First Round Illinois State High School Football Completed: Route 66 Takes a 10-8 Lead

Route 66 started off with 14 teams and now has 10 remainng.

These teams won this past weekend:

8A:  Plainfield North, Edwardsville

7A:  Collinsville, Normal Community

6A:  Normal West, East St. Louis

4A:  Joliet Catholic, Sacred Heart-Griffin

3A: Williamsville

2A:  Wilmington

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Lincoln Highway started off with 17 teams and now have just 8 remaining:

8A:  Lincoln Way, Plainfield North

7A:  Batavia

6A:  Kaneland

5A:   Sterling

4A:  Providence, Joliet Catholic, Rochelle

Route 66 takes a 10-8 lead into the second round games this weekend.

High School Football, Nothing Finer.  --RoadBall

Along66, Sept. 2022: Col. Nelson's Flowers, a Neon Sign and Visitors Center

SEPTEMBER 20

Nelson Gardens to be recreated at the Camp Joy cabin in Lebanon, Missouri.

Colonel A.T. Nelson's flower garden will be at Boswell Park.  He operated the Top o' Ozarks Inn and later the Nelson Tavern and Nelson's Dream Village in Lebanon.

SEPTEMBER 22  A new neon sign has been installed at the TeePee Drive-In in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. 

It is a drive-in theater.  The neon sign is 30 feet tall.

SEPTEMBER 29

Ribbon cutting for Albuquerque's Route 66 Visitors Center will be tomorrow.  

It will also have a museum, tap room, New Mexico Music Hall of Fame and events center.

Sounds like a place to visit next time through.

Like I Said, You Can Never Have Too Much Neon.  --RoadDog

2022 US-14 vs. US-12 Football Playoffs: The US-12 Teams

These are the 2022 US-14 (Northwest Highway) vs. US-12 (Rand Road) football teams in the UHSA state playoffs.

8A

Palatine (8-1)

7A

St. Charles North  (9-0)

Prospect (Mount Prospect) (8-1)

Hersey  (Arlington Heights (9-0)

Lake Zurich  (8-1)

6A

Wauconda  (8-1)

5A

St. Viator  (Arlington Heights)  (5-4)

4A

Richmond-Burton (Richmond and Spring Grove)  (9-0)

US-14 has 9 teams in the playoffs, US-12 has 8.

Go US-12!  --RoadBall

2022 US-14 (Northwest Highway) vs. US-12 (Rand Road) IHSA Football Challenge

As we get underway tonight, these are the US-14 (Northwest Highway) high schools in the IHSA Football Playoffs.

8A  

Maine South (Park Ridge) 7-2)

Palatine (8-1)

7A

Maine West (Des Plaines)  (5-4)

Prospect (Mount Prospect)  (8-1)

Hersey  (Arlington Heights)  (9-0)

6A

Notre Dame (Niles)  (6-3)

Crystal Lake South (5-4)

Prairie Ridge (Crystal Lake)  (8-1)

5A

St. Viator  (Arlington Heights)  (5-4)

US-14 leads US-12 9 teams to 8 teams.

Go Northwest Highway.  --RoadDog

Illinois State High School Playoffs 2022: The Lincoln Highway-Route 66 Challenge

These are the Lincoln Highway teams with Class and regular season records:

8A

Lincoln Way (Franklin)  (9-0)

Plainfield North (9-0)

Plainfield South  (6-3)

7A

Geneva  (6-3)

Batavia  (6-3)

DeKalb  (6-3)

Plainfield Central  (5-4)

6A

Kaneland (Maple Park)  (6-3)

5A

Sterling   (7-2)

4A

Providence (New Lennix)  (5-4)

Joliet Catholic  (7-2)

Dixon  (6-3)

Richelle  (6-3)

2A

Newman  (Sterling)  5-4)

1A

Aurora Christian  (5-4)

Morrrison  (5-4)

Right now, Lincoln Highway leads Route 66 16 teams to 14 teams.

