Route 66 in the News
Remembering Route 66 in Illinois
2008-02-23 16:24:53
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill. - America is home to many main streets, but none has held the official title of the "Mother Road" like Route 66.
From its big city beginnings in Chicago to its bypasses through the Plains and the American Southwest, the decommissioned byway has always captured the hearts of travelers.
Starting in the 1920s, the road offered Americans the chance to travel throughout the country in the privacy of their own family vehicles. Through the Great Depression and World War II, people stopped along the road to rest, explore and just find entertainment.
Bloomington-Normal was one of the larger stops on Route 66 between Chicago and Springfield and many travelers started their journey right here.
Normal resident Chuck Burgwald remembers the time when every family vacation began on Route 66.
"When my kids were little, we used to take a vacation on Route 66 every few years. That was just what people did. You didn't fly in the planes as much, you went to see the sights in America," he said.
Travelers who seek out the nostalgic feelings of the road, stop at Lexington's Memory Lane. An old-fashioned art deco neon sign points visitors to the site.
This original section of Route 66 has been converted to a walking path complete with old-fashioned signs and original pavement paint.
One of the main attractions is the presence of Burma-Shave signs, which are signs that are placed 100 feet apart and display witty sayings or pieces of advice.
Future plans for the site include adding a tool wagon display that was used to build the road in the 1920s.
Some of the other sights that greeted (and still greet) tourists in Illinois include the Gemini Giant, a former 20 foot high "muffler man" that has been given a space-age makeover, and Funks Grove, famous for its maple "sirup".
The Gemini Giant is located in the town of Wilmington and is considered to be the most popular site on the Illinois stretch of Route 66.
"Muffler men" populated American roadways in the 1960s, usually standing outside of auto body shops.
The Gemini Giant was transferred to the Launching Pad Restaurant to greet visitors as they arrived to eat and was outfitted with a space cap and rocket.
Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup is located south of Bloomington-Normal and offers tours in February and March that show the process of creating the famous syrup.
Visitors to Funks Grove can also stop at the Funk Prairie Home and tour the 13-room establishment that was built by state legislator and senator LaFayette Funk between 1863 and 1865.
Adjacent to the site is the Funk Gem and Mineral Museum. It is home of one of the largest one-man mineral and gem collections in the world.
Rare gems from all over the world are housed here both in their original forms and cut and polished.
The museum also houses fossils, seashells, corals, Chinese soap carvings, saddles, buggies and sleighs.
Burgwald has visited the museum several times.
"I really enjoy that museum because it's in our area and has so many different things to enjoy. The Prairie Home is my favorite along with the gems and minerals," he said.
Further south of Bloomington-Normal in McLean, Illinois, the famous roadside truck stop, Dixie Trucker's Home, still operates and accommodates passengers who have converted to the busy life on the interstate.
Bloomington resident Shirley Adams says that the road will always be special to her and her family.
"It was a different time traveling back then. Kids today don't get to experience the vacations we did. I traveled with my family on the entire Route 66 and saw more details about American life than my grandkids probably see today," she said.
When Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985 to make way for more interstate travel, local diners and businesses, tourist locations failed.
In Bloomington-Normal this is evident in abandoned gas stations and shabby roadside eateries.
An abandon drive-in called the Oasis sits in ruins just north of Normal. Today, rusty cars are parked there instead of the family station wagon.
The road also has a notorious history in Illinois. Chicago mobster Al Capone was a supporter of the road when it was commissioned for pavement in the 1920s.
The new road allowed for easy methods of bootlegging and mob-related activity.
Despite this, Americans have always held a fascination for where the road went.
"I'd have to say my favorite parts of Route 66 were out West. Places like Texas and Arizona have kept up their Route 66 pride a lot better than Illinois, which is unfortunate," Adams said.
Illinois still has Route 66 pride. Museums in Pontiac, Springfield, and Chicago display memorabilia and associations have sprung up along the road.
The Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project, based in Springfield, serves as a preservation group that works to inform the public of events and attractions.
Travelers can still experience a distilled version of the road throughout the many small towns it twisted through.
Gemini Giants and maple syrup aside, the road still serves the same purpose it did in its heyday: showing America to its citizens.
For more information on Route 66 in Illinois, call The Route 66 Heritage Project at 217-525-7980 or visit the project's Web site at illinoisroute66.com.
~Heather Bowers, DailyVidette.com
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