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'Mother Road' reminder of past
By Karen Walters
kwalters@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON -- For decades, Route 66 defined America as generations of workers and travelers followed the two-lane ribbon of concrete from Chicago to Los Angeles. Now 80 years old and decommissioned since 1984, the “Mother Road” is mainly used by local residents while serving as a historic reminder of America’s past by visitors from around the world.

The people who love the road remember the allure of driving through small towns, stopping at family-owned gas stations, diners, and tourist spots and passing right through thriving fields of corn, soybeans and wheat.

Like Route 66 itself, many of the faces, places and stories remain from those years.

Elmo Quinn

Elmo Quinn was 1 when his father, also called Elmo, and Uncle Eldon opened Quinn’s Texaco, a gas and service station at Route 66 and Chestnut Street in downtown Bloomington.

Customers at the two-bay station literally saw double when they realized identical twins ran the station. Traffic came from both directions of Main Street that carried the highway designation at that time.

“While one of them would talk to the customer, the other would fill up the tank and check the engine,” the younger Elmo, now 65, recalled. “People sometimes would get confused, until they realized they were twins. They had some good tricks.”

The original white-brick building was built in 1941. Elmo took over the station, now Quinn’s Shell, in 1978 from his uncle after the elder Elmo died.

Route 66 tourists look for Quinn when they travel the road. He greets them with a warm smile and friendly service, both of which were staples of Route 66 businesses.

He maintains the tradition of the Mother Road’s full service — washing windows and checking engine fluids — for customers who need a fill-up, and readily gives directions to travelers (and city residents) who occasionally take a wrong turn.

“For many people, this is just one of their stops,” he said. “Things have changed since Route 66; they were the good old days. I’m very fortunate to have good, repeat customers over all these years.”

Chester Henry

Chester Henry took a chance on a new career that ended up shaping the rest of his life — and created a passion for Route 66 in the process.

In 1942, Henry joined the Illinois State Police in the newly created District 6, based in a building shaped like the outline of a pistol just south of Pontiac along Route 66.

Henry, now 74, patrolled the road, helping motorists with broken-down cars and writing tickets to those who drove too fast. He knew all the good places to eat or take a break between Dwight and Atlanta.

“Everything went up and down the road,” he said. “But it was always the people that made work enjoyable. People stopped and talked. … You got to know a lot of them all up and down the road.”

He made routine traffic stops in a black-and-white cruiser topped with red bubble light, meeting some famous people along the way. Like a country music star late for a gig in Chicago and a member of a presidential cabinet.

“I never asked for an autograph, but I gave them mine,” he joked. “I didn’t let anyone go. You never knew who you were going to stop.”

He also saw a part of the road that many people don’t talk about. A majority of accidents along Route 66 happened at intersections with smaller county roads or city streets, or at the railroad crossings that sometimes brought traffic to a halt. Sometimes, the accidents left people dead.

One stretch of the road, north of Pontiac, had its own nickname: “Dead Man’s Alley.”

Henry retired in 1984 as a lieutenant, but he didn’t leave Route 66 behind.

Whenever he gets a chance, he uses the old road instead of nearby Interstate 55 and re-lives the days he still holds dear.

“I miss it,” said Henry, who lives in LeRoy. “I still wish I was on the road, all the time. Everyone knew who you were. It was the Main Street of America.”

Ernie Edwards

In 1937, Ernie Edwards opened a restaurant along Route 66 in Broadwell, south of Lincoln, with the help of his mother.

An off-handed comment from a customer led to the name, Pig Hip. The main dish always was a ham sandwich, topped with lettuce, tomato and a peppery “secret” sauce.

In the road’s early days, and during Prohibition, many stops involved bootleggers, speakeasies and gambling joints.

But it also was a road of hope.

“Everyone was looking for work, or at least the promise of work,” Edwards said. His restaurant, now closed, is used as a museum.

Family members ran a nearby auto repair business and motel. The Pig Hip attracted travelers with a 30-foot neon “RESTAURANT” sign stretched atop the roof of Edwards’ house, which was next door.

Over the years, thousands of people stopped. Among them were Col. Harlan Sanders, who shared his secret-recipe fried chicken with Edwards in exchange for learning how to make the famous ham sandwich, and Chicago newspaperman Mike Royko, who mentioned Edwards in a column.

Edwards never could confirm whether one visitor was former President Jimmy Carter, who entered the Pig Hip with only one other person and no security — or whether the man just was an impersonator.

In fall 1991, Edwards closed the restaurant that had become too much work for him and his wife, Frances.

A section of the museum still looks like the restaurant, complete with red-banded dishes and menus without prices.

With any luck, Edwards will don his white paper chef’s hat and pose for a picture with visitors, wrapping his arms around them before sending them down the road.

All he asks is for a copy of the picture to be sent back.

