rudkipon66
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Posts posted by rudkipon66
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October 9-11 Quinn and I made our 13th annual trek down the blues highway (US 61) to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival...twas a blast, gave us an opportunity to see Stax Records in Memphis and the Rock and Roll and Blues Heritage Museum in Clarksdale, MS, and break bread with our FRIENDS and our favorite greasy spoon, the Delta Amusement Blues Cafe....to see what we saw, go to: http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Enjoy, and if any problems let me know!
SGF, Kip
rudkip@sbcglobal.net
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you may be able to click on the above link and get there without cut/paste....try that first! Yee Hah! Slan go foil, Kip
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copy and paste this site for the trek that was the 4th Annual Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson Sweetheart Cruise, dedicated to all around roadies Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Slan go foill, Kip
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For travelers down the Blues Highway (US 61) in Mississippi, there is a special treat going on in Clarksdale April 14-17. It is the 6th annual Juke Joint Festival! Below is the info from the Cat Head website, or if you want more information go to www.jukejointfestival.com. Slan go foill, Kip
JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL & RELATED EVENTS, APRIL 17-19 !!!
2009 JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL BIGGER THAN EVER:
This year's Juke Joint Festival will feature more music, more vendors, more food, more artists... even more nighttime shuttle buses... than ever before! Over 40 daytime music acts (99% blues) and 15 nighttime juke joint venues! Monkeys riding dogs (literally), racing pigs ("Paddling Porkers"), arts & crafts, soul food & BBQ, storytelling, student art/writing contests, blues documentary films, a rock wall, a Segway course, a duck/turkey calling contest, etc, etc. Oh yeah, and over 50 blues acts on Saturday day/night alone, April 18th. PLUS... Related events on that Friday and Sunday (4/17 & 19)... Including Super Chikan at Ground Zero Blues Club on Friday AND the always free 'n fun Cat Head Mini Blues Fest on Sunday.
FREE DAYTIME ACTS INCLUDE (in no particular order):
David Evans, Pat Thomas, Eddie Cusic, Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band, Big T & Arthniece "Gas Man" Jones, Gearshifter Youngblood, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes & Lee Williams, John Lowe, Robert "Wolfman" Belfour, Hambone, Sean Apple, Calvin Jackson and Joseph Burnside, Deak Harp, Jon Short, Bill Durham, Bob Long, Bill Abel, Cadillac John and Bill Abel, Blue Mother Tupelo, Jeff Norwood, Ray Cashman, Scott Simpson, Brian Sivils, Davis Coen, Opossum Trot Blues Band, Little Johnny Kantreed, Thunderbird Kingsley, Mr. Tater The Music Maker, Terry “Harmonica” Bean, Tullie Brae & the Medicine Man, KM Williams & Washboard Jackson, Drew Jude, Carbo Cousar, Leaf River Blues Band, CeDell Davis with Brethren, Marshall Drew Blues Band, Daddy Rich Blues Band, George Worthmore, Delta Blues Museum Arts & Education Students, Honeyboy Edwards, Stax Music Academy Revue, DSU's Ol' Skool Revue AND MORE!
NIGHTTIME JJF SCHEDULE INCLUDES:
Remember, your $10 Juke Fest wristband gets you into every single show in this list (!) as well as unlimited rides on the nighttime JJF shuttle bus... though you can walk between most of the venues...
- GROUND ZERO BLUES CLUB - Homemade Jamz Blues Band AND Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
- RED'S LOUNGE - Big Jack Johnson
- DELTA AMUSEMENT CAFE - Josh "Razorblade" Stewart Blues Band
- SARAH'S KITCHEN - Robert "Bilbo" Walker
- DELTA BLUES ROOM - John Horton & Mississippi Slim
- MY BROTHER'S SPORTS BAR (new, larger club on Sunflower Ave) - T-Model Ford & Stud
- BLUESBERRY CAFE - Stan Street Hambone Band with special guest La La
- CLUB 2000 - RL Boyce & the Fatback Blues Band w/guest Mary Ann "Action" Jackson
- MESSENGER'S - Big T & the Family
- ANNIEBELLE'S LOUNGE - Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson Blues Revue
- HICKS BBQ & TAMALES - Guitar Mikey & the Real Thing w/guest Billy Gibson
- HOPSON COMMISSARY (front stage) - Big George Brock & the Houserockers
- HOPSON COMMISSARY (back porch) - Terry "Harmonica" Bean
- JUKE JOINT CHAPEL (Shackup Inn) - Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm
- TRICIA'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT (new venue!) - LC Ulmer (solo and w/band)
HOTELS AND ACCOMMODATIONS:
Ok. Honestly, it ain't easy to find a room in town at this point. That said, some places hold back a room or two... some folks will inevitably cancel rooms... and most places will at least accept your name on a waiting list. So, go to http://www.cathead.biz/guide.html and scroll down to "Accommodations"; most area places are listed there, so you can start calling. ALSO... At various times in the past few weeks, rooms have popped up at the Comfort Inn, Riverside Hotel, Uptown Inn, Uncle Henry's Place, Isle of Capri Hotel and Helena's Super 7 Motel. Maybe try them first. Also, if you like to camp, then call the Chamber of Commerce to rent a space on the Expo Center grounds (662-627-7337). Otherwise, the other closest towns with hotels would probably be Helena, Cleveland, Tunica and Batesville. Finally, the Delma Furniss Welcome Center north of Clarksdale on hwy 61 is happy to help with searching out accommodations; you can try them at 662.337.2305,
delma@mississippi.org
CAT HEAD MINI BLUES FEST, SUN. 4/19:
The always free and fun Cat Head Mini Blues Fest will be held on Sunday, April 19th. The store opens at 9am, and the music will start at 10am. Acts include Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Honeyboy Edwards, Big George Brock and Bilbo Walker. Big Red of Red's Lounge will be cookin' out front (the food ain't free, of course, but it'll be tasty and affordable). The Cat Head store will be super stocked with brand new T-shirts, blues CDs/DVDs/books, folk art and more... so please drop on by and take somethin' home to remind you of your blues pilgrimage. (Thanks.) http://www.cathead.biz
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[good story from the AP:
Rock fans head to Iowa to recall day music died
It's been 50 years since a single-engine plane crashed into a snow-covered Iowa field, instantly killing three men whose names would become enshrined in the history of rock 'n' roll.
