new mexico - Route 66 Association

Transcription

VOLUME 23
NUMBER 1
Published by the New Mexico Route 66 Association
Route 66
NEW MEXICO
In This Issue
Moriarty Lights
Tucumcari’s Princess
Grant’s Gallery
The Prez Says...
Welcome to another issue of Route 66 New Mexico. As spring arrives, so will
the cruisers on the Mother Road. Our contributing author Keith Kofford has
been very busy this issue, providing a fascinating series of items to encourage
all who have the curiosity to go and find what lies beyond the exit ramp. Our
lead story recounts the long awaited occasion of turning on the neon signs at
the Whiting Bros. station in Moriarty, NM, for the first time in decades. Moriarty you may recall, has the only remaining Whiting Bros. station still existing
and the newly restored lights will be shining for many years to come. Next
comes a story from Keith Kofford telling of a well-known watering hole in Tijeras Canyon, just east of Albuquerque, now almost completely erased from
the landscape. Next is Johnnie V’s account of a formerly fabulous theater in
Tucumcari, NM, not well known by modern cruisers at all. Up following will be
Keith Kofford’s story about a unique gallery exhibition in Grants, NM, showcasing postcards from Route 66’s heyday but done with real style. Also from
Keith are three small but informative news items, some tragic like the loss of a classic Route 66 motel to
fire, some happy, like the singing highway and some informative, regarding new and refreshing highway
billboards. Lastly, I’d like to invite everyone to come and participate in Motor Tour 2015, this year a two day
event, August 21-22. This coincides with the Route 66 Association’s birthday (August 23, 1989) and should
be a bit cooler than in June. We have a wonderfully full day of activity planned for enthusiasts of the Old
Road, so be sure to attend. It’s more fun with you than without. Well, I hope this issue will whet your appetite
to get out on the highway and see things for yourself. It’s springtime, so pack some goodies and get in the
car and go see the Land of Enchantment along Route 66. See you on down the road.
JOIN THE NEW MEXICO ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION TODAY!
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RO U T E 6 6 N E W M E X I C O • SPRING 2015
New Mexico Route 66 Association
1415 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Route 66
NEW
CONTENTS
ME X I C O
Spring 2015
Volume 23, Number 1
Published by the
Page 4
A Non-Profit Corporation
Circulation 4,500 copies
Page 6
1415 Central Ave NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106
www.rt66nm.org
[email protected]
[email protected]
Page 12
PUBLISHER
MANAGING EDITOR
Page 16
PREZ SAYS
2
MEMBERSHIP FORM
2
LIGHTS RETURN TO MORIARTY
4
TALE OF THE ALE
6
2015 NM MOTOR TOUR ENTRY
10
PRINCESS OF TUCUMCARI
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POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST
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NEWS FROM THE ROAD
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ROUTE 66 BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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Don’t MISS It!!!
NM Motor Tour 2015
Andy House
D E S I G N & L AY O U T
Larry Hill
Page 19
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Keith Kofford, Johnnie V. Meier
Entry Form Page 10, Send it in Today!
Published with the support of the
New Mexico Tourism Department
Authors Wanted
Articles, news, photos and illustrations are welcome. Of course, there is
no monetary reward. However, there is the satisfaction of being published
in this fine piece of literature and helping to preserve 66!
Letters to the Editor Invited
If you have comments, please mail them to Comments, 1415 Central Avenue
NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 or e-mail
[email protected].
© Copyright 2015
Address requests for Permissions to:
About the Cover
For the first time in decades, the Whiting Bros. sign in Moriarty is once
again brightening the night. Photo by Andy House.
[email protected]
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The Lights Return to Moriarty
by Andy House
It’s been a long time coming but the lights in Moriarty, NM, home of the sole remaining Whiting
Bros. service station, are back on. The date was
December 5, 2014 and as sunset drew near, so
did a sizable portion of Moriarty’s local population
to witness this long awaited return in time, to days
of fine memories.
The service station owner Sal Lucero was having
both of his Whiting Bros. signs restored but in the
spring of 2014 it was discovered that a family of
barn owls had taken up housekeeping in Sal’s tall
sign. The barn owl is on the endangered specie3s
list here in New Mexico, so work was suspended
until the young owls learned to fly and left the
nest…along with their parents. This didn’t happen
until fall of 2014, putting a new wrinkle in Sal’s restoration plans.
Sal was getting this work done thanks to a grant
from the National Parks Service, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and the grant specifies
the maximum time for completion of the project,
once it is started. Thanks (?) to the barn owls, Sal
was now pushed to the extreme to get the job done
in time, before his funding ran out.