Go Lincoln Highway.  --RoadDog

Illinois State High School Playoffs 2002: The Route 66-Lincoln Highway Challenge

I did not include the Chicago teams.

Here are the teams and their class and record who will be playing in towns located along Route 66:

8A

Plainfield North (9-0)

Plainfield South (6-3)

Edwardsville (6-3)

7A

Collinsville  (8-1)

Plainfield Central (5-4)

Normal Community  (6-3)

6A

Glenwood (Chatham)  (7-2)

Normal West (8-1)

East St. Louis  (7-2)

4A

Joliet Catholic  (7-2)

Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield)  (9-0)

3A

Williamsville   (8-1)

Carlinville  (5-4)

2A

Wilmington  (8-1)

Right now, Lincoln Highway leads Route 66 16 teams to 14 teams.

Go 66.  --RoadDog

Illinois State High School Football Playoffs Start This Friday

Definitely one of my favorite times of the year.  And we have a whole lot of teams playing.  They have the best records in the state.  All but one is at least 5-4 in the 9 game season.

There are eight classes, each with 32 teams. That makes it 256 teams.     And, the major college playoffs have four teams right now, but soon to expand or so they say.

Anyway, every year lately I have been doing two high school football challenges between teams through which major Illinois roads run.  That would be Route 66 vs. the Lincoln Highway and US-14 (Northwest Highway) vs. US-12 (Rand Road).

I do not have Chicago teams in this, though.  The winning road will be the one with the last team in the playoffs.

Right now, Lincoln Highway leads Route 66 by  4-3 with two ties.

US-14 (Northwest Highway) leads US-12 (Rand Road) 5-2 with one tie.

I will be listing the teams located along Route 66, Lincoln Highway, US-14 and US-12 the next several days.

--RoadBall

Along66, September 2022: The Contents of Vernelle's Motel Auctioned

SEPTEMBER 18

The contents of Vernelle's Motel near Arlington, Missouri, are to be auctioned off Saturday.  (On September 24).  

It opened in 1938 as the Gasser Tourist Court and there was  a name change in the early 1950s when Fred and Vernelle Gasser (nephew of E.P. Gasser) bought it and added a restaurant which closed a few years later due to the widening of Route 66.

Vernelle's story is much like that of the nearby John's Modern Cabins.  It depended on Route 66, but when I-44 bypassed it it began a period of decline and then I-44 was rerouted and completely cut Vernelle's off.  The motel closed in 2016.

Sadly, we never got a chance to stay there.

--RoadDog

Return of Chicago's Roar: Those Lions at the Art Institute

From the July 20, 2022, Chicago Tribune by Doug George.

Part of anyone's initial drive on Route 66 in Chicago are the pair of iconic lion statues at the front of the Chicago Art Institute.  They went back to work Tuesday, after returning from a month of conservation work.

They now sport a fresh coat of wax after receiving a deep cleaning and coating of the protective wax at Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Inc, an art restoration service in west suburban Forest Park.

The lions were removed on June 14, having been outside for 128 years.  It was their first deep cleaning in decades. They were also checked for corrision.

The bronze statues were sculpted by artist Edward Kemeys for the museumin 1893, in time for the first Chicago World's Fair, and commissioned by Florence Lathrop Field, wife of Henry Field.  The lions were installed the following year.  The lion on the north pedestal is "on the prowl."  The other one is "In an attitude of defiance" on the south pedestal.

They have since been Chicago icons (wearing sports apparel when Chicago teams win championships), predating and the equal to Buckingham Fountain (1927), the Wrigley Building (finished 1924), the Picasso (1967) and, of course, Cloud Gate (the Bean) (2006).

--RoadDog

Along66: The Blue Whale to Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary

SEPTEMBER 14

The Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma, plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary later this month.

It will be Saturday, September 24, and will feature live music (always better than dead music unless it's Grateful), food and venders from 3-7 pm.  

Noted 66er Michael Wallis will appear at 3 pm.

