Historic Illinois Pavement Tour—Route 66

Romeoville to Pontiac • June 4, 2016

By Gary Osborne

The storm clouds overhead looked ominous! For sure it was going to rain on our inaugural Historic Illinois Pavement Tour!

That was the scene as the NIRG members gathered to drive to Pontiac on Route 66. As the time approached for our departure, a total of 19 showed up. They were: Ron & Colleen Steck, George & Dawn Zulas, their son Tom and girlfriend Denise, Joey Novak& Millie Olds, Stan Stack and nephew Steve Umbricht, John & Este Scheve, John Emmering, Ken & Carolyn Bounds, John Slobodnik, Joe Serritella, and Gary & Dawn Osborne. For various reasons there were only 5 Early Fords. (Ron’s 1941 Woody, Stan’s 1953 Customline Tudor, Joey’s 1953 Mercury Monterey, John’s 1949 Custom Fordor, and Ken’s 1950 Crestliner)

Part of the tour was to learn about some of the history of Route 66. We began with a little history lesson in the parking lot of McDonald’s in Romeoville. We learned that Route 66 became “official” in November of 1926. It received the number 66 after a bitter dispute with the governor of Kentucky. During the following years there began an inspirational movement about the road that produced songs, movies, and dozens of books. There were several revisions to the road in our state before it was decommissioned in 1977. Our tour planned to drive as much of the historic route as we could between Romeoville and Pontiac.

We started off going south on Route 66 and of course those rain clouds did open up. Fortunately, it was only for a short time. Outside of Joliet we saw Jake and Elwood of the Blues Brothers fame riding high in their car near the Route 66 Speedway. Entering Wilmington we were greeted by the Gemini Giant and saw our first old Sinclair gas station (now a tire store). In Braidwood we passed the Polk-a-Dot Drive Inn which has statues of many celebrities (so that’s where Elvis lives!) that watch you eat. Our first stop was in Gardner to see the Two-Cell Jail built in 1906. The accommodations for the two inmates looked a little sparse. Next to that was a horse-drawn streetcar that had been converted into a diner that was in use until 1955. After that it was purchased by the Riviera Restaurant to be used as a storage unit. When the restaurant burned down in 2010 it was preserved by Gardner to provide many fond memories. One more item to see was a plaque honoring the Rev. Christian Christianson. During the Second World War he helped the allied forces with a plan to destroy a “heavy water” plant in Norway that was operated by the Nazis. A little known piece of American history.

The next town was Dwight which has an old restored Texaco station. No time to stop there (maybe next time) because our destination was the town of Odell for our second stop to see a nicely restored 1932 Standard Oil station. Pulling up to the station each Early Ford had a photo taken. It’s kind of fun to have these cars in front of the old stations. There we were able to view inside at some of the memorabilia around the service bays. Then on the outside there was a 1953 Winnebago travel trailer that we could walk inside to see how luxury camping was back in the day.

The final stop was in the town of Pontiac for lunch and two museums. Arrangements were made for reserved parking in front of the Pontiac/Oakland Automobile Museum. After parking we walked next door to eat at DeLongs’. There were other car groups arriving so we wanted to be first in line! It’s a nice place to grab a bite with friends. The food was good and the prices reasonable. While we were there three raffle tickets were drawn. Joey N. won a Route 66 gas pump magnet, George Z. won a Route 66 key chain, and Steve U. won a $5.00 gift certificate for lunch in DeLongs’.

After lunch we headed over to the Pontiac Museum and were greeted with a surprise that the Mayor of Pontiac would be our tour guide. Mayor Bob Russell had been instrumental in getting this museum into Pontiac so he was the perfect one to give the tour. All of the cars in the museum were absolutely beautiful, and many were extremely rare. Some of the highlights were a 1973 Grand Am station wagon prototype. A truly one of a kind vehicle. Also on hand were a restored “Judge”, and another half completed, several GTO’s, a 1935, a 1929, and one from the first year of Pontiac, 1926. All of the cars were impeccable and a real treat to see.

The museum Director, Tim Dye, is also a collector of automobile containers of oil, fuel, and antifreeze. We were given the “extra” tour down to the basement to view his stunning collection of these containers, and other Pontiac items. Literally hundreds of these things to see.

Mayor Russell had one more off-site museum for us to see. However; it was about four blocks away, so he proceeded outside and flagged down one of the city trolleys for us to ride on. The front portion of the building houses the studios of world famous air-brush artist Tang Dongbai. We were shown many works of air-brush art that he has painted on car hoods, walls, whole cars, and even women’s dresses. Each one was exquisite and gave us a sense of the gifts and talents that Tang has.

Our final visit of the day was the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum. The first artifact to grab our attention is what’s outside. Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire’s 1966 Chevrolet school bus has been preserved here. He converted it into a rolling Route 66 information center. It has been called the “Road Yacht”, and upon seeing it you know why! He drove this bus along Route 66 to educate people on preserving this road for future generations to enjoy. Being an artist, he received much inspiration from the people and places that he experienced all along the road.

Inside the museum there is quite a lot to read and see concerning Route 66. Upstairs there is a military museum that is quite unusual. There are a multitude of manikins dressed in the uniforms of men and women who served. What is special is that each one has a card attached that tells a little of the story of that persons’ military service. It really helps to put a personal touch to the contribution of the soldiers to this country.

Once outside again, the group took one last photo before heading back. Most took Interstate 55 which may never offer the fun and enjoyment that “The Mother Road” brings to those who drive it.    

Editor’s Note:  Thanks to everyone who participated in the first NIRG Historic Illinois Pavement tour.  Host Gary Osborne has several more of these in the planning stages.  Be sure to watch for the next one.