RoadDog's RoadLog Blog: Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.
10. Islett's Museum Over 40,000 items dating back to the 1800s.
11. Lincoln Caverns and Whispering Rocks
12. Rails to Trails There are two former railroad lines. now for walking or riding. H and BT Trail and the Lower Trail
13. Fort Roberdeau Built 1778
14. Altoona Railroad Museum
15. Horseshoe Curve Fun for railroad folks.
16. Allegheny Portage Railroad
17. Johnstown Flood Museum
18. Shawnee State Park
19. Old Bedford Village
Should Keep You Busy For a Few Days. --RoadDog
From the Feb. 26, 2021, Travel Awaits "19 incredible things to do in Central Pennsylvania for the mature traveler" by Robin O'Neal Smith.
1. Gettysburg National Military Park
2. The Spa at Hotel Hershey Chocolate hydrotherapy? Oh well, Hershey. Hershey, Pa.
3. Sweet Treat Trail in Harrisburg/Hershey area.
4. The State Capitol in Harrisburg.
5. Harrisburg Mural Trail
6. Wellsboro
7. Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania
8. Penn's Cave and Wild Life Park, Centre Hall
9. Lake Raystown Resort
--RoadPa.
From the Feb. 25, 2021, The Drive "Navy destroyer pulls into San Diego flying an absolutely gargantuan American flag" by Tyler Rogoway.
The USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) made quite an appearance San Diego Bay with an absolutely huge U.S. flag. I mean huge.
The ship flies the flag when entering a port. It also flies a huge Bone Frog flag honoring its namesake, Navy Seal Michael Murphy who received a Medal of Honor posthumously.
I'm impressed.
If you go to The Drive. "Navy destroyer pulled into San Diego flying an absolutely gargantuan flag" you cab read more about it and watch a video.
--RoadU.S.A.
JANUARY 24
Lawmakers seek to designate Oklahoma Route 66 as a U.S. Bicycle Route.
This was introduced by State Representative John Talley (R-Stillwater)
The state has 375 miles of Route 66. The U.S. Bicycle Route System is developing a national network of bicycle routes.
I know we have a long stretch of the old 66 turned into a bicycle path around Bloomington-Normal in Illinois. Wouldn't that be great to have the whole route turned into a bicycle road.
JANUARY 25
The remarkable story of Alberta's Hotel in Springfield, Missouri.
This facility catered to Blacks in those days they were essentially not welcome on the Mother Road during the Jim Crow era.
The hotel was listed in the Green Book. Both the hotel and the Green Book disappeared in the 1960s.
Alberta's Hotel was a former hospital that was bought for $10,000 and made into a rooming house in what was a thriving black business district in Springfield.
--RoadDog
JANUARY 22
The Apache Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, is slated to reopen in mid-March. It has been closed for a long time and will have a Southwestern-themed decor.
Dead Motels site had it listed. Said it was constructed in 1960 and had been closed for quite awhile. One of the many Dead Motels in Tucumcari. 22 rooms.
Always happy to see a Dead Motel come back to life. More places to stay.
JANUARY 23
Gearhead Curiosities in Galena, Kansas, plans to add neon by April. It is in a former 1939 gas station.
Last year they added a replica of the Doc Hudson vehicle from the movie "Cars."
Aaron Perry bought it in 2018.
It is so good to see Galena having the renaissance it is currently going through. Thanks to that Four Women on the Road for helping kick start it.
--RoadDog
JANUARY 17
Additional elaborate neon signs are planned at the Uranus, Missouri, complex. Already an interesting stop, now even more so. Neon. We need more NEON. And, they're just the guys to do it.
JANUARY 21
The lease on the historic Palms Grill Cafe in Atlanta, Illinois, is now available. It will come fully equipped with 47 seats in the main dining area and a backroom with seating for 60. All told, it has 1800 square feet.
It is in the Downey Building on the main street through town.
We have eaten there on several occasions and it is a real trip back into time. What it was like back then.
Here's hoping they get it open.
--RoadPalms
In 1979, New Orleans' police department went on strike and 16 krewes elected not to partake at all in the Carnival, while more than a dozen others moved to neighboring cities.
Many people braced for the Mardi Gras celebrations to be called off in 2006 following the brutal damage and deaths of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Yet, the people of New Orleans proceeded with them to show their strength and resiliency.
The current pandemic, however, proved to be too much of a risk for fear of the event becoming what is now called a super-spreader. Last year's Mardi Gras on February 25 has been linked to some 50,000 cases of it.
The city has closed the bars in Bourbon Street and blocked off the area for the most part. People are, instead, decorating the exteriors of their homes and having small get-togethers all over the city.