The city purchased it in 2020 from long-time owners, the Davis family for $1.5 million.

Hugh Davis built it out of concrete and shaped rebar in 1970 as an anniversary gift to his wife.  It closed in 1988 and fell into disrepair  until restored in the early 2000s.  Son Blaine Davis was its caretaker for many years.

And now, of course, it is one of the big attractions on good ol' Route 66.

--RoadDog

Along66, September 2022: Best Missouri Cheeseburger and Those Milk Shakes

SEPTEMBER 7

Yelp voters name Carl's Drive-In as having the best cheeseburger in Missouri.  It is located in St. Louis suburb Brentwood on Manchester Road, a Route 66 alignment (one of many, many, many St. Louis alignments in town) for over 60 years.

Something about eating a highly-rated cheeseburger on Route 66 that appeals to me.  I have never been on the Manchester Road alignment so maybe next time and a stop at Carl's are in order.  Especially since St. Louis is now off my personal boycott list.

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SEPTEMBER 13

Snow Cap Drive-In on Seligman, Arizona, sets a Guinness World Record serving 266 different milk shakes.

But they didn't serve a prune shake.

What will Guiness World Record next?  Biggest Booger or Log in the Toilet?

--RoadPrune

Iconic Missouri Route 66 Motel Up for Sale: Cuba's Wagon Wheel Motel

From the October 12, 2022, Ozarks First by Brian Dulle.

This news is from the Route 66 Association of Missouri.

The owner and proprietor of  the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri,  Connie Echols, has announced that she will be selling the historic motel and plans to retire.

It is the oldest, continually operating motel on Route 66, dating back to 1935

Connie has really renovated the place since she bought it back in 2009.  The place has nineteen rooms, an original service station, cafe building and that great old neon sign.

Right now, rooms cost anywhere from $78 to $138.

I did not see what the asking price is.

Liz and I stayed there twice.  Once was before Connie bought the place and it was a bit rundown, but clean (and the room cost $25).  We also stayed there since it was renovated and it was much nicer.

Of course, Cuba has quite a few really great bars and Missouri Hicks BBQ which is essentially next door.

Thanks a Lot for All Your Hard Work, Connie Echols.  --RoadDog

Along66, September 2022: Ramona Lehman of the Munger-Moss Motel in Lebanon Receives the Community Achievement Award

Well, I finally made it to my goal of being just one month behind the source of these posts, the Route 66 News.  I use this site a lot as it is by far your best source for what's going on along our Mother Road.  There are posts every day, sometimes more than one and pictures as well.  I just pick the ones I am most interested in and write about them.  My posts are usually shorter than the one in the News. 

SEPTEMBER 3

Longtime owner of the Munger-Moss Motel to receive the Lebanon Community Achievement Award.

Ramona Lehman will be honored November 3 at the Chamber's annual Wall of Honor banquet.

She has owned the Munger-Moss for 52 years, most of them with husband Bob, who died several years ago.

Ramona is a friend of ours and before the pandemic, we used to see her every year.  I can think of no one more deserving of honors.

She is the Spirit and Face of Route 66.

What a Person.  --RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: Of Grain Elevators and Spindles in Illinois

AUGUST 27

The J.D. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum in Atlanta, Illinois, remains an attraction 40 years after the grain elevator closed.  I've never been to it.  Maybe next time through town.

AUGUST 31

A miniaturized version of the famed Chicagoland "Spindle" returns to Berwyn.    It once stood at a local shopping center.  Artist Pete Gamen created the new 23-foot-tall "Spindle" using fiberglass go carts instead of full-sized cars like the original had.  This new one will be located at Paison's Pizzeria and Bar.

The original one was 50-feet tall and created in 1989 by artist Dustin Shuler.  It had 8 cars impaled on a spike and was dismantled in 2008.

Extra, Extra Berwyn News!!  There is also a new Muffler Man in town at Cigars & Stripes Lounge.

