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QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI MAGAZINE / Vol. 31 No. 1 / 2021 Route 66 Route 66 Show Me Show Me LANd OF A MILLION SMILES: The Ozark Playgrounds Association PAgE 14 A FAREwELL AT REd OAk II: LOwELL dAvIS PAgE 11 REvISITINg STONYdELL PAgE 30 30+ YEARS: A LOOk BACk PAgE 20A Show Me Route 66 features 2 OFFICERS, BOARd OF dIRECTORS ANd COMMITTEES 3 PRESIdENT’S dASHBOARd Rich Dinkela 4 NEwS FROM THE ROAd 11 A FAREwELL AT REd OAk II: LOwELL dAvIS Mike o’Brien 14 LANd OF A MILLION SMILES: THE OzARk PLAYgROUNdS ASSOCIATION Cheryl Eichar Jett 20 30+ YEARS: A LOOk BACk Joe Sonderman with James Powell 24 THE STATE LINE Joe Sonderman with Elizabeth olwig 30 REvISITINg STONYdELL Kip Welborn 36 THE FISHINg, COON HUNTINg PREACHER OF THE OzARkS: PAUL BENNETT ANd BENNETT’S CATFISH Joe Sonderman 43 NEw MEMBERS Mark Norman 44 BUSINESS MEMBER dIRECTORY Mark Norman 52 THEN ANd NOw Joe Sonderman ALEX’S PIZZA Rolla, Mo / page 39 CArThAgE COnvEnTIOn & vISITOrS BurEAu Carthage, Mo / page 10 CrAwfOrd COunTy hISTOrICAL MuSEuM Cuba, Mo / page 33 CuBA TOurISM Cuba, Mo / page 35 dIrECTIOn TOurS Fenton, Mo / page 42 fOrT wOOd hOTELS St. Robert, Mo / page 22 LEBAnOn TOurISM lebanon, Mo / Front Inside Cover LITChfIELd MuSEuM litchfield, Il / page 7 MISSOurI STATE PArkS leasburg, Mo / page 27 MOThErrOAd AnTIquES And unIquES Springfield, Mo / page 33 MOThErrOAd MOTOrCyCLES Springfield, Mo / page 13 PArAMOunT jEwELErS Maplewood, Mo / page 27 PEACE Of MInd Cuba, Parkhills, Rolla, St. Charles, St. Roberts & Sullivan, Mo / page 16 PuLASkI COunTy uSA St. Robert, Mo / page 19 rOuTE MAgAZInE Jefferson City, Mo / page 51 r & S MEMOrIAL dECOrATIOnS Springfield, Mo / page 29 ShEPhErd hILLS fACTOry OuTLETS lebanon, Mo / Back Cover SPrIngfIELd TOurISM BurEAu Springfield, Mo / page 13 STATE fArM Wildwood, Mo / page 10 STEAk ’n ShAkE Springfield, Mo / Back Inside Cover TrAIn wrECk SALOOn St. louis, Mo / page 39 Show Me Route 66 Magazine is the official publication of The Route 66 Association of Missouri. Show Me Route 66 Magazine is published quarterly and is distributed free of charge to all paid members in good standing of The Route 66 Association of Missouri. Additional copies may be purchased for the cost in advance of $10 USD each including postage. Request for additional copies may be made direct to The Route 66 Association of Missouri, P.O. Box 8117, St. Louis, Missouri 63156. Manuscripts and photographs submitted for publication are welcome and should be sent electronically to Joe Sonderman, Magazine Coordinator, Route 66 Association of Missouri, at stlrt66@aol.com. Reproduction of this magazine in part or in whole, is prohibited without written permission from the President and/or Board of Directors of The Route 66 Association of Missouri. The Route 66 Association of Missouri and the production staff are not responsible for errors or omissions contained herein. The Route 66 Association of Missouri and the production staff retain the right to edit any submitted materials and to not publish an article of questionable content or that goes against the purpose of The Route 66 Association of Missouri. The Route 66 Association of Missouri is a non-profit corporation established to preserve, promote and develop Old Route 66 in Missouri. PuBLICATIOn SChEduLE AdvErTISIng rATES PEr ISSuE Inside Cover Full Page Color - $175, Back Cover Full Page Color - $185, 1/2 Page B&w - $70, 1/2 Page Color - $85, 1/4 Page B&w - $50, 1/4 Page Color - $60, 1/8 Business Card B&w - $40. other rates are available upon request, call (314) 965-5751. fOLLOw ThE ASSOCIATIOn On fACEBOOk Please become a fan to stay up to date on meetings, activities, news from the road and magazine previews. You are welcome to post your favorite Route 66 pictures. Thanks to Internet Services Director Chris Debosek. www.facebook.com/missouri66 On ThE COvEr ouR CoVER IS FRoM A 1950S PuBlICATIoN BY ThE oZARK PlAYGRouNDS ASSoCIATIoN, PRoMoTING ThE “lAND oF A MIllIoN SMIlES.” IN ThIS ISSuE, ChERYl EIChAR JETT TAKES A looK AT ThE hISToRY oF ThE oPA AND ITS RolE IN MAKING RouTE 66 ThE GATEWAY To A MAJoR TouRISM REGIoN. Spring Issue, April 2021 Submission deadline 2.19.21 Summer Issue, July 2021 Submission