Illinois Endangered Sites 2021-- Part 2: About Those 'Green Book' Sites

"The Negro Motorist Green Book"  (called Green Book for the author's name) directed readers to lodging, dining and service options that would be friendly to black travelers, sometimes including private homes or out-of-the-way establishments that could be easily lost to disrepair or demolition without their past role on America's racial apartheid system being noted.  (It was so sad that this happened at all.)

"One of the reasons we wanted to highlight the 'Green Book' sites is because of how much work still needs to be done," said Frank Butterfield, director of the group's Springfield office.  "Initial research shows more than 250 sites from the 'Green Book' on Illinois, but how many of those remain is unclear.  We really want to highlight the stories of those who visited or operated these places."

To that end, the group is asking for "citizen researchers" to help it take stock of the long list of locations. Some are likely to be in disrepair or even long gone, demolished by owners who might not have known they had the deed to a piece of history.

The process could be as simple as driving by a site near someone's house and reporting whether it is still standing and occupied.  Anyone interested in aiding the project, or whom knows those whom operated or patronized "Green Book" businesses, is encouraged to reach out to Butterfield.

--RoadDog

Along 66, Dec. 2020: The Green Book's Threatt Gas Station and the Museum Club

DECEMBER 28, 2020    

The Library of Congress puts the Negro Motorist Green Book interviews online.  One of the interviews is about the historic Threatt Filling Station on Route 66 in Luther, Oklahoma.

Built around 1915 using local sandstone and was a house/type gas station.  

What made it most impressive was that it was one of the early stations that catered to black tourists.

I am so glad that the Negro Green Book has become so well known as it gives another side of Route 66 that is too often overlooked.

DECEMBER 30, 2020

The Museum Club of Flagstaff, Arizona, will be going on an indefinite hiatus starting Monday.  Citing the virus hardships as a major cause.  Their last day will be Sunday January 3, 2021.  Owners don't know if it will reopen.  Maybe.  This is the second time it has closed in three years.

It was built by taxidermist Dean Eldridge in 1931 and has nearly 30,000 items from his collection of stuffed animals. It became a bar after Prohibition ended.

It hit its heyday when Don and Thorna Scott bought it in the early 1960s and began booking performers like Willie nelson, Waylon Jennings and Bob Wills.  The Scotts met their deaths tragically.  Thorna fell down the stairs and he committed suicide.

We did stop in for a drink or two when we went through there.  Neat place.  Something to see wherever you look.  

What Clutter?  --Old

Goodbye Dixie Highway?

I will be writing about this in my Civil War II: The Confederacy Under Attack blog as this is just another of their attempts to erase history.  Just click on  the My Blogs list to the right of this to go to the site.

--RoadDog

If You Want to Cruise the Dixie Highway, Better Do It Soon, Well, At Least in South Florida

All that boo-hoo-hoo about anything Confederate that is going on these days is about to target the Dixie Highway.  There are those who believe the name implies the "S" word (slavery) and, of course, the evil, horrible "C" word (Confederate).  And, lately, they have been pretty much getting their way.

An article in the January 20, 2020, New York Times   'We've got to change this':  Has Dixie Highway reached  the End of the Road? by Audra D.S. Burch.

In South Florida, leaders are discussing  whether to change  the name of Dixie Highway, which some say glorifies the nation's racist history.

These anti-Confederates have been very successful in their efforts since the murders in Charleston, South Carolina, so it is most likely they will succeed in their drive to do away with the racist highway.

Just Letting You Know.  --RoadDog

News from Along Route 66: January 2016: Racism On Route 66

JANUARY 12--  Information about the Catholic Church in Amboy, California.  The church was dedicated on March 8, 1951.

JANUARY 13--  100 Years of Drive-In theaters on one map showing all 4,500 sites.  The first one opened in New Mexico in 1914.  I'd always heard it opened in the 1930s in New Jersey.

JANUARY 16--  The Negro Motorist Greenbook.  "You may need it" as the cover said.  When we think about Route 66, you rarely think of the extra obstacles that black motorists encountered in that age of Jim Crow Laws and "Sundown" towns.  A "Sundown" town was one where a black person had best not be when the sun went down.

Victor Green began publishing it in 1936 and continued until 1964 to "give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulty, embarrassment and to make his trip more enjoyable.

This was a sad and unfortunate period of our history, thankfully somewhat gone.

--RoadDog