Let's hope for next year.
Seems To Be the Right Thing to Do. --RoadDog
This past Tuesday's Mardi Gras in New Orleans was canceled and the culprit being the you-know-what, although had they had it, it would have been a mighty cool one with top temperature at 32 degrees.
Since New Orleans is a port city it has been very susceptible to various disease outbreaks over the years as well. After a yellow fever epidemic outbreak in 1878 killed more than 4,000 people in the city, two of the three krewes did not participate in 1879, though one krewe did.
Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras events returned the following year and ran annually until 1918, when the Spanish Flu. The United States had also entered World War I. In the aftermath of the war and with the flu outbreak the festivities were called off again in 1919.
Wars were also the deciding factors for the next cancelations. From 1941 through 1945, World War II halted the events. The Korean War in 1951 caused the growing number of krewes to scale back or not participate at all.
--RoadGras
From Newsweek by Jon Jackson.
For the first time in decades, New Orleans had no grand celebration to mark Mardi Gras. The parade was canceled by New Orleans officials because of the ongoing pandemic. Bars and restaurants are shuttered and barricades are set up on Bourbon Street to discourage mass partying.
Since its inception in 1857 by the Mistick Krewe of Comus, New Orleans Mardi Gras has been canceled or massively scaled back 14 times. (Krewes are social groups that organize the parades in case you're wondering.)
The first disruption came during the Civil War Parades and celebrations were halted from 1862, just before Northern forces captured the Confederate city, until they resumed in 1866. They continued until 1875 when they were again canceled due to civil unrest following the Battle of Liberty Place.
This battle occurred when the Crescent City White League, a militia made up mostly of Confederate veterans, tried to take control of the Louisiana state government by force in September 1874.
--RoadDog
Back in January, I wrote several posts about the Henry Horner Road north of Springfield, Illinois, one of the nation's first road beautification efforts made back in the 1930s. Henry Horner was governor of Illinois from 1933-1940, right in the teeth of the Great Depression. And, it appears that he was not a typical Illinois governor.
From Wikipedia.
HENRY HORNER (Nov. 30, 1878-October 6, 1940)
Was the 28th governor of Illinois and died in office. He was the first Jewish governor of the state.
He was born Henry Levy, but assumed his mother's surname after his parents divorced. Attended the University of Chicago and got his ,law degree from the IIT Kent College of Law. Served as a lawyer and probate judge from 1915-1931.
Becoming governor during the Great Depression, he had to ask the General Assembly for new tax revenue and the first sales tax of 2% was passed, later raised to 3%.
--RoadDog
JANUARY 10
The 16th neon sign has been completed in Tulsa, thanks to the city's Neon Sign Grant Program.
This sign is at Justin Thompson Catering located near 11th Street, which, of course, is none other than good ol' 66.
Like the guy on SNL said, to paraphrase him, "We need more neon." You can never ever have too much neon.
JANUARY 11
A new exhibit in Joplin, Missouri examines Route 66's impact on culture. The exhibit is called "Route 66: Crossing Lines" and is at the Spiva Center for the Arts and runs through March 6.
Just in time for Black History Month, it focuses on black baseball players and jazz artists.
Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige, while in the old Negro Baseball League, played in Joplin's Miners Park.
Jazz performers Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington also performed in Joplin.
More Neon!! --RoadDog
OTHER ILLINOIS TOWNS WITH INTERNATIONAL NAMES (besides Cairo):
Athens, Belgium, Canton, Columbia, Crete, Havana, Palestine, Panama, Paris, Peru, Rome and Venice.
OTHER TOWNS NAMED CAIRO IN THE UNITED STATES:
Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon and West Virginia
OTHER ILLINOIS TOWNS THAT SHARE A STATE NAME (besides Wyoming):
Kansas, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia
BESIDES GOLF there is another Illinois town named for a sport: Polo. Golf and Polo are also the names of Volkswagen models. Two other Illinois towns with car names: Plymouth and Pontiac (Pontaic is on Route 66).
OCCUPATION-NAMED Illinois towns besides Mechanicsburg: Farmer City, mason City, Piper City, Prophetstown and Carpentersville.
--RoadDog
21. INDUSTRY (Central) 2000 population 540
22. JOY (Northern) 2000 population 373
23. MINERAL ( Northern) 2010 population 237. Lots of coal discovered in the area, hence the name.
24. LOST NATION (Northern) 2010 population 708. There is another town by this name 96 miles away in Iowa.
25. OTHER ILLINOIS TOWNS WITH UNIQUE NOUNS FOR NAMES Besides Sandwich: Bath, Diamond, Energy, Flora, Justice, Liberty, Magnolia and Pearl.