deadline 5.19.21 Fall Issue, October 2021 Submission deadline 8.19.21 winter Issue, January 2022 Submission deadline 11.19.21 AdvERTISERS Route 66 Show Me QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI MAGAZINE / Vol. 31 No. 1 / 2021 RICh DINKElA, PRESIDENT AND JIM PoWEll, FouNDER CONTRIBUTINg wRITERS Rich Dinkela Cheryl Eichar Jett Mark Norman Mike o’Brien Elizabeth olwig James Powell Joe Sonderman Gary Sosniecki Kip Welborn ASSOCIATE EdITOR Cheryl Eichar Jett gRAPHIC dESIgN Tracy GrammPRESIdENT rich dinkela rich@hookedonroute66.com (314) 369-4366 FOUNdER jim Powell jimpowell66 @ earthlink.net (941) 922-3295 Officers INTERNET SERvICES Mark norman membership@missouri66.org Lisa Troglio lisatroglio@yahoo.com PUBLICATIONS vACAnT vICE PRESIdENT james j. Thole 66thole@sbcglobal.net (636) 484-3232 SECRETARY and Acting Treasurer judy wallmark Rt66orBust@Yahoo.com (417) 588-6110 TREASURER vACAnT jerry Benner fjbenner @ mindspring.com Michael Boggs michaelboggs @ rocketmail.com Philip denton pcd66@att.net BOard Of directOrs david j. Eslick djeslick@undata.com robert gehl neononroute66 @ gmail.com Mark norman membership@missouri66.org Tommy Pike furyon66 @ earthlink.net joe Sonderman stlrt66 @ aol.com Mark Stauter markcstauter @ gmail.com Lisa Troglio lisatroglio@yahoo.com Shawn fowler shawn@modifiedautosound.com If you are interested in helping the Association by volunteering to serve on the board, please submit a statement of interest/what skills you could bring to the Association and a resume. Send these to info@missouri66.org. All submissions will be reviewed and carefully considered. HISTORIAN / ORAL HISTORY jerry Benner Chairperson fjbenner @ mindspring.com EvENTS COMMITTEE, QUARTERLY MEETINgS, SPECIAL EvENTS Michael Boggs michaelboggs @ rocketmail.com Shawn fowler shawn@modifiedautosound.com Lisa Troglio lisatroglio@yahoo.com cOmmittee MISSOURI HISTORIC ROUTE 66 BYwAY Tommy Pike furyon66 @ earthlink.net MOTOR TOUR Shawn fowler shawn@modifiedautosound.com SHOw ME ROUTE 66 MAgAzINE joe Sonderman Editor stlrt66 @ aol.com NEON HERITAgE PRESERvATION james j. Thole Chairperson 66thole@sbcglobal.net PRESERvATION kip welborn Chairperson rudkip @ sbcglobal.net MEMBERSHIP SERvICES Mark norman director membership@missouri66.org Back issues are available for $10.00 per issue uS addresses only (includes S&h) Some issues may require additional costs. Please give volume number and issue number when ordering.* Send requests to: route 66 Association of Missouri PO Box 8117, St. Louis, MO 63156. *Please allow six weeks for delivery. BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE officers/directors/committeesmissouri66.org 3 G oodbye to 2020, it’s been a challenging year for lots of us. Some people have prevailed while others have lost greatly. Most recently I put out a video on our Facebook page. It was Thanksgiving morning in fact. I just want to echo in this address what I put out there in social media that holiday morning… Yeah, 2020 has been a turbulent year, but I’m still thankful for all the blessings I have. We are fortunate to have the liberty to fuss over, of all things in this country, a historic road. Others in the world have so much less. We still live in the land of opportunity and liberty. I love where I live and I have loved the days gone by that I’ve been able to experience. If you missed the brief broadcast, you should go check it out on our website or the official Missouri Route 66 Association Facebook page. I invited viewers to comment on what they are thankful for and there were plenty of comments. Leave your comment with us. I would love to hear from you. just a swipe away, right in the palm of your hands. I long for the old days. I’m convinced that longing drives me to be the man I am today. Youth today are being stripped away of the privilege and hardship. The glory days are what we think of during our formative years — the events in our lives that made us who we are. That path today is narrowing. The world is a smaller place and it seems like everyone is being corralled and controlled by an overbearing society or helicopter parents. Today’s youth has a totally different method of growing up. I feel so lucky to grow up when I did… Maybe you can identify with me? I just