The passing decades haven't diminished fascination with that night on Feb. 2, 1959, when 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 28-year-old J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and 17-year-old Ritchie Valens performed in Clear Lake and then boarded the plane for a planned 300-mile flight that lasted only minutes.
"It was really like the first rock 'n' roll landmark; the first death," said rock historian Jim Dawson, who has written several books about music of that era. "They say these things come in threes. Well, all three happened at the same time."
Starting Wednesday, thousands of people are expected to gather in the small northern Iowa town where the rock pioneers gave their last performance. They'll come to the Surf Ballroom for symposiums with the three musicians' relatives, sold-out concerts and a ceremony as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame designates the building as its ninth national landmark.
And they'll discuss why after so many years, so many people still care about what songwriter Don McLean so famously called "the day the music died."
"It was the locus point for that last performance by these great artists," said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. "It warrants being fixed in time."
Clear Lake is an unlikely spot for a rock 'n' roll pilgrimage - especially in winter. The resort town of about 8,000 borders its namesake lake, and on winter days the cold and wind make the community 100 miles north of Des Moines anything but a tourist destination.
The crash site is on private property, a five-mile drive from Clear Lake and half-mile walk off the road. Corn grows high in adjacent fields during the summer, but in winter the fields are covered with snow and a path to the small memorial is often thick with ice. The memorial features a small cross and thin metal guitar and records, all of which are draped in flowers during the summer.
"It's a much nicer trip in the summer," said Jeff Nicholas, a longtime Clear Lake resident who heads the Surf Ballroom's board of directors. "But in the winter, you get more of a feel of what it was like."
No one tracks the number of visitors, but fans stop by throughout the year and on some summer days visitors to the crash site can create the oddity of a corn field traffic jam.
Stewart said the deaths still resonate because they occurred at a time when rock 'n' roll was going through a transition, of sorts. The sound of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Holly was making way for the British Invasion of the mid-1960s.
"The music was shifting and changing at that point," he said. "The crash put a punctuation point on the change."
All three musicians influenced rock and roll in their own way.
Holly's career was short, but his hiccup-vocal style, guitar play and songwriting talents had tremendous influence on later performers. The Beatles, who formed about the time of the crash, were among his early fans and fashioned their name after Holly's band, The Crickets. Holly's hit songs include "That'll Be The Day," "Peggy Sue" and "Maybe Baby."
Richardson, "The Big Bopper," is often credited with creating the first music video with his recorded performance of "Chantilly Lace" in 1958, decades before MTV.
And Valens was one of the first musicians to apply a Mexican influence to rock 'n' roll. He recorded his huge hit "La Bamba" only months before the accident.
The plane left the airport in nearby Mason City about 1 a.m., headed for Moorhead, Minn., with the musicians looking for a break from a tiring, cold bus trip through the Upper Midwest.
It wasn't until hours later that the demolished plane was found, crumpled against a wire fence. Investigators believe the pilot, who also died, became confused amid the dark, snowy conditions and rammed the plane into the ground.
The crash set off a wave of mourning among their passionate, mostly young fans across the country. Then 12 years later the crash was immortalized as "the day the music died" in McLean's 1971 song, "American Pie."
Vonnie Amosson, who manages the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Clear Lake, said that ever since the plane crash, the community has embraced the tragedy. It's a continues stream of tourism dollars, and the town's chamber of commerce estimates that this year's events, dubbed "50s in February," will generate more than $4 million for Clear Lake's economy.
"It's kind of sad that that is what we are known for," Amosson said. "But on the other part of it, I think the whole '50's in February' weekend is a huge memorial and it's an honor to them."
In part because of its role in rock history, the Surf Ballroom has retained its vintage look, with a 6,000-square-foot dance floor, ceiling painted to resemble a sky, and original cloud machines on either side of the room. Ten Buddy Holly banners line the wall opposite the stage. The 2,100-capacity ballroom still hosts many national and regional performers, most of whom add their names to a backstage wall that is now crowded with drawings and signatures.
"It's quite a special place," said Nicholas, the Surf board member. "This place looks just like it did in 1959."
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Today is the 50th Anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson). Below is a nice article about the event. If you can find it, VH1 did a fantastic "Behind The Music" about that tragic day (I would have thought they would have re-broadcast it but I don't see it listed.) Quinn and I went to Clear Lake several years ago--Clear Lake, IA is a very cool step back in time, and the Surf Ballroom (where the last concert took place) is a wonderful place. You can get directions to the crash site at http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/351
They had a big party over the past week in Clear Lake to celebrate the event, the preparations for which turned the town on its ear! (http://www.clreporter.com/local-news/one-week-and-counting-surf-ballroom-prepares-historic-week) Would have been a blast! Oh well, I will have to settle for getting in my car, cranking up the tunes, thanking that great trio for what they gave us, and humming a little Neil Young to myself: "hey hey, my my, Rock N' Roll will NEVER DIE! Slan go foill, Kip
The 'Day the Music Died' didn't kill music - it lived and grew bigger
BY DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 3rd 2009, 4:00 AM
Feb. 3, 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the day musicians Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash.
The music didn't really die on Feb. 3, 1959, the day a four-seat airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) crashed into a cornfield eight miles north of Clear Lake, Iowa.
