ROUTE - October / November 2019

ROUTE THE MAGAZINE THAT CELEBRATES ROAD TRAVEL, VINTAGE AMERICANA AND ROUTE 66

Wigwam Mania

Magazine

The Rise and Fall of Wigwam Villages

Desert Terror

When You Should be Afraid!

October/November 2019 $5.99

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THE GREEN BOOK | THE MYSTERIOUS PYTHIAN CASTLE ARTIST TINA MION ROUTE Magazine i

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

ii ROUTE Magazine

Williams, Arizona has something for everyone.

Plan a visit and see why visitors have fallen in love with Williams.

ROUTE 66

HIKING

RODEOS

WILDLIFE

ExperienceWilliams.com • (928) 635-4061

ROUTE Magazine 1

Miami — The only active franchise of the 1960s chain, Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger cooks every entrée to order.

2 ROUTE Magazine

Tulsa — Built in the 1930s, the

refurbished Meadow Gold sign is a glowing sight to behold by night.

Tulsa — Known for its spring-

loaded dance floor built in the 1920s, Cain’s Ballroom is a truly iconic Oklahoma venue.

Tower Theatre — Oklahoma City Originally a 1937 movie house, the revitalized theatre has quickly become one of Oklahoma City’s premier film & concert venues.

Discover more delightful diners and road trip destinations at Travel

Arcadia — Featuring 700 soda flavors and a towering neon pop bottle, POPS is an iconic place to stop.

.com.

Clinton — The state’s official Route 66 showcase, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum introduces guests to all things Americana.

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In every mile, there is something waiting to be discovered.

Pulaski County’s 33 intact miles of Route 66 provides plenty of nostalgia and local culture; some sections of the road are from the 20s, 30s & 40s.

EXPLORE ROUTE 66 Old Stage Coach Stop Museum As Pulaski County’s oldest building, the OSS started as a log stagecoach waystation, became a Civil War hospital, and a hotel on Route 66.

There are ten rooms, nine restored to various periods in the building's history (1854-present).

Located in Waynesville; open each Saturday April-September.

Order a FREE Visitor Guide & Self-Guided Rt. 66 Auto Tour 877.858.8687 www.seert66.com 4 ROUTE Magazine

Very small.

Very friendly.

Very Route 66.

Atlanta | Lincoln | Elkhart Logan County Tourism Bureau DestinationLoganCountyIL.com 217-732-8687

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ROUTE Magazine 7

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EXPERIENCE THE UNEXPECTED IN

OKLAHOMA CITY

RIVERSPORT ADVENTURES | PLAZA DISTRICT | OKC ZOO

Escape your daily routine. Experience unexpected adventures of all kinds in Oklahoma City, like the thrill of an 80-foot free fall, zipping 700 feet across the Oklahoma River, a day at the renowned OKC Zoo or an evening exploring street art in one of Oklahoma City’s signature districts.

READY TO SEE MORE?

ROUTE Magazine 9

CONTENTS

Spooky and forlorn. Photograph courtesy of The Flash Nites.

22 Wigwam Mania

By Nick Gerlich Travel along America’s two-lane highways has always been a bit of an adventure but after World War II, things took a turn for the fun as businesses sought to use a variety of gimmicks and interesting tactics to pull travelers off of the road. Discover the full story behind one of the country’s most unusual venues.

32 A Necessary Companion

Rachel Fernandez examines a time not too long ago when safe travel across America was not a guarantee for all communities.

One resourceful postman from New York developed a very simple way to address a very big problem.

54 The Visionary

Tina Mion’s body of work is both provoking and poignant, qualifying her as one of the women defining 21st Century portraiture. But where did her passion for painting begin and what big plans does she have in the pipeline in October 2019?

Mion and her new chapter are just getting started.

60 The Mystery of Pythian Castle

By Olivia McClure The Route 66 town of Springfield, Missouri, has a plethora of attractions and history that make it a must-visit destination.

But one place that seems extra shrouded in mystery is the Pythian Castle. Discover why.

42 Lighting the Night

Even the most beautiful places become a little more sinister at night, especially when they are located in remote, abandoned parts of Route 66. But what happens when some adventurous photographers stage a night shoot with the help of a few colorful lights?

48 Desert Terror

Author and filmmaker Brad Sykes takes us into some of the scariest desert-terror themed films to ever hit the Big Screen.

But what made them so effective. Read on, if you dare!

10 ROUTE Magazine

ON THE COVER Crookton Road, Outside of Seligman, AZ. David J. Schwartz – Pics on Route 66

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.

ROUTE Magazine 11

EDITORIAL Recently I spent 10 weeks on Route 66.

Actually, I took off from home on June 28th and returned on September 5th. There was a lot to see. Actually, over the past four years, I have ventured down every inch of the Old Road eight times. People are often surprised by one of two things: why I continue to invest so much time on the Mother Road (there are so many other places to go, you know!) and that I am always able to rediscover Route 66 afresh each and every journey. For many people, it is just a road, but for me, Route 66 represents a reconnection with friends, new and old, and offers a reprieve from the daily drudgery of schedules and tasks. There is always something new around every corner, even when I have passed an area again and again. I relish the unexpected, yearn for the unknown and the unpredictable. Many of you will understand this and relate wholeheartedly.

This year’s journey down Old 66 introduced me to the launch of a newer, bigger and better History Museum on the Square in the amazing Springfield, Missouri.

The team at the Museum has done a fantastic job at bringing pioneer and Native history, the American West, the tale of trains and transportation, the Civil War and of course Route 66, very much to life. The Museum offers a truly wonderful experience that is vivid, visual and totally interactive. Also to be found in the Birthplace of Route 66 is the Wonders of Wildlife aquarium. This is without a doubt the biggest, nicest aquarium that we have ever seen – and we have been to a lot! Home to turtles and rays, hundreds of thousands of fish, eels, alligators, and even sharks, I departed after a mere two hours of wandering around, overwhelmed and with tired legs. There is so much to see and do at this aquarium that it deserves multiple visits. Springfield, Missouri, is definitely investing in their future and doing Route 66 proud.

There is an idea that seems to be a bit prevalent across the country that the Mother Road is on its last legs. This could not be further from the truth. Towns like Pontiac, Illinois, and Springfield are protecting, preserving and bringing loads of new treasures to help travelers enjoy Route 66 for years to come. In recent months, Oklahoma’s Lt. Governor, Matt Pinnell, announced his support for the Old Road and indicated that from his government’s perspective, Route 66 was a priority for tourism and economic development in the Sooner State. I could not agree more. Oklahoma has some of the prettiest, most enjoyable stretches of Route 66 available. With 400 miles of scenic road, Oklahoma brings locals and visitors such iconic attractions as the Blue Whale, Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, POPS, the Round Barn, three amazing museums (Route 66 Museum in Clinton, National Route 66 Museum in Elk City and the Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in OKC) and a brand new Giant at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 in Tulsa, just to start. Man, even if you only get to drive Route 66 in Oklahoma, you will be left with a lifechanging experience and a million memories. Now, when you add in the other seven diverse, picturesque, wonderful states, how could anyone get bored motoring down the Main Street of America?

But alas, I am back at my desk now and enjoying working on the fun and insightful stories that we are planning to bring you. We hope that you enjoy this issue and would love to get your feedback. Please email me directly (email on the team section) or the magazine and let us know what you discover, enjoy or if you have any ideas or responses to any of the stories or imagery in this or past issues. We value your input and hope that you will continue to join us on the journey across vintage Americana and down Route 66.

If you have not yet subscribed, we would love for you to do so. We depend on your support. Simply visit us on www.routemagazine.us and of course, please make sure to tell a friend and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. There is so much more online.

Have a wonderful fall and keep warm out on the road.

Blessings, Brennen Matthews Editor 12 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 Theresa Romano DIGITAL Matthew Alves CONTRIBUTORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS Brad Sykes Brad Zweerink Chris Robleski Efren Lopez/Route66Images The Flash Nites Hawkeye58 Jack Delano/Library of Congress Jenny Mallon John Margolies Joshua Heston Katie Robleski Marian Post Wolcott/Library of Congress Olivia McClure Rachel Fernandez Russell Lee/Library of Congress Tina Mion 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.

FIND UNFORGETTABLE I N SOUTHWEST

ILLINOIS

ALTON, COLLINSVILLE, EDWARDSVILLE, GLEN CARBON, GODFREY, GRAFTON

MADISON, JERSEY, CALHOUN, MACOUPIN, MONTGOMERY & GREENE COUNTIES

RIVERSANDROUTES.COM ROUTE Magazine 13

THE YEAR OF 1985

“WE ARE THE WORLD”

FIGHTING AFRICAN FAMINE Mother Road enthusiasts often think of ��85 as the tragic year that marked the final decommission of legendary Route 66. But what else was happening that year?

This series takes a look at the cultural and social milieu from which Route 66 drove its last mile — the famous, the infamous, the inventions, and the pop culture that marked ��85 as a pivotal year. In this issue, we take you back to the recording and release of a tune, or three actually, that changed the way that the world responded to international famine.

B

y the mid-80s, famine in Africa had taken a mighty toll, with nightly reports on television cementing our vision on the starving masses. It also caught the attention of Irish rocker Bob Geldof, who envisioned musicians from the United Kingdom coming together musically to raise funds earmarked for famine relief.

The result was Band Aid, a supergroup featuring 37 vocalists and instrumentalists, and the catchy “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, just in time for the 1984 holidays. It caught the UK and much of the world by the heartstrings, raising more than $12 million.

Canada would go on to do their own song, “Tears are Not Enough,” raising $3.2 million for famine relief and uniting many of Canada’s most talented performers, with the likes of Corey Hart, Bryan Adams, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Anne Murray joining forces to “show them Canada still cares.”

But America was not to be outdone.

Not to be outshone by a consortium of primarily British and Canadian performers, activist Harry Belafonte conceived of United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa, an American-based supergroup whose sole function was to raise funds from this side of the pond. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie immediately set to penning a catchy tune that could be sung as a full chorus. “We Are The World” was the result of their harried late-night writing binge. Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian co-produced an entire album around the song, rushing to put it out by the first week of March 14 ROUTE Magazine

1985. More than 20 million copies of the single were sold in short order, making it one of the best-selling songs ever.

As a result of the song, album, and clever merchandising (ain’t that America?), more than $63 million was raised for famine relief.

Just like the partnership of Band Aid, more than four dozen artists sang or performed on “We Are The World,” the bulk being of American heritage. If ever an All Star team were assembled, this was it, with different vocalists taking the solo lead at various points in the song. Artists included all of the extended Jackson family, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Steve Perry, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan, and Ray Charles.

Whether United Support of Artists was fueled a little by a desire for one-upmanship is a moot point, as the success of the project put a lot of food on African tables.

It was something that not only Americans, but the entire world, could wrap their voices around, as well as their pocketbooks. Seldom has any artist—much less 50—been able to conceive of, write, record, and produce an entire album in such a short period of time. The multi-million dollar success of it bespeaks the generosity of fans and artists who felt that they could contribute in a small way by simply singing in unison.

Today, we are left with the lingering notes of that charitable musical collaboration, as well as the melody of the Old Road.

And we sing them both like it’s 1985.

Obed & Issac’s

Danenberger Family Vineyards

Maldaner’s

Discover Springfield, Illinois – one of the most iconic stops on the legendary Route 66. From sunny outdoor patios to scenic vineyards, there are plenty of local eateries to explore. Find the golden colors of fall reflected in your favorite craft beer with a visit to Obed & Isaac’s, just steps from Lincoln’s home.

For local wine, Danenberger Family Vineyards host tastings across a range of intimate settings. And with fresh, sustainable ingredients, Maldaner’s serves up delectable dishes in a historical location. It’s all right here on Route 66.

#VisitSpringfield

PLAN YOUR JOURNEY AT WWW.VISITSPRINGFIELDILLINOIS.COM ROUTE Magazine 15

DODGE CITY’S TALLEST RESIDENT

S

tanding at 26-feet-tall, with a broad torso, dark hair, sporting a mustache, a serape and wearing a handsome sombrero, this relatively new resident of Dodge City has become a titan public figure that is beloved by both locals and visitors. La Salsa Man, fondly referred to as Dennis Hopper’s Muffler Man, plays guardian over the town, his presence evoking memories of vintage road travel and a bygone era. “People enjoy seeing La Salsa Man around town, [and they] like to discover the connection for why he’s there, through Dennis Hopper. People don’t realize [Hopper] was born here, [so] it was great that we had him gifted to us in [his] will,” said Jan Stevens, CVB Director of Dodge City. La Salsa Man’s journey to Dodge City is as grand and colorful as the Giant himself, involving a twin, an extreme makeover, some globetrotting and an appearance on America’s small screen.

