Along66, Jan. 2023: A Whale and Gas Station in Oklahoma

JANUARY 19

The City of Catoosa, Oklahoma, plans improvements to the grounds of the Blue Whale.

This includes trails behind the whale, rest rooms, gift ship and perhaps even a small RV park.  Then you can "Sleep with the Whale" along with "Sleep in a UFO" and "Sleep in a Tepee."

The Blue Whale was built in 1972 and closed in 1988 when it began falling into disrepair.  The city wosely bought it in 2020 from the Davis family for $1.5 million.

JANUARY 20

The Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, is up for sale for a second time in less than four years.  The former D-X gas station listed for $200,000.

David and Laurel Kane bought it in 1998.  Laurel died in 2016.

We sure miss Laurel Kane.  Always a friendly person to talk to.

--RoadDog

Along 66, July 2020: Palmer Hotel in Afton Burns. Park It Right Here Times

I get these stories from the Route 66 News site, your best source for any and everything you can want to know about our Mother Road.  I just write about the stories of most interest to me.

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JULY 2--  Fire destroyed the long-closed Palmer Hotel in Afton, Oklahoma.  It once featured hot and cold running water in EACH room and electric lights throughout the building.  And, all for the cost of $2 a day.

It is believed to have opened in Mid-March of 1910.

It was just sitting there slowly deteriorating every time we saw while visiting the Afton Station across from it.  Poor Afton.  Hope something can be done to stop its slide into obscurity, especially now that the Afton Station is gone.

JULY 2--  New Mexico imposed a 14-day quarantine to all travelers entering from other states.

Definitely doesn't help Route 66 tourism, but these are trying times.  (Oops, must take a shot.  Whenever you hear a news cast or commercial with any words and then the word "times," you have to take a drink.)

Real Challenging Times These Day.  (Oops, another shot.)  --RoadShot

Along 66, March 2020: Afton Station, Bob's Gasoline Alley and Andy Payne

These are taken from the Route 66 News site, your place to get the latest info and happenings on Route 66.  The site has a lot more items, I just pick out the ones of most interest to me.

MARCH 3--  Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma. is up for sale again.  It was sold at auction less than a year ago.  The historic structure is listed for $174,000 and the current owners bought it at auction for $72,000 on June 29, 2019.  Nice profit, guys, if you can get it.

Always enjoyed stopping there after negotiating the Sidewalk Highway and talking with Laurel Kane and the folks who kept it running after her death.  And, Afton sure needs a shot in the arm.  Too bad they aren't going to buy it and do something.

MARCH 4--  Bob Muller, creator of Bob's Gasoline Ally near Cuba, Missouri, has died at age 67.    Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to meet him.

MARCH 10--  Improvements are coming to the Andy Payne Park in Foyil, Oklahoma.  With a $11,000 budget three picnic tables, a covered children's play area among other things have been added.

This is 75% funded by the Cherokee Nation of which Foyil is a member.

Improvements Always Welcome.  --RoadDog

Along 66, Nov. 2019: Oklahoma Route 66 Assoc. Secures Bob Waldmire U-Haul

NOVEMBER 10--  The Oklahoma Route 66 Association has secured Bob Waldmire's U-Haul and is displaying it at the Chelsea Tunnel.

They acquired it through donations.  Famed and deceased Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire painted it for Ken and Marian Clark of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who used it to carry her famed cookbooks to events.    They donated it to the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma, but they didn't have enough room to display it.

It was then given to David and Laurel Kane's Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, where it was exhibited.  After their deaths it was auctioned off and bought by an auto dealership in Minnesota.  The 66 Association bought it and it is now by the Chelsea Tunnel, which was a civilian underpass under Route 66 because it was so busy.

There is also a tunnel under 66 at Odell, Illinois.

It was a great pleasure for Liz and I to meet Bob Waldmire on several occasions.  If anyone more exhibited the qualities of being a hippy, it was Bob.  And, what a character, one of those who made the Mother Road what it was.

--RoadBob

Along 66, Nov. 2019: Another Bridge and Neon Sign Gone

NOVEMBER 4--  Road crews destroy Horse Creek Bridge in Afton despite local opposition.  It was built in 1936 and structurally deficient and functionally obsolete according to the Oklahoma DOT.