Five years and six days later, the Beatles, who learned their craft from Buddy Holly records and whose name is a shoutout to Holly's Crickets, played the Ed Sullivan show.
No, the music lived. It just got bigger than anyone in 1959 could have imagined.
Still, that plane crash deeply affected a rock 'n' roll world that in 1959 was still in early adolescence.
The term "rock 'n' roll" itself had only come into widespread use about three years earlier, though it had floated around the blues world at least since the 1920s as a thinly camouflaged synonym for fun under the sheets. When you're young, you don't think about death.
Before Feb. 3, 1959, rock 'n' roll's idea of a loss was Elvis Presley going into the Army or Little Richard announcing he was going to sing only for he Lord. John Lennon later would remarks that rock 'n' roll died when Elvis went into the Army.
On this one, John was wrong. There's a widespread popular myth that after Elvis' induction and the Buddy Holly plane crash, the enemies of rock 'n' roll smashed it into harmless little pieces. By this myth, traditionalists in the music, entertainment and radio games got together and conspired to replace the wild, raw power of Elvis, Buddy and Little Richard with the harmless likes of Fabian and Frankie Avalon, pretty boys with minimal talent.
Thus yanking the teeth and the bite out of this dangerous, subversive intruder. Without question there were traditionalists who wanted to see that happen, and even many fans believed rock 'n' roll was another fad, like goldfish swallowing, whose inevitable expiration date was coming up fast.
They too were wrong. The music and the seeds it planted in those 1958-1964 years, between Elvis and the Beatles, will stand with any six years in rock 'n' roll history. Motown started then, with artists like Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Temptations.
That was Roy Orbison's peak. You had the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons at their best. Phil Spector was producing, Stax and Muscle Shoals were gearing up. The Shirelles were singing. So were Del Shannon and Arthur Alexander and James Brown and Gene Pitney.
Small companies produced hundreds of great singles, from Maxine Brown's "All In My Mind" to Kathy Young's "A Thousand Stars" to the Capris' classic "There's a Moon Out Tonight" and the Edsels' immortal "Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong."
In the larger picture, the music was only slightly wounded. What the crash did do was take away some of the innocence, the adolescent's blithe confidence that things will not change.
That loss of innocence was the real point of "American Pie," the 1971 Don McLean ballad that locked the "day the music died" phrase into our cultural vocabulary.
McLean's massive hit, with its mildly inside references and quasi-profound imagery, is ultimately most notable for reflecting the fact that a dozen years later, fans still missed and mourned those who were lost.
The crash also triggered a discussion, somewhat muted with the passage of time, over what those men could have given us had they lived. Richardson, the veteran of the group at 28, was a disc jockey and country singer who happened to have a novelty pop hit with "Chantilly Lace." Country was his legitimate talent and he probably would have returned there.
Valens is the wild card. At 17 he had already written the timeless ballad "Donna." Would he have written more? Or was he destined to be a starburst of a teen idol? Either way, he was one of the first Hispanic rock 'n' roll stars.
Hispanic rhythms have never gotten the credit they deserve for their part in shaping rock 'n' roll, and while Valens wasn't singing hard-core Hispanic music, he was a pioneer whose importance could easily have grown. Holly? Again, who knows?
Scott Shannon, WPLJ program director, morning cohost and lifelong Holly fan, says he thinks Holly's future might have been mostly in songwriting and producing. His recording career, Shannon notes, had hit a lull at the time of his death, though "It Doesn't Matter Any More" became an ironic posthumous hit.
While Holly was only 22, he had already begun moving away from the hard rockabilly sound of his earlier days, experimenting with strings in a ballad like "True Love Ways."
But right to the end he was writing great, crisp songs, Shannon notes, and in many ways he was a more complete musician than Elvis. "Besides the singing, he was a great guitar player and wrote great songs," says Shannon.
"He was a producer, too." The 1983 movie "Eddie and the Cruisers" has its shadowy lead character, a rock 'n' roll singer, quietly trying to arrange musical sessions that would bring black and white performers together in new and different ways.
It's been suggested this notion came from some of what Holly was doing.
We'll never find out, of course, because 50 years ago Tuesday, the plane went down. Holly, Valens and Richardson were part of the "Winter Dance Party" tour that was doing a whirlwind run of one-nighters through small Midwestern towns, basically to learn a few quick bucks.
On the afternoon of Feb. 2, while they were all waiting for that night's show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Holly decided he couldn't face one more 300-mile ride on a freezing bus to the next stop, Fargo, N.D.
So he chartered a small plane, figuring that way he'd arrive early enough to get some sleep and do his laundry.
The local charter service assigned the flight to 21-year-old Roger Peterson, a pilot who had little experience flying with instruments in the kind of snowy, overcast skies that descended over Iowa that night. Holly was originally going to take two other members of his band on the plane, guitarist Tommy Allsup and bass player Waylon Jennings.
That way they could split the cost -- $108, or $36 apiece.
But when other performers on the tour heard about the plane, they put in their own bids. Richardson, who was coming down with a cold, asked Jennings if he could take that seat and Jennings, who didn't mind the bus as much as the others, told him sure.
Valens, who thought flying on a small plane sounded cool, had a harder time talking Allsup out of the last seat. Finally Valens proposed flipping a coin and Allsup agreed. Valens pulled out a half dollar.
Allsup flipped it and Valens called heads. Heads it was.
The plane took off about 1 a.m. from the Mason City airport. The best guess about what happened next is that Peterson realized only after they took off that he would have to fly by instruments.
More specifically, he had to fly by a Sperry Attitude Gyroscope, which displays attitude pitch the opposite of the gyroscopes on which he had trained. If he didn't know that, he would have thought the plane was climbing when it was descending. Eight miles from the airport, the plane crashed into a cornfield.
It hit, bounced about 50 feet, then skidded 500 or so feet into a fence, where it broke apart. Richardson, Holly and Valens were thrown out. Peterson's body remained in the wreckage.