Muffler men, standing between 18 and 25 feet tall, invaded the American landscape of the 1960s as a ploy to pull motorists off of the busy road. One of these fiberglass statues, a muffler man known as the Malibu Frosty Freeze Man, had his palms facing up, holding a giant hamburger and stood atop a hamburger restaurant at 22800 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. The burger joint changed hands in the 1980s, to become La Salsa Restaurant, and Frosty Freeze Man went through an identity transformation led by Texan artist Bob “Daddy O” Wade. With some paint and props, the hamburger bun was turned into a sombrero, a mustache and serape were added for pizzazz, and a tray of Mexican food was created - and Salsa Man, or El Salsero as he was fondly called, was born. He was 21-feettall. As of this writing, El Salsero still stands atop the building in Malibu.

Fast forward to 2000. Famed film actor, artist and photographer Dennis Hopper, perhaps best known for the 1969 road travel classic Easy Rider, is inspired by El Salsero to create his own replica of the Malibu giant for his traveling art show. El Salsero’s twin, La Salsa Man, made his debut to the public in Amsterdam in 2001. From there, he traveled to Paris, Vienna, and Melbourne, sharing his imposing and colorful presence with the world. When Dennis Hopper passed away in 2010, the Dennis Hopper Art Trust 16 ROUTE Magazine

donated La Salsa Man to Dodge City’s Carnegie Center for the Arts. The giant hombre’s journey from California to Dodge City was captured on an episode of A&E’s Shipping Wars. The statue won the hearts of the people of Dodge City who came out in droves to see him. “I was there when Shipping Wars brought him in. I have a picture where I don’t even go up to his mid-calf. It was particularly interesting to see small children’s reaction to him. Small children were as big as his shoes,” said Melissa McCoy, Dodge City’s Assistant City Manager of Public Affairs. Still, the challenge remained to find a permanent home in Dodge City for the gargantuan giant. In the meantime, he was kept in storage. In 2016, La Salsa Man emerged into the sunlight once more, at Cup of Jones, a coffee shop on Wyatt Earp Boulevard. The Giant had a hard time with the harsh weather that Kansas is known for. “The fiberglass doesn’t hold up very well in the weather, it develops cracks and holes, and the rain gets further in the cracks,” offered Bobbi Brown, Dodge City Area Arts Council Curator. “We’ve tried to find a building to house him, but it hasn’t been feasible since he’s so tall.” When the coffee shop closed, the new owners did not want anything to do with the giant. Thankfully, SMH Consultants, a civil engineering and land surveying company, came to his rescue, relocating him to the corner of 3rd Avenue and Vine Street, where he still stands today. “One of our partners really liked it and asked if we could have [the giant] to be a part of our property. We had the space for it and thought it was a neat piece of work and made it happen,” said Kurth Lancaster, Office Manager for SMH Consultants.

In August 2018, the torso and head of La Salsa Man were taken down for repairs, leaving only a ghostly pair of legs on display. “People were wondering about La Salsa Man and there were people in town who were concerned. The Dodge City Brewery [stepped up] and started a fundraising campaign [to bring him back,]” said Brown. Today, La Salsa Man has been happily reunited with his torso and head, but other items such as his sombrero, are being kept in storage in order to preserve them.

So, head over to Dodge City and make sure to locate La Salsa Man for yourselves. He is pretty hard to miss.

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PRESERVING THE PAST and SUPPORTING a COMMUNITY, ONE LANDMARK at a TIME

E

li Chenoweth understands the tourist-fed allure of Route 66 firsthand. The 19-year-old Oklahoma native began his first business venture four years ago, when he opened the Frozen Elephant shaved ice food truck in Miami, Oklahoma. Since then, the shop has become a Mother Road staple, delighting both locals and travelers from afar with its delicious, polar creations.

Yet, it’s not the only Route 66 establishment with the young Chenoweth at its helm.

For Chenoweth, the Frozen Elephant was a product of many months of dreaming and his own personal determination to begin the business. “I launched when I was 15 years old in April of 2016,” Chenoweth said. “I had researched the shaved ice industry for months prior — so much so, that I would fall asleep thinking about it. We had a local stand in town, ‘Cool Creations,’ that had a good following; however, it had gone through a rough patch.

I acquired it and implemented my vision. The Frozen Elephant is a successful set of stands in the 4-State area.

One sits directly next to Waylan’s Ku-Ku in Miami, catching all leftover foot traffic. The other is a trailer that moves to a variety of locations throughout the area, attending private parties, fairs, etc. ... I’ve always noticed the appeal and marketability of being a Route 66 business, so much so that my logo has the 66 shield on the shaved ice cup.”

While business continues booming at The Frozen Elephant, Chenoweth also has two large renovation projects to tackle. This past April, he acquired the historic Miami Marathon Oil Company Service Station, which he called “the product of good timing and the right price.” Prior to his mother’s move to Tulsa, Chenoweth had kept his freezers and supplies in her garage, so the Marathon service station appeared as a much-needed, temporary storage unit for the young businessman as well.

Just last month, Chenoweth bought Miami’s oldest surviving gas station, which was opened 18 ROUTE Magazine

in 1921 and still retains its Western-inspired molding. He plans to move the vintage gas station next to the Marathon service station, creating a powerhouse duo attraction for avid Mother Road fans.

Chenoweth said he’s interested in expanding the Frozen Elephant into the Marathon service station once it’s ready for business. Regardless of what businesses are established inside both historic buildings, Chenoweth is certain he plans to retain the unique history of each structure. “I’ve always been an architectural salvage junkie — the first filling station in Miami is exactly that,” Chenoweth said. “I’m eager to bring new life into each of these properties, while still staying true to their history.”

In Chenoweth’s mind, his businesses reflect the heart of his historic, Midwestern community. “I want people to be proud of the history within the walls of the structures.

Thousands of travelers have been through each of my stations and every single one of them came to see our beautiful town. People have flocked for decades, and still do, to see the beautiful Coleman Theatre and eat a famous Waylan’s Ku-Ku burger. It was very likely most travelers stopped at one of these stations, making an impression on thousands of people.”

While Chenoweth may be young for an entrepreneur, he has strong faith in himself and in his projects, which guides him through his many business ventures. “No one in my life tells me I can’t do something, which is huge for my confidence; however, there’s always going to be doubters. I try to approach every day the same — working hard, staying humble and, most importantly, positive.”

For Chenoweth, an appreciation of the past is the key to personal success.

While many might assume a young man from his generation wouldn’t care much about the often-forgotten history of our nation, it seems the savvy entrepreneur is proving them wrong — one Route 66 landmark at a time.

DISCOVER CLINTON, OKLAHOMA

WHERE ROUTE 66 TRULY COMES ALIVE!

• HIS TORI C HOTE L S• D IV E RS E D INING• •M OHAW K LOD G E IND IAN S TORE• •THE WATE R ZOO•

www.clintonokla.org ROUTE Magazine 19

ESSENTIALS

ESSENTIAL ROAD Trip Movies With the days growing short and temperatures heading south, we’ll all be spending a little bit more time indoors. Road trips are few and far between now. With last summer’s adventures a fading memory and next summer’s only a blip on the planning horizon, it’s time to get cozy with some of the best road trip movies ever filmed along Route 66 (or at least pretended they were).

Here are five classics from the vault that will have you laughing, crying, and wishing that next summer was already here.

PL A NES TR AI NS A ND AUTOMOBI LES (1987) When Del Griffith (John Candy) steals a cab right out from under Neal Page (Steve Martin), little did they know they were both bound for the same flight and would ultimately wind up traveling together in a multimodal romp involving three forms of transportation in a weather-challenged race to get home before Thanksgiving. Along the way, the impatient Page learns to put up with Griffith’s insecurities and faults, ultimately inviting him to spend the holiday with his family. Memorable scenes along Route 66 include Lambert International Airport in St Louis and the bus station in Wilmington IL, but one of the funniest moments (“Those aren’t pillows!”) was filmed at the Sun Motel (formerly the Braidwood Inn). Today, film location stalkers re-create the scene in front of the motel with Candy and Martin shivering among their suitcases.

NATIONAL L AM POON’S VACATION (1983) When Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen Griswold (Beverly D’Angelo) load up the kids in the Family Truckster, inanity ensues as they drive from Chicago to southern California to visit Wally World. Along the way they scatter the seeds for three sequels (and different child actors). Familiar Route 66 towns used for filming include Chicago, St Louis, and Flagstaff, as well as popular side trips to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. If Chase’s shenanigans and insufferability weren’t enough (Aunt Edna, RIP), his poor planning lands them face-to-face with Lasky the Guard (John Candy), who tells them, “Sorry folks, park’s closed.

The moose out front shoulda told you.” And just when you thought things couldn’t go any farther downhill.

R AI N MA N (1988) Charlie (Tom Cruise) kidnaps idiot-savant brother Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman) and takes off on a cross-country cruise after he discovers their father had left him a bed of roses and a car, while leaving $3 million to his highly intelligent yet socially inept sibling. The title itself was quickly 20 ROUTE Magazine

adopted into the pop culture lexicon to refer to anyone who lacked social graces, but could calculate pi to 40 decimals. Along the way, Charlie comes to love his brother for who he is. Route 66 filming locations include Oklahoma City, as well as El Reno and Hinton OK. A popular location-stalker site is in Cogar, not far southwest of OKC.

TH E LMA A ND LOUI SE (1991) What started out as two women trying to escape their pathetic lives quickly devolves into desperate flight as Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) wind up running from the law. Louise shoots dead a stranger attempting to rape Thelma; while on the lam, the two then meet up with a handsome young drifter (Brad Pitt), who sneaks off with Louise’s life savings. Finally cornered by the FBI at the rim of the Grand Canyon, the pair kiss and decide to “keep going.”

While much of the movie has the duo traversing much of Route 66 country as well as the Grand Canyon, the movie was in fact filmed primarily in Southern California and Utah.

Motel scenes were shot at the Vagabond Inn, a short distance from Route 66 in Downtown LA.

LITTLE M I SS SU NSH I NE (2006) Olive (Abigail Breslin) is saddled with a highly dysfunctional family, but is determined to win the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California. Comic misadventure ensues as the family loads up in a Volkswagen bus for the long-strange trip from Albuquerque to LA. The van breaks down, and Olive is left behind at a service station. It was a race to get to the pageant on time, even though the pageant didn’t exactly go as planned. Neuroses, quirks, and technical issues for the win.

Some scenes were filmed in Flagstaff; you’ll have to imagine the rest between the Duke City and sunny southern California.

ROUTE Magazine 21

WIGWAM

By Nick Gerlich

22 ROUTE Magazine

MANIA

ROUTE Magazine 23

B

ehind every threat lies a golden opportunity for those willing to look beyond the obvious problems.

When cars replaced horses and bicycles as the preferred form of transportation early in the 20th Century, it spelled doom for farriers and vendors of twowheeled conveyance. Suddenly, people could travel great distances in a short period of time.

But shiny new cars also spelled opportunity for others.

Gasoline stations, the first of which had sprouted in 1907, quickly popped up across the country, allowing motorists to travel without carrying a jerry can full of fuel. Cafes opened, feeding hungry tourists along the way. But there was one thing missing. People needed a place to sleep, for suddenly a road trip was not limited to just one-day affairs.

Fancy hotels had long been the mainstay of the rich in urban centers, generally near a train depot. But with the democratization of travel, the middle and lower classes needed accommodations too. Camping by the side of the road may have served that purpose for a while, but travelers increasingly wanted more.

To this end, the roadside motel was born. There were fits and starts, but it was the effort of Frank A. Redford that ultimately produced one of the most memorable and iconic motel chains in the USA, one that caught the attention of Pixar and went on to find its place in animated film.

Cone of Inspiration When Redford built a concrete cone-shaped structure in 1933 to house his Native American artifacts collection, there were very few motels alongside US highways. He added six similar cones in 1935 to serve as tourist cabins, and his motel enterprise was off to the races. In fact, the very word “motel” had been coined only ten years earlier, and only because of space consideration on a sign.

“The word ‘motel’ originated in California with the ‘World’s First Motel’ in San Luis Obispo, when the Motel

Previous spread: Wigwam Village Motel, Rialto, California.

John Margolies/LOC. 1977.

24 ROUTE Magazine

Inn was established in 1925. A combination of the words motor and hotel, the motel is a hotel (typically single story) designed for patrons traveling by car,” said Heather David, author of Motel California. “Because motels catered to a car culture, the primary form of advertising was roadside advertising - with eye-catching features such as distinctive architecture, neon signage, and in later years, swimming pools strategically positioned near street view.”

