April 2013 Meeting to be held at Pietro’s Restaurant in St. Louis

The Route 66 Association of Missouri will meet on April 13, 2013 at Pietro’s Restaurant in St. Louis, 3801 Watson Road.

Luch will be served at 12:00 PM with the general meeting following. Author Joe Sonderman will be our guest speaker, presenting a slide show about Route 66 in the St. Louis area. There will be a board meeting at 10:00 am.

For more information, directions, and a form for reserving lunch, please download the
April 2013 Meeting Notice. You must reserve lunch by April 4, 2013.

Route 66 Association of Missouri’s 23rd Annual Motor Tour, September 6, 7 and 8 2013

The Route 66 Association of Missouri will be “Rockin’ to the Devil and Rollin to the Saints” on its 23rd Annual Motor Tour. This Years tour will be held September 6th 7th and 8th. The tour will start in Carthage, MO and will end at Orchard Park in St. Clair, MO.

Tour registration begins on Friday, September 6, at 4:00 p.m. at the Econo Lodge, located at 1441 W. Central Ave. in Carthage, MO, where a block of rooms has been set aside for tour goers. Tour Goers can register on Friday night until 10:00 p.m. There will also be information on activities and things to do in Carthage available at registration.

On Saturday, September 7, tour registration will resume at 8:00 a.m. at the Econo Lodge in Carthage, and the tour will depart at 8:15 a.m. (after the pre-tour meeting) from the Econo Lodge. On Saturday, tour goers will have the opportunity to make stops between Carthage and the midpoint destination outside Devil’s Elbow, MO. A Guide detailing places to look for on the way will be provided at registration. Among the places tour goers will be able to visit along the way will include Spencer, MO, Gay Parita, Halltown Mercantile, and the Greene County Museum. There will also be information about other suggested stops provided at registration.

The Saturday night midpoint destination will be the Montis Inn, located at the intersection of CR Z (Route 66) and SR 28 just north of Devil’s Elbow. A block of rooms has been set aside for tour goers at the Montis Inn . Saturday night’s dinner will be held at the Waynesville City Park, where we will be able to enjoy the excellent Bar-B-Que prepared by Sweetwater BBQ. There will be a silent auction and information about Sunday provided at the dinner.

On Sunday after the 8:00 a.m. nondenominational worship service, tour goers will proceed from the Montis Inn Eastward to St. Clair. Again, a Guide detailing places to look for on the way will be provided at registration. The tour will conclude with a lunch catered by Jim’s Country Catering, at Orchard Park just off Route 66 in St. Clair. Additional information on any planned stops or activities along the way will be made available at registration.

For more information and/or to obtain a registration flyer, contact Debbie Rhew (573)-433-9812; dprhew@windstream.net, or Kip Welborn, 314-776-7385, rudkip@sbcglobal.net, or download it here: 2013 Motor Tour Registration.

Here’s hoping that you can join us on this year’s Motor Tour!

Route 66 International Festival to bring the World to Joplin

Our regional Route 66 heritage will be on stage the first weekend of August this year. The Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau will be hosting the 2013 Route 66 International Festival, August 1-3. This means the Route 66 enthusiasts, Roadies as they affectionately call themselves, from around the world will be coming to Joplin.

“The past two events have been held in Victorville, California last year and Amarillo, Texas in 2011,” according to Rick Freeland one of the co-founders of the International’s parent organization, The Route 66 Alliance. He added, “Roadies from all 50 states attend, and we generally see 20 countries represented throughout the weekend. Traveling Route 66 is an important piece of Americana both European and Asian visitors want to experience.”

The agenda for the weekend is beginning to take shape and will include events in Carthage, Missouri and Galena, Kansas as well as Joplin. A kick-off event on August 1st is being developed to include a cruise from Joplin, along Route 66 to the Carthage Square, then ending at the Carthage 66 Drive-in for a Roadie’s meet and greet, plus a movie. Much of the Friday, August 2nd daytime events will be held in Downtown Joplin with the evening events moving to Galena’s Main Street. The City of Galena and Route 66 patrons there are planning an open house of newly renovated buildings and Main Street streetscape. A TV/Movie themed car show and a concert will cap the evening’s events.

Saturday, August 3rd, daytime and evening activities will all be held on Main Street in Joplin’s Downtown District. Cultural themed activities, vendors and exhibitors will be throughout the downtown area. A car show featuring hot rods, custom semi-trucks, vintage military vehicles and motorcycles will fill the streets in the afternoon in the 400-600 blocks of Main Street. The 200-300 will be the location for an evening concert.

For all 3 days of the International Festival, a Main Street Marketplace will house all things Route 66. Authors, artists, crafters and collectors will be vending their specialty; providing a great opportunity for young people to be exposed to the history and culture of Route 66. Food vendors will add their flavor to events.

For more details about the events go to www.route66internationalfestival.com. Join the conversation about the 2013 Route 66 International Festival on Facebook at facebook.com/Route66JoplinMO. All activities unless otherwise mentioned are open to the public.