Zeon Signs of Albuquerque were the contractors
for the project and they really came through, not
only for Sal Lucero, but for the residents of Moriarty, NM who had eagerly awaited the completion
of this project and wanted to see one of their favorites in all its glory once again. Naturally, Route 66
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travelers/cruisers/explorers, et al, would be glad to
see an old icon of their favorite road brought back
to full flower as well.
The event brought out several local and notable
dignitaries, including Moriarty Mayor, Ted Hart,
New Mexico State Senator Sue Wilson Beffort
and Founder and Chairman of RETRO (REturn To
the ROute), a local action organization to revitalize
Route 66 venues in the area, Roger Holdon. They
all addressed the crowd and congratulated Sal
on having the foresight to restore these genuine
icons from former days. In addition to their warm
and supportive comments regarding the value of
this old service station relighting the Moriarty landscape once again, the assembled well-wishers
heard from Sal Lucero himself, about what the old
station has meant to him for so long a period of his
life. It was easy to see how moved Sal was by the
outpouring of feeling everyone had, to see these
magnificent signs from a bygone era have another
day in the sun.
Moriarty additionally, held a lottery that enabled
the winner to throw the switch to light the sign for
the very first time. The lottery was won by Jace
Alderson, the Manager of the Moriarty Civic Center. With enthusiasm near the breaking point Jace
threw the switch and for the first time in decades,
the tall Whiting Bros. sign in Moriarty was lighting
the New Mexico night again.
The lighting was followed by a brief fireworks display, certainly appropriate and who doesn’t like a
nice fireworks display? Enthusiasm was now unbridled
and there commenced music, socializing and buying of
souvenir coffee mugs and T-shirts to mark the event.
It was a day to remember, a day to allow civic pride to vent
freely, a day to remember who we are, where we’re from
and what’s important to us. It was a genuinely historic day
and I for one, was thrilled to be a part of it.
Since I was a kid, riding in the back of the family car, the
Whiting Bros. signs have held a special place in my memory of exciting things. Kids play games during car trips and
sighting Whiting Bros. signage was the initiation of excellent adventures in imagination. The signs at Sal Lucero’s
station in Moriarty, NM will keep that history alive for a long
time to come and a history lesson for kids, delivered with
great pride by parents. It is a good thing. Thank you Sal
for keeping those signs for future generations to see living
history.
With sometimes a tearful delivery, Whiting station owner Sal Lucero told the audience of his
attachment to the station.
Roger Holdon of the Edgewood based Route 66
preservation group, RETRO, told the audience
what the Whiting station meant to him.
An enthusiastic crowd of mainly Moriarty locals turned out to see the
lights of the Whiting Bros station come on once again.
New Mexico State Senator Sue Beffort expressed her feelings about the importance of the
Whiting Bros station in Moriarty.
Following the lighting ceremony a small fireworks display rounded
out the festivities.
Moriarty City Mayor Ted Hart told the assembled
crowd what the old Whiting Bros station meant
to him.
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“TALE OF THE ALE”
by Keith Kofford
Getting your kicks on Route 66
didn’t necessarily mean just driving
it. Many a citizen got their kicks, and
undoubtedly got kicked, in bars along
the Route. And Tijeras Canyon, east
of Albuquerque, had its share of bars
and watering holes.
A couple of drinks and a few hefty
cocktail-olive tosses (actually, 2/10mile) west of Zuzax, on the north
side of old Route 66/NM 333, is a
faded, peeling, white steel sign.
Barely visible are the painted words:
Lounge and Liquor—the costly neon
sign glass long gone. Back in its
heyday this sign belonged to the
very popular bar Reno and Mary’s.
Later renamed to Reno and Mary’s
Lounge, it ended its life as Reno and
Mary’s Bar & Package Store in the
late 1960s. But we’re getting ahead
in this “Tale of the Ale.”
Above: Reno & Mary’s first bar in Tijeras Canyon—the “La Luna Bar”—painted
on a saw blade. The Paques family said the Reno’s sign on the building was
incorrect.
Below: Reno and Mary’s, the third bar, also painted on a saw blade. Notice the
red brick veneer. Paintings courtesy Paques family.
Albuquerque resident Marino (Reno)
Edmond Paques didn’t plan to deal
in liquor. According to his daughterin-law, True Dee Paques, he “was
originally going to build an outdoor
theatre but someone beat him to it in 1947—the Cactus DriveIn on Yale Blvd.,the first outdoor theater in town—so he got into
the bar business.” From that alternate career move, the family
eventually acquired and operated three bars in the canyon before calling it quits.