It didn't matter. All were almost certainly killed on impact. When there was no word from anyone on the plane by dawn, a search began. Jerry Dwyer, who owned the air service, took off in another plane, retracing Peterson's route. At 9:35 a.m., he saw the wreckage.
A few days later, another brilliant young rock 'n' roll artist, Eddie Cochran, cut a sentimental farewell song called "The Three Stars," which went in part: Look up in the sky, up toward the north.
There are three new stars, brightly shining forth It was the kind of song that once was instantly written for any famous person who died, proving how close popular music still was in 1959 to the old pop era.
Fourteen months later, on April 17, 1960, Eddie Cochran was killed in a car crash. He was 21. The music didn't die then, either. Today, most younger popular music fans have only historical knowledge of Buddy Holly or Ritchie Valens.
Maybe they've seen the movies. Maybe they recognize "That'll Be the Day," which Holly wrote from a John Wayne line in "The Searchers," or "La Bamba," which was Valens applying rock 'n' roll to an old sea song.
But the three stars mostly are names, or maybe they're voices.
There's little sense of the visceral impact from hearing they were gone. Still, Feb. 3, 1959, helped carve out the path the music has followed to Feb. 3, 2009.
Without the blue notes, it wouldn't have the richness that's kept it so alive.
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Hello:
US 61 is definitely your road...it will take you from New Orleans to St. Louis, past plantations, through the middle of the land of the Delta Blues, and with noseshot of a lot of great Bar-B-Cue.
--to get inspired, get Tim Steil's book "Highway 61 Revisited"...it is a picture book that takes you from the beginning of 61 to the end, with lots of great pictures, stories and information.
--I am not real well versed on the houses, but do know that Natchez has a ton of antebellum mansions...and there are plantations up and down 61; unfortunately, most of the houses that go along with them are gone.
--Once you get to Leland, you will be in Delta Blues country. By this time you need to have a copy of Cheeseboroughs Blues Traveling book...it will get you to every important blues site in the Delta, and a few that might leave you scratching your head. Leland (home of the Highway 61 Blues Museum) is where US 61 intersects with US 82. 82 has blues sites all along it...if you go East on 82 to Indianola, you will be in the home of BB King--he has a museum there...if you go to Greenwood, you will be in the center of Robert Johnson Country (he is buried in one of three sites around Greenwood.
--61 heads north from Leland to Clarksdale, passing through Shelby, it being the home of St. Louis blues legend Henry Townshend). Clarksdale is your blues mecca--there is a ton of Blues history there, and great opportunities to hear live music. The Delta Blues Museum has Muddy Waters Birthplace inside it. A stones throw away is the Ground Zero Blues Club, a juke joint/restaurant/bar Morgan Freeman opened. It has decent food and great music. There is also a true to life juke joint on the other side of the tracks called Reds, which you really have to be looking for--it looks like another abandoned building; there is a ghost sign (Laverne Music Co) on the front. You can find out a lot about music playing in Clarksdale and in the Delta by going to www.cathead.biz. It is a site run by Roger Stolle, who operates an awesome music/book/etc. store called Cathead just down the street from Ground Zero. Well worth stopping there; and well worth stopping down the street at the Delta Amusement Blues Cafe, where you can get a great breakfast/lunch and meet some of the greatest people in the world.
--Clarksdale is also home to a BBQ institution: Abes BBQ which is at the "Crossroads" (not the real one, just where the sign is) of SR 161 (old 61 and 49). It has been there since the 20's and serves up some fantastic pig!
--If you are looking for accomodations in Clarksdale you can stay in a bona fide sharecropper shack (the Shack Up Inn at Hopson Plantation), or at the Riverside Motel (where Bessie Smith died). The guy who owns the Riverside, Frank Ratliff, is an amazing individual...and while the outside looks somewnat suspect, they have redone the rooms and they look pretty nice (I don't believe, however, there are bathrooms in the rooms).
--from Clarksdale to Memphis, I recommend taking a side jaunt down US 49 to Helena Ark. It is the home of the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, a place where Sonny Boy Williamson II spent a lot of quality time, and the place where the longest running radio show ("its King Biscuit Time") is broadcast from. The Delta Cultural Society operates a museum there as well.
--61 is 4 lane from Clarksdale to the Mississippi/TN Border; however, the original route runs somewhat parallel to it all the way to Walls, just south of the border.
--61 goes through a less than scenic part of Memphis, and joins I-55 just before crossing the Mississippi. It follows 55 to the Turrel Twist (US 63/Jonesboro exit); however, if you take SR 77 out of West Memphis, you will be on old 61.
--At the Missouri/Arkansas Border, 61 goes under a beautiful concrete arch...you outta do that--you probably won't get another chance to do it.
--My best grasp of BBQ is in the Sikeston area (on 61 about 150 miles south of Memphis). There you can find Dexter BBQ, which is named for the town of its origin, Dexter, MO. If you want to taste some great BBQ, Dexter, MO is 20 miles West of Sikeston on US 60. There you will find the original Dexter BBQ, as well as the granddady of all bootheel BBQ joints, the Hickory Log. There is also a place called Leon's Dexter Queen, which is an old drive inn where you can get the best pork shoulder sandwich around (affectionately referred to as "The Pig")...
--lots of nice things to see from Sikeston to St. Louis...from Benton north the scenery improves markedly...the Ste Genevieve area has a lot of wineries...of the bunch I'd recommend the Cave winery...it sits atop a cave that you can take your wine and a sandwich into. If you decide to stop there, stop first in Ste Gen and pick up some Oberlie sausage and garlic cheese--tasty...
