootings. We were just in Cleveland a few weeks ago doing a few days on a film out there.
Back in 1961 you actually did a guest spot on the show Route 66. I did! Sure. We did it in Philadelphia.
Do you remember working on the show? I do, very, very much so. The show was very, very popular at that time. I think that it was ‘62, wasn’t it?
I thought it was ‘61, but maybe it was ‘62. The reason I remember was because Janet was pregnant with Emilio and he was born in ‘62. Now maybe we were shooting it in ‘61 and it went on the air in ‘62. But I remember that they plastered my hair down and colored it blonde. (Laughs) I played this character named Packy and it was very over the top. I was just kind of this street hoodlum, you know, gang leader, who was very adept at running around building tops and jumping from parapet to parapet. I was up on a building, it was 13 or 14 stories high, and I was causing Janet a great deal of discomfort as she was watching me on the ledges. And I didn’t think anything of ROUTE Magazine 51
it at the time, but I look back on it now and think, “What a stupid ass I was.” (Laughs)
Did you enjoy watching yourself on screen in your early days? You know, what was exciting was getting the jobs, and doing the jobs, that was always, most always a pleasant experience. But watching myself, very, very hard to do, even today. It’s very difficult. We have such a different image of ourselves, all of us do. But rarely do [we] see ourselves on a national stage. And it’s very, very… I’m still embarrassed. I mean, I love being an actor, I always have, and I love working, but I’m not always comfortable with the image that I see.
You’ve spent quite a good amount of time on 66. Have you ever driven the whole route? Oh many, many times, yes! In fact, we were in Texas for almost two months in October and November [2018], and you know, Route 66 goes right through Texas and the Panhandle. I’ve been on that road many, many times. Back in the early sixties, I used to go out west from New York City on a Greyhound, I think it took three and a half days, and occasionally they would change buses along the way, but normally it was the same bus. The bus was the cheapest way. I’ve been back and forth across the country on the Greyhound on Route 66 more than, I would say, two dozen times.
That is a lot of bus travel. Are there any trips that stand out to you more than others? One of the most memorable trips that I remember was in the summer or early fall of 1963. I did an episode of My Three Sons, and in those days, you had to film all the scenes with Fred MacMurray [first]. He had a contract, where he filmed all of his scenes and all of the episodes first and when he finished, then you’d come back and finish all the other scenes with the boys. And so, when I was hired to do this scene they said, “Well, you’ve got to come back in December and finish and work with Tim and the rest of the lads. Will you do that?” “I will,” I said. So, I worked a scene with Fred and then I got a call to come back to New York… I got a job on The Defenders. And I was filming The Defenders in New York City on November 22nd, 1963, which was the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. And you know, we just went through that horrible time, we were living in Staten Island at that [point]. Then in late December, I remember, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I had to go back and finish the episode of [My Three Sons]. So, I got on a Greyhound on 42nd Street in New York City and started the journey, and it was like a funeral dirge crossing the country, the whole country was in mourning. And when we got out to New Mexico, I think it was around Albuquerque, or somewhere like that, in the wilderness, and it was winter, and it was cold. And there was a huge billboard on the side of the road, out in the open space, and it just said in black lettering on a white background, “We Mourn Him.” Just those three words, “We Mourn Him.” And it had a black border on it, and I thought, “Oh my god.” That just was reflective of the entire world and that lonely spot out in the New Mexico desert, 52 ROUTE Magazine
and that was the whole journey. It was just like, it was like losing a parent, you know? It was like the darkest of times. We were all in a fog, and the country was reflecting it all the way across Route 66. I’ll never forget that journey. I remember other journeys too. I remember once when the bus broke down in Flagstaff, Arizona, and they asked us to get off and help push it. (Laughs) There were about a dozen Native Americans on-board and me, and we were all woken up in the middle of the night and we all got out and pushed it. And thankfully we got it to a downhill stop there in the [mountains] and then we got it started again. They had a service called the Golden Eagle on Route 66. It went through St. Louis and all. It was very interesting because I guess that it was a trial thing. They had first class on-board the Greyhound. (Laughs)
Really? Yes! I mean, people may not remember this, but some of your older readers might recall, they used to have attendants on-board who served coffee and snacks throughout the entire journey. And they were dressed in uniforms just like you were on an airplane.
On a Greyhound bus? Yes, and it was called the Golden Eagle service. I don’t know how long it lasted, but I used to love to go on that one because the whole bus was like first class, you know? And we had all these special privileges, I think there were two toilets on-board and there was fancy seating with more head room. And they had little doilies on the top of the [seats] so that your head wouldn’t spoil the seat covering. (Laughs) It was amazing.
You and Janet had four kids and you were very busy much of the time working, but were you guys a road trip family? Oh yeah! You know, Emilio and I wrote a memoir called Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son… it was published a few years ago. But in it he recalls a lot of these road trips, many that I had forgotten, and there’s a couple of pictures in there of us on the road. We had an old Ford station wagon that we drove on one trip to West Virginia. A friend of mine wanted to do a low budget, independent film out there. And we made that trip a couple of times because we went back when the weather changed because the film was supposed to take place over a couple of years, so we’d go back and forth. We did road trips with the kids where we were on the road and we’d put them in schools. (Laughs) I learned the country in a car. I didn’t get a driver’s license until I was 28. I never drove as a boy. When we were in Mexico in 1969 doing a film, we took a train back up to the Arizona border. There at the crossing we rented a car and drove to California, the first time with the whole family. Emilio remembers a lot of these trips, and he talks about them in the book. It’s a bit of a record of our time on the road.
Were you one of those fathers that refused to stop for bathroom breaks? (Laughs) Oh gosh, yes! You’ve got to read the book because Emilio talks about that a lot, about how I wouldn’t let anyone
touch the dashboard, I was afraid the car would break down or something. I didn’t know how to dim the headlights; I didn’t have a clue. I was terrified of passing someone on a two-lane road. But the kids remember. (Laughs)
Your generation is notorious for some of those things. (Laughs) Yeah, we’ll stop when we can all go together. I’m not stopping for you and then have to stop for someone else. You just have to hold it awhile, yeah. And how many times did we have to stop on the side of the road! (Laughs) You’ve driven Route 66 many times. Do you stay on the route the entire way?
We never get on the Interstate unless we absolutely have to. Isn’t it interesting, because some of those places are forlorn now, you know, particularly through Arizona and New Mexico.
Actually, 85% of the old road is still very drivable. We love every stretch of the old highway. Isn’t that extraordinary?
Did you and Janet find it difficult trying to raise a family being in the public eye so much? Did you think they would get the acting bug too? Yeah, it’s just the nature of the business. But I didn’t have any idea that the kids were at all interested. I mean, I was focused on the work and the travel and the commitment and the need to make a living. So, I wasn’t really aware of their interest in becoming a part of it, I was always surprised. I remember one day I was doing a show and Emilio showed up and I thought he was there to visit me, and he was on the show! He’d gotten it on his own and no one told me a thing, he’d gone and read for a part and showed up to do it and suddenly we were working together, and I had not a clue that he was interested in the least.
Is it harder to act opposite someone you know really well, like a close friend or family member? Gosh, you know, there is a different level of commitment then, because you’re very sensitive to their presence and their needs, and yet you don’t want to play favorites, so you have to be professional. And at the same time, you can
never not be a father. So that was always a concern. There were a couple of times that I was enormously proud - as an actor and a father – like in one film in particular called Cadence, which is the only film I ever directed. Charlie [Sheen] played the lead in the brig, and my son Ramon was one of the top guards, I don’t know if you realized that, but he was playing Gessner, the guard who was such a sycophant to me, the kid with the glasses, that’s my son Ramon. And a lot of people didn’t realize that. He of course is using his real name; he’s never changed his name. But that’s the reason we asked him to wear glasses, because we would all look less alike, because there was a scene where the three of us are playing together, a couple of scenes in fact, and we had to make sure that people were not thinking that it was father and two sons rather than these separate characters. But that’s a very good example of how sometimes it was a very, very kind of thin line between family and profession, it had to be maintained while we were filming. And it was one of the best times I ever had, I was so proud of both of them and the family thing never interfered with the picture, they were as professional and as skilled as you could possibly be. I think it’s one of Charlie’s best performances.
One of my favorite films is a more recent one from 2010, The Way. Oh gosh, yes. That’s the best thing I’ve ever done. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. The Way has been the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done.
