[June 29, 2018]      

On Sunday afternoon the Mill on Route 66 Museum hosted a very special day leading up to the grand lighting ceremony of the Tropics sign. At the Mill, Rod Ferguson with Hot Rod Travels was on hand with a large portion of his collection of autographed posters and photos.

While there, guests were given a list of all the autographs they might find inside the museum and were challenged to find every one. Geoff Ladd and Nancy Saul were also handing out freebies, including Route 66 stickers that light up. Ladd said the stickers would also be handed out later that evening at the Tropics lighting, and that everyone would be asked to turn on the little blinkers in celebration of the event.

Also on hand was Dan Tackett signing copies of his two most recent books "Big Stories from a Small Town," and "More Big Stories."

Route 66 author and historian John Weiss, author of “Traveling the New, Historic Route 66 of Illinois” and “As the Story Goes…” was also scheduled to be on hand during the afternoon.

Visitors enjoyed visiting the museum, looking for autographs and visiting with the various special guests. The Mill closed at 6 p.m. to allow folks plenty of time to move on to the lighting ceremony for the Tropics sign that began at 7:15 p.m. with a Meet and Greet Reception.

Pictures by Nila Smith