--Certainly hope that you have a great trip! Slan go foill, Kip
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I gotta join the chorus for shopping on EBay...I know I got a 1932 or so AAA California map and picked some SoCal Automobile Assn maps off there...I collect Official Mo, IL and Wi maps, and I would say most have come off of Ebay...I sense that the Official State Highway Maps tend to auction off for more than Gas Station maps...AAA tend to be somewhere in the middle. I have visited a lot of antique malls, an dhave found a few maps I was looking for, but I would not rely on them as a source; you will find something you are looking for once in awhile, but will spend a lot of time walking aisles looking at booth after booth full of someones china. Slan go foill, Kip
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This was previously posted in the general discussion box, if it looks familiar:
I happened to come across a Grand Army of the Republic sign at a flea market in Earl, WI. I don't know if it is an original or not; it looks to be fairly old, but there is not any kind of state highway dept notation on it..as the picture of the sign (with my ugly mug) indicates, it is not square. If anybody has any information on these signs, I would appreciate it...slan go foill, Kip
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Thanks for the pic! There are some clear differences between my sign and the sign in the pic, especially the star in the middle and hte US 6 designation at the bottom...the "of the republic" lettering is slightly different...on the other hand. the cut of the sign appears to be the same as what I have. The sign I have appears to be "old" but "how old" I cannot say...the metal on the back is silver, with some rust...again, no state/fed dot designation...again, thanks to all for the inspiration, and keep it coming! Slan go foill, Kip
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Thanks for the response! Any further inspiration is welcome...gives me some inspiration to take a trek on that highway! Slan go foill, Kip
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I happened to come across a Grand Army of the Republic sign at a flea market in Earl, WI. I don't know if it is an original or not; it looks to be fairly old, but there is not any kind of state highway dept notation on it..as the picture of the sign (with my ugly mug) indicates, it is not square. If anybody has any information on these signs, I would appreciate it...slan go foill, Kip
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Hungry for A Motor Tour? The Route 66 Association of Missouri has a place for you at the dinner table for its 19th Annual Motor Tour, to be held September 5, 6, and 7, 2008. Here is the info, "hot off the stove". See you in September! Kip Welborn, cochair, motor tour committee.
CRUISERS, COME TO DINNER ON THE ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI’S 19th ANNUAL MOTOR TOUR!
The Route 66 Association of Missouri is ringing the dinner bell for cruisers to join in the Association’s 19th Annual Motor Tour to be held September 5, 6 and 7, 2008. The Tour will commence in Collinsville, IL and end in Lebanon, MO. The Tour’s theme this year focuses on the eateries on Route 66 in Missouri. This is most appropriate this year, as it is the 50th Anniversary of one of the Route’s most famous food stops, Zeno’s Steakhouse and Motel in Rolla, MO.
Tour registration commences at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 5 at the Comfort Inn in Collinsville, IL where a block of rooms has been set aside for tour goers. That evening there will be activities for participants and information on which will be available at registration. On Saturday, September 6, the Tour will proceed to Rolla, MO. Tour goers will be provided with a passport book which they will be able to get stamped at several designated eateries between Collinsville, IL and Rolla, MO. The passport will also contain valuable information about the Association and Route 66 in Missouri. There will also be information about other recommended stops provided at registration.
The Tour will make its midpoint stop at Zeno’s Steakhouse and Motel in Rolla, where a block of rooms has been set aside for tour goers. That evening a great meal will be served up for tour goers by the folks at Zeno’s and we will celebrate Zeno’s 50th Anniversary on Route 66.
On Sunday after the nondenominational worship service, folks will be able to enjoy Route 66 on our way to the tour finale at Wrink’s Market in Lebanon. En route we will be making stops at Arlington, Sheldon’s Market in Devils Elbow, and the historical museum in Waynesville. At Wrink’s, tour goers will be able to enjoy a noontime lunch served by the folks at Wrink’s, and be able to "chew the fat" with their fellow roadies to end the tour.
Additional information on any planned stops or activities along the way will be made available at registration. For more information contact Kip Welborn (314-776-7385), rudkip@sbcglobal.net); Jane Dippel (314-843-7132), vestaon66@cs.com) or visit our website at www.missouri66.org. Here’s hoping you can join us on our culinary trek down Route 66 in Missouri!
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For people who really want to feel the blues inside and out you need to go to the source--the Mississippi Delta. And one excuse to do this is the upcoming Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, MS...if you ever wanted to plan a cruise down Highway 61, having Clarksdale as an endpoint is a great excuse, and having a Blues Festival to look forward to at the end of the cruise is a BIG heap of icing on the cake! Honeyboy Edwards, 93 years young, will be on the marquee, is one of the great country-bluesmen around and is a must see, as is the rest of the lineup! Here's info on the fest from CatHead.biz:
JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL & RELATED EVENTS
Clarksdale, Mississippi -- April 18-20, 2008
- "LIVE" MUSIC: Acts will include Honeyboy Edwards, Jimbo Mathus, Super Chikan, T-Model Ford, Johnny Rawls, Cedric Burnside/Lightnin' Malcolm, Big T, Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Josh "Razorblade" Stewart, Guitar Mikey, DSU's Ol' Skool Revue, Bruce Brewer and many many more TBA soon.
- FAMILY ACTIVITIES: Racing pigs, student art exhibit, duck/goose call contest, rock wall, Segway course, storytelling, Clarksdale history bus tours, 5K run and walk, tasty Delta food and TONS of free daytime music, etc.
- FILM FESTIVAL: Includes Deep Blues, Last of the Mississippi Jukes, Hard Times, Down in the Woods, Juke, Barefoot Workshops shorts, M For Mississippi trailer and more.
- WALK OF FAME DEDICATION: Clarksdale "Walk of Fame" marker dedication for bluesman SON HOUSE w/music at Cat Head (252 Delta Ave.), Fri. 4/18, time TBA.