While roadside architecture eventually adopted the vernacular style in each region, there was little done to stand out among the small but growing number of competitors.

Redford had a plan though, and he threw down the gauntlet.

His conical-shaped cabins were a whimsical nod to Native American abodes, as well as the onset of kitsch as king on the open road. In doing so, he unwittingly left behind a legacy of pure Americana.

That year those six cabins became the first of seven Wigwam Villages (he preferred “wigwam” over “teepee”).

This first unit was located in Horse Cave Kentucky on US 31E, one strand of the Dixie Highway. The DH, brain child of Carl G. Fisher, carried an increasing volume of traffic to Florida, and thus provided immediate benefit to Redford’s modest enterprise.

Richard Ratay, author of Don’t Make Me Pull Over! An Informal History of the Family Road Trip, acknowledges that motel architecture was not something that happened from the first day. “Initially, there was no architecture.

During the first road travel boom during the 1920s, motorists simply found a pleasant place along a road, pulled over, and either set up tents or just slept in their cars. It was called ‘autocamping.’ Eventually, enterprising businessmen improved on these campsites by building ‘motor courts,’ which were basically groups of huts built in a horseshoe shape around a fire pit or central common area. These huts offered only basic amenities, perhaps a couple of cots and a stove. The Wigwam Villages built by Frank Redford during the 1930s were really just fancy versions of these motor courts,” he continued. “Redford settled on the Indian theme because he owned a museum/gift shop that sold Native American artifacts and [he] wanted to extend that theme to his new lodging facilities.”

Redford applied for a patent for his design in 1935, and received it in 1936. Each tipi had a diameter of 14 feet, rose 32 feet from the ground, included a small partitioned bathroom area, and featured a somewhat protected entryway mimicking fold-away flaps of a real tipi. The patent was Redford’s green light to increase his operations, which he intended not to be an ownership chain, but rather with franchisees. This, too, was an innovation, as by that time, the Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts in Texas was the only chain on the horizon, it being centrally owned.

Never mind that Redford misappropriated the word

“wigwam,” because the units were in fact more teepee-like. Teepees (purists will argue “tipi” is more accurate) are portable tent-like dwellings, which Redford’s resemble, whereas wigwams are small cabins with its frame covered in bark or skins. Adding a little more comedy is the fact that wigwams were the domain of eastern tribes, and thus nowhere in Redford’s geographic coverage would a real wigwam have ever been found.

Redford’s indiscretion, though, was not of any concern for tourists.

“There sure wasn’t any disconnect for travelers. They weren’t looking for historical accuracy. They were looking for an interesting place to spend a night or two and take a fun memory Wigwam Village #2, Route 31W, Cave City, Kentucky. John Margolies/LOC. 1979. home with them,” said Ratay.

David argues that motel operators took liberties not to mislead, but rather to fuel travelers’ businesses. The Lewis family has operated the Holbrook site flight from reality. “Motel theming was always more about throughout its existence, while the Patel family has owned the fantasy than reality. There was a considerable amount of San Bernardino location since 2003. Redford had originally creative license when it came to these themes. Sure, there built the California location to manage himself. are/were plenty of historical and geographical inaccuracies, At that point, Redford’s chain grew no more. There had but I don’t believe that motel owners intentionally misled been a few knock-off competitors, like the one in Wharton, people,” she said. “The idea was to offer everyday people an Texas, seeking to infringe on his design and theme, but there opportunity to escape.” were other changes afoot, ones that likely dealt more of a Redford closed Village #1 in 1937 because he felt the state punch than copycats. Redford’s Wigwam Villages were, by was more likely to develop and maintain nearby US 31W. He concept, intended more as novelty than basic functionality. thus opened Village #2 a few miles down the road in Cave With no more than 19 units per village, the Wigwams City. The original operated under new owners and different were increasingly being outdone in capacity by emerging names until it closed; it was demolished in 1982. Village mom-and-pop motels with sprawling properties that had #2, which is still operating today, has 15 teepees in a semi30 or more rooms. And, unknown to Redford at the time, circle, with a larger structure in the center that once housed the onset of large corporate motel chains like Holiday Inn, a restaurant. Today, it serves as the office and a gift shop.

Ramada Inn, and Howard Johnson were about to redefine Sahudir Mir and his wife have owned the Cave City property the hospitality industry. since 2005.

These changes signaled new preferences for larger The Great Depression no doubt hindered Redford’s ability accommodations, and subsequently, the predictability of to grow his business, as it wasn’t until 1940 that two more the larger chains. Each teepee was about 154 square feet in Wigwam Villages were added. Village #3 was planted in New area, while standard rectangular motel rooms were trending Orleans on US 61, while Village #5 (it is unknown why they ever larger (they now average 325 square feet today). In went out of sequence) sprouted in Bessemer, Alabama, on US high-growth areas like New Orleans and Orlando, the 11. The New Orleans location only made it to 1954, while land beneath the wigwams became more valuable than the Bessemer’s managed to keep afloat until 1964. structures on top.

World War II interrupted expansion plans once again, dealing an eight-year drought, while the nation committed And Then the Decline resources to the war effort. Travel and tourism were down Redford’s grand project began to lose its relevance as the anyway, and Redford had to wait patiently to see his dream 1960s arrived, primarily as a new generation of travelers unfold. Once things settled down, he continued the trend evolved. What was “kitschy-kool” in the 1930s through of focusing on north-south US highway corridors, opening 1950s lost its luster as the happy-go-lucky 1950s and 1960s Village #4 opened in Orlando, Florida, on US 441 in 1948. ushered in a completely new era of roadside attractions It had 27 teepees, the largest in the chain. that were much larger and even quirkier in scope. Themed The post-war boom brought a change of heart to Redford, motels featuring exotic places and the forthcoming space who then turned west for his final expansion. Village #7 (once age replaced the earlier fascination with the southwest and again out of sequence) opened in 1949 in San Bernardino, Native American culture.

California, while Village #6 was built in sunny Holbrook, Further complicating matters were the large chain motels, Arizona. Both are along US Route 66, which by then was and a growing preference among travelers for predictability. carrying a heavy volume of travelers on holiday or seeking While nowadays there is an emerging interest in seeking out fame and fortune on the west coast. The Holbrook and San a unique and unexpected experience, at the time, travelers Bernardino locations join Cave City as the only remaining wanted more control over their dining and lodging. There Villages still in operation. They are also family-owned ROUTE Magazine 25

was little doubt in anyone’s mind that a room at a Holiday Inn in Florida was the exact same as one in California, a trend that was felt in the restaurant industry as well.

Worse yet, the Wigwams fell into disrepair as prior management lost interest in maintaining their properties.

With shiny, new alternatives at the freeway exit as opposed to the old road, it became an easy choice for motorists to shun what was once cool, but had begun looking a little long in the tooth. Adding insult is that some of the wigwams became known as no-tell motels, the deciding blow that turned families away.

It would take the onset of the 21st Century and nostalgiaseeking Baby Boomers to signal a revival in interest of these period-piece survivors.

Making New with Old Managing properties that are between 70 and 82 years of age has been no small task for the current owners of the wigwams. If anything could go wrong, it has done so at least once already, and often at great expense.

Mir recalls the distressed condition of his Cave City property when he bought it 14 years ago: “It was in pretty bad shape. The electric lines, the water lines, the furniture were in bad shape. It was really filthy.” But he and his wife had come to America in search of opportunity, and like many Indian immigrants, bought a motel. “This is a family business. I got here to America in 2004, and I was looking for something to do.”

Being recent immigrants, Mir had no clue of the historical significance of the wigwams, nor of what was about to happen when Cars was released in 2006. “When we bought it, it was like any motel. We did not know the value of the motel. But I learned when people came by and told me. They came in asking for an interview. So then I learned that it has

a different kind of value to people all over the country and world. Year after year. I had to dig out the history and found it is a landmark of American history.”

Luck had landed in his lap.

In the time that Mir has owned the Cave City, Kentucky, location, he has put a lot of work into repairing and upgrading the facilities. “We have done a lot of renovations and daily work. We have done a thorough cleaning, we have done work outside, we have fixed the furniture, we have done work on the electric lines. We have all new plumbing inside and new beds and all kinds of stuff,” he said with pride.

During the post-Cars era, Mir has come to learn a little about American pop culture and the appeal of nostalgia, something that is certainly an alien notion for someone who did not experience it when it happened. Today, he welcomes nostalgia seekers, and understands the appeal. “Actually, there are many people who come here for this reason, and they come every year. They spent their honeymoon here, and now they bring their grandkids. They talk about it being a unique motel. People bring their kids and sleep in a tipi.”

If anything, the warm glow of nostalgia has overtaken Mir, and he now seems to cherish what he unknowingly bought in 2005. “A lot of good people come, they come to talk to me, and invite me to be their friend. Some people have this as a bucket list item. Some families have been coming for 30-40 years.” And to help ensure that Wigwam Village #2 is around for future generations to enjoy, Mir is working to maintain the property. “We have some plans to do a little bit more work, but we are looking for a government grant. If we can get that, we can do much more,” he said, indicating he hopes to leverage his historical status to help fund his preservation efforts.

Samir Patel’s family faced a similar challenge when his parents, Jagdish and Ramila, bought the San Bernardino property in 2003. The neighborhood had gone bad, and the

Wigwam Village Motel and office, Holbrook, Arizona. John Margolies/LOC. 1987.

26 ROUTE Magazine

Wigwam Motel, Holbrook. Photograph courtesy of David J. Schwartz – Pics On Route 66. 2017.

motel had gained a reputation where rooms could be let by the hour. A large sign at the entrance proclaiming, “Do It In A Teepee” did not help matters.

Absentee owners had allowed the property to slide by virtue of leasing it to managers who neither cared nor had authority to make changes. “It really did take a turn for the worse, and because it went through different people who did not have the idea that this was a piece of history, that’s when the whole hourly stuff started. If my dad [hadn’t] purchased the place, the city of San Bernardino was going to tear it down,” Patel recalled.

The elder Patel set out to saving the wigwams, enlisting the help of his wife, three sons, and daughter. “You name it, we did it. Asphalt. Lawn work. We redid the pool. It was a swamp pretty much. New pumping engine. New carpet, furniture, water heaters, fixtures, sinks, toilets. We painted it, put in a laundry facility with a new washer and dryer, and rewired the whole property underground. Pretty much everything from A to Z, we did. We took over in September 2003, and finished near the end of 2005,” said Patel.

But unlike Mir, who had no idea of the historic value or the pop culture add-on about to happen, the elder Patel had long taken it to heart ever since immigrating from India. “They came to San Bernardino and have lived here since 1979.

That’s why this place always caught my dad’s eye, because he lived right down the street. This is something we would pass by every day,” Patel continued.

It took a while for Samir and his siblings to understand and embrace the idea of owning a roadside attraction. “My dad’s really into nostalgic stuff. Prior to buying it he used to come here to talk to the person who leased it. ‘One day I’m going to buy this property, and it’s going to be something.’ He was the only one in the family who saw what this could be,” Patel beamed. “He had it in his mind; it was his mentality. Now that I’ve grown up and realized a lot of things, I definitely understand the significance of this property.”

The elder Patels are now up in years. Although they still stop by almost daily to tinker and toil for a few hours, they have ceded the bulk of operations to Samir, the youngest of the four kids. “My parents have not retired, but they want to soon. This business means a lot to him personally, and I don’t see [my dad] walking away. My goal is to be here in the long run and to manage this property, to keep it in the family. I want to expand on this.”

While the Pixar people did visit the California wigwams, it was the Holbrook location on which they based the movie depiction. Still, the Cars effect has been significant for all of the remaining venues. “It feels great. That Pixar movie really kicked off our reservations, especially with children. After the movie we had people come from the local areas: ‘My kids want to stay in a Cozy Cone.’ In the peak season, we have kids come in every day who want to stay in a Cozy Cone.”

Having now adopted his father’s passion for nostalgia and the historic value of the property, Samir and his parents have committed together to continually maintaining and upgrading their 19 tipis that sit beside Route 66. “We have a lot of other major work that needs to be done. Plumbing is the number one issue right now. We also want to remodel the interior of each unit. We want to future-proof it in a way so that it will last another 70 years.”

With owners like the Patels and Mirs at the helm, there is little doubt these roadside relics will indeed be around for future generations to enjoy, as well as their nostalgic parents and grandparents.

The Need for Nostalgia Today, motels like the wigwams are roadside oddities that have become attractions in their own right. Whereas sixty years ago, they tugged at parents and kids alike for their uniqueness and novelty, it is that same novelty with a nostalgia cherry on top that is issuing the clarion call now.

ROUTE Magazine 27

Big Chief, Wigwam Village, Rialto. Photograph courtesy of David J. Schwartz – Pics On Route 66.