People travel Route 66 these days for various reasons. We had one reader who wrote in and said: “I’m doing [Route 66] this summer, [retracing] the trip that my grandmother took by herself in 1961 when she was 69 years old.” This lady wanted to retrace the steps of her grandmother. Your dad was from Galicia, Spain, and was born 70 kilometers from Camino de Santiago. Was doing this film a little like walking in your father’s footsteps? Oh, very much so, yeah! He was the foundation of the entire project. My father was never comfortable with my having changed my name, although I never changed it officially, my show business name really kind of distracted him. And so, I was trying to get back in his good graces, with his spirit, by ROUTE Magazine 53
doing The Way. It was a very conscious family effort and it stretched to my grandson Taylor. Taylor and I were in Spain in 2003 and we were driving the Camino because I didn’t have time to walk it, yet I wanted to experience it as much as possible. I had to get back to LA to do the next season [of] The West Wing. And when we got to Burgos, one of the major cities, and a main stop along the Camino, we stayed in a refugio there called El Molino, which means, “The Mill”. At the pilgrim’s supper, Taylor met his future wife who worked at that stop and he lived there, and they married there. He lived there for nine years. And so, Emilio would have to go over there to see him, because he wasn’t coming home that often and [Emilio] got interested in what was going on there and started to follow the Camino and began to write about it, and he eventually settled on a father-son theme. He had this image that he’d
lost his son to the Camino and he didn’t quite know what it was. And so, he wrote about it and eventually it became known as The Way and that was the story. All along The Way there’s family and old friends [involved], but it has definitely a connection to my father, and it was like we were moving towards him the whole time. And when we entered Galicia it was like we’d come home. Honestly, it is the most satisfying film I’ve ever done.
It’s such a special film that I believe many parents and sons can relate to it. Very much so. I always recommend that fathers and sons watch it together and so many have done the journey, you 54 ROUTE Magazine
know, fathers and sons, and also so many people who have lost someone, maybe not a son, but a husband, a grandfather, a wife, a daughter and who knows what, and they go along. Maybe you should consider doing it. How old is your son?
He just turned 12 in February. Oh my, you should consider doing it. That would be a lifelong journey that you could share together that is unequal anywhere.
Other than Route 66! Other than Route 66, okay. (Laughs) That is a pilgrimage too, isn’t it?
Fathers and sons have had complicated relationships for time immemorial. Is it different with a daughter versus, let’s say, the three boys? I only have one son, but you’ve done this four times. Is it different between fathers and daughters or is every relationship unique? You know, I think that every parent who has multiple children is asked, do you love one more than another. And Janet and I have both said and feel that you love them all equally, but differently. Each one has different needs and you have individual relationships with each one and you have a family relationship with the whole. Individual relationships are normal and with each [come] individual problems and concerns and needs. And they must be met. So, you’re
working kind of on two levels: as a unit and as an individual. I’m reminded of an old Irish phrase that says, “We never get over our fathers, and we’re not required to.” I’m extremely close to Emilio, but I’m not any closer to him than I am to Charlie or Ramon or to Renee, it’s just on a different level. I know them in different places at different times doing different things. Does that make any sense?
I was rereading Rob Lowe’s book, Things I Only Tell My Friends, the other day and he shared a lot about growing up with Emilio and Charlie. He spoke a lot about all of the energy in the Sheen household. You were working on some high- profile projects and the boys were busy shooting their own 8mm films! It was a real time of creativity and energy.
It does, very much.
You know, they were all so talented. Every single one of them had… we didn’t think of it as potential, we didn’t know that they were going to be actors, but they were just so instinctively talented. And that all came out later, but we saw it in their childhood relationships and their relationships to Janet and me. We were just deeply involved in their lives and glad that they were a part of our family, you know. Emilio was friends more with Rob. But Chad [Rob’s younger brother] and Charlie were very, very close and they played Little League together and I got to know him and was very fond of him, and still am. He was very, very shy and very polite and I would take them to their practices and their games for Little League. Chad’s a big political supporter of the Democrats and I’ve gone out on the road with him to support Democrat causes and we worked for Al Gore when he ran for President and so forth, and we’ve done things together. He’s a very, very dear man. I remember he invited us to his wedding, and he married a girl who was living in a car with her mother. And it was Hilary Swank. She was not known at the time, but he was crazy about this girl. We met her and we said, “Oh, of course.”
I would go to Emilio’s soccer games and Charlie’s baseball games. I would go to Renee’s horse shows and I would go to Ramon’s dance recitals and concerts. And they were all of equal importance to us and them, but it was always on their level. And we had such unique experiences because we chose to travel together to so many different places. We’d wrench them out of school and take them to faraway places and they would object, you know, they had friends, they had investment in their studies and in their communities, and we would just foreclose that: “No, dad’s got a job, we’ve got to go, pack it up, let’s go.” (Laughs) That was the end of it, either get in a plane or in a car or on a train or a bus, but we’re out of here. And that was a foregone conclusion. If Pop got a job and it didn’t happen to be in town, you knew you were gonna be stuck somewhere for a while. And that’s just the way it was. I remember we were in Rome in the mid-seventies and Spain and Italy, all for a large amount of time. And then the Philippines, I went there for over a year, and they were anxious to get back and kind of split up the time here and there. That book [Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son] gives very good insight into what we were going through as a family and what Emilio was able to articulate [about] it. And now, when we get together, of course we are all so much older and you know, now we are not just grandparents, we’re great grandparents now. And Charlie’s a grandfather and Emilio’s a grandfather and you know, it’s like we have a reservoir of common ground that we… I guess it’s something where we go over it like you do Route 66, “Oh, do you remember this time we went there? What was that guy’s name, remember him? And wasn’t that? No, no, he was the other guy.” (Laughs) But everybody has a memory and a contribution, and a lot of the times they objected to going to faraway places for long periods of time, but now they’re glad they did, because they had personal experiences in foreign countries or faraway places in the states that no one else knew. Their college, their school chums, their classmates, had no idea. And they had these experiences as a family and sometimes personally. Sometimes, I would take just one or two of them because the rest of them wouldn’t go. (Laughs) I remember being in Mexico for three months with Charlie on a film where we had some experiences that are just, you know, that belong to he and I, that are deeply personal and powerful; time together, just the two of us, in the wilderness in Mexico. I went to Kenya in 1988, and we delivered two circus elephants back into the wild on a show called ABC’s Wide World of Sports. We delivered these elephants to Tsavo National Park. A guy picked them up in Seattle, Washington, and he sailed them over and he asked me to be part of the adventure. I said “yes,” and they filmed it for this ABC show. Charlie and Ramon went with us on that trip and they both had a profound experience in Africa, in Kenya.
In my forties I look back to everything and I’m kind of nostalgic over a lot of the stuff from my youth that is sort of behind me now. Coming into 80 this year, a milestone year for many people, what do you find yourself nostalgic about, Martin? I have to honestly say that I’m not really nostalgic, per se. I have periods of it, I’ll see something or be reminded of something, see a book, a picture, a magazine, something that takes me back to a moment. But for me, I’m not comfortable staying there because that’s not who I am. The older I get, the more I love life in general, even the difficult parts. It’s still life and it’s still an opportunity for growth and sharing and love and commitment. I never tire of just the experience of waking up each day, and no matter what I have to face that day or what went on the day before, I get another day, you know? And it just knocks me out, from the smallest thing to the most awe-inspiring thing. The other day I watched a hawk here take a bath in the swimming pool. Now, I have never seen a hawk go in the water anywhere, at any time. My daughter said, “Well, he was going in to shake off the mites.” But I’ve never seen a wild hawk do that, you know? Gosh, we couldn’t stop watching him. Every day is a new adventure and I’m sort of privileged to be a part of it, no matter how much of it I’m aware of. I think it’s a problem to dwell in the past because you miss what’s going on right in front of your eyes. You can’t do anything about yesterday and you have no possibility of affecting tomorrow. This is all you get to experience. Make sure to check out Martin in Grace and Frankie on Netflix and keep an eye open for numerous films in 2020. ROUTE Magazine 55
LAUTERBACH MAN The Giant of Springfield, Illinois
W
hen people think about Springfield, Illinois, they think about several things: it’s the picturesque state capital and most certainly the central hub for all things Abraham Lincoln. It is a fun, relaxed town that has a lot to see and do, but small enough not to overwhelm visitors. But one thing that not everyone knows, unless you’re driving Route 66 that is, Springfield is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant Mother Road stops on the old highway. In fact, with its connection to famed Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire, the delectable Cozy Dog Drive In, cool vintage signs like the Sonrise Donut shop and Pioneer Motel, and quirky Rail Splitter: Skinny Abe Lincoln statue, Springfield holds more than its fair share of Mother Road pull. But there is one attraction that seems to entice more people off of America’s Main Street than any other: the towering Lauterbach Giant. Today, the giant sits on Wabash Ave. in front of Lauterbach Tire & Auto Service, patriotically holding an American flag, and is a beacon to motorists on the search for a healthy slice of Americana. His bright red shirt and blue pants, weathered brown boots, full brown beard and quizzical eyes, are a call back to yesteryear when the Paul Bunyan design was seen in many incarnations across America. But Lauterbach’s story is not so simple. First purchased by Russ Lewis in 1961 to draw in customers to his new business, Midtown Tire, the larger than life muffler man found a home in front of Lewis’ new shop on State and Laurel Streets. Lewis’ scheme was a good fit for the times as muffler men were popping up across the country, the ultimate advertising gimmick. Unfortunately, the shop only survived a year before closing, and the giant was in a pickle. He needed a new place to call home. In 1962, brothers Edward Jr. and Edward McGaughey, rescued him and placed him in front of their Roundup Motel, cafe, and service station in small town Farmersville, Illinois, where he stood guarding the road for 16 years, until the motel closed in 1978. While Russ Lewis’ shop didn’t fare too well with the giant, his son, Dave, recognized its potential and bought him back from the brothers and moved him to his current location where he still stands today. Business is a tricky proposition and the giant’s current home went through a series of owners, starting with Dave Lewis, who sold the shop to his brother Bill, who in turn sold it in 1985 to Jay Lauterbach and his family. A flurry of ownership changes later and the Lauterbach Giant is still proudly owned by the Lauterbach clan. Jay passed away in 2018, but his wife Jane and two of his sons, Mark and Brian, 56 ROUTE Magazine