- HOTEL INFO: According to several sources, it appears that all of the hotel rooms in Clarksdale have been booked for JJF weekend. Fortunately, there are still plenty of rooms at the Isle of Capri Casino/Hotel just 30 minutes north in Lula. Go to http://www.isleofcapricasinos.com/lula/ for more info OR call 1-800-THE-ISLE to book your room.
- PLANNING UNDERWAY: See photo that proves it at http://www.pressregister.com/articles/2008...3a813586203.txt
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Below is a recent ditty from CatHead.Biz on the Mississippi Blues Trail. For those who do not know, the Mississippi Blues Commission has established the Mississippi Blues Trail to honor the many great blues performers that came from Mississippi and some of the "holy sites" in Blues history in Mississippi. While it is a "work in progress, many of these markers have been put up. For info on their location and on the Mississippi Blues Trail, go to www.msbluestrail.org/blues_trail.
From CatHead.Biz (which by the by is the web address for a GREAT store in Clarksdale, MS--see their stuff at www.cathead.biz):
MISSISSIPPI STATE BLUES TRAIL CONTINUES TO GROW
- CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER ARTICLE ON TWO MARKER DEDICATIONS THIS PAST WEEK: Two new Blues Trail markers placed, By ANDY ROSS, Staff Writer. Thursday, February 14, 2008 10:43 AM CST... It was a bitterly cold, windswept afternoon in the North Delta Wednesday, but the spirit of the blues was hot as two new markers were added to the Mississippi Blues Trail. Markers were unveiled in both Tunica and Coahoma Counties as crowds gathered to witness the names of legends such as James Cotton, Sam Carr, Charley Patton, Son House, Frank Frost and Bertha Lee literally etched into history along the same roadsides that served as the backdrop for the creation of their music. Making the day even more significant was the fact that both ceremonies had living artists' present. The day began south of Tunica at the intersection of U.S. 61 and Bonnie Blue Road, where the 30th marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was placed in honor of James Cotton, a.k.a Mr. Superharp, just west of his birthplace. Cotton, who was present at the ceremony and gave a short performance on his harmonica for the crowd of roughly 60 people, got his start opening gigs for Sonny Boy Williamson II as a teenager. He played in Muddy Waters’ band for 12 years in Chicago before he formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1966. Over the years he honed his trademark high-energy harmonica style playing with artists such as Luther Tucker and Matt Guitar Murphy. Cotton earned a Grammy in 1996 for best traditional blues album and was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2006. "I’m the happiest man in the world right now. I have been all over the world and to come back here to this spot; I'm just the happiest man in the world," he said as he pointed across the road to where he said he remembered a service station once being located. Among the guests present were Jim O'Neil, research director for the Mississippi Blues Trail, and Scott Baretta, former editor of Living Blues Magazine and the other lead researcher for the Blues Trail project. According to O'Neil, "This is such a wonderful project, especially when we can do this for the living musicians. The history of the blues is very old and when we can commemorate these musicians still living it is very special." The second marker unveiling took place later Wednesday afternoon in Lula at the corner of Front and Second streets and honored the numerous artists who once called the small Coahoma County town home, and rocked its juke joints. Among those named on the marker were Sam Carr, Charley Patton, Bertha Lee, Frank Frost and Son House. Carr, the widely acclaimed drummer and recent recipient of the Mississippi Arts Commission 2007 Governor Award, was present at the ceremony along with his wife Doris. A recording of Charley Patton's famous song "Dry Well Blues," which describes life in Lula during the drought of 1930, played in the background as O'Neil introduced Carr to the audience. "I'm not a talker, I'm a drummer," Carr said. "But I am glad to be here. At my age, I am real glad to be here." Carr, Frank Frost and Clarksdale musician Big Jack Johnson played in one of the Delta's most famous juke joint bands, the Jelly Roll Kings during the 1960s and 70s. Kappi Allen, director of the Coahoma County Tourism Commission, said this is the fourth marker in Coahoma County and there are at least six more expected. "I don't know that this will ever get old or mundane," Allen said. "Dedicating markers like this one is so significant because we still have Sam with us. He is so special and is just an icon." Other notable guests in Lula were musician’s C.W. Gatlin and T-Model Ford, and Luther P. Brown, the director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University and member of the Mississippi Blues Commission. Gatlin, a renowned rock-a-billy and blues musician who currently lives in Helena, Ark., says he was born in a lucky spot and learned to play slide guitar from Robert Nighthawk, Sam Carr's father. "I played with Sam and Robert and Frank back then and we used to play all weekend long, all night long. They were like family to me," Gatlin said. Brown discussed his thoughts on the importance of the blues being passed down to younger generations and the direct lineage the blues has to modern day music and culture. "This trail is especially important to the young generation because many don't know much about the blues. It's not popular music for them and they might not know the names of these important artists who came from the same areas they are from. If they do't know about the music, then they can’t be empowered and uplifted up by it," Brown said.
- NEXT MARKER DEDICATION FOR BLUES LEGEND MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT: Saturday, February 23, 2008, 2:30 PM, Carrollton, MS; Marker Dedication at the Valley Store between Avalon and Teoc; reception details TBA.
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A Group of 66ers in Missouri continued an annual tradition with the 3rd Annual Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson Sweetheart Cruise February 16 and 17. Here is a picaverbal of the weekends events:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Enjoy! Tsingtao Kip
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As some of you may know, I-64/US 40 through St. Louis is going to undergo some major renovations over the next two years. On January 2nd, the western section of the Route (from Ballas Rd to I-170) will be shut down, and will remain shut down for the entirety of 2008, and the route East of I-170 will be shut down for the entirety of 2009. I will say that any of you planning on visiting St. Louis over the next two years should plan on completely avoiding I-64/40; I will also say that a lot of road history will pass with this renovation, and in todays Post Dispatch there was a nice article on the history of the Route...you can see the article, with some nice pictures of some of the old overpasses along the route, on the Post Dispatches Website:
http://www.stltoday.com/ (title of the article is "The Farewell Drive")
For those who don't want to fiddle with it, here is the article...Happy new year and safe travels to all, Kip
The farewell drive
By Elisa Crouch
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Dec. 30 2007
Sometime between now and Tuesday evening, drive the section of Highway 40 between Interstate 170 and Ballas Road and look around.