In a sea of generic saccharin rectangular motels surrounding freeway exits, these three relics provide something different.

“We live in a pretty homogenized world. These days, one motel is pretty much just like any other,” Ratay summarized.

“The Wigwam Villages remind us [that] there was once a time in America when lodgers sought to offer travelers something more than a pleasant stay. They wanted to provide a unique experience that might never be forgotten.”

“The golden age of the motel in the U.S. was circa mid1950s to early-1960s. I suspect that a good number of motel patrons today are looking for novelty. I first experienced motels as a child in the 1970s, when motels in the U.S. were on the decline,” David recalled. “For me, sleeping in a ‘wigwam’ was not only new and unusual, it was magic, like stepping back in time. In the 1950s and 1960s, motel owners (and especially those in states with high rates of tourism) were challenged with a highly competitive market. Theming became a marketing differentiator. In the 1960s, for example, there were over fifty motels around the perimeter of Disneyland. The majority of these businesses were privately owned mom and pop enterprises,” she continued. “With this kind of competition, what does one do to stand out from the others? The lands inside the gates of Disneyland extended to the streets of Anaheim with motels like the Princess, Alpine, Jolly Roger, and Space Age Lodge. You might not be able to afford a trip to Hawaii, but you could stay at the Waikiki Motel. You might not ever visit Egypt, but you could ride the ‘true to life camel’ at the Pyramid Motel.”

“Back in what I call the Golden Era of the Family Road Trip—the 1950s through the 1970s—novelty was extremely important. Competition among lodging operators to attract guests was fierce,” Ratay echoes. “There’s a reason well-traveled highways like Route 66 were lined with outlandishly themed motels and blinking neon people attractors—signs shaped like giant rockets, aliens, wagon wheels, buffalo and more. Motel owners would do just about anything to entice travelers to choose their operation over the guy down the road.”

28 ROUTE Magazine

That two of the three remaining Wigwam Villages are along Route 66 have not been lost on motel historians nor travelers. These were the last two Redford developed, and signaled a shift in geographical focus in the US. As far as tourism goes, the west was won a motel at a time, and Redford didn’t want to miss out on the action. Their value today along the Route is significant, their quirkiness a lightbulb for moths motoring along the Mother Road.

“Travelers along Route 66 are looking for memorable experiences and ways to connect with the rich legacy of the Golden Era of the American Road Trip. A night’s stay at a Wigwam Village allows them to get both,” said Ratay. To that end, the Holbrook wigwams, at some point, added neon signage beckoning travelers come hither, going so far as to remove signage inviting people to the museum that still exists today.

Scott Piotrowski, President of the California Historic Route 66 Association, knows the value of the wigwams in his state: “The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino is one of the key attractions along Route 66 in California. Along with places like El Garces, Casa del Desierto, three Route 66 museums, and the Aztec Hotel, the highway in California is littered with landmarks worth seeing. What sets the wigwams apart from the rest, however, is [their] photographic appeal.”

Looking Down the Road “The American motel as a building type both peaked and declined in the 1960s. The motel chain trend began decades ago, as well as the trend to build multi-story properties.

However, another trend started in the 1990s, the boutique hotel concept, the roadside motel re-imagined. All over the country, old motel properties are being lovingly restored, as people look to escape their everyday lives and check in to the American motel experience,” David explained.

Ratay is a little less certain, but nonetheless upbeat: “Of course, it’s hard to say. I only hope we recognize the value in supporting and preserving these important landmarks of the Golden Era of the American Road Trip, which also include the classic diners, roadside attractions, rest areas and more.

They’re magic portals that allow us to step back in time and experience a uniquely quirky, vibrant and exciting period in America’s history. If the reason we travel is to create lasting memories, I can’t think of a better way to do it than to pay these places a visit.”

Time and health were not on Redford’s side, though.

While he pictured his San Bernardino property to be a pseudo-retirement, he took ill and had to sell by the late1950s. He died shortly thereafter in 1957, and is buried in Horse Cave, Kentucky, not far from his original motel.

Redford started something uniquely different 86 years ago, when the motel was still a fairly new concept and road travel for leisure was just beginning. He went far out on a limb to create an experience that was different from what the small but growing number of motel operators had offered the traveling public. While those early motorists were still embracing the idea of an affordable overnight room, Redford was quick to stretch the concept into something memorable and unique. He no doubt raised eyebrows as an innovator of roadside kitsch, but soldiered on nonetheless to set himself apart from the rest. It was as if he almost knew that his brainchild would live to see another century, to be iconized in film and to delight travelers for years to come.

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THE BIRD CAGE THEATRE

h The Wildest Place in the West

s its name aptly suggests, Tombstone, Arizona, is home to some of the wickedest, raunchiest and most macabre events in “Wild West” history.

Situated in the southeastern corner of the state, Tombstone emerged as a silver mining boom town in 1879, and it soon began to burst with gun-toting cowboys and rebellious outlaws. Today, Tombstone still bears visible scars from its wild, dangerous past, having played host to legendary duels and countless gambling bets. But out of all the places in Tombstone, it was the Bird Cage Theatre that the New York Times deemed “the wildest, wickedest night spot, between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast.”

Built by William and Lottie Hutchinson in 1881, the Bird Cage soon became one of Tombstone’s hottest night spots shortly after its grand opening on December 26, serving for several years as the backdrop to some of the roughest events in Tombstone’s history. When the price of silver plummeted during the late 1880s, many miners were laid off, and Tombstone began to empty out. Due to financial pressures, the Bird Cage shut its doors in 1889. In 1934, it was turned into a museum, and it has been within the same family since then. The current manager, Billy Hunley, is a part of the third generation of his family to operate the Bird Cage, serving as an expert on its raucous past.

“The Bird Cage was a combination saloon, gambling hall and a house of ill-repute,” said Hunley. “And, the reason they had to have that was because there were 106 saloons down Allen Street, so you had to make yourself recognizable. So, it was a place for the blue-collar man to come in and rest and relax and enjoy the sophistications of what white-collar society would have been in that time period.”

Shortly after its opening, wealthy socialites started to flock to the town, seeking a taste of old-fashioned, Western violence, which was lacking back home in places like San Francisco. Tombstone never failed to disappoint in terms of danger, and the Bird Cage was certainly no exception.

“There were 16 gunfights in the building,” Hunley said.

“Seven of them were fatal, killing 26 people and leaving over 140 bullet holes throughout the walls, ceiling and floors …

Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp had their handkerchief duel in 30 ROUTE Magazine

this building. Both men were highly intoxicated. When they went to go shooting at each other, they missed, just adding to the bullet holes throughout the building.”

It’s no surprise that a place like the Bird Cage is steeped in myth, including the establishment’s name. While many believe it to be a reference to the theatre’s brothel quarters, Hunley said that’s only half of the truth. “The Bird Cage was named after a song that Arthur J. Lamb wrote about those cribs upstairs called ‘She’s Only A Bird In A Gilded Cage’ …

He asked Eddie Foy, he goes, ‘What do you think about this place?’ And Eddie goes, ‘It’s long and narrow and reminds me of a coffin.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I don’t think so.’ He goes, ‘The ladies with the feathers in their hair and their light little outfits on look like birds in a gilded cage.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, that sounds like a song. You should write that down.’ So, he took a napkin off the bar, and he started writing the words to the song.”

Like other saloons throughout Tombstone, the Bird Cage saw its fair share of gambling. In fact, the theatre hosted the world’s longest game of poker, which lasted exactly eight years, five months and three days. “[It included] very famous gamblers like Bat Masterson, Diamond Jim Brady, Adolphus Busch from Busch Brewery and George Randolph Hearst,” Hunley said. “You had to put $1,000 up first, and there were boys that were called runners, and they would come get you and bring you back to the game — 2 o’clock in the morning, 4 am, 6 am, 3:30 in the afternoon — it didn’t matter.”

Considering the Bird Cage’s tempestuous past, it’s no surprise the theatre is considered one of the most haunted places in the West, hosting ghost tours nightly. The theatre has been featured in numerous TV shows, including Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and Ghost Lab. According to Hunley, anyone who walks through the Bird Cage’s door is likely to have a paranormal experience, whether it be an orb captured in a photograph, an unexplained shove, or an inexplicable laugh.

As “The Town Too Tough To Die,” Tombstone owns its notoriety with a palpable sense of pride. The Bird Cage is a handsome reminder to all who visit of the many stories that the Old West has to tell.

Photograph courtesy of Hawkeye58.

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32 ROUTE Magazine

COMPANION ROUTE Magazine 33

C

ertain essentials for every good road trip have stood the test of time: catchy music, a variety of snacks, a reliable map or GPS. Whether it’s just a few hours or a few days, there are specific things we wouldn’t dare hit the road without, some more crucial than others.

Starting in the 1930s, during the Jim Crow era, a postman named Victor Hugo Green created a travel guide called The Green Book that would become a necessity on many black travelers’ road-trip checklists for decades.

Jim Crow laws were set in place after the Civil War and enforced racial segregation in the United States. Many establishments, including restaurants, stores and hotels would openly display “whites only” signs or have entirely different sections for “coloreds.” Towns known as sundown towns made it their official policy that non-whites were not permitted in their jurisdiction after dark. The Green Book kept African American motorists safe by listing places that would welcome them during a time when Jim Crow laws ruled the country.

Racial tensions were high, and most public areas were unsafe for black people, making travel extremely difficult to navigate. A black family traveling through an unfamiliar city on a long road trip would essentially have no idea where they could safely eat or sleep. There were some establishments that were welcoming, but they were few and far between which made The Green Book an essential travel companion at the time.

The Green Book The first copy of The Green Book was published in 1936.

At the time, it only included establishments in New York City, but the book soon became so popular among the black community in New York, that each subsequent copy grew to include new locations and establishments from coast to coast in the United States, and eventually included guides for international travel.

“The idea of ‘The Green Book’ is to compile facts and information connected with motoring, which the Negro Motorist can use and depend upon,” Green wrote in the introduction for the 1937 version of The Green Book.

However, it is likely that even Green did not realize the positive impact that his little guide would have on black travel across the United States.

Basically, The Green Book — also known as The Negro Motorist Green Book — collected the names of tons of establishments that were safe for black people to visit and put them all in one small paperback book. In the introduction to the 1949 edition of The Green Book, Green notes how he was inspired by the Jewish press which had been publicizing places that were safe for Jewish travelers. In both instances, oppressed communities came together to help one another.

The guide became fundamental to black travelers during the Jim Crow era since the discriminatory laws were not officially revoked until the late 1960s. This meant that many establishments often turned away black customers and had every legal right to do so. Other black travel guides such as Bronze American National Travel Guide (1961-1962) did exist at the time, but none quite reached the success of The Green Book.

“The Green Book was almost like a Yellow Pages for black entrepreneurship,” said Candacy Taylor, a cultural critic, author and documentarian. “There were typical gas, food and lodging businesses, but there were also funeral homes 34 ROUTE Magazine

The Green Book, 1940 edition.

and sanatoriums and some department stores... It really showed how many parts of society black people were shut out of. If you were on the road and you needed to refill a prescription, you couldn’t assume that you could go to any drugstore, so there were drug stores in The Green Book.

That was a major thing that differentiated it from other travel guides.”

Copies of the book were primarily sold by black businesses and organizations, but The Green Book did receive solid corporate sponsorship from Esso (Standard Oil at the time), so black travelers knew that they could find the guide at any Esso gas station.

Flipping through the pages of The Green Book does almost feel like flipping through a fusion of a telephone book and a travel guide. Diners, stores and even personal residents promoted themselves as safe places for black folks in advertisements ranging in size from a small corner of a page to full pages. Spreads explaining the best ways to prepare for road trips and tips for tuning up a car could be found in between lists of welcoming hotels and restaurants.

The unassuming pamphlet was an incredibly powerful tool created by and for the black community.

“Black folks not only have made a way out of no way, the ingenuity and the resilience of the race is unparalleled in terms of what they were facing and what they had to do out of this horrific situation,” Taylor said. “Not only just to create a way to make it, but to thrive in ways that are unparalleled.”

The first copy of The Green Book was published a mere 86 years ago now, with the most recent copy hitting stands only 52 years ago, around the same year that The Sound of Music

won the Oscar for Best Picture. There is easily a generation of people still alive today who needed and used The Green Book while traveling America’s highways.

The history of the guide frequently gets buried under other Civil Rights and segregation narratives that happened at the same time, but The Green Book is undeniably an important part of black and American history.

The Man Behind the Book The oldest of three, Victor Hugo Green was born on November 9, 1892 in Manhattan. He was supposedly named after the famous French writer and poet, Victor Hugo, who is most known for writing the novels “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.” Much of Hugo’s work centered around social issues which would inadvertently be a foreshadowing of Green’s own work.