continue to operate the tire shop, preserving the giant with a fresh coat of paint every few years. Things were mostly quiet for the Lauterbach Giant until the night of Sunday, March 12, 2006, when a tornado came roaring through Springfield, giving the exposed muffler man quite an injury. “We had damage to our building and did not realize until later that he had been literally decapitated,” explained Mark Lauterbach, co-owner of Lauterbach Tire & Auto Service. “We found out the following day [that] a local guy who lived in the neighborhood found the head in his backyard. It was nestled in the roof of The Barrel Head, which is a restaurant right next door to [us].” Given the damage that the storm caused, Springfield’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade had to be postponed for a week, but that didn’t make the parade any less special, as Mayor Tim Davlin requested the presence of Lauterbach’s “head” to ride on a trailer in the parade. Considering the hard times that many Springfield residents were experiencing from the tornado, seeing the smiling, strange head of the Lauterbach Giant in their annual parade certainly helped to lighten the mood. The giant’s crown was reattached later that month, and he has never looked better. While the Lauterbach Giant has remained a public figure in Springfield for many years, the 21st Century gave him his own unique personality, complete with a deep, lumberjackesque voice. In 2006, the Lauterbachs partnered with Midwest Family Broadcasting and began their popular Lauterbach radio commercials, creating a persona for the giant to further entice people off the road. “We were not utilizing him prior to that, other than on business cards. Probably in hindsight, it was just untapped potential, not using him.” Coupled with his colorful character and storied past, the Lauterbach Giant will continue to be a prominent fixture in Springfield and one of its most popular attractions. “I think that the Lauterbach Man compliments the other giants we have in town,” said Scott Dahl, Director of Visit Springfield. “We have the Rail Splitter at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, which is a young Abe with an axe in hand, we have a pink elephant off of 6th Street that people will often stop and get their photo next to, Ace Sign Company has a sign museum [that] compliments that whole 66 nostalgia…” Springfield, Illinois, is definitely a Mother Road town with a bevy of treasures, but having its own surviving muffler man really does set them ahead. The next time you decide to hit up Route 66 and sail down through Springfield, Illinois, be sure to visit the Lauterbach Giant and remember his friendly radio advice to “Drive safely now.”
Very small. Very friendly. Very Route 66. Atlanta | Lincoln | Elkhart Logan County Tourism Bureau DestinationLoganCountyIL.com 217-732-8687
ROUTE Magazine 57
The Elegant
bright red neon sign that reads, “The Hotel Paisano” beckons you to “the most elegant hotel between El Paso and San Antonio.” Now that is a big claim, even in Texas, but standing in the historic lobby of the Paisano, it is undeniable that the claim may well be accurate. There is something magical, something haunting about this southwestern relic. Located in the small art hub of Marfa, Texas, the hotel earned its “elegant” status thanks to the talents of famous architect Henry Trost, who designed the building over 90 years ago. “He fell in love with this area,” said Vicki Barge, the general manager of the hotel. “He wanted things that blended in with the environment. He imbued [the hotel] with a lot more character, a lot more details that weren’t seen in the buildings around.” Built in 1930 by El Paso’s Charles Bassett, and renovated in recent years, Hotel Paisano survived the tumultuous period of the Great Depression – the property broke ground several days before the infamous stock market crash – and went on to host many guests over the years. Initially, these visitors were mostly cattle ranchers who came to town to buy and sell cattle, and American tourists who were in search of dry desert air. But in 1955, the hotel received the star-studded cast and crew of the classic movie “Giant,” which included the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, and Rock Hudson. It was an occasion that Marfa would not soon forget. “They would shoot the film daily,” said Barge. “[Then] they would fly [the film] out every day and fly it back the next day and watch it [in the hotel]. The cast and the crew would watch some of them and then it was open to the general public and they could watch with them.” It was film’s golden age and Marfa’s too. “I know people loved having them here, especially James Dean. People said he was a regular person and that he was always very friendly. It really meant a lot to the town. The fun of seeing them and having them. It was really a boom to the economy at that time.”
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The grand lobby features gleaming wood furniture and a glass-fronted case filled with Giant artifacts, including signed photographs of the cast. Original historic rooms, such as the James Dean room, have been preserved. Giant would be the last film that Dean would appear in; he was killed in a car crash in the fall of 1955, and it is believed that his spirit still roams the hallways. Ghosts or not, the spirit of the past certainly still floods the venue with memories that soak the walls, the tiles, and the very fabric of the venue. The Dennis Hopper suite – he also stayed here – features two separate ensuite bedrooms. Along with its elegant design and celebrity past, Hotel Paisano has also been a staple of the artist community in Marfa with its Greasewood Gallery, which not only exhibits the work of local artists, but also features international artists as well as those in the Tri County area of Texas. “There are a lot of people in the area who have moved to Marfa for the art community,” said Barge. “There’s limited accessibility for local artists to show in [Marfa’s] galleries. We thought it was important for [them] to have a space to show their work.” Hotel Paisano feels haunted. Haunted not by ghosts, but by a certain past that lingers in the hotel’s presence. You feel it in the sunny outdoor dining area while listening to the three-tiered, ornate fountain pour water. You feel it at sunset, while sipping a beer by the now faded, outdoor 1950s swimming pool—which seems more like a dimming California courtyard than a fitness area. This feeling is the essence of Hotel Paisano’s charm, which trades ‘modern and flashy’ for ‘classic and enchanting.’ With its old Hollywood feel and its once grand design, Hotel Paisano continues to be a notable stopping point in Marfa. The aged venue still carries with it an unquestionable nostalgia, a taste of a bygone era that is still perfectly at home in the quirky, southwestern town of Marfa.
Photograph courtesy of Alex Marks.
HOTEL PAISANO A
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HOMETOWN LEGEND riving through Oklahoma’s impossibly lovely stretch of Route 66 means passing through the small, friendly town of Commerce. It’s best to pay attention there, or else you might miss the boyhood home of one of the most famous baseball players of all time: Mickey Mantle. Born on October 20th, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, Mantle moved with his family when he was four years old to Commerce, about five miles north of the vibrant town of Miami, where he spent his boyhood and teenage years. There, Mantle crafted his legendary switch-hitting abilities with his father and grandfather, who pitched to him righthanded and left-handed, respectively. “And of course, Mickey would have been playing with the neighborhood kids too. His dad would have showed him the skills: how to use his torso and legs,” explained Dr. Bob Blackburn, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Historical Society. “Mickey grew up in that kind of environment where he probably played every kind of sport there was. But baseball was his real skillset.” In high school, Mickey not only played baseball, but also football and basketball. It was during one fateful football practice his sophomore year that a teammate kicked him in his lower leg, resulting in osteomyelitis. Had it not been for the new invention of penicillin, Mickey’s leg would have been amputated. Once recovered, Mantle continued to play baseball with skills that wowed his peers and eventually caught the eye of Yankees scout, Tom Greenwade. After graduating high school in 1949, Mantle joined the Yankees’ Class D minor league team and quickly worked his way into the Major Leagues by 1951. However, during his rookie season, Mantle felt the burden to perform like the great Yankee players before him. Everyone expected him to follow in the footsteps of heroes like Joe DiMaggio. In his major league debut, Mantle even dawned the number “6”, which followed DiMaggio’s immortalized number “5” jersey. But sensational hype comes with an immense pressure, which proved too much for Mantle; his performance dipped in the middle of the season and resulted in his temporary assignment back in the minors. While this greatly discouraged him, Mantle’s father told him to buck up and get back on the field, motivating his son to try once more. Within that same rookie season, Mantle managed to regain his stellar form and rejoined the New York Yankees—this time sporting number “7”. 60 ROUTE Magazine
But, just like his boyhood years in Commerce, Mantle continued to suffer from many injuries during his professional career. 1951 was no different; he tripped and injured his knee while getting out of Joe DiMaggio’s way for a fly ball, which left Mantle with a lasting pain that plagued his near two decades in the majors. “The biggest problem was his knees... [that] was what got his speed,” said Blackburn. “He started losing his speed, but he was good enough [at] pitching and fielding that he could overcome the problem with [his] knees.” The sentiment of ‘no pain, no game,’ took on a whole other meaning with Mantle as the baseball superstar continued to play exceptionally well, despite the constant, grueling pain. Injuries aside, Mantle’s baseball records are nothing to sneeze at. He retired in 1969 with 536 home runs and 1,509 RBI’s, cementing his legacy in the sport, which the National Baseball Hall of Fame recognized by inducting him in 1974. After hanging up his Yankee’s hat, Mantle still had a lot to own up to in his post-baseball life. Alcoholism haunted Mantle, which not only negatively impacted his athletic performance, but his health and home-life as well. However, during retirement, he began to make amends to the ones he had harmed, most importantly his wife, Merlyn Mantle, and their four sons. Merlyn and three of their children would go on to co-write a memoir, A Hero All His Life, which testifies about their experience as a family and details how, despite lingering issues, Mantle managed to make things right. Mantle also spent extensive time spreading the word about the negative effects of alcoholism: “He did get very actively engaged. He was very open about substance abuse and [tried] to teach others,” explained Blackburn. “He recognized the toll it had taken on him.” In addition to his remarkable career with the Yankees, Mantle will be remembered for his perseverance through the pain of injuries both on and off the field. Mickey Mantle possessed an undeniable, mythological skill on the baseball diamond—a skill he honed against a tin barn in Oklahoma with his father and grandfather. Today, Route 66ers driving out to Commerce can still visit that barn at Mantle’s small yet quaint childhood home, which resides only a block away from the Mother Road. There you’ll find that old rusted barn beside the house; if you take a closer look at its worn surface, you’ll see all the dents where Mantle first began to make his mark on the world of baseball.
