Doc's Soda Fountain on the right
Peeking in the window
Plain church with beautiful windows
Our route this morning included a little bit of driving on the original Route 66 pavement. Like I said earlier, it is very narrow and only 18' to 20' wide.
soy beans on the other side!
We had gone down this barely used road to find the "Turkey Tracks". I don't know how original this is but, I had to go see them. (Several times on this trip, Conrad thought I was completely nuts!) I didn't know if we'd be able to find them but they were well marked!
These tracks were outlined with white paint! Easy to see!!
Along the road we passed one more piece of barn art, the 13 Star Barn Painting, a "Betsy Ross" flag. This one is just painted on the side of the barn but is said to be a photo favorite on Route 66 for years. The Barn Quilts we saw earlier were 8' x 8' pieces of wood with a quilt pattern painted on them and then attached to the barn.
The Union Miners Cemetery is the burial site of labor leader Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, who is memorialized with a 22' granite monument. The cemetery is linked to an episode in the strike known as the "Virden Riot" in which 4 Mount Olive men and others from nearby were killed in a shoot out with mine guards on October 10, 1898, as a train carrying 180 black strike-breakers recruited from the south, attempted to pass through a band of armed strikers, and reach safety within the fortified stockade at Virden.
The men from Mount Olive were buried originally in the town cemetery, but the owner of the land objected to the ceremonies and other activities which the miners held there. The Lutheran cemetery was barred to them because that minister denounced the miners as "murderers." The local union purchased a one-acre site, and the bodies were moved to the new Union Miners Cemetery in 1899.
We stopped at Weezy's Route 66 Bar and Grill for lunch. Typical of diners during this time, it offered home cooked meals. We both had sliced hot beef on bread with gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots.
We stopped in Carlinville to see the Macoupin County "Million Dollar" Courthouse. Designed in 1867, the building began as a $50,000 project supported by bonds and taxes. Through a series of political and social scandals the courthouse construction was halted in 1870 with a total cost of $1.3 million (1870 dollars) and at the time was the second largest courthouse in the US. The 3rd floor courtroom was never completed and the planned ornamental statues were never commissioned. It took the county 40 years to pay off the debt and inspired the nickname "The Million Dollar Courthouse." It was quite impressive, that's for sure!
Not sure if this is the front or back.
They looked about the same.
The historic 1869 Macoupin County Jail was built using the "cannon ball" method which prevented jail breaks by making it nearly impossible to remove the blocks. The interior is designed in the "jailer residence" style, a popular 19th century design, requiring the jailer and his family to reside in an apartment above the jail. The cell block ceiling, walls and floor are constructed of 1" iron plates with 20" of solid stone above and below. The jail was built to house 16 male prisoners and 1 female but at one time it held 33 prisoners, four of whom were accused murderers. It was used until the new jail was built in 1988.
The old county jail
We found a FREE history museum in Litchfield. They had a lot of Route 66 memorabilia and a lot of interesting articles about the history of the area. It opened about 2 years ago where Vic Suhling's Gas Station used to be along the original Route 66.
Museum and Visitors Center
I used to have some skates just like this and would
meet my friends at the roller rink in Des Moines
every Saturday morning!
Remember the old TV test pattern?
1930 Ford Model A
Inside the 1930 Ford Model A
Speaker from the drive-in theater
The Ariston Cafe is thought the oldest restaurant
on Route 66. It originally opened in 1924 but was
relocated to Litchfield in 1929 and moved to its
present location in 1935.
After going through the museum, we found the Sky View Drive-In Theater. It opened in 1950 and has been in seasonal operation since. To me, it brought back lots of memories of the drive-in at Thayer where I hung out in high school! The Sky View caused quite a scandal in town when the drive-in was built. People couldn't understand why you would go see a movie after dark and stay out so late! This was farming country and farmers had to get up early.
The Union Miners Cemetery is the burial site of labor leader Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, who is memorialized with a 22' granite monument. The cemetery is linked to an episode in the strike known as the "Virden Riot" in which 4 Mount Olive men and others from nearby were killed in a shoot out with mine guards on October 10, 1898, as a train carrying 180 black strike-breakers recruited from the south, attempted to pass through a band of armed strikers, and reach safety within the fortified stockade at Virden.