Raised in New Jersey, Green began his career as a postal carrier in Hackensack, Marion Post Wolcott/LOC. 1944.

New Jersey, in 1913 when he was 21 years old. Five years later, in 1918, the man noted as being affable, well-built and fashionable by to Green and Alma. “The mail carriers, they know more those who knew him, married Richmond, Virginia, native, about us than our neighbors do because they know what Alma Duke. The couple moved to Harlem, New York, during kind of mail we receive, so I think these mail carriers were the Harlem Renaissance. The city was a thriving scene respected as a community and they would ask certain people for black culture, art and expression, and Green’s travel about being listed.” agency office was just over a mile from jazz musician Duke Once it got into the hands of Green and Alma, it was up to Ellington’s apartment. them to put the book together. According to Ramsey, Alma Green continued to work for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), managed the production of the book while Green delivered sticking with his New Jersey route, while living in Harlem. mail in New Jersey, and the book might have never existed At one point, he also managed his musician brother-in-law, without her contributions. She would handle a full-time staff making Green perhaps the most famous postal worker, of people and help with the typing and organization of the manager, author triple-threat in American history. “Victor book when Green was out during the day. “Alma deserves was just an industrious type [of] guy who was always looking a lot of credit because she really was the backbone of the for different things to get involved with,” said author and publication,” Ramsey said. playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey.

Green continued collecting data for The Green Book and Working as a letter published annual copies after the 1936 edition, all the while carrier equipped Green remaining a loyal USPS employee for 39 years (a true feat as for gathering the anyone who’s tried balancing a full-time job and a hobby will listings for The Green tell you). He retired from the USPS in 1952 at the age of 60, but Book. He belonged continued releasing updated copies of the guide until his death to the labor union in 1960 at 68 years old, most likely due to natural causes. known as the National After his death, Alma and several other editors saw his Association of Postal work through by continuing to publish new versions of and Federal Employees, The Green Book until the last copy, which came out between which employed many 1966 and 1967. black men as mail carriers around the The Green Book and Route 66 country. The mailmen The Mother Road was bustling during the time that worked with Green, The Green Book was in publication. Route 66 was building asking trusted people up quickly with simple but safe motor courts and familyalong their route if they owned diners and filling stations. The road became fully knew of places that paved in 1938, making it that much easier for roadtrippers would accommodate to enjoy long stretches of driving under an open sky, and black travelers, and Nat King Cole introduced the world to Bobby Troupe’s then their information Victor Green. 1956. famous song and saying “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” would be passed along ROUTE Magazine 35

in 1946 during a time when Cole himself would have been turned away by many businesses. More and more people owned cars, and spending hours driving on The Mother Road became one of the quintessential American experiences. As it did, Route 66 continued to grow and diversify. Motor courts turned into motels and then hotels, with flashy neon signs, and weird and wonderful attractions began to blossom across the country.

Taylor is the author of Moon Route 66 Road Trip, a travel guide for The Mother Road. As she began traveling and doing research for the book, she started noticing some holes in the history.

“I’m a black woman, and I thought well, ‘where are all the black people and what did they do?’ I just had different questions,” Taylor said. “[There] was such a disconnect in what people assume Route 66 is about and this kind of fun ‘get your kicks’ situation, and then when you learn that nearly half of the counties on Route 66 were sundown towns, that really shifts the focus on ‘people are just out there to have a good time in their Airstream trailers,’ and it was a very different experience for black people.”

During that era, black travelers were finding any way they could to stay safe and be prepared on long trips. Many would take cans of gas and sleeping bags with them in the event that they would be turned away from a gas station or hotel.

Some would even stow a chauffeur’s hat in their car in case they got pulled over or questioned about their travel. Picnics were also popular among black travelers on road trips during

Texas. Russell Lee/LOC. 1939.

36 ROUTE Magazine

this period since it was often unknown whether a restaurant would provide service to them. So, families would pack up their best road-trip delicacies and make the most out of lessthan-favorable circumstances.

Carrying around a copy of The Green Book certainly helped in many of these situations, and learning about the guide influenced Taylor’s current projects.

“I stumbled onto The Green Book because I was at the Autry Museum [in Los Angeles]. They had a Route 66 exhibit, and The Green Book was tucked under glass in the corner. I thought, ‘I had no idea that ever existed,’ and it was kind of one of those eureka moments of, ‘oh this is why I’m doing this. This is my project.’”

Taylor is currently traveling around the United States and along The Mother Road finding businesses that were listed in The Green Book, with an extra interest in the ones that are still running. She estimates that only about three percent of the 9,600 businesses she’s catalogued are still in operation. With a grant she received from the National Park Service, Taylor is scouting the buildings of these operations to write nominations for the National Registry to preserve the buildings, even if the business is gone. Although many of the businesses have been shut down, their legacy will live on through Taylor’s writing and documenting.

“It’s tangible evidence that integration and segregation happened,” Taylor said. “It’s a place we can go and learn about this history. Not just The Green Book but Civil Rights history, and anything having that physical place is really

Jack Delano/LOC. 1940.

important. I think they can teach us a lot about where we are and what we do with the space.”

With many of the listings in The Green Book being small businesses and family-owned places, Becky Wible Searles, an animation professor and documentarian at the Savannah College of Art and Design, found the sentiment of Route 66 closely matches that of The Green Book.

“That whole road culture of little places that maintain their local flavor, I think is reflected in so many of The Green Book locations,” Searles said. “They have a local feel. They’re invested in the local culture and history. It’s not really about interstate culture at all. So that culture of diners and souvenirs and attractions, Route 66 is the epitome of that.”

Searles is currently working on a documentary with Ramsey titled “The Green Book Chronicles.” The film uses personal stories told through interviews, motion media and animation to reflect on travel graphics and social issues from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s and focuses on The Green Book as their central theme.

In the book, a young black girl tells about a road trip she takes with her mother and father to visit her grandmother in Alabama. During the trip, the family gets denied service at a gas station and a hotel before getting ahold of a copy of The Green Book that helps them finish the trip safely.

“People kind of banded together, and I think that’s the beauty of it, how African American people really took this on as a project and they helped each other,” Ramsey said in regard to The Green Book.

From his two-act play titled “The Green Book” to his children’s book “Ruth and the Green Book” which is being adapted into a musical, to co-producing “The Green Book Chronicles” with Searles, Ramsey has been making the history of The Green Book more public. Much of his work is considered fiction, although it is deeply rooted in real situations black travelers often faced.

“They’re like composite stories,” Ramsey said. “I heard so many stories, and I just said, ‘I have to use these stories in some kind of way.’ So they’re kind of interwoven into the story, but all of this stuff actually happened to people.”

Impact of The Green Book

The Green Book Today

“It made me sad that some people were mean to Negros, but it helped to know that good black people all over the country had pitched in to help each other. It felt like I was part of one big family,” Ramsey wrote in his children’s book titled “Ruth and the Green Book.”

“There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published,” Green wrote in the introduction of the 1949 edition of The Green Book. “That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States.”

ROUTE Magazine 37

Halifax, North Carolina.

The last edition of The Green Book was published in 1967, three years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed making segregation in public places illegal. Finally, black travelers could be almost certain they would not be denied service. Racism did not suddenly go away, but public spaces did become less dangerous.

While The Green Book is no longer needed for black travelers, the message Victor Green instilled while creating the guide is universal and timeless.

“I think it shows people who are oppressed and maybe not treated as full citizens, how one person or one couple can make a difference... I think that’s the real beauty of it,” Ramsey said.

Travel is about connection: going from point A to point B, visiting friends and family and making memories along the way. Whether deliberately or not, we are all involved in these connections and the stories others share about their travels.

“I do not look at The Green Books as black history, I look at it as shared American history that we all need to know about, and it’s a triumph of ingenuity and connecting people,” Searles said. “I think in 2019, we can’t even imagine life without the internet being able to connect to people, but of course there was life before the internet, and Victor Green set up one. So, it’s this bridge between the Underground 38 ROUTE Magazine

Railway and the internet. The power and the benefits to everybody of connecting people.”

Often times, the nostalgia around road travel and Route 66 revolves around remembering the road in its “heyday.” The world seems to stop when you have nothing but an open road ahead of you. We constantly want to go back to a time when things were more simple and there was a feeling of old-time Americana in the air. While many people long to recreate those times, we must remember that the hospitality on The Mother Road was not always extended to African Americans. Black motorists traveling down Route 66 would often need a copy of The Green Book simply to ensure their safety.

“What makes Route 66 different is that it had — and it still does — a branding associated with it that you could just get on in Chicago and just keep going to L.A., and there was this sense of fun and adventure, and that wasn’t the case.” Taylor said.

This is not to say that the classic comfort and simplicity of road trips and Route 66 should be discounted in any way, but that we should strive for inclusivity as we aim to preserve the beauty and hospitality of The Mother Road.

As Victor Green wrote at the end of the introduction of the 1937 edition, “Let’s all get together and make motoring better.”

Experience the good life in the slow lane along

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LIGHTING

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THE NIGHT Photographs courtesy of The Flash Nites.

ROUTE Magazine 43

T

he desert can be a beautiful, enticing place, filled with unique flora and fauna and a wide variety of wildlife, birds and insects. The arid landscapes are also home to mesmerizing skies and a colorful history and stories that are found nowhere else. The American southwest is also the resting place for many odd and haunted structures that only truly come to life under the cover of darkness, that is to say, beneath

PREVIOUS SPREAD: Jericho, TX.

ABOVE: Painted Desert Trading Post, Chambers, AZ. 44 ROUTE Magazine

the warm, weird glow of colorful lights. In this pictorial, ROUTE showcases the work of Chris and Katie Robleski, a talented, passionate couple whose quirky brand, The Flash Nites, is creating a whole new vibe in the silence of the desert.

In their own words: “The REAL art happens beyond the camera, and the REAL story is told as we literally shed light on these magical places that have long since been forgotten.�

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ROUTE Magazine 45

ABOVE: The Italianate, IL.

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46 ROUTE Magazine

Visit Decatur, Illinois

Closer than You Think

Only forty miles east of Springfield, Illinois, Decatur is rich in attractions. Shortly after our friendly city was established in 1829, a lanky, 21-year-old gent named Abraham Lincoln arrived, thus establishing his first residence in “The Prairie State.” Monuments or markers commemorating important events in Lincoln’s life are scattered throughout the city, including a bronze plaque where his father’s cabin originally stood. A chair from Lincoln’s law office is on display at the Macon County History Museum and other priceless Lincoln artifacts stand proudly on exhibition.

Downtown Decatur’s scenic shopping district, including Historic Merchant Street, has dozens of cool, locally-owned shops and restaurants that are guaranteed to harken you back to yesteryear, while creating some new memories too.

The Children’s Museum is ranked as one of the country’s premier children’s museums and the Scovill Zoo exhibits 400 animals from six continents. Decatur has an abundance of wooded hiking and horseback trails and Lake Decatur’s 2,800-acres is excellent for catching catfish, walleye, and white bass and for its wonderful views. There is something for everyone in Decatur.

Whether you are planning a solo trip, a weekend getaway with your family or are making a memorable trip down iconic Route 66, our quaint picturesque town has something for everyone. We want to share it with you.

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ROUTE Magazine 47

DESERT

48 ROUTE Magazine

TERROR

By Brad Sykes

ROUTE Magazine 49

K

nown for their natural beauty, historic sites and distance from the bustle of civilization, the deserts of the American southwest are also the perfect setting for tales of suspense and horror. A sudden breakdown in a “middle of nowhere” town full of sinister locals … that strange looking hitch-hiker that you don’t dare pick up … a maniacal driver who gives ‘road rage’ a whole

new meaning. “Desert Terror” movies take these scenarios to nightmarish new heights, as their stories of thumb-tripping killers, cannibal families and much worse, play out against a stark landscape which offers broiling days, frigid nights, lethal wildlife on the loose, and no place to hide. So, buckle up, put on your shades and keep your eyes on the road as we look at seven of the scariest Desert Terror movies ever made.

TH E H I LLS HAVE EYES (1977)

DUE L (1971) Originally produced for television, Duel (1971) is best known as the feature debut of a then twenty-four-year old Steven Spielberg, but it also ranks as one of the most intense and influential Desert Terror films of all time. The story (by I Am Legend author Richard Matheson) is deceptively simple: David Mann (Dennis Weaver), a traveling salesman driving north for a business meeting, is menaced by a tanker truck (whose driver we never see) along a series of increasingly isolated California highways. Beginning with a casual (and instantly relatable) encounter on the road, the “duel” between Mann and his eighteen-wheeled adversary builds from one dangerous situation to another, gradually assuming life-and-death proportions. Clearly, only one of them will emerge from this ‘duel’ alive.