Photograph courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.
D
e l t n a M y e k c i M
Miami, Oklahoma
The gateway to Oklahoma on Historic Route 66
DELUXE INN Miami, OK
visitmiamiok @miamioktourism @visitmiamioklahoma
ROUTE Magazine 61
THE TREW By Nick Gerlich Photographs by James Livingston 62 ROUTE Magazine
STORY ROUTE Magazine 63
“I
can remember when petrified wood wasn’t even petrified!” Those are bold words from a bold man, but swagger like this is common in Texas, even if it can’t be taken literally. When it comes from the man who is virtually synonymous with Route 66 in Texas, you’ve struck oil. Texas tea. A Spindletop dome of history and recollections. Meet Delbert Trew, the 86 years young and a larger than life cattleman who has left his fingerprints in a multitude of places as a rancher, farmer, author, storyteller, historian, museum founder, and all-around Mother Road champion. He is the undisputed Mr. Route 66 in these parts.
Texas. The very word gets folks’ attention. As its old advertising tag line once proclaimed, “It’s like a whole other country.” Everything is bigger there, from the land to the cows that trod upon it, from the 10-gallon hats that the cowboys wear to the women with hair a mile high, to wealth being measured by how many sections (square miles) of land you own. Route 66 crossed Texas at its skinniest part, in the Panhandle along the 35th parallel. Its roughly 180 miles leaves it next to last for miles among the eight states through which America’s Main Street passes. The story of the Panhandle is one of ranches that were once bigger than some states, unfettered skies so big you can reach out and practically touch rising and setting celestial objects, blistering summer heat, bitter winter cold, and occasional dust storms reminiscent of the 1930s. All that separated one ranch from another were miles and miles of barbed wire fences, as many as five strands of the Devil’s Rope strung between hand-hewn fence posts laboriously pounded into the rock-hard soil. What summer didn’t bake into permanence; winter froze. As many around here jest, the only thing between the Panhandle and the North Pole is a barbed wire fence—and sometimes they let it down for a “blue norther” to deliver some air conditioning. It was into this setting that Thurmond Delbert Trew was born on June 19, 1933, in Perryton, Texas, 119 miles north of Route 66. “Middle of the depression, bottom year of the Dust Bowl,” he said matter-of-factly with a western drawl as long as the Panhandle is wide. Delbert would not come to be acquainted with the Mother Road in Texas for 16 more years, not knowing then how much his life would become centered around the historic highway. Or maybe the other way around. While he was too young to know the struggles going on around him, or that grit was not just what got in your teeth but was a metaphor of survival, he was shaped by his environment. When it rains, it pours, especially in the Panhandle, but the rest of the time you’re on your own to figure it out. “We had nine years of no rain practically. It started raining in 1938, and from 1938-1949, we had above average 64 ROUTE Magazine
rain during the War. We had bumper crops, and prices were good. My father starved to death nine years, and then become pretty wealthy the next 11 years,” Delbert recalled, a faint grin curling his upper lip. Frugality begets prosperity for those with strong enough endurance.
“Money is no good unless you go to town. If you don’t have no money, don’t go to town!” Delbert still has his wits and humor about him and will drop a zinger if you’re not real careful. The thud of the mic drop is the last audible sound until you realize you’ve politely been had, and you have to respond with at least a small chuckle. Ruth, his second wife and spouse of 50 years, is quick to explain: “I’ve never known him to be short on words. I think one time he was embarrassed.” Tall wisdom about a man towering some six feet in the air, who considers age as a cherished asset, not a detriment. “We started out very small. My father came out of cottonpicking country down near Mobeetie, Texas. They moved to the Perryton area to help an uncle with a wheat harvest, and they just stayed,” he went on without missing a beat. “When the depression ended and it finally got good, he was farming about six sections of land.” For those keeping score, a section is 640 acres, or about 2500 suburban tract home sites. Jasper Thurmond (JT) and Naoma Trew lived a hardscrabble existence, raising Delbert and his younger brother Donald on hope and hard work at a time when neither guaranteed more than the dirt that always managed to find its way indoors. His mother, who went by Oma, was typical of her contemporaries. “All mothers at that time stayed at home and worked,” he said, and was responsible for naming him in part after his father. “Where she came up with Delbert, I have no idea,” he deadpanned. She passed away in 1991, outliving JT by six years, who lived his last two years trying to recover from a stroke. JT was 83 when he died, while Oma was 84. Delbert started first grade in Perryton and continued there throughout his primary schooling. Like most young men his age at that time, he focused on basic trades, but had also demonstrated prowess on the gridiron. If anything, though, Delbert saw his life playing out as one anchored to farming, ranching, or both. He found comfort in knowing that people had to eat, and the future of his family’s line of work looked pretty secure. If they could only get it to rain on a more regular basis. Love and scholarships drove him to what was then West Texas State College in nearby Canyon. Truth be known, while he ostensibly went there to play football, more than anything he wanted to settle down and start a family. But first he needed a wife. “I played football at WT,” he mused. “I didn’t like it, and I was wanting to get married. I quit a four-year scholarship, if that shows you how dumb I am.” Studying was at the back of this freshman’s mind. He’s proud to clarify his academic pursuits. “Probably girls!” In a slightly more serious tone, he confided, “I’m sure if I’d a went ahead, it would have been something in agriculture. I just wasn’t real interested. I always had a place back at the ranch. It was always there.” So rather than catching airborne pigskins, he dropped out after his first year, and returned to Perryton to marry
a young woman whose attention he had caught while in school there. The rest was, so to speak, academic. “I quit and got married. I registered for the draft and got my marriage license on the same day in the courthouse.” Growing up on the farm had taught him that when you go to town—assuming you had money, of course—you try to get as much done as possible. He and O’Leen Yates married in 1951. O’Leen’s family was from the Borger area, but she attended school in Perryton and was taken care of by her aunt. The couple had three children in fairly short order, sons David (1952) and Steve (1955), and middle child Janis (1954). By then Delbert had committed to a life of farming and working the family business. Thanks to those 11 years of good rain, the Trew family found itself in tall cotton, so to speak, even if cotton wasn’t grown in this area until decades later. “My father had come up with enough money and had started buying ranches. In 1949, he bought this one [near Alanreed, along Route 66]. In 1950, he bought another ranch in New Mexico along the Canadian River, about 100 miles west of here. We still had farmland in Perryton,” Delbert said with pride. “In my first year back, I put 30,000 miles on my car going from ranch to ranch.” Delbert and O’Leen lived at the farm in Perryton for a year, but then the family decided to lease out all the land to other farmers and ranchers. “We moved down here [Alanreed] and built a home here at the ranch. Then in
1956, times got hard. Cattle prices were down, it got dry again, and we moved to Colorado Springs,” he said with the same emotionless speech that had driven Okies west 20 years earlier. Just like the Okies, he and O’Leen left their Route 66 home to chase hope. He had always been a pretty good carpenter and pretty handy, and got a job and lived there until 1959, but he was itching to get back to the fields. The young family moved back to Perryton to start farming again. But tragedy befell the Trew family in 1970 when O’Leen and their 16-year-old daughter Janis Lynn were killed in a car wreck. That left Delbert a young widower with two sons to finish raising. Realizing the responsibility now before him and not wanting to be alone, Delbert started looking for a good woman. “Then I met Ruth. Her husband went missing in Vietnam and she had two boys. We’re celebrating 50 years this year,” he said. Ruth Oldham had also gone to school at WT, but her father, a wheat farmer from nearby Follett, could not afford to send her for more than three semesters. “I didn’t get a degree,” she said. “Then I married [John Oldham] and had Mike in 1955 and Glenn in 1959.” John had gotten his degree in ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) at WT and went into the Marines, only to be shot down trying to escape intense enemy fire. He had been there only a week. Ruth was only 37 years old. “I went back to college after he was killed.” ROUTE Magazine 65
Delbert and Ruth at the ranch.
