 Traveling from the north, the motor tour stopped in Atlanta on
Saturday afternoon for a passport stop at the beautifully restored
Palms Grill. The group also was treated to a car show and the
dedication of a new Route 66 Illinois Scenic Byway wayside exhibit
on the economic impact of Route 66 in Atlanta over the years.From
there the tour landed at the new Lincoln Center on the campus of
Lincoln College for the Route 66 Hall of Fame Banquet and an
induction ceremony. This year's tour was in honor of Bob Waldmire,
famous Route 66 artist and activist, who died last year of a
terminal illness.
The event officially started with the presentation of the flag by
a local color guard. Three organizations made up the color guard:
Cronin Brothers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1756, with Michelle
Ramlow, incoming post commander, and Charlie Matthews, incoming
quartermaster; American Legion Post 263, with Dave Hennessy,
sergeant of arms; and the Sgt. Robert E. Graue, Detachment 1336,
Marine Corps League, with James Harnacke.
The lavish and delicious buffet meal was prepared by renowned
Lincoln College chef Warren Wendlandt and his staff. Beverages
were provided by the local Knights of Columbus.
Johnny Miller, the master of ceremonies, and Cathie Stevanovich,
president of the Route 66 Association of Illinois, made the rounds
of introductions, followed by a speech by Lincoln Mayor Keith
Snyder, who welcomed the large gathering of overnight guests to the
city christened by and named after Abraham Lincoln himself in 1853.
The event featured the presentation of plaques to two new
inductees into the association's hall of fame: Boyd's Place of Odell
and Leo Bordner (posthumous) of Lexington.
Bordner owned and operated a full-service Standard Oil service
station that was a fixture on Route 66 in Lexington for 41 years.
Boyd's Place was nestled along Route 66 in Odell from 1925 until the
late 1930s. It was a family-owned lunch stand known for tasty
homemade cooking.
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Previous hall of fame members kept up the tradition of sitting on
stage to welcome the inductees. Ninety-four-year-old Ernie Edwards
of the Pig Hip Restaurant in Broadwell drew lots of attention as he
wore a bright white chef's hat donated by the Lincoln College staff.
In 1990, Edwards was the first of what now includes over 70
inductees in the association's hall of fame. Other Logan County
inductees are Joe Edwards, gas station owner in Lincoln, inducted in
2000; Atlanta Public Library, inducted in 2005; The Mill in Lincoln,
inducted in 2009; and Lewis "Zoo" Barrick of Barrick Transfer Co. of
Lincoln, inducted in 2010.
Sunday morning, the motor tour resumed, with the first passport
stop at the Heritage In Flight Museum, a military and aviation
museum located at the Logan County Airport in Lincoln. The museum's
fantastic collection was a huge hit for the travelers.
From there, the motor tour was off to Springfield, with Logan
County stops at points of interest along the way: The Mill in
Lincoln, the Pig Hip marker in Broadwell and the historic gas
station in Elkhart.
[Text from file received from
Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of
Logan County]
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