Route 66 Association of Illinois enjoys 30th Annual Motor Tour

 

[June 15, 2021] 

This weekend the Route 66 Association of Illinois enjoyed their 30th Annual Motor Tour taking the Mother Road from the south to the north and spending the night in Lincoln on Saturday.

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.

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]