Delbert and Ruth met by way of a friend in Amarillo who had gone out on a date with Delbert. “She didn’t want to be with a farmer!” Ruth laughed. In what was one of love’s great hand-offs, Ruth and Delbert got together and wasted no time combining their families. Suddenly they had four sons to steer into manhood. Serendipity may be the stuff of myth and magic for some, but for Delbert it was a godsend to find an equally bereaved soul mate.
The Trew Ranch sits along Route 66 a couple of miles west of Alanreed, in the middle of what was the notorious Jericho Gap, a tricky section of the old road that wasn’t paved until parts of the road were moved a short distance north. After Oma died in 1991, he and his brother inherited 5000 acres (about eight square miles) of short-grass prairie that sits atop an east-west ridge. Their land extends to the south, falling off into many small canyons. It is rugged terrain and not suited for farming. Delbert and Ruth live in the main ranch house, one that has been added on to multiple times. After they remarried, they had lived in Perryton, and then McLean. When his father’s health went bad in the early-1980s, they traded places, his parents moving to McLean, and Ruth and Delbert to the ranch. Given the terrain, the Trew family was forced to evolve from farmers to ranchers. “We don’t farm a single acre now,” Delbert said. On his half of the ranch, they typically run about 75 head of mother cows, with calves in February and bulls rendering their services as needed. “We don’t ever feed any hay. We are totally dependent on rain.” This launched Delbert on to a subject of which he is immensely proud: “For 35 years I have been doing 66 ROUTE Magazine
rainwater harvesting. I think that we’re about 20 years ahead of the time compared to most ranches.” In a place that averages 20 inches of moisture a year, water is critical, whether it’s cattle or crops at stake. Three major seasonal creeks drain south through the ranch, along with 18 deep canyons. “We don’t let a single drop of water get off this ranch. It would take 40 days and nights of flood to run any water off, and by the way, when that happened [in the Bible], we got an inch and half here.” After a pregnant pause, Delbert reached to pick up the mic he had just dropped. It’s not just all about water, though. “Along with our water harvesting, we have always done brush clearing. My theory is, if a cow don’t eat it, we don’t need it. If it don’t make shade, it don’t make the grade.”
Delbert met Route 66 on March 1st, 1949, when his Dad bought the ranch on which he and Ruth live. It was a time when cars were as thick as flies on a hot July evening. “It was busy, day and night. You pull out of our cattle guard up there, you just had to wait to get on the road. It was narrow. And every time we went out, we found a wreck. They called it Blood Alley, from Jericho to Alanreed, because that’s where all the wrecks were. But there were always people off in the bar ditch. People would miss a curve. They’d miss the road.” Among Trew’s many talents and passions is ad hoc historian, which has seen him write more than 20 short books on the Panhandle. For many years he also had a regular column in the Amarillo Globe-News. About the only thing he hasn’t written extensively about is Route 66 in Texas, although he most certainly could have. Across the eastern Panhandle, 66 emerged from an early Postal Road that evolved from the old
trails that Comanche and Kiowa followed along that ridge, forming the north edge of the Trew Ranch. “One time I got trapped in Conway. That was in the 1950s. I had been to the ranch in New Mexico and come back, and a blizzard caught us. It was about 1952. It was snowing pretty hard. The road was pretty good until we got to Conway,” he said. “There was a filling station there on the corner in Conway, and a highway patrolman stopped everybody and told us that the snow was heavier to the east. So, I spent the night there. There was about 10 or 12 of us in there. Standing room only. We ate every piece of candy, ate every peanut, we drank every pop, smoked every cigarette, chewed every bit of tobacco. I mean, we stripped him before the next morning when they finally let us go.”
The barbed wire that had an ever-present role in Delbert’s life came home to roost in 1991 when he founded the Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean. Located in what was once a brassiere factory, this unlikely homage to barbed wire now houses the nation’s premier collection of what has helped ranchers keep their cattle in and trespassers out. The bra factory was open from 1957 through 1970, causing the city to be known as the Uplift Capital. Today, the museum averages between 6000 and 7000 visitors each year. Near the end of the 20th Century, the number of vintage barbed wire collectors had started to dwindle to 300-400. Delbert Relaxing at home. sought to document and preserve an item most people take for granted or know nothing about. And so, the donations came in, hundreds of them, to create a mind-boggling array of sharp, pointy wires. The old factory was huge, and Delbert donated old tools and other items from his personal collection to the Museum. But there was still empty space, so Delbert, who had also played a role in founding the Old Route 66 Association of Texas, donated an entire room to become the only Route 66-themed museum in the state. The majority of the items there, too, were donated, like the steer from the original Big Texan that Bobby Lee gifted. Or found. One of Delbert’s prized pieces is the enormous snake that was once used as signage at the Regal Reptile Ranch in Alanreed. The Regal was operated by siblings Addie and Mike Allred and was one of several roadside attractions owned by the family. “We went out east to where the rattlesnake deal was. We picked up everything we could
find on the ground, picked up those pieces out of the trash heap, and brought them back and flattened them.” Today they hang on the wall over a large Texas Route 66 map and remind visitors of a magical bygone era in Texas tourism. The snake pit in Alanreed was a big tourist draw, as Delbert recalled while sliding down another rabbit hole of memories. “It had galvanized tin around it, a railing, and a light in it. There were always 15-20 rattlesnakes in there. She had a lightbulb hanging over it so you could see them. If you wanted to see the snakes, it would cost you 25 cents to get in. She would take a stick and stir them up. They’d go to rattling and fussing. If you got there at the right time of day, you could see her feed them baby chickens. That’s pretty tough.” Never mind the irony of Delbert rooting around on snakeinfested land for a rattlesnake sign. He’s tough like that, too.
The hallmark of any successful family business is a succession plan, and just like Delbert and brother Don took over when JT and Oma died, Ruth’s youngest son Mike is next in line. A retired machinist, Mike lives in a separate house on the ranch with his wife and tends to ranch duties as well as works at the Museum. So completely intertwined did Delbert’s and Ruth’s marriage become that Mike calls him Dad rather than his given name. The other brothers are scattered about with no interest in overseeing the ranch. David lives in Santa Fe and manages an organic hay farm, while Steve is a tech programmer in Amarillo, and Glenn is a historical recovery architect living near Austin. “I never had any problem accepting him as Dad. Of course, we were city kids, and lived on the edge of town. It was quite a culture shock going from Canyon to a hog farm in Perryton with 150 hogs. He really did teach us how to work.” That’s how it’s done in these parts. Like father, like son. JT survived the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Delbert made it through boom and bust cycles mid-century. Now Mike is ready to carry the mantle well into the 21st Century, continuing what his Dad has done since 1949, and his grandfather before him. The Trew Ranch will continue, just like the old road along which it sits has weathered the storms of time. The wind still blows, the cattle still graze, and stories are still being written much like they were when the old Double-Six was the highway to a better tomorrow. It just took a man like Delbert Trew to tie it all together. ROUTE Magazine 67
68 ROUTE Magazine
THE GIRL WITH THE MOJAVE TATTOO
W
hen entering the small town of Oatman, Arizona, on Old Route 66, words like charming, rustic and quaint come to mind. It is a step back into a simpler time, a period when Western expansion was very much afoot and small mining camps were quickly transitioning into towns, with the development of mining, and disappearing just as fast as mines dried up and settlements went bust. Oatman was once such a town. It was a gold town. Wild burros, descendants of the miner’s beasts of burden, freely roam the streets today, begging for food, and the vintage Old West structures and narrow main street only further the sensation of visiting a living, breathing town of the late 1800s. However, the very name Oatman is itself linked to a confusing and harrowing ordeal. This silver and gold mining settlement was named in honor of Olive Oatman, whose imprint on Old West history is iconic, tragic and at times, inconsistent. Many of us have seen the photograph at one time or another, a very old black and white of a young woman, with what appears to be a large black smudge on her chin. Few however, understand the tragedy and confusion behind the photo, raising the question: who was Olive Oatman?