want to reiterate that we really got to live through something special. It’s by this motto I lead my life, my family, my business, and this association. We have plenty planned for 2021. So much of our road needs our help so that we can ensure future generations can witness the history of our country. We’ve got neon signs to fix, bridges to save, businesses to uplift, and a whole world of travelers to captivate. We accomplished plenty in 2020 and with your help I plan on us getting even more done in 2021. Please be sure to check out the new website Mark Norman has created! While you’re there take the opportunity to sign up for the great new Vanity License Plate we are creating for Missouri residents. You can read more about it later in this edition of the magazine. Look over our gallery of images on the website and sign up for an upcoming event this year! To end this passage, I hope all your holiday season events were memorable and enriched with many great memories of family and friends. No matter your ethnic or cultural background it seems like the holiday season is a calling for togetherness. Life is about making memories. Our time here is finite. In the end, all we’ll have is the memories we’ve managed to make along the way. I hope we can make some good memories together. I look forward to seeing you all this spring at our first general meeting. In related discussions, I just finished a conversation with an old business acquaintance tonight before writing this. I confessed that I feel so fortunate to have grown up experiencing the tale end of the glory days. I got to hop up and cruise cool old cars, meet new friends the old fashioned way (you know – actually striking up a conversation in person), and got away with raising quite a bit of mischief. My life growing up was probably a lot like the lives of my elder brethren — a scene right out of Leave it to Beaver, American Graffiti, Dazed and Confused, or even The Breakfast Club. The process of coming of age for me offered up so many experiences while still being young enough to experience our society transitioning to more of a technological focused era where anything in the world is It was innocent, mysterious, and spontaneous. The world was a big intimidating place for most of us. I’m happy to have experienced everything that happened to me growing up. I think it has helped me personally get through some of the tumultuous times we have faced recently. I have a well balanced disposition despite the growing chaos. I credit that all to my upbringing. At any rate my only suggestion to my friends out there reading this is the following: Don’t let anyone steal your sunshine. Be who you want to be and do what fulfills your soul. Pay less attention to what others want you to do and more attention to what you’re called to do. Only you know your true convictions and talents. Listen to them and act accordingly… You know, Go Your Own Way! We live in the land of opportunity and liberty. I love where I live and I have loved the days gone by that I’ve been able to experience. – Rich Dinkela R ICH w OR k IN g HAR d AT THE S HAMROC k M OTEL IN S ULLI v AN , M ISSOURI frOM ThE PrESIdEnT’S dESk Of rOAMIn rICh dInkELA Presiden t ’ s Dashboard4 Show Me route 66 News from the Road rOuTE 66 LICEnSE PLATES PrOPOSEd By rich dinkela Drawing inspiration from the success of another organization is great, especially when both groups share the same mission. In late 2016, the Route 66 Association of Arizona created a license plate as a fundraiser. With its sleek, black, white, and gray palette, it was named as the best new license plate in the US for 2016. The Arizona Association receives approximately $170,000 net annually from license plate proceeds. The Missouri Route 66 Association will be applying for our very own personalized plate in 2021 and all proceeds will go to the preservation, promotion, and education of Route 66. The vanity license plate costs approximately $15.00 additional to a normal license fees. St. Louis native and fellow roadie Shellee Graham is graciously providing her talents to help us create the beautiful design you see here. To make this license plate a reality we need at least 200 Missouri residents interesting in obtaining the plate