Happy Spring! Rainy, sunny, windy, it’s a real season! The grass is getting greener and the bushes and flowers are starting to bloom. With spring comes Road Trips! We’ve just finished the very successful Red Carpet corridor weekend. At the museum in Pontiac we had over 800 people visit during this event. We did free photos of anyone who wanted to pose with the world’s largest Route 66 shield (the back of the museum). A big thank you to Cyle and Ryan Blitstein for their help with the photos on Saturday and Johnny Miller for his photo expertise on Sunday.
This is our Hall of Fame issue. What makes our Hall of Fame so special is that the people who are inducted into our Hall of Fame represet good will, service, ingenuity and drive. We welcome the new “Class of 2010” to our 20th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet in Carlinville in June. The Hall of Fame Committee, headed by Johnny Miller, submitted to the Board a revision of some of the rules and guidelines of our Hall of Fame Committee. It will allow more flexibility into the nominating process as we need to look out for those who are coming on the road and starting businesses to help keeep our “66” Communities viable. The “years” limitation will be lifted. Look for more info in the fall newsletter.
Several of our board members did a Road Triip into Missouri for the Route 66 Association of Missouri’s April meeting. It was very informative. The Missouri Association has a Neon Heriteage Preservation Committee who would like to work with us on projects of interest near the Chain of Rocks Bridge. We listened to a presentation of the ongoing Scenic Byway project on Missouri Route 66. It was a great time which, of course, ended up at Ted Drew’s before heading back into Illinois.
The meeting in Carlinville was fantastic. Wer met at the Carlinville Best Western and were happy to see so many members turn out for our meeting. We had 3 speakers. Stephanie Wonderlin from the Hampton Inn in Linclon and Litchfield told us if you’re traveling on the Road, tell the front desk at either the Hampton Inn in Lincoln or the Hampton Inn in Litchfield that you’re a Route 66 Association member. They will give you special pricing. Guest speaker, Kaisa Barthuli, from National Parks Services, talked about the Road and current happenings, grants and funding along 66. Mayor Trevor Clatfelter of Sherman, Illinois, spoke about his plan to presserve one of the last true (authentic) rest stops on Route 66. The mayor talked about and showed us his planss for taking the original rest stop and utilizing somer of the actual Route 66 pavement in its development. This piece of land is a national treasure. I was very impressed at the zeal and energy of Mayor Caltfelter and I hope Sherman realizes what a great mayor he is and keeps him on board. We told the mayor that we’re available to help if he needs us.
The Motor toru will be here soon. This will be our 21st Tour. This year New Mexico will be hosting their 1st Motor Tour and the Missouri Association will be having their 21st also! There is something for everyone out on the road and whether your write a story for the newslwtter, Tweet or post on Facebook, we are always glad to hear from you. I got my pork chop dinner at the Crossroads, breakfast at the Itty Bitty and Ted Drew’s pizza at Lucca’s Grill! I am content to be back on the road wandering the two lanes, fat and sassy, checking out our “66” comunities. There’s no place like home.
See you on the road –
Cathie Stevanovich