But, it had a pedestrian walkway on either side.

It was placed on the NRHP in 1994.

I don't remember it myself.

NOVEMBER 7--  The neon sign at the Gardenway Motel in Villa Ridge, Missouri, was taken down for safekeeping.  There is nothing left of it but the stone frame and foundation.

Sadly, the motel has been closed for a long time.  The owner Nathan Lippe took it down and it is in storage.

The motel closed in 2014 after years of bad reviews.  It was built in 1945 and named for the Henry Shaw Gardenway.

Probably the best thing to do under the circumstances, but I imagine the large letter GARDENWAY on top of the building remains.

--RoadDog

Along 66, July 2019: Afton Station Sold, Death of a 66er

These are taken from the Route 66 News site which has a whole lot more stories as well as information.  I just take the ones of most interest to me.

JULY 2--  The new owner of Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, wants ideas for a Route 66 business to be located there.

Louis Cox bought it for $72,000 at auction on Saturday.

Here's hoping that the city will back him as they can really use the help.  Sure miss the former owner, Laurel Kane, who was always so friendly and nice

JULY 3--  Martha Jackson was a key figure in getting Litchfield, Illinois, its Route 66 Museum and visitors center, has died at age 87.

I didn't know her, but anyone who loves the road as much as I do is alright with me.

Thank You Laurel and Martha, For All You Have Done for the Mother Road.  --RoadDog

Along 66, June 2019: Afton Station and Dixie Truckers Home

JUNE 14--  Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, will be auctioned off on June 29.  Also, the remaining contents will go under the gavel.  The auction is at 10 a.m..

Laurel Kane, 69, ran it for nearly 15 years and died  in January 2016.  She commuted from Tulsa, a good little drive.  She also had a "Ramblings of a Route 66 Business" blog and estimated that they had 7,000 visitors a year, coming from 15 countries.

Her husband, David Kane, 74, died in August 2018.

Here's hoping that someone will buy it and continue its operation.  Afton, sadly enough, needs all the help they can get.

JUNE 16--   The grandchildren of the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois, pay a visit.  Two grandchildren, Steve Jordan and Cathy Greeneberg were the two.

John and Viola Geske opened what is now called the Dixie Travel Plaza.  The original Dixie burned down on June 28, 1965.  Within 12 hours they were pumping gas and serving sandwiches again.

A Regular Stop for Us.  --RoadDog

Along 66, Feb. 2019: A Bridge, A Sign and No More Trailers

FEBRUARY 18--  Work to replace the historic Horse Creek Bridge near Afton, Oklahoma, is underway.  It was built in 1936 on the east side of town.  Now it is structurally deficient.

We must have driven over it if it is on 66, but don't remember it.

FEBRUARY 19--  The Sonrise Donuts sign in Springfield, Illinois, came down.  It was on top of the building for 70 years and Springfield purchased the sign recently for $22,000.  But, it will be restored to its former glory and placed somewhere, so it is not gone.

Always enjoyed looking at it as we drove by and we once ate in the building when it was open.

FEBRUARY  20--  The Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post is no longer renting out its vintage tractors.  It is in West Albuquerque, New Mexico.  In the past you could stay in a 1974 Silver Streak, 1959 Spartan, 1969 Airstream or 1956 Yellowstone.

They said it was too expensive to keep the trailers in condition.  That would have been a trip back into time.

--RoadDog

Along 66, Dec. 2018: Of Spook Lights and Afton Station

DECEMBER 17--  Spook Light legend debunked more than 70 years ago.

This is located in the Tri-State area of Missouri,Oklahoma and Kansas., near Hornet, Missouri.

The "cause" of the Spook Light, they say, are cars on Route 66.

DECEMBER 20--  The majority of the Packard automobile collection at Afton Station has been sold and hauled away.  They belonged to the late David Kane.  His wife, laurel operated the Afton Station for years before her death.

The future of the station is uncertain at this time and folks are unsure whether it will reopen.

We are very sorry to see the place close.  Afton should do everything they can to keep the place open.  This town is in dire shape.

