Eating Up Route 66: Foodways On America’s Mother Road, page 1
EATING UP ROUTE 66
FOODWAYS ON AMERICA’S MOTHER ROAD
T. Lindsay Baker
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
NORMAN
University of Oklahoma Press
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ISBN 978-0-8061-9069-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-8061-9161-4 (ebook : epub)
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To Susan Croce Kelly and Michael Wallis, who in 1988 and 1990
authored the books that began a revival of interest in U.S. Highway 66
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
List of Recipes
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: ILLINOIS
Chicago
Cicero
Berwyn
Lyons
McCook
Hinsdale (Willowbrook)
Romeoville
Joliet
Elwood
Wilmington
1930s Alignment via Plainfield
Gardner
Pontiac
Chenoa
Normal and Bloomington
Shirley
Through Funks Grove
McLean
Atlanta
Lincoln
Broadwell
Springfield
Original Alignment from Springfield toward Saint Louis, 1926–1930
Benld
Alignment from Springfield toward Saint Louis Starting in 1930
Litchfield
Staunton
Edwardsville
Mitchell
East Saint Louis
On into Saint Louis and Missouri
CHAPTER 2: MISSOURI
Saint Louis
Chain of Rocks Bridge
Kirkwood
On into Missouri beyond Saint Louis
Saint Louis Outskirts
Times Beach
Pacific
Villa Ridge Vicinity
Saint Clair
Stanton
Cuba
Rosati
Saint James
Rolla
Centerville (Doolittle)
Arlington
Clementine (Basketville)
Devils Elbow
Hooker Cut
Saint Robert
Waynesville
Hazelgreen
Hazelgreen to Lebanon
Lebanon
Phillipsburg
Conway
Conway to Marshfield
Springfield
Springfield to Carthage
Paris Springs
Carthage
Carterville and Webb City
Joplin
On into Kansas
CHAPTER 3: KANSAS
Galena
Riverton
Baxter Springs
On into Oklahoma
CHAPTER 4: OKLAHOMA
Kansas State Line to Commerce
Commerce
Miami
Afton
Vinita
Claremore
Claremore to Tulsa
Tulsa
Sapulpa
Stroud
Wellston
Luther
Arcadia
Edmond
Oklahoma City
Warr Acres, Bethany, and Yukon
El Reno
Across the South Canadian River
Hydro
Clinton
Canute
Elk City
Sayre
Erick
Texola and on into Texas
CHAPTER 5: TEXAS
Shamrock
McLean
Alanreed and the Jericho Gap
Groom
Conway
Amarillo
Vega
Adrian
Glenrio
On into New Mexico
CHAPTER 6: NEW MEXICO
Glenrio
Endee, Bard, and San Jon
Tucumcari
Montoya, Newkirk, and Cuervo
Santa Rosa
The “Dog Leg” to Santa Fe
Glorieta Pass
Santa Fe
Santa Fe to Albuquerque
Albuquerque
Santa Rosa to Tijeras Canyon
Laguna Pueblo and Its Satellite Villages
Budville and Cubero
Grants
Continental Divide
Gallup
On into Arizona
CHAPTER 7: ARIZONA
Lupton to Painted Desert
Painted Desert and Petrified Forest
Holbrook
Winslow
Meteor Crater
Over Canyon Diablo and into the Mountains
Flagstaff
Williams
Ash Fork
Seligman
Grand Canyon Caverns
Peach Springs
Truxton
Through Crozier Canyon and Valentine
Hackberry
Kingman
Sitgreaves Pass
Oatman
Yucca
Topock
On into California
CHAPTER 8: CALIFORNIA
Needles
Across the Mojave Desert
Essex
Chambless
Amboy
Bagdad
Ludlow
Hector Siding
The Road to Newberry Springs
Newberry Springs
Daggett
Barstow
Up the Mojave River Valley
Victorville
Across the High Desert
Down the Cajon Grade
San Bernardino
Fontana
Rancho Cucamonga
Duarte
Arcadia
Pasadena
South Pasadena
Los Angeles
West Hollywood
Beverly Hills
Santa Monica
Turning Around and Driving Back
Notes
Index of Restaurants and Other Eateries
General Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Fred Harvey Company’s Bowl & Bottle Restaurant and Lounge, Chicago
Thompson’s Restaurant, Chicago, 1941
Diners at Chicago’s Berghoff Restaurant, 1990
Giant lumberjack at Bunyon’s Restaurant in Cicero, Illinois, 1960s
Steve’s Café in Chenoa, Illinois, 1950s
Steak ’n Shake, Normal, Illinois, 1940
Collecting sap at Funks Grove, Illinois, ca. 1933