The Brewsterite Born in 1837 in Illinois, Olive was the third child of seven to Royce and Mary Ann Oatman. Royce had worked as both a store owner and a farmer and insisted on a stringent orthodox existence for his family. They were religious and loyal to the Mormon faith. However, in the 1840’s, the small clan joined a splinter group headed by James Brewster, a Olive Oatman. 1863.
fellow ‘believer’ who claimed that the promised land, called Bashan, lay just south of Brigham Young’s Salt Lake City. This God-given refuge was located far away at the presentday Arizona/California border. “Bashan is an Old Testament name for a section of Jordan that was part of the land conquered by the Israelites, i.e. considered part of the land promised by God to them. It was known for its natural beauty. I suspect that Brewster’s people used it as a symbol of future prosperity in what to them was an unknown land,” said author, minister and Professor of American religious history, J. Gordon Melton. With the promise of their own land so close to becoming a reality, the Brewsterites headed west with 43 wagons in August of 1850. The trip west was typical of a wagon train journey, with the aspirations, hardships and challenges that were commonplace. By the time they reached New Mexico territory, however, infighting had caused the wagon train to split several times, leaving the Oatmans and just two other wagons at Maricopa Wells. It was 160 miles further to the next form of civilization, Fort Yuma, and the route was notorious for bad roads, lack of water and aggressive Indians. The three families faced a grim dilemma: rest the exhausted oxen for a week, but possibly run out of food, or surge ahead for Fort Yuma in hopes they would make it intact. By this time, Royce Oatman, after splitting with Brewster, had given up the idea of Bashan for the glimmering gold fields of California. Against the advice of the other families and the Pima Indians, Royce decided to set out for the fort alone with his pregnant wife and seven children. Years later, Olive wrote, “The decision was a severe trial for my father. If he went on, he must now go alone with his helpless family and expose them to the dangers of the way; and if he remained starvation and perhaps death…” Olive was only thirteen years old, but even she could feel the overwhelming sense of foreboding as they creaked ever ROUTE Magazine 69
Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
By Scott Elliott
so slowly across the empty earth. About 80 miles from the safety of Fort Yuma, a band of 19 Yavapai approached the small family and asked for food and tobacco. Royce obliged. When the Yavapai asked for more food, there was little left to give. Royce tried to explain that he didn’t even have enough food for his family. The Yavapai, who were on foot, brandished clubs and knives. Apparently, it had already been determined ahead of time that Olive and her nine-year-old sister Mary Ann would be spared. They were held back as their father and fourteen-year-old brother Lorenzo were attacked. The assailants then went after their mother Mary Ann, seventeen-year-old sister Lucy, and younger siblings Royce Jr, age eleven, Charity Ann, age five and three-yearold Roland. They were all murdered except for Lorenzo, who was left for dead, bleeding from the head and ears. It was March of 1851, seven months into the journey.
whole days without food, yet the lazy men, might have found plenty of game nearby.” Some weeks into the ordeal and fearing they could not endure more abuse, the girls plotted an escape, but did not carry it out for fear of not knowing where they were or where to go. Although the girls did learn enough of the language to communicate, it is unlikely that they assimilated due to their poor treatment, the murder of their family and the probability that no intimate friendships were formed. After a year of brutal captivity, the Mojave, who were a tribe 200 miles away, arrived for an annual trade run. Normally they would trade vegetables for furs. However, this time they noticed the unhappy white girls and inquired about them, but the Yavapai would not negotiate. Topeka, the daughter of a Mojave chief, came to talk. “The daughter of the chief,” Olive wrote, “was a beautiful, mild and sympathizing woman. Her conduct and behavior toward the Yavapai bespoke a tutoring, and intelligence, and sweetness The Yavapai and Mojave of disposition that won their interest at once.” Once stolen from their murdered family, the girls’ ordeal After some discussion and bargaining, the girls were traded had just begun. Olive and Mary Ann were forced to walk for two horses, three blankets, vegetables and beads. By means 200 miles in four days. They arrived at the Yavapai village of a farewell, the Yavapai insulted them and laughed as they left tattered, starved, with bleeding feet and delusional with with the Mojave. It would be a ten day walk to their new home. fatigue and shock. Mary Ann, a frail child to begin with, Again, the girls absorbed culture shock. However, this had been carried and dragged part of the way. The girls time they were immediately adopted into the family of Chief immediately became nothing more than slaves: hauling Espaniole, his wife Aespaneo and their daughter Topeka, water, digging for roots and being regularly beaten, whipped who had secured their release and escorted them back. and spit on. The Yavapai were mountain dwellers who lived Situated in a lush valley along the Colorado River, the Mojave on, among other things, deer, quail, rabbit, yucca and roots. - a name derived from two Indian words “Aha” meaning water There was a division of labor among the Yavapai, and the and “Macav,” for along or beside - village was nestled on a women and children foraged for food, while the men hunted hill among Cottonwood trees, commanding a scenic view of game and guarded the village, which consisted of fifty or the river and the valley beyond, near present day Needles, so people living in a cluster of open domed huts. Olive and California. The tribe celebrated the girls’ arrival with singing Mary Ann were given to the women and children as slaves. and dancing. The Mojave were ferocious warriors, but also The men roasted and boiled meat but believed females should demonstrative and carefree. They showed their emotions openly not eat meat unless starvation was imminent. The Oatman and generously showered love and attention on their children. girls found many of the Yavapai women and girls to be They liked to have fun and play was as important as work. dwarfish and malnourished. There were no ceremonies for marriage. If a man and woman Years later Olive would describe the Yavapai in vivid lived together, they were considered married. If one moved emotion: “They were filthy, lazy and ignorant. The men out, they were divorced. They did not frown upon homosexual especially, were indolent and only when stern necessity drove relationships or children having intimacy at adolescence. They them to it would they seek for food. While here we were were also a very athletic and hygienic people, with muscular physiques and a high endurance. They regularly swam in the Colorado River and ran many miles at a time. It was not uncommon to find Mojave men at six foot in height. The women, as well, were trim and well built. As accepted members of the tribe, Olive and Mary Ann were given their own 30-foot tract of land and seeds to grow their own food. They found most of the women of the tribe had chin tattoos. Administered by a cactus needle with blue dye, it was a painful procedure. Mojave custom indicates that they were voluntary. As further immersed into the tribe, Olive and Mary Ann eventually received them as well. It has been disputed, however, exactly what the tattoos meant. Olive would later state in her lecture notes that it was a slave tattoo and was used to identify her to her tribe if she escaped. Mojave lore tells another story: the tattoo was used so ancestors would The Mormon pioneers coming off Big Mountain into Mountain Dell. July 1847. recognize you in the land of the dead. 70 ROUTE Magazine
“As to the tattoo, some say it proves she was married,” said Dan Messersmith, historian for Mojave County. “It is fact that it indicated reaching puberty and applied to both men and women. As to having married a Mojave and having children, there is no clear evidence in the Mojave records to support this. Nor did she ever have any children in her later marriage in Texas. As to her being a slave, she and her sister were [slaves] during the year they were held by her original Yavapai captors. When in Mojave hands, she was adopted into a Mojave family and treated as such.” The clear and detailed tattoo on Olive indicated that she likely did not resist the process. In addition to the chin tattoo, Olive also had arm tattoos, which were never exposed in public. Mary Ann’s tattoos are not known, except that Olive affirmed that she had been tattooed as well. Mojave contact with the whites was very limited until early 1854, when the 100 member Whipple party came into their territory, conducting a railroad surveying expedition to the Pacific. The two cultures lived together for a week and the Mojave assisted as guides. Astonishingly, the Oatman girls were not recognized. Although their hair was dyed black and their bodies probably painted, the girls would have almost certainly stood out as different from the others. Even more interesting was the fact that they did not identify themselves to the party. Margot Mifflin, author of “The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman,” claims, “This was a few years into their time with the Mojave. They could have been in the Mojave village, apart from the Whipple party activities, but they surely knew about the expedition, which makes it odd that Oatman wouldn’t have mentioned this in her book. If she wanted to leave, she would have been eyeing an opportunity to contact them and frustrated to see this chance to escape pass. Also, she never mentioned being restrained by the Mojaves at any time and moved freely in the region throughout her time there, so most likely could have approached Whipple’s men if she’d wanted to. Alternately, they were mingling with the crowd during the Whipple visit, passing as Mojaves, and uninterested in asking for help because they had assimilated. Either scenario reinforces the likelihood that she didn’t want to leave.” A severe drought resulted in a dry spring in 1855 and the Mojave were unable to grow food or find game. Rationing became so extreme that starvation plagued the tribe. Resorting to searching for berries from Mesquite-like bushes did little to help. People of the tribe began dying, particularly children. Mary Ann suffered greatly, and though Olive and her adoptive family tended to her constantly, she finally succumbed to starvation. It was Mojave custom to cremate the dead, but the tribe allowed Olive to bury her little sister. Although buried in a Christian manner, Olive mourned by wailing in the Mojave fashion with the others around her. Besides Olive, Aespaneo was particularly grieved by the loss of her adopted daughter. Realizing Olive, or “Oach” as she was often called by the Mojave, might very well suffer the same fate, Aespaneo retrieved a small cache of cornmeal that had been buried for the winter and gave it to her. It may very well have saved Olive’s life.