As Svenghooli Would Say, "BERWYN!!"  --RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: Springfield's A. Lincoln Motel, the Cozy Dog and Country Classic Cars

AUGUST 21

Ace Sign Company gives a preview of the A. Lincoln Motel sign replica coming to the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

It will be part of the fair's  Route 66 Experience.

The A. Lincoln Motel was at 2927 S. Sixth Street (Route 66) and was torn down in the early 1990s to make way for the Cozy Dog Drive-In restaurant building which still is at the site.  The former Cozy Dog, I believe, was where the Walgreen's is today.

Other signs planned for the Legends Neon Park will be the Bel-Air Drive-In sign from Mitchell, Illinois, the Chain of Rocks Motel in Granite City and the Coliseum Ballroom in Benld.

I am definitely going to have to check out all the Route 66 stuff at the state fairgrounds.

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AUGUST 24

The Country Classic Cars near Staunton lands a new owner.  The owners are retiring.

One neat place to visit.

--RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: The Launching Pad Closes and Big Attendance at the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival

I am still trying to catch up with these Along66 posts which I take from the Route 66 News blog.  I normally like to be just a month behind.

AUGUST 15

Launching Pad Drive-In in Wilmington, Illinois, closes.  Future of the restaurant seems uncertain.

Of course, this is the home of the famed Gemini Giant muffler man.  It reopened earlier this year in May during Illinois' Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor weekend celebration, but it was closed by late July.  The owners cited staffing issues.  

So sad to hear that news as this was a good place to eat at one time, although a bit close to Braidwood's Polka Dot Inn which made eating at both places a bit too much.

AUGUST 22

About 65,000 persons attended Springfield, Missouri's Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, tying the record attendance.

So good to see these festivals running again.

Let's Pull for the Launching Pad's Return.  --RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: Restaurants in One Springfield, a Hotel in the Other

AUGUST 11

Springfield, Missouri, History Museum launches an exhibit on Route 66 restaurants.

The History Museum on the Square in downtown Springfield has a new exhibit titled "Order Up:  The Restaurants of Route 66."    It features a wide variety of eating places such as fine dining at the Colonial Hotel and Kentwood Arms Hotel.

Others include Graham's Rib Station which opened in 1932 and ran for nearly 60 years and, of course, the great Steak and Shake and Red's Giant Hamburg.

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AUGUST 12 

Landmark Springfield, Illinois, hotel may still have life; zoning panel to hear new variance request.

It is currently the  Wyndham City Center.  The request will be heard on September 21.  The request will be for the place to be turned into 275 apartments and 125 hotel rooms.

It originally opened as the Forum 30 Plaza Hotel in 1974.  In 1980 it became the Hilton Towers then it became the Springfield Hilton and Hilton Springfield Wyndham in 2015.

We have stayed at this great, centrally located hotel on several occasions.  It is a great experience, so hoping something positive happens and it is not torn down.

--RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: Neon Sign Goes Up at Illinois State Fair and Miles of Possibilty Update

AUGUST 7

A big Route 66 neon sign was installed at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.  It is 40 feet high and near Gate 2, the corner of Peoria Road (Route 66) and Sangamon Avenue.

Bigger is better in my book, especially NEON!!

AUGUST 7

An updated list of speakers has been announced for the Route 66 Miles of Possibility Conference being held October 20-23 at the Pontiac Eagle Performing Arts and Conference Center in Pontiac, Illinois.

Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckeys will be the keynote speaker Friday morning, October 21

They have quite the list of speakers.

--RoadDog

Along66, August 2022: Joliet Ups Its Route 66 Effort

AUGUST 4

Joliet clarifies what it will do with the nearly half million dollars it is getting for Route 66.

Joliet, Illinois, says it will beef up its Route 66 attractions for the Mother Road's upcoming centennial in 1926.  The city council loaned $484,500 to the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Center.

Among specifics:

**  A revamped Route 66 Welcome Center

**  New exhibit at the Joliet Area Historical Museum

**  Mural on the Rialto Square Theatre

**  Two new Route 66 sculptures

--RoadDog