to add their name to our sign-up list. This list is then presented to the state showing “good faith” that our organization will commit to the project. Be the first person on your street with this great work of art on your ride! If you are interested in making history and want to be a part of this exciting opportunity, please sign up right now at our website, www.Missouri66.org. Please note: Final design may be slightly different due to sizing constraints. Questions? Please contact Lisa Troglio at lisatroglio@yahoo.com. nO MOrE kICkS AT ThE MuLE The Mule Trading Post at Rolla has closed its doors and is for sale. The trading post at I-44 and Rte V (Exit 189) first closed back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its final fate became apparent when a going out of business sale took place on December 12. Frank Ebling opened the Mule in 1946 on Route 66 at Pacific, but relocated to Rolla when Interstate 44 came through in 1958. Herb and Jody Baden owned it for over 25 years and made the post famous with its piano playing chicken and Sarah the donkey. Carl and Zelma Smith took over in 2007 and rescued the famous hillbilly sign with its rotating arms from the old Hillbilly Store on I-44. Dennis Prock took over in 2018. Chris Peters, president of Prock Operations, says he is familiar with the history of the Mule and its importance to the legacy of Route 66. Concerns were immediately raised about the sign, which is already attracting interest from collectors. Peters says the company wants to see the sign remain in place and hopes any buyer would ThE PrOPOSEd MISSOurI rOuTE 66 LICEnSE PLATEmissouri66.org 5 news from the road operate a Route 66 related business or pay tribute to the history of the site. However, if that doesn’t happen, the sign could be sold. The Route 66 Association of Missouri is in contact with the owners and has stressed the need to preserve the sign. One plan might be to make the sign part of the Route 66 Roadside Neon Park now in the planning stages at Saint Robert. The park will serve as a showcase for other historic signs salvaged from along the historic highway. The Association wants to be in a position to have first right to either match a cash offer from an outside party or, if of interest to their needs, potentially offer an appraised value of the sign in its current condition if donated by Prock to the Association. Chris has assured that will be the case. 2020 MOTOr TOur “Let’s do it again!” That’s the consensus from participants following the rebirth of the Route 66 Association of Missouri Motor Tour. The tour took place on October 16-17 and was a herculean effort put together by amazing volunteers on remarkably short notice. Special thanks go to Motor Tour Committee Chairman Shawn Fowler, Lisa Troglio and Elizabeth Olwig as well as assistance from the cities of Pacific and Lebanon and many dedicated business owners along the route. The weather was perfect as drivers gathered at the Red Cedar Inn at Pacific and enjoyed breakfast from the Graze Catering Food Truck. The Beacon Car Wash also offered free washes to cruisers that needed a little shine. This year, we returned to traveling caravan style and the vehicles attracted the attention of motorists running alongside on I-44. The event also incorporated traditions from tours of the 1920s, including tossing confetti out of the car in the front so everyone knew the path of the tour. A stop was made at the Shamrock Motel in Sullivan to publicize the effort to save the historic giraffe rock covered gem that is now for sale. The group toured Meramec Caverns, popped by the massive rocking chair at the Fanning Outpost and then headed for the night’s destination at the historic Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba. On a chilly night, the travelers socialized around a pair of bonfires and enjoyed the hospitality of owner Connie Eichols. A LINE OF CLASSIC CARS TAkINg PART IN THE MOTOR TOUR LINEd UP OUTSIdE THE LEBANON-LACLEdE COUNTY LIBRARY AS TOUR gOERS wALkEd THROUgH THE FANTASTIC MUSEUM. THE MULE TRAdINg POST ANd THE HILLBILLY SIgN, ROLLA6 Show Me route 66 news from the road The Saturday stops included Uranus, Missouri, Jax Welborn’s Route 66 Community Art Gallery in Waynesville, the critically