Spielberg’s choice to shoot the majority of Duel in the desolate desert north of Los Angeles, instead of on the Universal lot, plays a major role in the film’s effectiveness.

Real diners, filling stations and colorful roadside attractions capture local flavor, while the last section of the movie, which takes place on treacherous mountain roads, emphasizes how isolated its hero has become from any kind of civilization, or help. The superbly choreographed chase sequences, also shot on location, have a realism that makes the viewer feel that they are right there in the driver’s seat with Mann. Like all the best Desert Terror movies, Duel’s southwestern setting is as important as the characters and relentless action. The result is a powerful battle between man and machine that still holds up today, even after countless imitations.

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Horror-meister Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) wrote and directed this cult classic, which pits “civilized” Americans against their savage desert-dwelling counterparts.

Looking for a silver mine in the Nevada desert, the Carter family becomes stranded in the proverbial ‘middle of nowhere’ after a fateful car accident. As night falls, a local clan of cannibals - outfitted with weapons stolen from a nearby gunnery range - descend on the Carters’ camp, intent on murder, baby snatching, and worse. Though some of the Carters fall victim to their attackers, the few remaining family members learn to adapt to the new environment, and to match the behavior of their tormentors, if they are to avoid becoming “human French fries”.

Hills was filmed in the deserts of Victorville, California, (home of the California Route 66 Museum) and its barren, rocky locations feel truly threatening, even otherworldly at times. Craven uses the desert’s inherently deadly attributes to create tension long before the cannibal family arrives; a jackrabbit causes the fateful car crash, characters complain about the broiling heat, and another is spooked by a tarantula.

The boulder-strewn hills surrounding the Carters’ camp are convincingly treacherous and the viewer can almost feel the chill as the temperature drops after dark. The hills may have eyes but, the film suggests, the desert could just as easily kill the Carters all by itself. In many ways, the cannibal family, whose looks and behavior are more animalistic than human, serve as the ultimate desert predators. It makes us ponder, are we really alone as we enjoy the freedom of the desert?

as the story grows darker. The film derives as much suspense from Early’s outbursts of violence as it does from his and Adele’s interactions with their more ‘civilized’ traveling companions. Iconic sights of the road – filling stations, roadhouses, empty farm houses – play host to dark deeds reminiscent of real-life killers like Ed Gein and Henry Lee Lucas, while a visit to an abandoned nuclear test range recalls the horrors of the atomic age that hover over many a Desert Terror film. Featuring a killer as purely evil as The Hitcher, Kalifornia is both a celebration and critique of America’s outlaw past.

BR EAK DOWN (1997)

TH E H ITCH ER (1986) The Hitcher (1986) is not the first Desert Terror film to feature a killer hitch-hiker (that honor goes to the 1953 true crime thriller The Hitch-Hiker), but it remains cinema’s most enduring example of the dangers of picking up the wrong passenger. When tired cross-country driver Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) gives a lift to the enigmatic ‘John Ryder’, he comes to regret his decision almost immediately, as the knife-wielding Ryder (Rutger Hauer) explains in detail how he butchered his previous ride. The Hitcher’s plans for his new victim go beyond simple murder, however, as he proceeds to implicate Jim in a series of increasingly violent crimes across the American southwest.

Filmed on location in Death Valley, Barstow and other California locales along Route 66, The Hitcher offers a more expansive view of the southwest than earlier road thrillers, and is more attractively photographed, too. From the first shots of a lonely mountain pass at twilight to the final, Western-style shootout, striking desert landscapes are used as an eerily effective background for Ryder and Halsey’s bloody confrontations. Familiar desert locations like diners, motels, and truck stops become settings for scenes of utter horror while the open desert offers no place to hide from Ryder’s relentless wrath. The Hitcher’s unknown motives and vague personal details make him the ultimate personification of the scary thumb-tripper lying in wait on the lonely American highway.

K ALI FOR N IA (1993) Kalifornia updates the ‘killer hitch-hiker’ for the 1990s, introducing rural living serial killer Early (Brad Pitt) and his less than intelligent girlfriend Adele (Juliette Lewis), who rack up a decent body count before joining urban sophisticates Brian (David Duchovny) and Carrie (Michelle Forbes) to share the costs of a cross-country odyssey to the West Coast. Brian’s plan to research a book on serial killers along the way – a creepy plot in its own right – takes a sinister turn once Early secretly begins bumping off motorists and gas station attendants. Once the truth is discovered, the road trip goes haywire, and Early’s abduction of Carrie forces Brian to abandon his own civilized nature and confront his own inner ‘killer’.

Inspired by true-crime accounts like In Cold Blood, Kalifornia traces a ‘Route 66’ style line from Chicago to Los Angeles, ironically becoming sunnier and more beautiful

If The Hitcher’s tagline warned audiences to ‘never pick up a stranger’, then Breakdown (1997) suggests the reverse: never accept a ride from a ‘friendly’ driver. Driving West to start a new life, Jeff (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) become stranded on an isolated desert road. When a passing semi driver named ‘Red’ offers them a lift, Jeff stays with the car and sends Amy ahead, setting the stage for a Hitchcockian plot. Amy disappears and Jeff is left to contend with unhelpful police and shifty locals, all of whom seem to be conspiring against him. This film defines creepy

as panic quickly covers Jeff’s face when he realizes that Amy has disappeared. Like Duel’s David Mann, the domesticated Jeff is utterly alone in his quest to find Amy, and completely out of place in the rugged desert environment.

Containing elements of both the road thriller and the ‘stranded in a small town’ scenario, Breakdown is an intelligent and action-packed thriller in which no one is who they seem. Unlike many Desert Terror villains, Red and his cohorts are not outwardly ‘scary’; they’re uncomfortably ordinary human beings with apparently ‘normal’ lives and families. Jeff, too, is more of a relatable everyman, which only adds to the tension and believability of his plight. The film even manages to remain believable during the action set pieces, the biggest and best of which recalls Duel’s climax. Breakdown also benefits immensely from its location shooting in Arizona and Utah, which at times recalls the grandeur of classic Westerns.

ROUTE Magazine 51

road, where people disappear every day and killers roam free to hunt. Director John Dahl is also responsible for the terrific desert thriller Red Rock West and skillfully balances laughs and scares. Funnier than your usual Desert Terror movie, this is a great introduction to the genre for casual moviegoers before they delve into darker territory.

BEYOND TH E R EACH (2015)

JOY R I DE (2001) Before he rebooted the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises, J.J. Abrams threw his hat into the Desert Terror ring, co-writing and producing Joy Ride (2001), a more lighthearted and referential take on the genre. Driving from California to Colorado, brothers Lewis (Paul Walker) and Fuller (Steve Zahn) buy a CB radio and use it to pass the time playing pranks on truck drivers. One trucker, the sinister-sounding ‘Rusty Nail’ (who we hear but never really see) takes the bait, and his reaction to being “punked” results in a grisly murder.

Soon, the brothers and Lewis’ love interest Venna (Leelee Sobieski), are being pursued from one state to another by the unyielding Rusty Nail, who leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Made thirty years after Duel, Joy Ride plays off the same fears of malevolent truckers and the dangers of road travel, down to its unseen villain and the design of Rusty’s big rig (like Duel’s tanker, it bears license plates from multiple states). Although it takes place across several states, Joy Ride’s action takes place mostly in the cramped confines of cars, motel rooms and rest stops, emphasizing the transient, anonymous, impersonal qualities of life on the

O

ver the past six decades, Desert Terror movies have found many ways to introduce audiences to the dangers lurking by the roadsides, in the rocky hills, or occasionally right in their passenger seat.

The plains and canyons of Utah and Nevada and in Arizona, California and New Mexico along the “Mother Road” have never been more beautiful, or more deadly, than in these films.

Many of these movies have become cult classics or mainstream hits, while some are still awaiting discovery. Most excitingly, this uniquely varied genre promises even more challenging works for the next sixty years. For as long as the deserts of the

52 ROUTE Magazine

The most extreme examples of Desert Terror often leave the highways, roadside attractions and truck stops of America and strand their victims in the middle of the high desert, without supplies and far from any kind of civilization.

Beyond the Reach is an example of this approach, beginning with billionaire businessman Madec (Michael Douglas) hiring young Native American guide Ben to take him deep into the desert (the “reach” of the title) to illegally hunt bighorn sheep. Madec’s accidental shooting of a local prospector, and his refusal to take the blame sets off a chain of events that finds Madec hunting Ben (Jeremy Irvine) across miles of harsh terrain over several days. Ben is no ‘outsider’, however, and uses his survival skills and knowledge of the land against Madec, whose superior firepower gives him, at least for a time, the advantage.

Like The Hitcher or Duel, Beyond the Reach is a strippeddown story with two main characters engaged in a life or death struggle against a desert backdrop. The movie emphasizes the incredible difficulty of surviving in such a hostile environment, as Ben (who Madec forces to strip down to his shorts) endures broiling sun, lack of food and water, the rocky ground under his bare feet and very few places to hide from Madec’s high-tech assaults. Unusual for a Desert Terror film, the ‘civilized’ outsider is the bad guy, and the opponents are evenly matched from the start. The rugged New Mexico locations provide the perfect battleground for Madec and Ben’s private war, as it plays out before one breathtaking desert vista after another.

American southwest exist to inspire, challenge, amaze and – yes – terrify audiences and filmmakers, there will be Desert Terror films.

Brad Sykes is the award-winning writer and director of over twenty feature films including Camp Blood, Death Factory, and Plaguers. He has penned articles for Fangoria, Indie Slate, Evilspeak and Midnight and is the author of Terror in the Desert: Dark Cinema of the American Southwest (McFarland and Co.).

Celebrate the Mother Road with one (or all!) of these great puzzles brought to you by Gearheads Puzzles and Route 66 Images.

Puzzles available at: gearheadspuzzleshop.com route66images.com and several fine stores along your memorable journey.

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ROUTE Magazine 53

THE VISIONARY

By Nick Gerlich Opening photograph by David Schwartz - Pics on Route 66 54 ROUTE Magazine

Tina Mion and Sundown Motel, 2019.

“I

paint about things that I am familiar with,” said Tina Mion. One look at her paintings, and you will quickly notice how familiar she is with the desert in the southwest and with iconic Route 66.

But the brush strokes of Mion’s life didn’t start out looking like a southwest landscape. The tapestry of her story is one with swatches culled from around the globe, starting at the age of four when she moved into an abandoned New Jersey mortuary. The Washington, D.C., native moved around

frequently, bouncing later to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, where she was coached by an artist who gave her paints and an easel. By the time she reached the age of 18, she was working for Byte Magazine, the 1970s-80s-era microcomputer magazine.

From there, Mion, 59, shot across the globe on a wing and a prayer to Sri Lanka, heavily laden with paints and little else. After overstaying her visa, she hopped a boat to India carrying only a sketch book and a roll of vitally important toilet paper, and trekked all the way to Nepal before returning to Sri Lanka. This was followed by another global jump to the seaside state of Maine, and then back to her hometown, D.C., where she did freelance work for everyone from the U.S. military to National Geographic and the Smithsonian. Mion’s life has been one of inspiration.

The next leg of her journey, in 1988, took her to Ukraine (still part of the USSR) to participate in a peace walk from Odessa to Kiev. While en route, she met a female artist on a bus who invited her to a party that night. It was there that she met the event organizer, a man named Allan Affeldt.

It was a meeting of epic serendipity that would change her life—and painting—forever.

It was many years before they married, the intervening years dotted with stopovers in California, Mexico, and Cuba. In 1996, shortly after marrying Affeldt, she headed off alone to Africa while her new husband continued graduate studies at the University of California at Irvine.

When she returned early in 1997, Affeldt met her at the airport with an important announcement: they were relocating to Arizona.

At this point her canvas took on a decided earthy hue when they moved to Winslow to buy La Posada Hotel, the historic but dilapidated Harvey House designed by renowned architect Mary Coulter. The rest is art history, as Mion’s paintings became increasingly inspired by her new surroundings. With plenty of room to spare, La Posada became both studio and gallery for the artist. And now her work is coming to a special gallery showing in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

“I have a show opening a Mayeur Projects. It will open on Sunday October 27. The reception will be from 3:00 to 5:00pm, and the next morning we will do a conversation with Christian Mayeur and me,” she explained. “The show will have two bodies of work. I’ve been working on it for more than a year. The first body will be paintings that really are inspired by Route 66, and the other will be a little bit more ‘poppy.’ There will be more than 35 works of art.”