Bar competitors along the
Canyon for the Paqueses
in those early days included
the old Molly’s Bar in Tijeras,
and the Paradise Valley. The
Paradise was the first bar at
the Canyon’s west mouth and
where future music star Glen
Campbell played with local favorites Dick Bills and the Sandia Mountain Boys.
ily then bought what they referred to as the “little bar” in
1948 or ‘49 and christened it Reno’s. Located on 66’s
south side, about a mile west of the current Molly’s, it
was just a small bar with no gas pumps or café. True Dee
said she didn’t know what happened to the building after
they sold it. No trace of it
remains today.
In the early 1950s, while
the “little bar” was still in
operation, they bought
another watering hole up
the canyon to the east.
Located on the north side
of 66, the bar came with
a drive-up package window, a motel, and a café.
May 23, 1953 Albuquerque Journal ad. Moultrie (1922-2012) True Dee said the bar
was called “Bernie’s Bar
The family first got their feet was a former singer and musician with Hank Williams
& Lounge and had stripwet selling the sauce in the
late 1940s at a little place called the La Luna Bar, located at pers and a motel that was being used.” When Reno &
the junction of state highway 14 and the north side of Route 66 Mary bought it, she added, “they cleaned it up—no more
(1937-post 1949 alignment). Along with the bar, the complex hookers and strippers” and changed its name to Reno
also had two Gulf gas pumps and a café. When 66 was up- and Mary’s. So for a while, the family was operating two
bars, at the same time, in the same canyon.
graded and widened a few years later the bar was destroyed.
Moving westward down Tijeras Canyon and Old 66, the fam-
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Reno’s (the “little bar”) was eventually sold and its liquor
Mary & Reno inside Reno’s “Little bar”, 1958. (Courtesy of
Paques Family)
license transferred to the Bella Vista Restaurant in Cedar
Crest. In 2008, the restaurant was demolished..
The family business was now down to just the one big bar
of Reno & Mary’s. True Dee recalled that it proved to be a
very popular place with the military and civilians from both
Kirtland and Sandia. According to her, the guys would go out
on weekends on Saturday drives and then stop in for a beer
or a drink. Since the place had a dance floor, many of those
guys came Friday and Saturday nights for the dancing, live
bands and the music.
Unfortunately, not all of the local guys came for a good time.
In November 1952, three soldiers broke in and stole $1000
worth of whiskey and $67 in cash. They were later arrested
in Oklahoma with 90-bottles of liquor still in their car.
While crime was not common, both bars had their share of
heists. Reno’s Bar suffered a breaking and entering loss of
Reno & Mary’s Bar. Jimmy Miller, bartender. Customers (left to right): Tommy & Betty Williams, and
Helen Whitmore. (Courtesy of Paques Family)
Reno’s “Little bar,” 1958. (Courtesy of Paques Family)
$1200 on August 15, 1954. Close to two weeks later, four
teenagers were picked up for the crime. They were cleared
and police reported no other suspects at that time. Reno’s
was hit again three weeks later. But this time, four locals—
three men and a 13-year-old—were arrested.
One crime turned out to be an “Oops,” instead. The August
5, 1955 Albuquerque Journal printed that Reno reported a
broken window and early morning theft at Reno & Mary’s
of six cases of liquor valued at $500, and $48 in cash from
the safe. The next day, Reno must have been red-faced to
have to tell officers that the six cases of liquor had been
misplaced and were found in the store. Unfortunately, the
newspaper didn’t say if the cash had also been misplaced
but later found.
As a youngster, the Paques’ son, Edmond, had an interesting—if not dangerous—job commute on old Route 66. Reno
would put Ed’s bicycle in the back of his pickup and drive
Eddie, Reno & Mary outside Reno & Mary’s Cocktail
Lounge, 1955. (Courtesy of Paques Family)
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both to the top of Sedillo Hill, at the east end of Tijeras Canyon, for the boy’s job at Comer’s Coffee Shop.
After work, Ed would ride his bike back down Route 66 to his
trailer home on the bar’s west side. Since it was mostly all
downhill from the coffee shop, probably more coasting, than
pedaling, was done on that busy 3 ½-mile stretch of two-lane
highway. Anyway, the scenery was great for coasting.
In the mid-1960s the family decided it was time to sell out.
While they owned the bar, they were leasing the land to the
adjacent gas station, garage, café, and motel on the property’s east end.
Reno Paques playing the
“bones,” mid-1950s. (Courtesy
of Paques Family)
Regrettably, Reno had
passed away in 1965
and Mary was too elderly to run the bar so
Edmond had to take
over the job. He was required to get a special
waiver from the state to
do it since he was not
yet 21-years-old. Mary
moved to the Cochiti
Lake area after Reno’s
death and passed away
in 1989.