--RoadDog

Along 66, September 2018: Rails to Trails Project Involves the Sidewalk Highway

These items are taken from the Route 66 News site.  I only pick the ones that are of most interest to me.  The site has an article everyday, so if you want to know what is going on along the Mother Road, check it out.

SEPTEMBER 8

Officials in Miami, Oklahoma, will use to Rails to Trails to rehabilitate the 9-foot-wide section of Route 66 between Miami and Afton.

The eight mile stretch will be turned into a walking, biking and hiking trail.

The Sidewalk Highway, Ribbon Road was built in 1922 and made narrow so that it could cover more mileage.

Always love driving this road.

--RoadDog

Along 66, August 2018: David Kane Dies, Afton Station

From the Route 66 News site.

AUGUST 10--  Afton Station owner David Kane, 74, died in an accident.  His wife, laurel Kane died in 2016.  Afton, Oklahoma.

The two of them took a run-down gas station and renovated it into quite a credit to the Mother Road.  Laurel ran the station for many years and David had allowed the station to continue running as long as it didn't lose money.  hard to say what will happen now.  Afton sure needs to do something about keeping it open as that town is in really bad shape.

--RoadDog

News From Along Route 66, January 2016: Death of Afton Station's Laurel Kane

From the Route 66 News site.

JANUARY 25--  Mahan Gas Station was moved from Shea's in Springfield, Illinois, a quarter mile north to Fulgenza's Pizza and Pasta.  Looks like we'll have anew place to stop in Springfield.

JANUARY 26--  The ten-year-old "Cars" movie still draws tourists to Route 66.  I was very disappointed when I found out it was an animated movie, but it sure worked for me.  I saw it three times when it came out, once at a drive-in movie theater in McHenry, Illinois.  And I have been watching animated movies ever since.

JANUARY 26--  The old Dairy Queen sign in Holbrook, Arizona,  is endangered.  It is 50 years old and the owners want to replace it with a modern one.  As of Feb. 4, it was announced it will stay.  Great news.  keep anything old that looks good.

JANUARY 28--  Laurel Kane of Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, died.  She was one of the people that make Route 66 so special.  We'll miss her.

JANUARY 29--  Chicago's Jackson Boulevard Bridge marks its 100th birthday.  A really pretty bridge.

--RoadDog

Obituary of Route 66's Laurel Kane-- Part 2

Laurel welcomed everyone to her place, despite having to commute a rather long distance from Tulsa where she lived.  An estimated 7,000 a year visited and she also had a popular blog spot about the road.

She died at age 69 on Jan. 28, 2016.

Her Route 66 interest grew out of her passion for old postcards which led to a family road trip in 1997 where they went the whole length of the Mother Road in a 1957 Packard.  She and her husband decided to retire to Oklahoma after that.

They lived in Darien, Connecticut, before that.  Their home was the oldest structure in town, built in 1705.

Her daughter Sarah lives in Evanston, Illinois.  A celebration of life will be held this spring.

Route 66 News has an excellent account of her life and an interview.

I remember we bought David Wickline's "Images of 66" book at her place and had people sign pictures the rest of out trip on Route 66.

This will be a smiling face that will be greatly missed, but will be long remembered among us Roadies.

--RoadDog

Obituary of Route 66's Laurel Richards Kane-- Part 1

From the Feb. 14, 2016, Tulsa (Ok) World.

"Along a once thriving stretch of Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma, is a vintage service station where visitors from around the world fins, and later seek out, a welcome and a smile from Laurel Kane."  As fine of an epitaph as you can get for this wonderful person who help make Route 66 so much fun.

That is what you would get when you stopped.  It was like talking with an old friend, and Laurel seemed to regard anyone driving the old road as her friend, even ones she just met.  Any time we were in the area, her place was a must stop for Liz and me if it was open.

The 30s-era service station was bought by Laurel and then-husband David Kane in 1998.  In 2001, they opened it as the Afton station where it functioned as a welcome center and a museum for Laurel's Route 66 memorabilia and postcards as well as husband David's collection of restored vintage Packard automobiles.

--RoadDog