PUZZLES WITH MISSING PIECES

With most writing projects the research leaves me with the sense of having accepted the task of making sense out of a puzzle where two or three boxes are mixed together and a few pieces are missing. In gathering material for the current project, a Route 66 encyclopedia, it is almost as though a couple of additional boxes, with even more pieces missing, have been added to the mix.

Deer Lodge, near Hyde Park west of Seligman is but one of many examples. I have been given two different locations for the property, and at both, there are foundational elements.
On Beale Street, one block north of Route 66 in Kingman there is a quaint little business park. The buildings pictured to the left are a part of this complex.
These little cabins were relocated to this site when construction of the Holiday Inn Express necessitated their move. Legend has it that these cabins originated at Hyde Park but they do not look anything like the ones in historic photos taken at that location. However, they perfectly fit the description of cabins from Deer Lodge, or at least the description given by a lady whose aunt owned that property.
Clues to another Kingman mystery are found in the decorative trim work around the windows of the 1929 section of the Siesta Motel across from Walgreens, the site of the former City Cafe. Who was the stone mason? Was he an independent or did he work for a contractor?
Scattered throughout Kingman are other buildings with identical work. One of these is the last vestige of Richards Court just to the west of the body shop on the corner of Topeka Street and Fourth Street, the pre 1937 alignment of Route 66.
One block down, and a couple blocks east is an old stone church. It has the same type of decorative work.
During World War II, Kingman was home to the Kingman Army Airfield, one of the largest flexible gunnery schools in the nation. After cessation of hostilities the base became a storage depot where countless war birds were transformed into scrap metal.
One of the big bombers, a B-17, received the designation City of Kingman. It saw service in the war, was returned to the states, and was to be donated to the city of Kingman. Then it seems to vanish from the historical record.
Before 1952, the road we know as Oatman Road was signed as U.S. 66. The first building on this road, on the south side of the highway, is a residence where an old water tank with faded letters spelling O-A-S-I-S casts its shadow when the sun sinks into the west.
At some point in the distant past, it was a roadhouse and service station. When was it built? When was it transformed from roadside oasis into a home?
I have always asked why and still do. Mysteries without any clues, these are the things that add zest to my paper adventures.

ROUTE 66 GEMS IN MY HOME TOWN

In the past dozen years of so we have lost a number of gems here in Kingman - the Frontier Cafe and Bar, Desert Drug, Coronado Court, and Walapai Court to name but a few. We are on the verge of loosing a few more including a couple of real treasures such as the Beale Hotel and the 1939 El Trovatore Motel.
Being a realist is never easy. As an example, I have come to accept the fact the Beale Hotel is gone. It still stands but the cost of resurrecting it, and the fact that there is a a near complete lack of effort to repair broken windows or leaks, ensures that soon there will be another gaping hole in the Kingman historic district.

The El Trovatore Motel with its million dollar location high on a bluff along Route 66 still retains a surprising number of original or period attributes. As vintage motels all along that old highway are being given a profitable new lease on life, my hopes are high that this treasure will be dusted off and added to the growing list of time capsules where the neon again casts a glow across legendary Route 66.  
John F. Miller, the developer who built the El Travotore Motel in 1939, had made a fortune by spotting opportunity years before the competition. In 1905,  he purchased a lot at the intersection of First Street and Fremont Street in a dusty little desert backwater town named Las Vegas.
With the completion of Hoover Dam, Miller realized Kingman was a town with unlimited potential. After all, it was ideally located at the junction of U.S. 66 and a direct highway to Las Vegas.

One aspect of this property that I long to see restored is the tower with large letters spelling out E-L  T-R-O-V-A-T-O-R-E that stands tall on the hill behind the motel. To say the very least, this property has true potential for the ambitious investor. 
Bell's Motel, dating to the 1940s, lacks the scenic location, towering signage, or unique Art Deco features such as rounded glass bricks. What is does have is simple, quaint elegance.
The stone facades with decorative touches, the little cactus garden at the front office, and the long, shaded veranda fuel the imagination with reflections of what once and what could be. This little auto court is also one that could reap tremendous rewards for the investor with imagination.