There was talk in the early 1960s of the new interstate highway 40 coming through the canyon. True Dee said they got
tired of all the rumors going back and forth and flying around
and not knowing what was true. They heard things like the
freeway was going to bypass them…or maybe it wouldn’t;
that the highway was going to be built over the top of them…
or maybe it won’t be; that there would be an interchange built
for them…or maybe there wouldn’t be.
She said everything was on again—off again, so they sold
out and got out. However, after about six months the buyer
turned the license back to them. In 1966 or 1967, after it was
sold a second time, the family was out of the liquor business.
Since I-40 was building through the Canyon, the government bought up the land and businesses where the bar
complex was located. Romeo Di Lallo, Jr., of Molly’s Bar in
Tijeras, said Reno & Mary’s had later become a honky-tonk
bar called the Outrider. This was probably the bar’s name
when it shut down permanently in the 1970s.
The motel and café closed first while the bar continued to
operate until taken out by the interstate. To late to do the
bar complex any good, I-40 highway crews put in an interchange just to its east named Zuzax.
Long-time Zuzax resident, Jim Miller, remembers the bar a
little differently. He said it was a famous drinking hole with a
Gulf truck stop also on the property. Miller recalled its death
by the state buying all the property and then immediately
tearing down the bar. Miller added that the state kept the
motel for the freeway engineer and contractor to use for
their offices, and the truck stop was kept for maintenance of
the construction equipment.
Now out of the bar business and in a twist of fate, Ed started
working on the I-40 construction for the well-known highway
builders, Schultz & Lindsay Construction Company.
In 1974, Ed and True Dee got into the refrigeration business
starting it out in their garage. This eventually turned into a
full-time enterprise called Ed’s Refrigeration. Although both
have since retired, the business still remains in the family.
Well, the bottles and glasses are empty bringing an end to
our story of stimulants and spirits and the Paques family.
Sadly, you can’t wet your whistle or hear a note of music
anymore at Reno & Mary’s.
But all you Pavement Paladins cruising past that lonely, faded lounge sign, slow down and tip your hats and remember
this fallen soldier of old Route 66.
According to True Dee, Johnny Baillio of Albuquerque’s Baillio’s Appliances was the next to purchase the old liquor license in 1967. She added that Johnny then sold it to Charlie
Villa and Turner Branch in 1969. In 1973, the bar’s license,
formerly known as Reno & Mary’s Bar and Package Store,
was sold and transferred to the High Noon Restaurant in Old
Town where it currently resides.
A few months after the sale, Branch, a lawyer and state legislator, made a public apology for being involved in the controversy surrounding the transfer of two liquor licenses from
Tijeras Canyon: Reno & Mary’s and the Pie House. The controversy had to do with a legislature-passed 1973 “sleeper”
amendment to state law dealing with the movement of county
liquor licenses. Barrister Branch said his helping to bring the
licenses to Albuquerque was just “a business transaction.”
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ROUTE 66 NEW M
ME
EX
X II CC O
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D. Birchfield painting of the Paques family in the 1950s
at the state fair. Reno is the man in the middle with the
white shirt holding the boy on his shoulders; Mary is
on his right with the white hair and pointing; their son,
Edmond, is the boy with the cap pistol Reno is holding.
The painting hung on the east wall of Reno & Mary’s.
Painting courtesy Paques family.
Cousin Arthur Paques, 1957. Notice Reno & Mary’s new
sign and what it looks like today. Sloping road in background is older 1937 Route 66. (Courtesy of Paques
Family)
Eddie, Eddie’s grandfather Edmond, and Reno
outside Reno’s “Little bar,” 1957. (Courtesy of
Paques Family)
Above: Photo of the bar’s sign taken from Route 66 looking east. Interstate 40 is in the background. The bar’s
complex is to the right out of the picture.
Below: Pieces of red brick veneer that encased the
building can still be found at the site. View is to the east
with I-40 in the back.
Above: Floor remains of the bar looking southeast. The
café, motel and station foundations are to the left out
of sight. The pickup truck is on Route 66’s post 1949
alignment.
Below: Remains of linoleum floor tiles facing east. More
of the complex foundations can be seen to the right.
I-40 is the thin white ribbon on the top right. A little of
Rt. 66 can be seen on the other side of the trees to the
left. The bar’s sign is partially hidden by the trees and
the telephone pole in the top-center of the picture.