Mion and Affeldt are proprietors of not only La Posada, but also La Castaneda and The Plaza in Las Vegas, New Mexico. They split their time between the two towns, where Tina has studio space at her convenience whichever they choose to frequent.

Titled Midnight Muse, the opening of the new show coincides with the annual Fred Harvey Weekend held annually in both Las Vegas and Santa Fe, the last weekend of October. Mion will also speak in Santa Fe as part of the conference. Prior to the gallery opening, she will lead tours of her new studio at La Castaneda. “It’s a big show and there will be a catalogue that will be in both French and English.

The day before, I will be giving a lecture at the Santa Fe History Museum about how living in these Fred Harvey buildings has affected my art. I have lived in Winslow for 22 years now.”

ROUTE Magazine 55

The Principals of Mayeur Projects are Christian Mayeur and Anne Poux, both French art collectors with a love of the southwest. Many of the paintings appearing are part of Mion’s series called Mionland, and are inspired by Route 66 and the surrounding region. “They have been out to my studio in Winslow many times. I think that they understand it. They get it.”

Reflecting on her time in the town that was made famous by the Eagles via their hit single, Take it Easy, Mion added, “I have seen [a lot] over 22 years, and have seen cultural, economic, and environmental changes. It’s a unique perspective. I’ve seen buildings disappear. I’ve seen them brought back. And I’ve seen them repurposed. It’s not all disappearing!”

Green Book, 2016.

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Her paintings have hung prominently at La Posada for years, and have become so popular that she now has pieces hanging in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City.

“One of my paintings in the show is about a woman named Linda Kor. She moved from San Diego to Joseph City [AZ]. She married a man, moved there, had three children, and then he left her to raise those children alone,” Mion recalled. “I have a large painting that was inspired by her.

Recently she bought a structure that is completely falling down for $1 in Holbrook, and she is trying to restore it.

There are parts of it coming back. This area where I live, I see as suspended in time.”

To Mion, her art is not just about reflecting the present, but also preserving the past. “I did a portrait of Dorothy Hunt and Ruby McHood.

They were two of the original Harvey Girls [at La Posada] who kind of became my grandmothers when I moved here. They were really comforting to me. That one actually wound up in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. They’re no longer with us, but I still have drawings and paintings I did of them.”

Mion’s art typically fills a room, not just in physical size, but also in room for interpretation and appreciation.

Never one to use bright lights or arrows to point to details and nuance, she welcomes the steady gaze of the viewer to infer her intent. While all of her paintings captivate guests at their hotels, there are two specific pieces for which Mion is best known, ones that elicit comments on a regular basis.

It is quite possible that her formative years living in the mortuary influenced her decision to approach the subject of death in these two paintings. The first, Stop Action Reaction (1997) depicts the assassination of John F. Kennedy, with First Lady Jackie Kennedy holding a playing card (the king of hearts) being bisected by a speeding bullet.

“I saw it as the last moment of innocence, not just for Jackie, but for an entire generation.” Although she has no lasting memory of the assassination, she was surprised to find that there was no artwork of that sad moment, aside from Andy Warhol’s depiction of the funeral.

“This was a seminal event, maybe one of the biggest ones in the history of the whole United States. And that split second that hadn’t been captured. I did it in a way that was not gratuitous. It was more focused on Jackie and the moment before she realized what happened.”

Bus Stop, 2019.

Two Stars, 2017.

“I had no idea when I did that painting the effect it would have on people. I put it up in the hotel and I had to take it down because people kept touching the eyes.” She recalls people coming up to her and telling her where they were when JFK was assassinated. “Then the Smithsonian came by one day and said they wanted it. And so it is owned now by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. That’s great, because the Smithsonian is American, so basically, America bought that painting.”

As is typical in her work, Mion added subtlety and shades of intrigue: “I did put a little bit of a conspiracy theory in there. A king of hearts card is called the suicide king.” Many said it was suicidal of Kennedy to go to Texas at that time.

She noted that the king of hearts card features a sword going through the head, but embellished upon it. “I put in two swords, one coming from outside the card for the conspiracy theory of the second bullet,” she said with a hint of pride.

Her other fan favorite has a title nearly as long as the painting is large (7 x 18 feet), titled A New Year’s Party In Purgatory For Suicides In Which Liberace Makes A Guest Appearance Down From Heaven Just For The Hell Of It (2004). It hangs in the ballroom at La Posada.

“I was reading Dante at the time, and he put suicide as the second lowest level of hell. There were no major paintings on the topic. I considered it the last taboo,” Mion continued.

She included three types of suicides, ranging from traditional (meaning brought on by depression), drug and alcohol addiction, and those with terminal illnesses seeking to end life on their own terms.

She included familiar faces, from Marilyn Monroe and Kurt Cobain, Ernest Hemingway, Jimi Hendrix, Arshile Gorky, and others. “I put in famous people because this is a good way for people to enter the painting through people they know.” As for Liberace, Mion chose to use humor for effect, and notes that people have thanked her for including him. “He’s not a suicide; he’s an angel, and he just crashed the party.”

Mion is working on two books chronicling her work.

“I hope to have both out next year,” she added. “One book is going to be called Time Takes Everything. The other book is going to be called Objects, items that sort of make portraits, but they are states of mind, states of beings.” She recalls a seashell, or a nail she picked up on the road. “I pick these up compulsively, stick them in my pocket, take them back to the studio, and start thinking about them. And then these ridiculously large paintings come out of them.”

The upcoming show runs through November 2019, and provides a window into the mind of Mion. “Unlike other people who may be inspired by Route 66, what sets me apart is that I have actually lived it. It’s in my bones. I just need to step outside or look outside my window.”

For many people, art may not be their ‘thing’, but regardless, Mion’s story, her journey and yes, her art, are certain to impress and inspire you, so if you happen to be standing on the corner in tiny Winslow, Arizona, or are up in the less known Las Vegas, make sure to pop by Mion’s galleries and take a moment to soak in some of her work.

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Plan Your 2020 Adventure at the Historic Hacienda Del Sol

Once a boarding school for daughters of the country's elite families, and later, a getaway for Hollywood royalty, Hacienda Del Sol is a one of a kind destination.

Your adventure includes:

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58 ROUTE Magazine

5501 N Hacienda del Sol Rd Tucson, Arizona 85718

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ROUTE Magazine 59

The Mystery of

PYTHIAN

By Olivia McClure 60 ROUTE Magazine

CASTLE ROUTE Magazine 61

A

gainst the distant glow of gunfire and the piercing scream of artillery, a group of devout, likeminded men gather in an unknown room at an undisclosed location.

Each man has been drawn to this secret place by ancient notions of honor and loyalty, like poets and philosophers of past centuries. The air, dense with mystery and anticipation, reflects the mind of the man who brought these men together.

Justus H. Rathbone steps forward with a small Bible in his hands — a cherished childhood gift from his mother. One by one, he calls each man forward to place their hand upon it and swear unfailing loyalty to Rathbone’s newly created fraternal organization — the Order of the Knights of Pythias.

In A History of the Knights of Pythias and its Branches and Auxiliary, Captain Hugh Goold Webb defined the Order as having been created, “to uplift the fallen; champion humanity; to be its guide and hope; its refuge, shelter and defense.” According to Webb, the Knights of Pythias was created as a medieval-inspired Utopia crafted for the gentleman’s cause.

The Knights of Pythias could be seen as a blend of old traditions, rooted in images of medieval Europe, Greek mythology and Christian philosophy. Its foundation rests on the need to embody the “Pythian Trinity” of friendship, charity and compassion.

Previous spread: Pythian Castle at Night.

Photograph courtesy of Joshua Heston.

In creating the Knights of Pythias, Rathbone was inspired by the mythological tale of Damon and Pythias, as it was portrayed in a play written by Irish poet and dramatist, John Banim. The story’s illustration of “true friendship” compelled Rathbone to establish an order based on the principles he witnessed being acted out onstage.

According to historian and author Harriet W. McBride, before the Civil War, the 22-year-old Rathbone was already a member of the Sons of Malta, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Freemasons.

Unable to resist his fascination with fraternal orders, Rathbone became determined to make his secret society dreams a reality. Working as a school teacher at the Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor, Michigan, during the day, Rathbone spent his nights compiling a treatise based on Greek folklore titled The Rituals of the Knights of Pythias.

While serving as a non-combatant member of the Union Army in Washington, D.C., Rathbone convinced four of his friends to join his new society. He believed the Order’s military-style uniforms, ornate sashes and knightly swords would compel men of the war-torn era to join his secret, chivalric society.

“Rathbone incorporated into his fraternity all the elements that he believed would entice men to join,” McBride wrote. “From its inception, the Knights of Pythias regarded regalia as an essential element in the organization.

Rathbone’s first initiation rites included ceremonies that required collars of different colors for each of the

Rare photo of children and elder members of the Knights of Pythias.

62 ROUTE Magazine

three degrees, and a participatory drama which required costumes.”

On February 19, 1864, his wishes were granted, and the Knights of Pythias was founded in the nation’s capital.

As the Civil War threatened to destroy the fabric of the nation during this time, Rathbone saw his organization as the proper ointment to heal the wound that had ruptured between the North and the South.

Even President Abraham Lincoln was impressed by the mission of the nation’s newest fraternal order. After being informed about its creation, he said: “It is one of the best agencies conceived for the upholding of government, honoring the flag, for the reuniting of our brethren of the North and of the South, for teaching the people to love one another, and portraying the sanctity of the home and loved ones.”

As the Order’s original members gathered for their first meeting, they made the collective decision to make their society a secret one, complete with rituals, passwords, doctrines, banners and uniform decorations that would only be revealed to initiated members.

In keeping with their medieval traditions, members of the Knights of Pythias were initiated under oath — one which entailed a promise to remain loyal to their country, maintain the conduct of a gentleman and profess a belief in a Supreme Being.

A Question of Race and Gender Under these guidelines, the Order naturally appeared to be a restricted space for white, God-fearing men only — one which excluded the membership of anyone outside of these bounds. Like other fraternal orders, such as the Freemasons, the Knights of Pythias maintained strict requirements for admission, which weeded out all but white men.

“The reason why most of these fraternal orders sprang up after the Civil War was because it was a way to bypass integration,” said Tamara Finocchiaro, Pythian Castle’s current owner. “That was their primary purpose — to promote within a certain population. So, they blossomed heavily after the Civil War. This was one of the largest [fraternal orders] because they weren’t as specific about the religion you had to be in in [order] to be a member.

Obviously, it wasn’t until the ‘60s that they allowed African Americans in, and women somewhere along the way.”

With the abolition of the slave trade in 1865, African Americans began to consider new possibilities for themselves.

In 1882, R. A. Paul formed the African Americans’ Order of the Knights of Pythias. In 1894, John Mitchell Jr. became grand chancellor of the Virginia branch of the African American Knights of Pythias. Prior to joining the Order, Mitchell had been at the forefront of the fight against racial injustice as the editor of The Richmond Planet, a newspaper founded by a group of former slaves in 1883.

Perhaps feeling the initial vibrations of the women’s suffrage movement, a group of women vied for their voices to be heard within their own Order of the Knights of Pythias. In 1888, the Supreme Lodge of the Order of the Knights of Pythias approved the formation of a female auxiliary under a ritual written by Joseph Addition Hill.

Two female auxiliaries emerged — the Pythian Sisterhood, which operated under a ritual by Alva A. Young, and the Pythian Sisters of the World, which adopted Hill’s ritual.

In 1906, the two groups merged to form the Pythian Sisters.

Springfield Get Its Own Castle Wishing to make its mark in the Midwest, the Knights of Pythias chose Missouri as the place to build a sprawling, medieval castle in the heart of America.

Prior to Pythian Castle’s construction, Springfield fought vigorously to be its home. After all, out of the nation’s fifteen buildings dedicated to the Knights of Pythias, only three of them were built in the style of a medieval castle — the other two were constructed in Illinois and Texas.

Built in 1913, Pythian Castle stands about a half-mile south of Route 66. Today, the home rests next to a U.S. Marine Corps reserve training center and Army reserve.

Constructed in the Late Gothic Revival style, Pythian Castle appears undeniably foreign within its Midwestern setting. The home’s exterior is constructed from rough and smooth Carthage limestone, a resource indigenous to southwest Missouri. Gothic arched windows frame the third story room that rests between turrets. On each side of the home’s front porch sit two Tudor arches outlined with raised moldings. Undoubtedly, Pythian Castle was constructed to reflect the knightly order that had built it.

Despite slight modification over the years, Pythian Castle’s interior remains much the same as it did over a century ago.

The home retains original extensive millwork, pocket doors, large rooms with tall ceilings, plaster walls and tile floors.