Initially owned by Mr. and Mrs. Elza Bell, initial promotion proclaimed it to be, "A fully modern, fire-proof, air-cooled motel." The 1955 edition of the Western Accommodations Directory published by AAA indicates the motel featured basic amenities with rates ranging from $4.00 to $7.00 per night.
Now catering to the weekly and monthly rental trade is the Arcadia Lodge, originally the Arcadia Court, that also dates to 1939. The 1954 AAA directory lists this as, "An attractive Spanish style court on landscaped grounds." Rates ranged from $4.50 to $10.00 per night, an indication this was a property with class.
With the exception of the addition of a second story in the late 1940s, and a pool in the 1950s, little has changed. It remains a time capsule of life on the double six and the great two lane highways of America before the dawning of the generic age.

Immediately to the west is the White Rock Court. When built by Conrad Minka, a Russian hard rock miner, in 1935, the court facade appeared similar to the Bell's Motel but in recent years, for reasons unknown, the owners decided to paint it white to match the name.
Dusty little gems still abound in Kingman. There is the Siesta Motel across from Walgreens, 1929, a vestige from Richards Court, 1930, one lone cabin from a motel complex built in 1928, and a few period dealerships including one where shiny new Edsel cars faced Route 66, and a restaurant or two.
When it comes to treasure in Kingman there are two questions to be asked. Does the community care enough to preserve them for a future generation and profit from them now? Will they survive?
Regular readers seemed to really  enjoy the recent photo contest. This time there isn't a prize or deadline, just a little good natured fun.

The garage and former showroom for the Taylor Motors Chrysler dealership still stands along Route 66. Any one care to guess where it can be found?

A VERY MIXED BAG

As the title for today's post reflects, this will be a very mixed bag. The first item on my list is somewhat unrelated to Route 66, unless of course you like to pay the song by that name on a guitar and that instrument happens to be made by Gibson.
I first became aware of this about story about the legendary guitar maker several days ago and have been unable to keep from the forefront of my thinking. One of the disturbing aspects is that I first heard of this in the London press. Would anyone care to initiate a lively discussion on this subject?
The next item is also media related but a bit more personal. The interview on AM Arizona in Prescott has been rescheduled for after our trip to Chicago in October. As soon as I have an exact date, it will be posted.
Another promotional item has to do with the October adventure on Route 66. As noted previously, acclaimed author Joe Sonderman and I will be appearing at the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri on the evening of the 7th.
Now another acclaimed author and Chicago historian, Dave Clark, and I are working on details for a joint appearance in Chicago. As soon as these details are finalized they will be posted.
Speaking of Chicago, or at least the metropolitan area, I have a friend up that way that is facing a fairly serious situation. For those who bend a knee in prayer on occasion, I would appreciate it if you would include Cort Stevens in those sessions.
The Hinckley Hillbillies will be doing Chicago, and St. Louis, taking in the sites, and cruising the double six with a rental car instead of the trusty Jeep. Fuel mileage, the budget, the fact we will be sticking to the paved roads on this trip, the age of the Jeep, and my reluctance to push the old war horse much beyond 65 miles per hour all figured into our decision.
So, it looks as though we will be traveling incognito. There is always a concern that once we begin compromising like this there will be no end to it and before you know it, I will dining in a restaurant with linen napkins, wearing a tie, and using a cell phone with proficiency.
As the old adage says, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drown. I am quite sure this brush with new fangled gadgetry and the big city will not have lingering affects. At least that is my hope.
In fact, plans are under way to make another Route 66 trip in the near future. This time, however, I will be in my element as we will drive a 1931 Ford! Bringing this crazy idea to fruition will take a bit of creative financing and a whole lot of planning. So, please don't hold your breath waiting for details.
On a final note, be sure to check out the latest issue of 66 The Mother Road. Then, in early October, if you see John Springs, the publisher, on the road you can discuss the magazine in detail and perhaps get your self a slice of pie. You didn't here that from me.

THE RIGHT WAY, THE WRONG WAY, AND MY WAY

What happens when you combine unorthodox thinking with road trips, a hair brained idea for sharing the limelight, and a forty year quest to be a writer when I grow up? Please, let me explain.
See, I am the fellow that puts the bicycle together on Christmas Eve, but only consults the instructions after coming to the distinct realization the handlebars shouldn't be where the seat goes. After all of these years, I have come to accept this as a glitch that can be lived with, and most likely corrected. However, there is the distinct feeling that life would be a lot less interesting if I did my homework, and did things the right way.
On more than one occasion the results of not doing things the right way or the wrong way, but doing them my way, have had some interesting and surprising results that could never have been achieved if I had followed the directions. On rare occasions ignorance really is bliss.
The cornerstone of my endeavors to become a writer when I grow up are a manifestation of this. I didn't do my homework and instead simply called the editor of my favorite magazine, found myself with an assignment, and, six weeks later, notification of pending publication followed by a check. Then I did my homework and began doing things according to the instructions with the end result being 12 months of steady rejection notices.
Well, I have now decided to apply the type of thinking that has become my trademark to the promotion of the latest book, Ghost Towns of Route 66. This is what happens when my publicist has to take an early retirement (it wasn't my fault). So, even though we will be stopping often, I am asking businesses and museums along the route to send a note if they would like me to stop by to sign books in their inventory, or to schedule a more formal signing with some discussion time.