Three days remain until this familiar stretch of highway — built from 1936 to 1946 — gives way to modernization. Hand-designed bridges will be replaced with overpasses designed with computers. Tight loop ramps built for 35 mph traffic
will be replaced with longer ones built for today's traffic speeds.
For those who know every dip and turn, pothole and overpass on Highway 40 (Interstate 64), parting with its quirks is like saying goodbye to an old friend.
Take the "no guts, no glory" entrance at Lindbergh Boulevard, for example. It can be a white-knuckle experience for out-of-towners, but Bill Sheridan, of Des Peres, enjoys the challenge.
"That's part of the game," he said. "For us who are from here, we're used to it. We know all the rules, who gets to go first and all that. To us, we see order."
The highway department's intent in the 1930s was to build a freeway to relieve other east-west roads in the county. Residents in St. Louis were moving to the county in droves.
The 14 miles between Lindbergh and the Missouri River opened to traffic in 1938, rolling through cornfields and new subdivisions in the area's western fringe. It was quickly dubbed the "Daniel Boone Expressway." The overpass at Spoede Road, where work started in 1936, was the first bridge over the freeway.
Extending the expressway east to Brentwood Boulevard proved challenging. The buildup to World War II resulted in labor shortages and slowed construction.
Manpower was so short that the contractor building the McCutcheon Street overpass asked permission to use German prisoners of war as general laborers. The federal government said no.
Steel shortages led to more delays. Work on the bridge over Clayton and Warson roads was held up for four years because of the short supply. Finally, in 1946, that bridge opened to traffic, completing the stretch between Brentwood and
Lindbergh.
A SCENIC ROUTE
The new highway was three lanes each way in most places, and a favorite for Sunday drives. A grassy median at Lindbergh allowed for two giant globelike sculptures commemorating Charles Lindbergh's first solo flight across the Atlantic. The speed limit jumped to 45 mph from about 35 mph.
"It was a parkway," said Thomas Gubbels, senior historic preservation specialist for the transportation department. "It was something designed for scenic traffic."
But there were problems. At first, the highway had a reversible lane with a red or green light over it indicating which direction was open. Drivers called it the "suicide lane" for good reason.
"A lot of people didn't see those lights," Gubbels said.
In the late 1950s, the Highway Department connected the Daniel Boone Expressway with what was then called the Red Feather Expressway east of Richmond Heights.
The new stretch was called Highway 40.
County residents could take it straight to jobs downtown. It didn't take long before the highway became congested.
The statues came down at Lindbergh in the 1970s for highway widening. Also removed were the bridge's decorative handrails and lighting system. Soon, green signs covered much of the detail work on the art deco overpasses. Other
ornamentation was lost to repairs and modifications.
In 1987, Highway 40 became Interstate 64 between Interstate 270 and the Mississippi River. Soon after, the highway department wanted to widen the highway and rebuild interchanges from Hampton Avenue to Spoede Road, but an
outcry over taking part of Forest Park stalled that project.
That left some of the exits and entrances as they've always been — difficult to use, but a distinct part of Highway 40's character.
"It's going to change, and change is going to be jarring at first," said Jon Cornwell of University City, co-founder of the website www.40for40.com, dedicated to Highway 40 nostalgia.
He'll miss the stone stamp marking the bridge over Clayton and Warson roads. He'll also lament losing the view of leafy neighborhoods, soon to be blocked by sound walls.
"It's not going to have as much character," Cornwell said.
Peg Sheridan, married to Bob Sheridan, said she planned to take her farewell drive down Highway 40 on Monday or Tuesday in daylight. The next time she will be on the five-mile stretch of road, there will be few, if any, quirks.
She said, "It's just going to look like any other redone highway in the country."
ecrouch@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8119
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The Elvis is Alive Museum is on old US 40 in Wright City, MO west of St. Louis. It was one of the great roadside attractions in the St. Louis area and the country...Elvis is alive somewhere, but one of his messengers has, alas, turned the light off...Tsingtao, Kip (by the by, everything in the museum is for sale in one big lot on Ebay (go to Ebay and type "elvis is alive museum" in the search blank...at last check the lot was going for $7,300.00...there is a couple of days left, from what I recall)
Dave has LEFT THE BUILDING After a 17-year crusade, minister puts his Elvis is Alive Museum collection up for bid on eBay.
By Joel Currier
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/02/2007
WRIGHT CITY — While Bill Beeny doesn't expect Elvis will swagger into his quirky roadside museum, he still believes "the King" is out there somewhere — alive and well.
But, after 17 years, Beeny has decided to end his crusade of proving that Elvis never died. The 81-year-old Baptist minister has put his Elvis is Alive Museum collection up for bid on eBay in hopes that someone will carry on his mission.
A 16-foot-tall wooden statue of Elvis in a white jumpsuit towers above the 400-square-foot museum, which sits on a stretch of frontage road and is visible from Interstate 70 in Wright City. Inside the tiny two-room shrine are hundreds of photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, copies of FBI files, a gravestone and a full-size bronze casket with the remains of a wax Elvis head attached to a stuffed body dressed in a polyester suit.
Beeny, an evangelist who has preached on radio and television and run missions in the St. Louis area for years, is trading his passion for the King to help the poor, hungry and those addicted to drugs.
"I've enjoyed it, and it does tear out a little piece of my heart to close it down," Beeny said. "I feel I should do something more important."