The Saved and the Damned Fort Yuma, also known as “Hell’s Outpost,” and what Mark Twain called, “The hottest place on earth,” had learned of the girl’s abduction from Lorenzo. Having been left for
A band of Yavapai.
dead at the massacre sight, he had regained consciousness and when he did not find Olive or Mary Ann among his dead family, he stumbled and crawled 80 miles for help. Recovering at Fort Yuma, he had unsuccessfully attempted to assemble search parties. The Fort Commander, Samuel P. Heintzelman, refused to help, saying, “I would not furnish them with the means of the Government placed at my disposal for the wants of the troops, to use for their gold prospectors.” Although Lorenzo eventually moved to El Monte, California, he maintained a vigorous written correspondence with California government officials in attempts to find his sisters. At this point, a Quechan named Francisco, who knew the whereabouts of Olive, began serving as a messenger between the fort and the Mojave. The new Commander of Fort Yuma, Martin Burke, began leveraging for her delivery. At first the Mojave would not admit a white girl was among them. “I found that they told Francisco that I was not an American, that I was from a race of people much like the Indians, living away from the setting sun,” Olive was later quoted, “They had painted my face, and feet, and hands of a dun, dingy color, unlike that of any race I ever saw.” The fort sent word that millions of whites lurking in the nearby hills would descend upon the Mojave if the white girl was not returned. The Mojave believed this could be true. They also had a superstition that the whites could see through mountains with their spyglasses (binoculars) and see what they were doing. After some back and forth, Olive was traded to the fort on February 22nd, 1856, for two horses, some money and trinkets. Before entering the fort to the cheers of soldiers, she was assisted in bathing in a stream, washing the paint and black ROUTE Magazine 71
hair dye out. She was then given clothing to wear, the first wanted to hear and see the tattooed ‘freak’ herself. And she in five years besides a bark skirt, so she could reenter white gave them what they wanted. It may have been a necessary civilization looking decent. It became immediately clear that evil for Olive to be accepted back into the fold of civilization. Olive’s use of the English language had been impaired, as she Stratton took Olive east and she lectured for nearly 10 had trouble communicating. When asked in her first interview years, during which time a growing income provided for a at the fort as to how the Yavapai and Mojave had treated her, formal education and improved living standards. However, she responded to the former, “Whipped me,” and to the latter, another radical change was about to intervene. “Very well.” At the age of 19, she had lost a second family. Lorenzo hastened to Fort Yuma for a reunion with his The Quiet Woman sister. Both Olive and Lorenzo would later state that they John Fairchild met Olive in Farmington, Michigan, in 1864, were so shocked and jubilant to see each other that they were at one of her lectures. Ironically, he would become the unable to speak for an hour. man who would silence her and deny her a past. He was a Olive went with Lorenzo to El Monte, where she regained wealthy man, being in both the cattle business and banking. command of the English language and attempted to readjust After a short courtship he proposed to Olive. Her lecturing into white civilization. That summer they moved to Gassburg, immediately ceased, and Fairchild bought up every copy of Oregon, where family members from Illinois had settled. the Oatman book he could find and burned them. There they met the Reverend Royal Stratton. The Reverend “I suspect Fairchild wanted to conceal her past because of took an interest in their story and decided to exploit it. the pain he knew she had experienced in losing two families; Stratton soon wrote the book, “Life among the Indians: she did have PTSD,” said Mifflin. “It’s also possible that he being an interesting Narrative of the Captivity of the Oatman knew Stratton had manipulated her story, and didn’t want Girls.” It featured first person narratives from both Olive and his version perpetuated, especially since rumors had sprung Lorenzo, but fell to the mercy of Stratton’s editing, doctoring up that she had left Mojave children behind, which she and exaggerations. He did this, no doubt, to deliver a body of hadn’t. But as far as I can tell, their marriage didn’t hurt his work that was pious and irresistible to a readership. reputation; he was already a successful banker.” The book sold well. Filled with romanticism, savagery They were married in 1865 in Michigan. A few years later and plenty of narrative, it varied greatly from Olive’s first they moved to Sherman, Texas. Her father had taken her interviews after her release. “To escape seemed impossible,” west, her brother had taken her north, Stratton took her back Olive is supposedly quoted in reference to the Mojave, “and east and now Fairchild took her south. to make an unsuccessful attempt would be worse than death. Her journeys over and with plenty of money, Olive settled Friends or kindred to look after or care for me, I had none, as into domesticated life as a wife of a prominent businessman. I then supposed. I thought it best to receive my daily allotment In public, she often wore a veil to hide the fading tattoo. Her with submission, and not darken it with a borrowed trouble; to past was not to be brought up. Her contact with Lorenzo merit and covet the good-will of my captors, whether I received became sporadic. Stratton died in an insane asylum in 1875. it or not. At times the past, with all its checkered scenes, would She had little contact with anyone outside of Sherman. roll up before me, but all of it that was most deeply engraven Unable to bear children, she and John adopted a threeupon my mind was that which I would soonest forget if I could. week-old girl. The baby was named Mary Ann, in honor Time seemed to take a more rapid flight; I hardly could wake of Olive’s mother and younger sister. They nicknamed up to the reality of so long a captivity among savages, and her “Maimie.” Olive engaged in charity work at the really imagined myself happy for short periods.” orphanage and held lawn parties Stratton tended to throw the for her daughter at their two-story Yavapai and the Mojave into the Victorian mansion. However, she same brutal bunch. For Olive, was said to be melancholy, distant the difference had been night and and quiet much of the time. day. Indeed, the Yavapai, who had Idle and secure for some years, murdered her family and treated her she began to display signs of illness. so poorly were, “lumps of degraded Headaches, vision problems and humanity,” but for the Mojave to fatigue plagued her. Depression, be labeled as, “filthy looking” and and what would now be called “lazy,” was in stark contrast to what Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome Olive had supposedly experienced. became constant. In her later years, Unfortunately, Stratton’s she would spend days, sometimes fabrication and meddling set a weeks, unable to get out of bed. rigid precedent for Olive. With her She became increasingly reclusive. tattooed “slave mark” ever-present, In 1878, “Arizona Travelogue” she was once again a captive, this published an article claiming that time to Reverend Stratton and his Olive Oatman had died in an readers. insane asylum. Fairchild, ever the A lecture tour ensued. It began censor, did what he could to correct with the silver-tongued Stratton it. It was later revealed that she pontificating his half-story, halfdid in fact live for a while at an sermon to an amused theater institution. But she returned home audience. This worked for a short Lorenzo Dow Oatman. 1857. and lived for many more years. time, but more and more people 72 ROUTE Magazine
Olive died of a heart attack in 1903. She was 65. Her husband made certain that her celebrity past was not mentioned in the obituary. He had her buried in a locked iron casket, in fear that the Indians might come for her body.
Afterlives The question remains, who was Olive Oatman? There is no single term or label to depict her. Her life was lived as several lives, each one a form of captivity and serving to extinguish the one before it. As with other Old West icons, her life did not end with her passing. There were people who tried to use Olive’s afterlife to their advantage, such as Nora Hildebrandt and other circus women brandishing tattoos and claiming a past that mimicked Olive’s. The “Arizona Republican” claimed a half breed working in a Phoenix meat market was one of Olive’s three lost sons. Several aging men, at different times, declared that they had rescued Olive from the Indians, but their lack of facts and perplexing inconsistencies created immediate doubt by the public. John and Olive’s adopted daughter Maimie, as an adult, moved to Detroit and married there in 1908. That year she
gave birth to her only child, a girl she named Olive. Sadly, the child only lived a few days. A partial Mojave named John Oatman claimed to be a grandson of Olive’s. It was argued that he named the town of Oatman, north of where the events transpired, in honor of his grandmother. But others discount this claim. “A person named John Oatman who lived in Vivian 3 miles south of what would be Oatman did not give Oatman its name,” says Dan Messersmith, “As the ore discoveries in the area east and uphill from Vivian drew more and more people to the new mines, Vivian’s population dwindled. In 1909, the Post Office in Vivian was closed. On June 24, 1909, the Post Office at the new camp opened and selected the name Oatman in honor of Olive and Mary Ann Oatman who had been held in the area.” The mines closed in the 1940’s and Oatman has since been revitalized as a tourist town, becoming a savored stop along the old Mother Road. At the center of town is the Olive Oatman Restaurant. On the false front above is a mural of Olive. It is a very old painting, waning and peeling as the wood beneath it rots. But there is no question about her look. It is the look of a woman, mournful but radiant, unsmiling and unapologetic, perhaps awaiting yet another life. Her eyes are unmistakably ablaze, above a fading tattoo.