Mary outside Reno & Mary’s around 1957. Next door is
the café and gas stop. (Courtesy of Paques Family)
RO U T E 6 6 N E W M E X I C O • SU
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RO U T E 6 6 N E W M E X I C O • SUMMER 2014
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The Princess of Tucumcari
By Johnnie V.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Princess who each evening, graciously opened the doors of
her palace for all to enjoy. And they came, the young and old, the commoners and the royalty, and
most of all, the dreamers. There at the palace, they were inspired by stories of far away places. It
was a magical place of drama,
and comedy, and fantasy. Then
one day the Princess suffered
misfortune, and all who had
once befriended her, turned
away from her. The doors of
the palace were closed and the
Princess became a recluse and
finally a distant memory. Many
years passed, each year measured by the sediments of neglect. The once glittering and
festive palace was now silent
and empty and forlorn.
This is a Route 66 story, a true
story, about the Princess of
Tucumcari. You say that you
have not heard this story of the
Princess? There is a reason for
that.
1958 vintage exterior view.
A lot of Route 66 travelers follow the route through the small
towns and larger cities of America along its 2200 mile length
from Illinois to California experiencing what is known as the
Main Street of America. For
many of the towns along Route
66, the route does take you
down the historic main streets
bringing back memories of another time. But wait, strictly following the route will sometimes
result in bypassing an historic
main street, a main street that
you may not even know is there!
Such is the case in Tucumcari.
Tucumcari is located at a crossroads, the crossing of historic
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Present day exterior.
Highway 66 and historic Highway 54. Highway 54 links El
Paso to Chicago through the
Midwest. Like Highway 66, Highway 54 is another historic highway bypassed by the interstate
system. Today, across from the
convention center in Tucumcari
, is the divergence of 54 and 66
which allows you the choice of
taking one of two historic highways to Chicago along very different routes. The main street of
Tucumcari happens to be part of
Highway 54 and is located a few
blocks north of old 66. Journey to
the old downtown of Tucumcari
and you’ll find the Princess.
The Princess theater was built in
1938 early Princess stairs.
1917 and was originally know as
the H-H theater, taking it’s initials
after the businessmen who built it, Arch Hurley and Gene Hawkins. Mr. Hurley assumed sole ownership
of the theater and in 1921 renamed the theater the Princess. Mr. Hurley reinvested and remodeled the
theater in order to elevate it to be in the league of the finest theaters in the southwest. Tucumcari was
reintroduced to the new Princess on October 5, 1937 with a screening of the comedy Vogues of 38,
a movie that went on to receive three Academy Award nominations including Best Art Direction, Best
Music, and Best Song.
The new Princess was indeed impressive. The exterior was
high deco, in sharp contrast with Tucumcari’s cowboy western heritage. The exterior featured a polished stone tile facade with vertical deco lines accented in black, orange and
coral. Over the box office gleamed a brightly lit marquee
announcing the Hollywood hit that would be playing that
evening. Art deco details abounded inside with stylish furnishings, elegant light fixtures, boldly patterned carpeting,
sculpted hand rails, and a soaring stairway to the balcony,
a stairway glamorous enough to be graced by Greta Garbo.
In 1943, the beautiful movie palace burned, the elegant interior entirely gutted. Mr. Hurley, starting only with the surviving exterior shell, built an even more impressive theater,
updated to seat more than 800 movie fans. The Princess
was the centerpiece of downtown Tucumcari until 1962,
when yet another fire ravished the roof of the building. The
theater was closed and boarded up.
1959 Playbills List.
Several years ago, myself and photographer Mike Callens,
13
were fortunate to join Doug Powers, then
Community Development Director, and Bruce
Nutt, then Tucumcari Museum Director, to tour
of the old Princess, now owned by the City of
Tucumcari. As we opened the padlock on the
front door, Bruce sighed, “It’s been more than
40 years since I’ve been inside this theater.”
The theater was very dark but we had brought
in lighting to illuminate the interior. The front
lobby area had suffered water damage as a
result of the leaking roof. Doug pointed to a
gaping hole in the floor that dropped down
into a basement crawl space and recalled a
previous visit to the vacant theater. “That is
Bruce Nutt in the box office.
where I fell through the floor catching myself
with my armpits. It was totally dark. I scared myself.” Doug noted that the city recently spent $50,000 to
seal the roof to prevent further water damage.