--RoadDog
16. TIME (Central) Population in 2000 was 29.
17. ROYAL (Central) 2010 population 293.
18. BENLD (Central) Founded 1903. Took name from founder Benjamin L. Dorsey who took first three letters of his first name, his middle and last name initials. In 1938, a meteorite landed in Benld. The meteorite and a car it struck are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.
I should also mention that it is on good old Route 66!!!
19. BONE GAP (Southern) Originally called Bon Pas by French trappers, changed to Bone Pass by Kentuckians then to Bone Gap. There is also another story about how it got its name. Check it out.
20. EQUALITY (Southern) Pop in 2000 was 721. The Crenshaw House nearby was a station in the Reverse Underground Railroad which transported captured runaway slaves and returned them to the South.
--RoadGap
11. WYOMING (Northern) Founded in 1836 by General Samuel Thomas, a War of 1812 veteran. he and others came from Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.
12. GOLF (Chicagoland) Primarily residential.
13. BOODY (Central) 2010 census 276 people.
14. MECHANICSBURG (Central) 2000 Census 456.
15. HOMETOWN (Chicagoland) Developed after World War II to attract returning GIs.
--RoadGolf
6. MUDDY (Southern) Built as a coal-mining town. Until 2002, it had the smallest post office in the U.S. Population in 2000 was 78.
7. SANDWICH (Northern) Named by politician "Long John" Wentworth who named it after his hometown of Sandwich, New Hampshire. Has one of the oldest county fairs in Illinois (1888). Daily crowds of 100,000 and top days attracting 200,000.
8. RANSOM (Northern) Planned community from 1876. named for Civil War General Thomas E.G. Ransom. He was born in Vermont, but lived in Illinois as a young man.
9. STANDARD (Northern) 2010 population 220. Started as a mining town.
10. CAIRO (Southernmost city in state) People who love there pronounce it care-o. Outsiders like Egypt's capital. At confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
--RoadDog
From the Feb. 3, 2021, Neighbor "The 24 most unique town names in Illinois."
(where in the state it is located)
1. GOOFY RIDGE (Central) Originally just called the Ridge, but a real good story about how the word "Goofy" was added. Something about a walnut and a .22.
2. NORMAL (Central) Originally named North Bloomington. Named after the state normal school for training teachers located there, Illinois State University now).
3. BIRDS (Southern) Something about the Reggie Redbird mascot of Illinois State University.
4. OBLONG (Southern) Named after a rectangular prairie outside the village.
5. BEARDSTOWN (Central) First settled by Thomas Beard in 1819. On the Illinois River. Site of one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
--RoadDog
I take these from the Route 66 News blog site. If you are looking for news about what is going on along the Mother Road, this is the site for you. Every day there are entries. I only pick some of them (the ones I am most interested in) and add some thoughts of my own.
JANUARY 2
The Praying hands monument in Webb City, Missouri, is to undergo extensive renovations. It is nearly 50 years old now) built in 1973.
The hands stand 32 feet tall and stand on top of a 40-foot hill.
Just one of those things that make driving the old road so interesting.
JANUARY 7
The Motel Safari in Tucumcari is to receive the New Mexico Route 66 Association Heritage Award.
The motel is built in the classic Googie-style and is a New Mexico landmark. Built in 1959.
Its most recent owner is Larry Smith who bought it in 2017 and has replaced the roof, repainted the exterior and done a host of other improvements.
Chester Dohrer designed and built it.
Always great to have an old motel "rescued" from oblivion. Now, we have two choices of whereb to stay in Tucumcari, this or, of course, the Blue Swallow.
--RoadDog
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day...again, as it is every February 2. We managed to get it in last year before you-know-what arrived here in the good ol' U.S.A..
And, Woodstock, Illinois, the site where the famous "Groundhog Day" movie starring Bill Murray was filmed, is again having their Groundhog Days Festival, but very much reduced in its offerings.
This will be the 28th anniversary of the movie.
There was no breakfast or dinner dance, chili cookoff or group movies shown (they are shown free on Sat. and Sun. at the Woodstock Theatre, site of the Alpine Theater in the movie).
However, tomorrow, famed Woodstock Willie will be pulled out of his tree stump and will make his fearless prognostication. This will take place at 7 am Tuesday in the historic Woodstock Square. Masks and social distancing will ne required.
(Until last March I had never heard of the term social distancing.)
Afterwards, a Toast to World Peace will take place on the outdoor patio of the Public House of Woodstock (where the bar scene was filmed in the movie.)
Again and Again and Again. It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again. --RoadGroundHog