The men from Mount Olive were buried originally in the town cemetery, but the owner of the land objected to the ceremonies and other activities which the miners held there. The Lutheran cemetery was barred to them because that minister denounced the miners as "murderers." The local union purchased a one-acre site, and the bodies were moved to the new Union Miners Cemetery in 1899.
Route 66 signs
The Soulsby Service Station is in Mount Olive, IL. It was built in 1926. In 1991 the station stopped pumping gas and closed in 1993. The exterior has been renovated to look almost identical to what it used to be. It was one of the first "canopy" stations. The original station was a mere 13 x 20 feet wide and had just enough room for a desk, cash register, battery charger and a few supplies. The Soulsbys doubled the size of the station in the 1920s but it was never big enough to be called a garage. A drive up ramp located outside of the station was used for oil changes and minor repairs.
I was out taking a picture of the station when a car drove by and stopped in the street to tell me the door was unlocked and I could go inside. I guess whoever owns it now is very trusting. You could buy a t-shirt if you wanted. You just picked the one you wanted from a bin. You put your $15 in an envelope and marked on it what color and what size you got! Interesting place though.
Soulsby's Service Station
Inside the station
My dad had a smaller version of this Coke machine at his
hardware store when he bought it. The drinks were only
.10 and it would cost too much to convert it to .25 so my
dad brought it home and put it on the patio. He kept it full
and a bowl of dimes beside it. It was a big attraction for our
friends who came to swim in the lake with us!
The ramp outside with a tree growing up through it!
It has to be awhile since it was used. That's a pretty
big tree!
We found an interesting place called Henry's Rabbit Ranch. He had pet rabbits along with VW Rabbits.
Henry's Rabbit Ranch
Old semi that still works
Old signs the guy has collected
Inside the station
Like the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, TX
Another version of a drink machine -
Now up to 50 cents!
In the town of Hamel we found St Paul Lutheran Church with its large blue neon cross
which lit up in the night. The cross has signified safe travels for those driving Route 66. It was always dangerous.
Weezy's Route 66 Bar and Grill
Inside Weezy's
The last town on our Route 66 trek was Collinsville, outside St Louis. I just had to stop to get a picture of the Brooks Catsup Bottle Water Tower. Of course, the sun was against me as well as the traffic! I was finally able to get a close up though. This unique 170' water tower is the world's largest catsup bottle. It was built in 1949 for the bottlers of Brooks old original rich and tangy catsup. The building is now for sale and the sign says the sale includes the catsup bottle!
Brooks Catsup Bottle Water Tower
Our last scheduled stop was Cahokia Mounds. As you know, this is one of Conrad's interests and he was really looking forward to this. Yep, you guessed it, the museum was closed on Mondays. Luckily, St Louis is close enough for us to make a 2 or 3 day trip there when the museum is open (and the weather is cooler)! He did take some pictures of the mounds.
One of the mounds
Monks Mound is the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas. Its base covers over 14 acres and it rises to a height of 100'. It contains as estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth, all carried in baskets from the many borrow pits throughout the Cahokia site. Construction began around AD 950 and was enlarged several times until AD 1250.
It is called Monks Mound because a group of French Trappist Monks lived on a nearby mound from 1809 - 1813 and planted gardens, fruit trees and wheat on the terraces of this mound.
Monks Mound
Bypassing St Louis but we could see the Arch!
We spent our last night on the road 28th night on the road in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. We were just too tired to drive the last 4 hours or so home. It was a great trip and we've created many memories, saw lots of country, saw some relatives and revived some old friendships. I just want to leave you with a couple pictures that sort of sum up the trip: CORN!!!
Looking good!
Grows right up to the right of way
Starting to turn brown at the bottom
Browning up
Closer to harvest time
Ready to harvest
A truckload of corn headed to market or storage
Thanks for going on this trip with us! Hope you enjoyed it. We don't know yet where our next adventure will be. I'm thinking tropical......snorkeling......beaches!