We proceeded into the ground floor of the theater. A few rows of seats were lying on their sides at
the front of the theater while the center of the auditorium floor had been cleared, and against the east
wall, were stacked several more rows of seats. The stage was rather plain and did not feature an ornamented proscenium framing the stage as found in many other classic theaters. On the west wing
of the stage, an array of stage lights were stacked against the west wall. The ceiling above the main
floor looked solid and intact. At the center of the ceiling was the metal framework that once supported
a large jeweled chandelier. In the northwest corner of the auditorium, lying on the floor, we found the
large multi-tiered crystal chandelier, at least six feet in diameter, with thousands of individual crystals
strung together in an intricate latticework.
We climbed the still sturdy wooden staircase to the balcony, which like the auditorium floor, was cleared except for
a few rows of chairs stacked against the rear wall. Looking
down on the auditorium and towards the stage, it was clear
to me that this theater was very much restorable. I have
visited several other classic theater restoration projects
around the country and this theater was in better condition
than several I have seen that are now under restoration
or have completed restoration. Mike looked down from the
balcony and reminisced, “I used to buy a big fat pickle for
a nickel at the concession stand and I was tempted many
times to toss my pickle over the rail and pickle bomb some
unsuspecting guy below.”
As we left the theater, I looked back at the exterior of the
Princess and I wondered out loud, “The brightly lit marquee
was still here in 1962 when the theater closed. Somebody
should know where it is.” Doug responded, “I’ve heard it
Left: The stairs to the balcony.
14
might be stored in one of the empty buildings here downtown, but I
don’t know for sure.”
The City of Tucumcari has a vision
for downtown revival and the vision
includes restoration of the theater. I
have seen similar projects in other
cities result in a rebirth of downtown
activity anchored by a classic theater.
Perhaps there will come a day
when the people of Tucumcari will
join together to rebuild the palace
and welcome their Princess back
home.
Thanks
to
Debra
Ann
Whittington,Tucumcari
historian,
for historical information on the
Princess. Vintage photos courtesy
of the James Crocker Collection,
Tucumcari. Contemporary photos
courtesy of Mike Callens. This article, originally published by American Road magazine, was adapted
and expanded by the original author for Route 66 New Mexico Magazine.
Above Right:
View from the balcony towards
the stage.
Center Right:
Seats towards the front of the
stage.
Bottom Right:
The Fallen chandelier.
15
state’s longest unbroken stretch of 66 that you can drive
uninterrupted.” Coupled with that is an effort to create
business along old 66 and to revitalize it. He added that
since many visitors today still come for the old road, “it’s
a no-brainer having a 66 exhibit.”
On August 23, 2014, after nearly a year of planning and preparation, the 66 (pronounced Double Six) Gallery in Grants, New Mexico, proudly
opened its doors hosting a grand opening and
reception for its new museum exhibit: “Postcards
From Route 66.”
Focusing on the state’s Rt. 66 alignment from
Continental Divide to Mesita—a distance of about
77 miles—the exhibit consists primarily of paper
ephemera and loaned vintage postcards that
have been enlarged and mounted. The originals
are returned to the owners. Captions are from
both the postcards themselves and from quotes
from area residents with personal reminiscences
of the individual items. In addition to the paper
goods, there are also relics and artifacts from
the heyday of motoring on the old Mother Road.
Museum visitors can see what Grants and the
surrounding area looked like back when 66—the
Main Street of America, was the country’s most
famous highway.
While the exhibit is planned to be permanent, artifacts will be added and rotated so the displays
will be fresh and ever changing. Hopefully, this
will also encourage repeat visitors.
The 125-member non-profit Cibola Arts Council,
administrators of the Double Six Gallery and the
Cibola Art and Artifacts Museum, received funding for the exhibit from the towns of Grants and
Milan, two local banks, Cibola County, and the
New Mexico Arts agency.
Executive Director of the Cibola Arts Council,
Robert Gallegos, said the exhibit is new, and to
his knowledge, hadn’t been done before. He
pointed out that the gallery has had other area
exhibits before, but they wanted to pursue Rt. 66
this time because Grants was an important travelers’ location and is “sitting in the middle of the
16
It was reported that the majority of those attending
the first day’s showing were surprised at the exhibit’s
uniqueness and the information. Gallegos said their favorite visual was the picture of the old Yucca Hotel that
used to be right across the street from the gallery.
Located on old Rt. 66, the building housing the gallery
has some vintage history itself. At one time it was a bakery, then a printing plant in the mid-1940s. According to
Gallegos, the east side of the building next to today’s
Gallery, was the Loggers Bar. Hollywood film actress,
Anne Baxter (1923-1985), and her husband, had a home
outside of town in the Zuni Mountains. In the mid-1960s
they used to come into the bar to dance and enjoy some
liquid refreshments.