In a nutshell, the idea is to use the promotion of the book to shine the spotlight on the mom and pop shops that make this legendary highway something really special.
This will allow me to structure the trip a bit more productively. In addition, it should help in regards to ensuring media coverage for these places as well as promote the book.
At this point the media coverage is in the process of being worked out as a joint venture with the publisher. So, all I can promise at this time is regular updates on the blog, when possible, and a plug or two in interviews.
If nothing else, dropping a note and asking me to stop by would be a great excuse to visit, to put names with faces, and to catch up with old friends. And a good time will be had by one and all.
The first scheduled signing is a joint venture with Joe Sonderman, a very talented author with several books to his credit, at Connie's Shoppe in the Wagon Wheel Motel complex in Cuba, Missouri. Connie is working out details for an exciting evening on October 7. As these details become available, they will be posted.
In a couple of somewhat unrelated notes, be sure to check out the latest issue of 66 The Mother Road. John Springs, the publisher, as well as Dale Butel, the Australian tour operator who has become a fixture on the road, "Croc Lile, Kumar Patel of the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, as well as a few others, will also be on the road in the first week of October. If you happen to see them as they journey east from California to Chicago, be sure to strike up a conversation about the magazine, it might be worth a piece of pie but you didn't hear that from me.
Last but not least, here is the first press release for the forthcoming trip -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Nichole Schiele

Senior Marketing Manager, Quayside Publishing Group

nschiele@quaysidepub.com

612-344-8161

Jim Hinckley, award winning author of Route 66 Backroads, Backroads of Arizona, The Big Book of Car Culture, Ghost Towns of the Southwest, Greetings from Route 66, and Ghost Towns of Route 66 takes to the road -
For more than twenty years Jim Hinckley, award winning author and photographer has served as America’s travel guide to the wonders only found on the back roads and lost highways through his books, feature articles, a daily blog, and in interviews with Jay Leno, on AM Arizona, and on other nationally televised television and radio programs. Now Jim turns his talents toward the most ambitious project to date – a Route 66 encyclopedia and atlas that will chronicle the 85 year history of America’s most famous highway and the people who wrote that history.
To ensure the time capsule quality of this work about America’s most famous highway, Jim is again taking to the road in early October to capture images of its faded glory. Along the way he will extol its virtues through speaking engagements and at book signings.
With Ghost Towns of Route 66 the reader rides along on an odyssey of discovery to places where the neon hasn’t cast a glow in more than a half century and only the wind stirs the dust on Route 66. Filled with the colorful prose expected of Jim, and stunning photography by Kerrick James and Jim Hinckley, Ghost Towns of Route 66 the book is a delight for armchair travelers and adventurers alike.
In Backroads of Route 66 iconic Route 66 was portrayed as a portal to a wide array of adventures, historic sites, and scenic wonders only found with short detours from the world’s most famous highway. Photographs by Kerrick James, Shellee Graham, Jim Ross, and Rick and Nora Bowers, as well as historic photos from the author’s collection, enliven the concise, informative text with colorful vibrancy.
A previous book in the back roads series, Backroads of Arizona, introduced readers to singularly unique and often missed Arizona attractions such as Crown King, the Senator Highway, and Hualapai Mountain Park.
The Big Book of Car Culture is an award winning, fun filled, illustrated encyclopedic work on all things automotive from the evolution of crash test dummies and tow trucks to the development of the Ford Mustang and the history of road striping that was the subject of a recent interview with Jay Leno.
Greetings from Route 66, a compilation for which Jim wrote the chapter introductions, is a time capsule and post card chronicling almost 85 years of memories on America’s most famous highway.
In Ghost Towns of the Southwest, Jim took readers along for a ride to some of the most fascinating and colorful ghost towns in the southwest from Native American metropolises and Spanish colonial outposts to legendary Tombstone and historic Hillsboro.