endangered Gasconade River Bridge and the Route 66 Museum at the Lebanon-Laclede Library, where the classic cars lined up for a photo op. Our tourists saw the murals and the last surviving cabin from Camp Joy at Boswell Park. The Lebanon-Laclede County Society also dedicated a tree at the park in memory of the group’s first president, Bill Wheeler. The tour was welcomed by Ramona Lehman at the Munger Moss Motel, where many of our travelers spent the night following a performance by “Elvis,” Brian Lee Dunning. Planning is already underway for our next motor tour and we hope you will join us in 2021! Brinkman as a waitress in 1935. They were married in 1940 and ran the Red Cedar until 1972. Their son James III re-opened in 1987 and the Red Cedar remained in the family until it closed on March 7, 2005. In 2010, James Smith III turned the former restaurant into a business center. However, the exterior and the bar remain unchanged and the dining room still contains its old knotty pine paneling. In 2017, the City of Pacific purchased the Route 66 icon known around the world for $290,000. Plans call for converting it into a welcome center, a regional museum and genealogy center. The property would be part of a Historic Route 66 complex that includes the overlook at Jensen Point and may also include the WINTEC building next to the Red Cedar. rEd CEdAr SIgn ShInES AnEw The neon at the old Red Cedar Inn at Pacific is casting its red glow once again. Former owner Ginger Gallagher flipped the switch at a relighting ceremony on November 8, 2020. Lisa Troglio of Pacific initially put up her own funds to return the historic sign to operating condition and Dave Hudson of Neon Time in St. Charles did the restoration when the sign was taken down in September. Route 66 Association of Missouri President Rich Dinkela and Jim Thole, Chairman of the association’s Neon Preservation Committee, provided assistance as well. Mayor Steve Myers of Pacific was unable to attend after his wife was exposed to a friend who had tested positive for COVID-19. He sent a statement thanking those behind the project and added “There isn’t a more special Route 66 icon that holds greater potential in our entire state, the entire Midwest and perhaps the country. The Red Cedar Building has tremendous local appeal and regional interest and additionally this remarkable place has national and even global appeal.” President Donna Graham of the Meramec Valley Historical Society read the statement and made a few brief remarks. Former bootleggers James and Bill Smith built the Red Cedar Restaurant on the newly designated alignment US 66 in 1934 using logs from the family farm. They constructed the tavern addition in 1935. James Smith II took over the business and he hired Katherine fOrMEr whITEhALL MErCAnTILE OwnEr dIES Jerry White, who co-operated Whitehall Mercantile along Route 66 in Halltown, Missouri, for many years, died December 2 at the age of 87. Jerry and his wife Thelma were charter members of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and Thelma co-founded the Route 66 Association of Missouri with Jim Powell. The building that housed the Whitehall Mercantile was built in 1900 with a high false front that made it look taller. The building also housed the post office and the upstairs was occupied by the local IOOF lodge. The tiny community was once an antiques capitol, with seven stores and the Whitehall Mercantile was a place to browse and to share stories. Jerry was born on July 26, 1933, and spent his life in a home just a couple of miles from the Mercantile. A sickly child, Jerry said he suffered bouts with paralysis and had to learn to walk three times. As a child, Jerry said as kids “We thought we lived in the boondocks and didn’t realize the entire world was going by our door” (on Route 66). He remembered a section of the highway called “Old Bloody,” two curves with a bridge right in the middle. Jerry was never interested in history but he and his wife had to learn it when visitors to the store began asking questions about the historic business, the community and the highway. LISA TROgLIO wITH THE REd CEdAR NEON SIgN. JERRY ANd THELMA wHITE (PHOTO: ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI)Next >