Route 66 in the News
Tom Teague, Route 66 Booster, Dies
2004-09-15 16:56:07
Thea Chesley says she knew Tom Teague was a kindred spirit when she saw him wearing a sweatshirt bearing the famous line from the cartoon character Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
"There aren't that many of us," Chesley says about "Pogo" fans. "I had a lot of the books and figurines. When I saw that shirt, I asked him, 'Are you a Pogophile too?'"
Pogo was among Teague's many passions, which also prominently included blues music, writing, including for Illinois Times, and all things Route 66. Teague (pronounced "teeg") died at home Saturday at age 61. He had suffered from diabetes, friends say.
"He was such an essential figure with us," says Chesley, president of the Illinois Central Blues Club while Teague was treasurer. "He was someone you could respect, really. He had a way of keeping stupid things from happening in a few words."
Fellow Blues Club member Janeen Burkholder says Teague "was always a wise voice, a wise counsel. He was a very diplomatic person, a listener more than a talker. The blues spoke to him the way Route 66 did."
Did it ever.
Teague was a champion of Route 66 preservation and its arcana. He wrote a book of short stories and a newsletter about the highway and lectured about it. He founded and was first president of the Route 66 Association.
"He was known in Route 66 circles by people from many countries," says Pat Kuhn, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project. "He was just a tremendous advocate for Route 66, particularly in preservation. Tom worked tirelessly to get historic properties related to 66 on the National Register."
Teague's commitment was "all about the people and relationships that he established with others who were so touched by this road and its significance to their lives," Kuhn says.
Bill Shea operates Shea's, a gas station/museum of Route 66 artifacts at 2075 Peoria Road.
"He visited on most Saturdays," Shea says, adding that he and Teague would "shoot the usual bull like most guys do, mostly about 66 and current events."
Without Teague's effort, the legacy of 66 might well have faded, Shea adds.
Those who knew or worked with Teague are quick to mention his candor, his love for puns and his problem-solving skills.
"He never minced words and was one of the most honest and sincere people I've ever met," Kuhn says. "What endeared him was his subtle humor and incredible wit. He was one of a kind."
Bill Furry, acting executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society, worked with Teague at the society and in his role as former editor of Illinois Times.
"He was an exceptional writer. That's something most folks didn't know. He was meticulous, loved words and loved language in general. He was always editing himself, making sure every word is what he wanted. When I was editing at (IT), he was one of the few people who always sent in pristine copy."
Teague, Furry recalls, wrote on such topics as the problems of East St. Louis, an activist priest in Decatur and, more recently, about his son being dispatched to the war in Iraq.
"He had broad interests," Furry says, adding that for many years Teague was spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Chesley took a birthday card to Teague's home on Saturday. Although he had been frail in recent years, "he was still capable of the hard-ass incisive comment," she says.
Burkholder points to Teague's loving inscription to a friend in a copy of his book "Searching For 66."
Teague's words say simply: "May the road rise to meet you and its number be 66."
~Paul Povse, Springfield State Journal-Register
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