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ROUTE Magazine 73
BUGGIN’ OU 74 ROUTE Magazine
UT IN TEXAS By Brennen Matthews Photographs by Jack Knox ROUTE Magazine 75
R
oute 66 is famous for its quirky, odd, but always entertaining roadside attractions. After all, people have been successfully trying to lure motorists off of the highway since 1926, and the great state of Texas is no stranger to roadside kitsch. As a matter of fact, it may be leading the way depending on who you speak with, but one thing is certain, Texans know how to draw and amuse an audience. Just slightly west of the delightful town of Amarillo, the largest city in the Texas Panhandle, the famous Cadillac Ranch has been pulling people off the highway since 1974. The art installation, funded by Stanley Marsh III and conceived of by the Ant Farm art group, remains to this day one of the Mother Road’s most iconic attractions. And it is not even on the historic highway. But up the road a touch, a mere 35 miles east to be exact, its sister attraction is only a few feet off Route 66. Conceived in 2002, The Bug Ranch consists of five Volkswagen Beetles that, like the more celebrated Cadillacs, have been buried nose-first into the dry Texas earth. The idea was the cheeky scheme of a local family, the Crutchfields. As owners of the Longhorn Trading Post and adjacent Rattlesnake Ranch, the Crutchfields felt the stress of operating on old Route 66 and wondered how to attract motorists off of the roaring interstate and into their struggling town and business. They had a brainstorm when a large travel plaza was built on the opposite side of their interstate exit. If they could entice trippers to venture over, they were sure that their business would boom. But how would they do so? If the Cadillacs were enormously successful down in Amarillo, then certainly VW Bugs would have a similar appeal in little Conway. But that is getting a little ahead of the story. Sixteen miles West of Groom, where the largest cross in the northern hemisphere is located, rests minute Conway. Now a ghost town, the settlement began in the late 1800s as a small ranching community. In 1892, the Lone Star School was built, and a community began to sprout. The school would go on to educate the children of local ranchers and homesteaders. In 1903, the town’s first post office was opened, and the town received its name; it was named after the former Carson County Commissioner H.B. Conway. By 1912, the town was hopping with a grocery store, numerous businesses, and even an interdenominational church. This is Texas, remember. It is hard to believe in today’s sleepy abandoned town, but Conway in the 1920s was a town with hopes and aspirations. At the time, the Texas Panhandle was thriving and the oil and gas, and agricultural industries were bringing in tremendous growth and revenue to the region.
OPENING SPREAD: Bug Ranch, Conway, TX. 76 ROUTE Magazine
In 1926, Route 66 was born, and when it was confirmed that the tarmac would run through Amarillo, neighboring Conway started to invest in ensuring that it was ready to rise up and meet the needs of motorists as they traveled down the new and feted highway. This included the opening of motels, known as tourist courts at the time, eateries and, of course, filling stations. In 1930, expecting a boom, a new school was even built. It was constructed with bricks. It was meant to last. From 1925 to 1939, Conway had grown from around 25 citizens to 125. But sadly, by 1966 the town was bypassed by I-40 and largely cut off from the abundance of road travelers who they had come to expect. Now we come back to the Crutchfield family. Ever the optimistic Texans, this clan decided that 1967 was a good time to open a roadside service station and quickly followed that with a curio shop (Longhorn Ranch) and a side attraction called the Rattlesnake Ranch. They anticipated that these would pull in travelers, and they did for some time. But still, Conway’s population continued to wither away; by 2000, the never-really bustling town was down to a mere 20 people. They were quickly dwindling down to ghost town status. In 2002, a Love’s Travel Shop opened near to the same exit as the Crutchfield businesses, catering to truckers and I-40 travelers. Business dried up even more as customers started to bypass the established service station in place of the more nationally known and trusted Love’s shop. And that is what brings us back to the Bug Ranch. In an effort to combat this migration of business, the Crutchfields hatched a crafty plan to distract motorists and pull them over to their side of the road. However, while creative, their idea of planting five VW bugs nose deep in the soil like the Cadillacs, was not successful, and in 2003 the service station, curio shop and Rattlesnake Ranch closed their doors forever. The family too packed up and set off to find greener pastures, but their legacy along Route 66 and in the tiny outpost of Conway will forever be remembered. Today, the five little cars are still in the ground, attracting visitors from far and wide. They are now no longer bright yellow, but rather spray-painted, just like their cousins a little further west, and the area has become haunted by a forlorn, moody vibe. Nearby big rigs and vehicles cruise by about 1.3 miles away, their roaring engines briefly but eerily heard in the big lonely Texan sky. Conway’s once proud school is boarded up, and it is hard to know that a thriving little town ever once existed in the area. The vehicles are a mystery to many unsuspecting Route 66 adventurers who discover them as they leisurely make their way across the Texan Panhandle. But like so much in America that still stands or has disappeared forever, they too have a story.
ABOVE:
BELOW:
The old motel sign looms in the sky.
The cars look like a painting in the dry yellow grass.
ROUTE Magazine 77
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ROUTE Magazine 79
PARTING SHOT
Jim ROSS What is the most memorable place you’ve visited on Route 66? Toss-up: Arizona’s Painted Desert Trading Post and Glenrio, Texas/New Mexico. Most famous or noteworthy person you’ve ever met? Saw Johnny Mathis in a western clothing store once. Does that count? What characteristic do you respect most in others? Reliability. Dislike in others? Self-aggrandizement. What characteristic do you dislike in yourself? Just one? Okay, then, learning to say “no.” Talent that you WISH you had? The ability to get 30 hours out of a 24-hour day. Best part about getting older? The drugs you take are legal. What is your greatest extravagance? Neon signs. What is the weirdest roadside attraction you’ve ever seen? Harley Russell’s Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, Oklahoma. Best state to see giant objects? Arizona, where dinosaurs still roam. What do you love about bridges so much that you wrote a book on the subject? Their aesthetic beauty and historical significance. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Two books: Route 66 Crossings and Route 66 Sightings. Most memorable hotel/motel that you have stayed at? At opposite ends of the spectrum: La Posada and Vernelle’s. Funniest person on Route 66? The now-departed Juan Delgadillo. Most memorable person on Route 66? Michael Wallis. Last book you’ve read? “Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination”. What breaks your heart? The defacing of roadside relics by graffiti vermin. What is still on 80 ROUTE Magazine
your bucket list to visit? Some of the neon sign museums. What movie title best describes your life? Every Which Way But Loose. Ghost town or big city person? You can’t be serious. What does a perfect day look like to you? One where I experience things that inspire. What is your favorite place on Route 66? My house. Strangest stop on Route 66? Bagdad. Nothing there, but people stop anyway. What would your spirit animal be? I’m thinking maybe a falcon. Which historical figure - alive or dead - would you most like to meet? Audie Murphy. If you won the lottery, what is the first item you would buy? The Gasconade River Bridge. What food item can you not live without? Beer. Bizarre talent that you have that most people don’t know about? Falling off ladders. What surprises you most about people? Lack of common sense. What makes you laugh? The more irreverent the humor, the better. Most unknown (but should be) stop on Route 66? Farmstead 116 Café in Luther, Oklahoma. What do you think is the most important life lesson for someone to learn? That things usually happen for a reason. What do you want to be remembered for? That I made some worthwhile contributions. What key things have you learned from Shellee? Looking at things from different angles; tolerance. Most romantic thing you’ve ever done for her? Proposing to her on a cruise ship while drinking wine at sunset. Best time of the year to visit Oklahoma? Anytime is good, y’all.
Illustration: Jenny Mallon.
Jim Ross is perhaps one of the most respected and recognizable personalities connected to Route 66 today, but in this fast pace interview, you will enjoy getting to know the man beyond the author and historian, a little bit better. In this issue’s Parting Shot we spend some time with Ross and get some insights into what he likes best on the old highway and what he considers his greatest extravagance.
BN AWE
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On Museum Square in Downtown Bloomington, the Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center is located on the ground floor of the nationally accredited McLean County Museum of History. The Visitors Center serves as a Route 66 gateway. Discover Route 66 history through an interpretive exhibit, and shop for unique local gift items, maps, and publications. A travel kiosk allows visitors to explore all the things to see and do in the area as well as plan their next stop on Route 66. You can even get “Busted on 66” with a photo op in the old county jail at the center!
CRUISIN’ WITH LINCOLN ON 66 VISITORS CENTER Open Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (May through September) 200 North Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois 61701 • 1.309.827.0428 • CruisinwithLincolnon66.org *10% off gift purchases
With more than 300 days of sunshine a year – and a unique mix of tranquil waters, rugged mountains, and tons of fun – it’s hard to stay inside. Discover Lake Havasu City – just a short drive from Route 66 – and play like you mean it.Ž
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