“It’s always been about the people,” he said. “I enjoy people and love to tell stories.”

The Mackinsons

Ray Mackinson was 8 as workers started to build the road with shovels and horses.

During the day, men laid the roadbed. At night, some of them slept in the Mackinsons’ barn and the family helped care for the horses.

“Before that, there was no road at all,” said a plaid-jacketed Ray Mackinson, now 88, as he prepared to mow grass on land the family owns along Route 66 near Pontiac. “I’ve watched it all change.”

The family has farmed land outside Cayuga since 1892; about two miles of it is bordered by Route 66. Some of the land was sold to the state when I-55 was built.

Generations of Mackinsons watched the road change from a bustling beltline to a frontage road. Nearby Cayuga, for instance, once had three gas stations. Now, it has a only few homes and a golf course.

Travelers along Route 66 sometimes sought help from the Mackinsons when they had car trouble, said son Don Mackinson, 49, who remembered the family driving the stranded drivers into town or to the closest garage.

Don, brother Roy and grandson Matt, who run a dairy farm and grow corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa, still use the road to drive trucks of milk from the farm.

“For me, it is just a way to get to town,” said Don. “We’ll use it to transport machinery. The traffic doesn’t go by like the way it did anymore. People would be upset if it ever closed.”

Take a look
Elmo Quinn stands in front of his Shell Gas station in Bloomington, which is located on Route 66 and has been owned by two generations of his family.
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Reader comments on this story - 11 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Sebastian Sikes wrote on Nov 27, 2006 1:34 PM:

" A musical about the witches from The Wizard of Oz breaks West End box office records, its producers say... "

Claudia Perkinson wrote on Jun 4, 2006 11:16 PM:

" Yes, Opal and Goldie were my dad's sisters. "

phyl wrote on Jun 4, 2006 8:15 PM:

" Claudia, did your family have a opal or Goldi winkle? "

To: Claudia wrote on Jun 4, 2006 7:19 PM:

" Thanks for a great story that still holds true today, especially in B/N. "

Harry wrote on Jun 4, 2006 6:30 PM:

" Used Route 66 to tavel to LA from Livingston Co. during the early 60's in a 56 Merc all by myself when I was 18. What a trip! Took 4 days even with the distractions. Took longer coming back several months later. The Indian TP Motels were fasinating for some reason and the small all nite Cafes. Done it several times more after that but will always remember the first trip. l "

Claudia Perkinson wrote on Jun 4, 2006 6:14 PM:

" In the fifties my dad, Merle Winkle, ran a Standard Oil station on Route 66 in Towanda. We had many famous customers come through. My mother, Harriet, had to place a credit card call for Charlton Heston because he didn't know how to use a crank phone. His father was with him in a shiny Pontiac convertible. There was a Texaco station on the other side of the road with a diner. Buses of soldiers from Ft. Leonardwood would come through and stop there to eat. On one occassion they served everyone except a black soldier. He was given his dinner in a paper bag to eat outside. All the soldiers left their food and walked out. This was my first experience with discrimination. It made a lasting impression on a 6 year old. "

BH wrote on Jun 4, 2006 8:00 AM:

" To could it be, It was 1957, when Pop joined the State Police, this is a typo on the Pantagraph's part. He was a Great police officer and can tell you a lot of stories about that great highway! Way to go Pop, your family is proud of you!! "

*** wrote on Jun 4, 2006 7:42 AM:

" fuzzy math could it be? "

TJ Bill wrote on Jun 4, 2006 5:36 AM:

" I certainly remember stopping at the Quinn's when I was a youngster. Most of my 66 memories were on the beltline around Bloomington. I worked for Cleve Smith at SouthTown Shell as a gas pump jockey; corner of Morrisey and 66. Streids, Brandtville, and 5 Star were close by and Johnny Martin had just built a new dealership before 55 took over and rerouted traffic. General Electric was in the country and I remember many people saying KMart would never succeed because it was so "far out of town". In its prime, 5 Star was a good place to eat. Brandtville was one of my favorite as it was anchored with the broasted chicken at the beginning of my work shift and had a Trucker's Special at the end. Streids had great steak and a good place to take a date. Of course, Laesch Dairy anchored the South West end of town. They had the best Butter Pecan Ice Cream around. And don't forget the gal wearin' nothin' but a smile and towel down by McLean's famed Dixie. Sugarine I recall was the advertisement. Lots of Burma Shave signs. Great memories indeed. "

Elmo is the man wrote on Jun 4, 2006 3:10 AM:

" Elmo Quinn is one of the best men I have ever known. I will never forget the conversations I have had with that spectacular man. "

Could it be? wrote on Jun 3, 2006 9:28 PM:

" If Henry is 74 now, he would have been 10 years old when he joined the State Police in 1942. They hired'em young back then I guess. "
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