Looking to the future, the Gallery is working on an adjunct to the exhibit: The completion of a reptile-botanical
garden behind the building where all the reptiles are
sculpted and all the plants are indigenous. Gallegos
said the garden would be “for people to enjoy the natural
beauty and novelty inspired by the old time tourist trading posts that had snake pits and reptile gardens…a salute and tip of the hat to them.” (One of the Route’s most
famous tourist snake pits was the large Cobra Gardens
a couple of miles down the road in nearby Milan.)
The 66 Gallery is located in downtown Grants at 1001
West Santa Fe Avenue, phone 505-287-7311. Open
Tuesday-Saturday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, there is no
admission charge but donations and contributions are
welcome. And by the way, if someone likes what the gallery has done and wants to do his own postcard exhibit,
Director Gallegos said he’d be more than happy to help.
North face of Gallery. Double street in foreground is old
Route 66. The old Loggers Bar was on the building’s left
side.
Three well-known, long-time area residents. Paul Milan (far
right), whose father founded the town of Milan, points to
one of his donated postcards; nationally famous photographer, Lee Marmon (middle) of Laguna—his family had
the original Laguna Trading Post; and Don Gunn (left). His
family ran the famous Villa de Cubero Trading Post & Tourist Court east of Grants.
Some early visitors enjoy the postcard and relic displays
before opening ceremonies.
A 1950s-era flyer for the famous House Of Cobras (also
known as Atkinson’s Cobra Gardens) located in neighboring Milan.
Randolph Collins, President of the Cibola Arts Council,
opened up the ceremonies. Executive Director, Robert
Gallegos, in black and holding the paper, stands to the right
of the snake
Previous Page:
Opening day for the Route 66 exhibit at Double Six Gallery. Left to right: Executive Director, Robert Gallegos;
Deanna Hoisington, Gallery Associate; and
Jennifer Salazar, Arts Council member.
An eye-catching 1923 Speedstar, Model “T” from the
O.H. Hawkinson, Jake & Birdye Abraham collection.
On loan to the gallery from owners Bruce & Rhonda
Lynn. The auto has been a Grants-area car all its life.
Photo by Deanna Hoisington, Gallery Associate.
17
Support your Route 66 Advertisers!
Tell them you saw them in the
Route 66 New Mexico Magazine
18
by Keith Kofford
“OLD MOTEL FALLS TO FIRE”
Another New Mexico Route 66 landmark is gone.
A late afternoon fire broke out in the village of Carnuel on
December 18, 2014, sending firefighters to the old Mountain
Lodge motel, 133 Old Route 66, in Tijeras Canyon, east of Albuquerque.
Since Carnuel only has one fire hydrant, firefighters from 39
agencies—from as far away as Santa Fe—responded with needed water. Despite the manpower, the lodge was a total loss. Reportedly, crews did not try to save the complex…instead, focusing on containing the blaze that broke out around 4 p.m. It was
put out about five hours later.
Above: Early postcard view showing a change in the motel’s
Listed in the 1950 phone book for the first time, the motel was signage. c. 1957
built that year or earlier, by C.B. Saunders and his wife. Manag- Below: Sept. 2014, looking west
ing it for several years they eventually sold it to family members
in the early 1960s. The family kept intact the motel’s 1950s-period appeal and distinctive ‘burro with rider’ highway signage.
Later, the motel was converted to apartments. One of the burnedout tenants said he was told this happened in the mid-1960s.
At the time of the blaze, two of the units were under construction and unoccupied, while five of the apartments were occupied
and being rented by six tenants. No injuries were reported but
the tenants were made homeless. The next day, they were allowed back in their rentals to salvage what they could.
According to the Mountain View Telegraph, Bernalillo County
spokesman, Larry Gallegos, attributed the fire to roofers using a
torch to heat up tar for the shingles and the torch’s fire got under
the roof and out of control. A local TV station earlier reported
that a neighbor saw some men working on the motel’s air conditioning units and then saw sparks fly.
The burned-out remains of the facility’s office.
Two days after the fire the apartments have been boarded up.
19
News from the Road Continued...
“NEW 66 SIGNBOARDS”
If you/
Don’t know/
Whose signs /
These are/
You can’t have/
Driven very far—
(Burma Shave®)
Many motorists will fondly remember the old days of the shaving cream promotional signboards of Burma Shave®
lining the nation’s roadways. But, today, instead of shaving cream being promoted in eastern New Mexico, there
are three new highway signboards promoting fun and old Route 66.
Travelers heading west on Interstate 40 from the New Mexico-Texas border are sure to notice the large, colorful
billboards promoting a continuous fifty-seven mile stretch of old Rt. 66 starting at Moriarty. The billboards are the
brainchild of RETRO (Relive The Route), a Moriarty-Edgewood area boosters group dedicated to revitalization of
the old Mother Road in their region.