Boots Motel in Carthage, MO Seeks Volunteers for Roof Work

It’s crunch time!  The Boots Motel is looking for volunteers to help remove the gable roofs so the flat roof can be reinstated.  Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24, have been selected as the days for the roof removal, with rain dates the following weekend.  The new flat roof must be completed by April 26, or we have to return the grant to the National Park Service.  We are in special need of volunteers with roof removing experience and their own tools who can get up on top of the gable roofs and remove the shingles.  We also need volunteers who can climb up a ladder to the underside of the roof and take down the sheathing and trusses from the inside.  This is a little less scary than climbing on top of the roof because you can stand on the existing flat roof to remove the sheathing and trusses.  Finally, we need people who can manage the debris on the ground, remove nails, gather up shingles, put stuff in dumpsters and sweep.  Currently, we have three “ground crew” volunteers and two “under the roof” volunteers.  We can offer all our volunteers two free nights at the Boots (one of them will be Saturday night, the other one of your choice), plus breakfast on Saturday and lunch and supper (probably pizza and hot dogs) on Saturday and Sunday.  If you are interested in returning this historic icon to its historic appearance, call 417-310-2989 to volunteer, or e-mail us at bootsmotel@hotmail.com.

Route 66 Association of Missouri Welcomes New Business Members

We welcome the following new business members and thank them for their support.

East Office Bar & Grill – Cuba, MO

Boiling Spring Campground / Canoe Rental – Dixon, MO

RhineValley Limo / Shuttle Service – Hermann, MO

Stu’s Classic Car Care – Hillsboro, MO

Crabby’s Seafood – Joplin, MO

Whirlwind Ranch Alpacas – Lebanon, MO

Old Bus Stop Coffee Shop and Art Gallery – St. Clair, MO

Puffed Up Productions – St. Louis, MO

Kirk Wheeler Automotive, Inc. – Springfield, MO

Missouri Neon Company – Springfield, MO

Mother Road Motorcycles – Springfield, MO

Joe’s Route 66 Diner – Strafford, MO

Holiday Inn Route 66 (formerly named Viking Southwest) – Sunset Hills, MO

7C’s Winery – Walnut Grove, MO

Please patronize the business members that support what we do. Here is a link to the complete list:
Route 66 Association of Missouri Business Members

4th Annual Route 66 Race to the Rocker to be held March 23, 2013 in Cuba, MO

Race to the Rocker, Cuba, MO

Route 66 Association of Missouri Meeting on January 12, 2013

The Route 66 Association of Missouri will hold the January meeting on Saturday, January 12 at the Hammons Tower in Springfield, MO. Lunch will be served at 12:00 pm and the meeting, including election of officers and board members will follow.

Special guest will be David Rittenhouse, son of Jack D. Rittenhouse, author of “A Guide Book to Highway 66″, originally published in 1946 and still widely used today. Mr. Rittenhouse did a very informative oral history for our Association and he will speak about his father and Route 66 experiences.

The Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven is offering special rates for the nights of January 11 and 12, 2013. For more information about these special rates, directions to the meeting and a form for reserving lunch, please download this January 2013 Meeting Notice.

Route 66 Grant Season Now Open

From Kaisa Barthuli of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program:

“The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Program is pleased to announce that the program’s 2013 Cost-Share Grant Season is now open. Applications will be accepted between now and March 29th, 2013. More information is
available at: www.cr.nps.gov/rt66/grnts.

We encourage you to spread the word, and contact our office with any questions or to discuss project ideas.”

Past grant recipients include:

Crestwood Bowl

Boots Motel

Wagon Wheel Motel

Luna Cafe

Donut Drive-In

Sunset Motel

Munger Moss Motel

Route 66 Association of Missouri Welcomes New Business Members

We welcome the following new business members and thank them for their support.

Dent Squad – Crestwood

Hidden Waters Nature Park – Marshfield

Howlin’ Wolf Hot Rods – St. Louis

Puffed Up Productions – St. Louis

T.F.A. The Future Antiques – St. Louis

Joe’s Route 66 Diner – Strafford

Holiday Inn Viking Route 66 – Sunset Hills

City of Edwardsville – Edwardsville, IL

Please patronize the business members that support what we do. Here is a link to the complete list:
Route 66 Association of Missouri Business Members

Saratoga Party for ModernSTL Members, Nov. 28, 2012

2nd Anniversary Bowl-A-Rama and annual meeting at Saratoga Lanes, 2725 Sutton Blvd, Maplewood, MO 63143. Wednesday, November 28. Unlimited bowling, shoes and billiards! Snacks provided but feel free to bring your favorite pizza or carryout. This is a members (and plus one) only event, but the non-initiated are welcome to join Modern STL at the door. Maplewood’s historic Saratoga Lanes was established in 1917 and retrofitted with one of the grooviest, most intact 1950s era interiors in the region. Don’t miss out! If you have questions contact modernstlinfo@gmail.com.