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 While in Lincoln the group hosted its annual banquet
and Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the American Legion on
Saturday night, and then spent a good amount of time at the newly
renovated Mill on Route 66 Museum on Sunday morning.
It was a full house on Saturday evening at the American Legion.
Association members started the evening with a happy hour from 6
p.m. to 7 p.m. then a buffet dinner prepared by Curt Wendlandt
Catering of Lincoln at 7 p.m.
After dinner, the induction ceremony took place with Dorothy Seratt
McMullen being inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame.
The evening began with John Weiss serving as the
master of ceremonies.
The American Legion Color Guard offered a
presentation of flags for the group and all stood and recited the
Pledge of Allegiance.
Opening remarks were prepared by Association President Cathie
Stevanovich. She was not feeling well so Weiss read her welcoming
comments.
Stevanovich noted that the past year had been quite strange with
things happening one would not have imagined, such as toilet paper
shortages and Wal-Mart cutting its hours. She noted that on the day
the tour began, the state had been told to “go out and play.” The
association had happily done so. She said that the weekend was a
time to reunite, reacquaint and enjoy the road and the sites that
they all love.
Kathy Miller delivered the fellowship of the meal,
noting that in the room there were people of varying faiths.
Therefore, she would not say a prayer, but invited the group to bow
their heads in silence and prepare for the taking of food as their
faith prescribes.
Kevin (foreground)
and Curt Wendlandt
Then tables were called by number and the guests at
each table were invited to go to the buffet and fill their plates
with food prepared by Wendlandt with the help of his brother Kevin
and the catering staff.
After dinner, Weiss returned to the podium with Miller. The program
began with remembrance of the Hall of Fame recipients who have
passed away in the past two years. Those included 1990 Hall of
Famers Chuck and CJ Beeler, 1992 Hall of Famer Glaida Funk, and 2006
Hall of Famer Edna Anderson. Also remembered were several friends of
the association who have also passed since the last meeting of the
group. Those included Marty Bilecki, Duke Cartwright, Rosalee Vargo,
Louis Vargo, Todd Henderson and Adelia Hodges.
Next were recognitions of Hall of Fame recipients
present for the banquet. Weiss named off the list of recipients and
asked representatives and individuals to please stand.
LCTB Interim Director
Cindy Smith with husband Shawn and son Aidan.
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Logan County Tourism Bureau Interim Director Cindy Smith and
tourism board member Nila Smith stood representing the Mill on Route 66 Museum.
Also acknowledged and present for the banquet was representation from Hall of
Fame recipient the Atlanta Public Library.
Past President of the Association John Miller came forward and shared some Route
66 trivia with the guests. He began by acknowledging those who were age 66 on
Route 66 on this night. There were two or three who shouted out the affirmative.
Then he asked about who had been on every tour and got one response. The next
question was, who had come the farthest and one guest was there from Marietta,
Georgia.
He concluded with the question about who was the performing
artist who sang the song “Get your kicks on Route 66” wrong. He then shared that
it was Perry Como. Miller said that there are eight states on Route 66, but in
the song Como had said there were seven.
Weiss returned to the podium and he posed another question. Is the proper
pronunciation “ROOT” or “ROWT?” Most called out that the ROOT was correct. Weiss
said it didn’t start out that way. The song was written by Bobby Troup and at
the time of writing the word was ‘rowt.’ Troup took the song to Nat King Cole
and asked him to sing it. Cole said he would, but only if the word was changed
to ‘root.’ Cole first sang the song at a nightclub in St. Louis, and it went out
to become a mid-century hit.
Kathy Miller was then called forward to talk about the new Hall of Fame
inductee. Miller read the nomination essay that had been written by herself and
Weiss and included in the evening’s program. The nomination included details of
her time spent in working to preserve and have cataloged on the National
Register of Historic Places the Odell Gas Station, Auburn Brick Road, the
historic bridges on the Auburn Brick Road, and the Old Carriage Way Road (Route
66) in Springfield.
McMullen also partnered with Terri Ryburn to develop the “Multiple Property
Documentation Form” that in the end saved the association thousands of dollars
in the National Register process because it enabled the Association to file its
own forms for with the state without hiring outside help.
Miller explained that McMullen was no longer living in Illinois. Health issues
have moved her out of state to live with family. Miller said that she had
attempted to call McMullen and had hoped to have her on the phone on Saturday
for the award, but there was no answer. It was noted that she has received her
plaque, that it arrived at her home on Friday and that she had sent an email
acknowledging and thanking the association for the honor.
Weiss said that knowing McMullen as he did, he could now understand why she is
not answering her phone. He said that she was the kind of person who would avoid
that lime-light.
Weiss said that in his years with the Association, McMullen was always the go-to
person when he wanted to get things done.
Weiss had in his possession a 12-page document that had been written by
McMullen. He said he didn’t know for sure when or why it was written, but it was
an account of the association at its inception. He said he would not read aloud
the entire story, but he did want to share some portions.
The association was first a group who enjoyed Route 66 and enjoyed getting
together for excursions on the Mother Road. The group shared stories and made
new friends over an old road. Then over time, as they excursions continued they
began to notice the things that were missing, not there anymore, and also the
things that were still there. It became clear that someone had to do something
to assure the things still there stayed there. The group began organizing
preservation efforts and working to keep Route 66 history alive.
Weiss noted that McMullen was at the heart of this movement, that perhaps she
had been the backbone of the efforts and because of her the association has been
involved in many great projects to protect the historical landmarks on Route 66.
Weiss also read a story he had written about McMullen entitled “She’s a Pest.”
It was a humorous look at the drive of the woman and her desire to motivate
people including Weiss to do the hard work of saving the Mother Road. In the
story he noted the many times she would contact Weiss with “You know what we
should do?” And, when he heard her idea he would sometimes say “Dorothy, we
can’t do that.” Her aggressive response was always “And why not!” Weiss said the
bugger was that she was always right, not just some of the time, all of the
time, she was right. Weiss concluded, without her, so much of Route 66 would
have been lost forever.
The final presentation for the evening was the President’s Award that went to
John and Darlene Ruh. He said that the couple was selected by current President
Cathie Stevanovich as being ‘super neat people” who have been a vital part of
the association and the preservation of Route 66.
In addition, Weiss shared that John Ruh is a model train enthusiast. Over the
years, he has constructed in his basement a model train set that runs the course
of Route 66 from Chicago to California. Along the train route all the
significant landmarks of the Mother Road are represented. He said the display
has taken years of dedication and is truly one of a kind. Weiss said that the
Ruhs are getting ready to retire, and will be moving to a new home out of state.
They are unable to take the collection with them and are looking for someplace
to display it. Weiss said the Ruh’s are trying to get the word out to anyone who
might be interested in the display and are hopeful that somewhere, someone will
provide a good home for the set.
With the presentations concluded, it was time for door prizes. Every attendee
had a ticket and numbers were drawn with the assistance of Cindy Smith’s son
Aidan. Door prizes were distributed from a huge collection of items, some of
which were from local businesses in Lincoln.
There was also a raffle drawing for a Route 66 quilt and a 50/50 drawing.
With the drawings all done, guests were thanked for attending and Weiss read off
a list of special places to visit on the road Sunday to Chicago and attractions
that would be open on Sunday, including a new retail establishment in Atlanta.
With the evening over, all gathered up and headed out to local motels for the
night.
On Sunday morning, before leaving Lincoln the Association visited the Mill on
Route 66 Museum, which was open specifically for them.
LDN also has coverage from that visit in today’s edition.
[Nila Smith] |