RETRO President Roger Holden said the intent of the signage is to encourage visitors to get off I-40 at Moriarty,
exit #197, and travel the easily drivable 57-miles (the Central New Mexico Route 66 Corridor) to exit #140, at Rio
Puerco, west of Albuquerque. And it’s also hoped tourists will be inclined to stop at towns along the route after they
see the signboards.
The billboards are three different sizes but have the same design. They were installed in mid-August 2014 at three
former Rt. 66 towns. The largest, measuring 14’x48’, is at the on/off ramp at San Jon. The next is 10’x40’ and is
located to the west of Tucumcari. The smallest and farthest west sign, measuring 10’x 32’, is just to the east of Santa
Rosa. All are visable only to westbound travelers.
Continued Page 22
20
The smallest sign, a fraction of a mile east of Santa Rosa on the south side of I-40, is
the only one that’s piggybacked with another sign.
21
Signs, Continued from page 20
According to RETRO Vice president, Debbie Pogue, the signs
were in the planning stage about four to five months and were
installed by nation-wide Lamar Advertising. She said the
signs were granted by the Moriarty Lodgers’ Tax Advisory
Board and were “gifted” to them by Lamar in the billboard
renegotiation for the City of Moriarty’s campaign. Since the
billboards’ structures were already in place, only the vinyls
had to be paid for.
As to how long it takes to put up one of those signs, Lamar’s
local sales manager, Brendon Smith, said a crew of three guys
and a truck can install a sign in about 45-minutes as long as a
billboard structure is already there.
The middle-size sign is on the north side of
I-40, about three miles west of Tucumcari
The three signs will stay up for a year, Pogue said, with no
additional signs planned at this time.
So remember, if you’re in eastern New Mexico and heading
west, check out those signs. Take their advice and motor the
57-miles of old Route 66. The drive is really enjoyable because once you get off the freeway at Moriarty and get back
on at Rio Puerco, you do not have to touch the interstate highway the whole distance.
22
The largest sign, at San Jon, is located south
of I-40, a fraction of a mile east of the town’s
freeway exit/entrance ramps.
Business Member Directory
Please visit and support our valued Business Members in 2015-2016
New Mexico
Albuquerque
66 Diner
1405 Central NE
Albuquerque’s best milkshakes
ABC Library-Special Collections
423 Central NE
Almosta Ranch Construction
505-259-6870
www.almostaranch.com
Duke City Wholesale
505-821-2626
We supply Route 66 Soda
Enchanted Trails RV Park
14305 Central NW
www.enchantedtrails.com
Kenneth Johansen CPA PC
New Mexico and Colorado
505-281-9303
Down the Road...
USA RV Park
2925 W. Historic Hwy 66
www.usarvpark.com
Grants
Cibola Restaurant Management
Milan Dairy Queen
1305 W. Hwy 66
Grants Mainstreet Project
[email protected]
505-285-3573
M and R Appliance
[email protected]
New Mexico Mining Musuem
Go Underground!
Rocky’s on Route 66
505-287-9378
Country Friends Antiques
3112 US Route 66 West
Santa Fe
The Cafe Mary Jane
www.thecafemaryjane.com
505-897-0505
Silver Saddle Motel
2810 Cerrillos Road
www.santafesilversaddlemotel.com
Zimmerman Library
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Tucumcari
Budville Trading Company
www.budvilletrading.com
Villa De Cubero
505-552-9511
Gallup
Cozy Dog Drive In
2935 S 6th St.
Springfield, IL
Route 66 Sodas, LLC/ Route 66 Root Beer
PO Box 776
Lebanon, MO
Route 66 World
Ed Klien
www.route66world.com
Route 66 MC
Samuel Allen
[email protected]
The Ariston Cafe
413 Old Route 66 N
Litchfield, IL
Moriarty
Melissa Lea Beasley
Albuquerque Apparel Center
www.AbqApparelCenter.com
Cubero
Blue Heron International Pictures
Richard Lester
[email protected]
New Mexico State Library
505-476-9793
Blue Swallow Motel
815 E. Route 66 Blvd
575-461-9849
Motel Safari
722 E. Route 66 Blvd.
www.smalltown-america.com
Tee Pee Curios
924 E Route 66
Last of the old Route 66 Curio
shops
Become a
Route 66
Business
Member!
See Page 2
for details
Richardson Trading Company
505-722-4762
23

new mexico - Route 66 Association

Transcription

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