Several transom windows allow natural light to flood much of the structure’s interior, as if begging those who walk through its great halls to uncover the mysteries of its past.

A Home for Orphans and Widows Shrouded in a dense veil of mystery, Pythian Castle holds many secrets.

From an outward perspective, the building bears the appearance of sophistication and material excess. At first glance, it could appear to the unacquainted eye to be the home of uprooted European nobility who made a fortune off the American Dream and settled in the shadow of the Ozarks.

However, this is far from the truth. The Castle’s original purpose was to house elderly Pythian members, as well as the widows of Pythians and their children.

“A lot of the fraternal orders at the time had programs to bury their members, and take care of their families,” said

Barracks at Pythian Castle.

ROUTE Magazine 63

Inside Pythian Castle. Photograph courtesy of Brad Zweerink.

Jami Lewis, an archivist at the State Historical Society of Missouri. “This was pre-Social Security.”

According to Finocchiaro, living at the Castle during its early years was like “staying at your grandparents’ house.”

For those in desperate straits, the Castle was a warmly received refuge, and life was fairly good.

“During the Great Depression, it was obviously a nice option for these people because it definitely could have been worse for them if they didn’t have this place,” Finocchario said.

But despite its role as a sanctuary, Pythian Castle expected discipline from its tenants. In a 2005 interview, Mildred Hall Cherry shared her experience as an orphan at the Castle.

After her father suffered a fatal heart attack in 1928, Cherry was forced to move into the home at the age of eight, along with five of her six siblings.

Cherry recalled various aspects of daily life at Pythian Castle, which included specific chores for the boys and girls and the consequences for showing an unwillingness to do them.

“Here we grew everything we ate, or almost,” Cherry said.

“The boys took care of the garden. They did the planting and the picking, and then we girls would do the canning. Lots of canning! I don’t think I ever canned anything again after I left the home. I remember I had to peel tomatoes and I’d cry; I didn’t want to do it. That got me a few whippings, too.”

Cherry also remembered how boys and girls living at the home weren’t allowed to speak to each other, which didn’t always sit well with Pythian’s young tenants.

“It was strictly forbidden for the girls and boys to talk to each other, even if they were brother and sister,” Cherry said.

“I think that’s why my oldest brother ran away. He couldn’t talk to us and felt lonesome…”

Despite the rigor and structure of life at Pythian Castle, 64 ROUTE Magazine

it wasn’t always grim for the children forced to live there.

Cherry recalled the joy of attending silent movie screenings in the home’s second-floor auditorium on Friday evenings, which members of the public could attend for the price of a nickel. Yet, even in times of leisure, the home continued to enforce mandatory gender separation.

“It was during the Depression and a nickel was hard to come by, but that old auditorium would be full,” Cherry said.

“But we had our own seats and everything. For the movies it was girls on one side and boys on the other.”

Pythian Castle’s Part During the Second World War In subsequent decades, Pythian Castle took on a role that was quite different from that of a home for widows and orphans. As the Germans continued to push into Eastern Europe, leaving the world’s leaders anxiously on the edge of their seats, the United States Army sought more places to care for the multitudes of injured soldiers who were returning home from the trenches daily. Evidently recognizing Pythian Castle’s usefulness as a place of refuge and rehabilitation, the Army took possession of the property and its acreage in 1942. Thus, Pythian Castle became a part of the neighboring O’Reilly General Hospital.

“The Army bought it for 50 cents on the dollar and forced the Knights out,” said Lewis. “They had less than a week to vacate.”

According to historian and author David Fiedler, Springfield’s geographical location also played a factor in the military’s decision to occupy Pythian Castle.

“Springfield’s network of transportation routes was another significant feature. In addition to the famed Route 66—which connected the city with Fort Leonard

Wood and Jefferson Barracks to the east and Tulsa and Oklahoma City to the west—another major blacktop highway, Route 65, ran through Springfield. It offered direct links with many of the region’s other major cities.”

In order to accommodate the new influx of soldiers, the military built a series of cinder block rooms in Pythian Castle’s basement. For visitors to the Castle today, they serve as reminders of its dark past.

While Pythian Castle itself held offices and opportunities for entertainment and recreation, its surrounding structures, which no longer exist, served as the extended portion of O’Reilly Hospital, which treated severely wounded soldiers.

“The hospital there was for burn victims,” Finocchario said. “They took in pretty severely injured folk, both from our side and from our enemy’s. You know, they had to take care of them and treat them. If you were clearly severely injured, you would have been treated in a barrack. There were barracks around the castle.”

Temporarily renamed the O’Reilly Service Club, Pythian Castle itself held Army offices and served as an entertainment center, hosting USO events. World renowned entertainers of the time, including Doris Day, Stan Kenton, Bob Hope and Groucho Marx, stopped by the Castle during their USO tours. Just as it had during the Great Depression, Pythian Castle served as a place for leisure during a time marked by tragedy and uncertainty.

“From the big band to the pretty women — they were all there,” Finocchiaro said.

From December 23, 1942 through July 1946, servicemen used Pythian Castle to read, write letters and relax in a peaceful setting far from the frontline. During this time, the building featured a variety of spaces dedicated to different forms of entertainment, including a library, writing room, snack bar with a soda fountain, three-lane bowling alley and a billiards hall. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the first-floor ballroom was turned into a dance hall, with music provided by the O’Reilly Band.

Pythian Castle also became home to numerous Italian and German prisoners of war. In all, about 15,000 Italian and German POWs came to Missouri during World War II. In August 1943, 14 German POWS came to Pythian Castle for medical treatment. According to Fiedler, this group of Germans was described as “hostile” and rude toward nurses and were thus kept under constant watch.

On the other hand, the Italian POWS, who spent time there as laborers, caused no disturbance and were noted as being, “virtually undistinguishable from most of the American employees.”

“Several of the O’Reilly nurses recalled the Italian POWs flirting with them on occasion,” Fiedler wrote. “One of the nurses said, ‘I remember the Italians singing to us in the evenings. They would sit on the steps with their guitars and their beautiful voices and would serenade us.’”

Despite their status as prisoners, it’s evident that many of the POWs kept at Pythian Castle were grateful to be away from the battlefield.

“I don’t think a lot of them were happy to be in that war, so it was perfectly fine for them to be over here,” Finocchiaro said. “They had no complaints.”

While the Italian prisoners wooed the nurses and made themselves both friendly and useful to the rest of the staff, the Castle’s single Japanese prisoner made a particularly profound impression with his kindness. His behavior was

rewarded with the gift of paints and paintbrushes, which he used to create a peaceful, mountainous seascape on his cell wall. On the right wall of his cell, he painted an orange and yellow rising sun marked with Japanese letters. Perhaps the soldier’s artwork was an attempt to evoke memories of home in a place undeniably foreign to him. Regardless, these peaceful murals remain a testament to an important time in Pythian Castle’s history.

Their Spirits Live On Once the Second World War ended in 1945, the military no longer needed Pythian Castle for rehabilitating soldiers and entertaining officers. The structure stood vacant for several decades, until it was put up for auction.

“The military auctioned it off in 1993, and a private family purchased it for, I believe, $4,000,” Lewis said. “It was some ridiculously low amount. That family sold it to the current owners.”

Mystery seems synonymous with Pythian Castle — a structure inspired by medieval architecture and built for a group of men moved by ancient ideas of morality and friendship. Where once widows silently shed tears in dark recesses and POWs dreamt of home, now stands a solitary vessel, though it could not be called empty. Indeed, Pythian Castle is far from vacant — that is, if you ask anyone who walks through its undeniably haunted halls.

Pythian Castle doesn’t merely offer tours about its fascinating history, but about its ghostly tenants as well.

Over the past several years, some of the paranormal world’s most notable ghost hunters have gathered evidence of the paranormal at Pythian Castle. Hit television shows, including the Discovery Channel’s Ghost Lab and Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, have filmed episodes inside the Castle, where history speaks for itself — literally.

“I think anyone who’s here for any length of time will have an experience at some point,” Finocchario said. “I can’t say it’s in one spot — I think they follow us.”

But ghosts aren’t the only ones who pass through Pythian Castle. The building is now a popular venue for wedding receptions and other social events. In addition to hosting ticketed history and ghost tours, Pythian Castle offers Murder Mystery Dinners, holiday events and interactive escape scenarios, which allow visitors to take a trip back in time and pretend to be a POW inspector or an officer on lockdown during World War II. But perhaps the greatest immersive experience Pythian Castle has to offer is simply a dive into its rich, unique history. As an establishment created for the sake of honoring the binds of friendship, which united the Knights of Pythias in their pursuit of universal peace, it seems dishonorable to reduce Pythian Castle to its entertainment value.

With its medieval façade and proud history, Pythian Castle commemorates the group of thoughtful men who brought it into creation. Out of friendship and duty, Pythian Castle took in the most vulnerable — from widows and orphans to wounded soldiers from foreign lands.

The Knights of Pythias’ Captain Hugh Goold Webb once stated, “If fraternal love held all world bound, how beautiful this world would be.” Nowhere does this statement hold more truth than in the history and beauty of Pythian Castle.

ROUTE Magazine 65

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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 67

PARTING SHOT

Nick ADAM What’s your favorite spot on Route 66? Table 19, at the Ariston.

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met on the Mother Road? Bob Waldmire. If you were asked to skydive over the Grand Canyon, would you do it? Absolutely NOT! If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose? Greece.

What are your least favorite traits in other people? Arrogance and rudeness. What are your favorite traits in other people? Kindness, humor and honesty. Who is the funniest person you know from the Route 66 community? Joe Sonderman. What is your favorite thing to eat from Ariston? Prime rib. If you could travel back in time, what era would you go to? 1905, to be able to walk with my father when he arrived in this country at the age of 15.

Who is your favorite musical act or band? Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. What is the most beautiful place you’ve traveled to on Route 66? The Grand Canyon, close enough to the Road! Where was your favorite place to go as a child? St. Louis Zoo. Who did you admire the most as a child? My father. What was your dream career growing up? Attorney. If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be? Take the High Road. Where is your favorite place to grab a great meal?

The Ariston first, but then the Greek Islands in Lombard, Illinois. Greatest regret in life? I didn’t learn how to whistle. What is your favorite song to play on a road trip? Perfect Symphony, Bocelli and Sheeran. Where is your favorite spot in Illinois? Anywhere my family is located.

What is your current favorite TV show? The Kominsky Method. What is the last thing that made you laugh? Talking with my young grandchildren. If you could grab coffee with a famous person, dead or alive, who would you choose? Tom Hanks. What would your dream job be? I cannot imagine any other job 68 ROUTE Magazine

where I could meet wonderful people from all corners of the world. What one quality do you strive for most in your life? To do the right thing. What secret talent(s) do you have? If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. Best Route 66 state other than Illinois? Arizona. What is your definition of perfect happiness?

Being married to my wife, Demi. What’s your greatest fear?

What kind of world our grandchildren will inherit. If you were rich tomorrow, what would be the first thing you would buy? Pay the mortgage on the Litchfield Museum. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Operating the Ariston for 52 years.

Most treasured possession? The cross Demi gave me at our engagement party. Secret indulgence? Red wine, but that’s not a secret. Biggest phobia? I would be very uncomfortable in a submarine. What is the most important object you own?

My father’s life story. What is something that many people take seriously, but shouldn’t? Little league baseball. Let the kids have fun. What job would you be absolutely horrible at? Belly dancer comes to mind. What movie has everyone else seen but you haven’t?

Bohemian Rhapsody. What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?

Minding my own business. Do you believe in God? The Apostles’ Creed.

Most romantic place on Route 66?

Booth six at the Ariston, eleven engagements in that booth, of which I am aware. Cook in or take out? Cook in with family and friends. How would you like to pass away? In my sleep. How would you like to be remembered? He made a difference. What is the one movie you can watch over and over?

Casablanca. Do you think life is fair?

Life is not fair. What has been your favorite age? A teenager in the 50’s.

Rock & Roll! Traits in your father that you wish to resemble? His work ethic.

Illustration: Jenny Mallon.

Nick Adam has been a fixture on the Route 66 Illinois landscape for more than half a century. Now retired with his lovely wife, Demi, Nick is still as interesting and engaging as ever. But that is of course why the iconic Ariston, under his care for over five decades, continued to draw in loyal patrons from across the world. In this fast-paced interview, we are thrilled to spend some time with Nick Adam.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum — Oklahoma City

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ROUTE Magazine 69

Some people reminisce

About the past.

Some people get out and

iT! Relive it!

Find out more at

SpringfieldMo.org 70 ROUTE Magazine

(On Old Route 66 in Downtown SpringďŹ eld) Open Mon. - Fri., 8am - 5pm