The money from the sale of the collection will go toward child care for single mothers, opening a food pantry and providing therapy for drug addicts in fast-growing Warren County, Beeny said. He hopes a responsible buyer will open a new museum dedicated to the theory that Elvis lives.
The museum's facade conjures memories of kitschy roadside treasures of the past when cross-country travelers drove on Route 66. The paint is fading and chipping off the Elvis statue out front.
Beeny sells plenty of oddball souvenirs, such as Elvis toilet paper, Elvis drivers licenses and Beeny's own book, "DNA Proves That Elvis is Alive." But he says he has never charged anyone a penny to view the collection.
"The museum has always been a hobby," Beeny said. "It's given me a sense of joy."
It is the only museum in the world that obtained Elvis' DNA when he was performing and the DNA of the cadaver buried in Elvis' grave, Beeny claims. He says a lab in North Carolina tested the DNA samples and confirmed they were not from the same person.
Although thousands of articles from media across the country and worldwide have covered Beeny's obsession, nobody dropped by to see the collection during a three-hour stretch Thursday.
Wright City Mayor Eileen Klocke had heard about Beeny's decision to shut down, but said it wasn't exactly the buzz around town. She admitted she had yet to see the museum.
"I might sneak in there and just check it out," she said.
On Thursday evening, the highest bid for the museum's collection on eBay stood at $640. Beeny insists it is worth many times that amount, and will opt to put the collection in storage if no bidders meet his minimum asking price, which he declined to reveal.
Forbes.com on Tuesday released its list of the top-earning dead celebrities, and Elvis ranked first, with earnings of $49 million in the past 12 months. Elvis would have turned 72 in January.
Elvis probably would support his decision to trade the museum for social work, Beeny says, but he doesn't hold out hope that the King will drop by Wright City to deliver his blessing. Beeny thinks Elvis is vacationing somewhere in Hawaii, where he filmed several movies.
"I'm sure he's got bigger fish to fry," Beeny said. "If I get a million-dollar check, I'll know who it's from."
jcurrier@post-dispatch.com | 636-255-7210
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Here's our Anniversary Travelogue down the Blues Highway to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival:
www.adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
(sorry to have to cut and paste) Enjoy!
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I/We got the below email from one Travis Good on the Route 66 egroup...for the uninitiated, the Wigwam 2 is the oldest of the Wigwam Motels still standing (the other two remaining are in Holbrook, AZ and Rialto, CA. The Motel is at the corner of the Dixie Highway and US 31W, is a beautiful piece of property and is very near Mammoth Cave (it is just outside Cave City, KY)...Tsingtao, Kip
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I just drove a portion of Route 66. I visited the Wigwam in Rialto,
CA and stayed a night at the one in Holbrook, AZ. I've long been
enchanted with these novelty motels. Since I was heading toward
Washington D.C. I thought I'd also arrange to stay at the only other
remaining motel, Wigwam #2 in Cave City, KY.
Having just arrived home, I thought I'd share something I learned
during my stay. Though it's not on Route 66, there may be someone on
this list who would be interested to know that the 15-unit Wigwam #2
is for sale. Other than a general price range of $400-500K I don't
know much about it. Seems after three years of operating the motel
the owners are ready to get out of the business. Apparently they
bought Wigwam #2 never having operated a motel before and have found
that it's not for them.
Any how, I thought someone here might like to know.
Cheers, Travis
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We finally got a chance to see Marquise Knox this weekend at the Old Webster Jazz and Blues Fest...this "kid" is 16 years old, but his guitar, voice, and mind speak like someone who has been across the tracks a bizillion times...he has BB King's penchant for not playing and singing at the same time (although he did both on occasion) and, like BB, he told some great stories...did great covers of Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, etc etc etc. This is a 16 year old that grew up listening to Lightnin' Hopkins! What 16 year old does that anymore? if you get a chance to see this guy, do so--it was a real treat! There should be a pic attached somewhere... Tsingtao Kip
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HERE IT IS: Kip, Quinn and Natalie Kay's 18th Annual Route 66 Missouri Motor Tour Album! I got it to open up so hopefully you wont have to cut and paste!
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Enjoy! Tsingtao, Kip
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This weekend there was a celebration of a great up and coming neighborhood on an original alignment of Route 66 in the CITY of St. Louis. It was Grove Fest II, and it took place on Manchester Rd. between Sarah St. and Boyle Ave. Route 66 followed Manchester Rd. through this area to Boyle before turning right on Boyle. It was a fun time in a great area to visit on your 66 travels! To see some pics and more words about the event:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Tsingtao from the CITY of St. Louis, Kip
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If you passed through the St. Louis area on I-70 in the 60's and 70's, and crossed the Missouri River Bridge at St. Charles, you might have noticed Noah's Ark (it was on the right side of I-70 going East, easily visible from the interstate). It is alas joining the original ark starting today. My Dad took me there often after it opened (I think it was his way of paying me back for making me eat in fancy places that did not serve French Fries. It was neat, complete with recreations of elephants, giraffes and other animals. It has sat vacant for years and apparently there is not much that can be done with the structure itself. Sad way to go, though--"lets have a party and tear down a landmark!" Oh well...slainte, old friend! Tsingtao Kip
http://stcharlesjournal.stltoday.com/artic...c_ark_1.ii1.txt
Gazebos On Lincoln Highway...
in Lincoln Highway / U.S. 30 / U.S. 50
Posted
Quinn, Nat and I got to spend Thanksgiving with the inlaws, and it gave me the opportunity to visit the new informational gazebos that have been placed along SR 31 between Geneva and Aurora...the informationals in the gazebo are like those found at the Pavillion at Phillips Park, except that there is information specific to the town where the particular gazebo is located (we saw the ones in Geneva, Batavia and North Aurora)...for more and a look-see go to:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/rudkipon66
Enjoy! SGF, Kip