Dixie Truckers Home, McClean, Illinois, ca. 1940
Diners outside the Atlas Hotel, Saint Louis, 1950s
Pretzel vendor in downtown Saint Louis, ca. 1930
Customers dining in Spencer’s Grill in Kirkwood, Missouri, 1947
Customers and staff at Steiny’s Inn, Times Beach, Missouri, 1942
Young patrons of Williams Shack in Pacific, Missouri, 1942
Owner Paul Bennett with diners in Bennett’s Catfish Café, Doolittle, Missouri
Devils Elbow Café, Devils Elbow, Missouri, 1938
Customers at Graham’s Rib Station, Springfield, Missouri, 1940s
Owner Alberta Ellis in front of Alberta’s Hotel, Springfield, Missouri, ca. 1960
Boots Drive-In, Carthage, Missouri, ca. 1950
Dick and John’s Bar, Joplin, Missouri, late 1930s
Oklahoma migrant family lunching on the roadside, 1939
Segregated water canister, Oklahoma City, 1939
Diners at the Grand Café in Vinita, Oklahoma, ca. 1960
Cook in the Rock Café kitchen in Stroud, Oklahoma, 2017
Elevated “skyway” to the Howard Johnson’s Restaurant at Stroud, Oklahoma
Employees at Beverly’s Drive-In in Oklahoma City, ca. 1952
Menu from the Dolores Restaurant of Oklahoma City, ca. 1940
Longchamp Dining Salon in Amarillo, Texas, ca. 1949
Travelers at the Adrian Mercantile Company in Adrian, Texas, 1935
State Line Bar and Texaco filling station, Glenrio, New Mexico, 1949
The Club Café in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, ca. 1946
Oldest Well in the U.S.A., near Glorieta Pass summit, New Mexico, ca. 1935
Woolworth’s store on the Santa Fe Plaza, 1939
Couple outside t
Courtyard at La Placita Dining Rooms in Albuquerque, 1940s
Flying C Ranch, between Moriarty and Santa Rosa, New Mexico, 1950s
Plant and fruit inspection station at Lupton, Arizona, ca. 1950
Motorist enjoying a cantaloupe on the roadside, mid-1950s
Roadside sign for Rod’s Steak House in Williams, Arizona, ca. 1955
1940s Billboard for Harvey Company’s Havasu Hotel in Seligman, Arizona
Qumacho Café in Peach Springs, Arizona, 1950s
Sign advertising the Honolulu Club in Oatman, Arizona, 1930s
Postcard of the Wayside Inn in Essex, California, ca. 1932
Desert Inn, Ludlow, California, 1926
Washing dishes in the Mojave River outside Victorville, California, ca. 1932
Guests at Murray’s Dude Ranch outside Victorville, California, ca. 1950
Roadside picnic in the High Desert of Southern California, ca. 1950
Mother Goose Pantry, Pasadena, California, ca. 1927
Clifton’s Pacific Seas Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles, 1940s
Diners at the Hollywood Brown Derby, ca. 1951
Oklahoma family eating on the California roadside, 1936
RECIPES
Old-Fashioned Navy Bean Soup, Bowl & Bottle Restaurant and Lounge, Chicago, Illinois
Lou Mitchell’s French Toast, Chicago, Illinois
Spaghetti Sauce, Riviera Restaurant and Tavern, Gardner, Illinois
Pig-Hip Sandwich Sauce, Pig-Hip Restaurant, Broadwell, Illinois
Chef Joe Schweska’s Original Cheese Sauce for Horseshoe Sandwiches, Springfield, Illinois
Glazed Strawberry Pie, Miss Hulling’s Cafeteria, Saint Louis, Missouri
Lemon Cheesecake, Wurzburger’s Restaurant, Stanton, Missouri
Barbecue Sauce for Spare Ribs, Alberta’s Hotel, Springfield, Missouri
Baloney and Cheese Sandwich, Old Riverton Store, Riverton, Kansas
Brown Derby, Bishop’s Restaurant, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Gumdrop Fruit Cake, Dolores Restaurant and Drive-In, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Onion Fried Hamburger, Johnnie’s Grill, El Reno, Oklahoma
Basic Cream Pie, Midpoint Café, Adrian, Texas
Red Chile Salsa, Club Café, Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Chicken Lucrecio, La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Cheese Crisps, Joe and Aggie’s Café, Holbrook, Arizona
Blueberry Muffins, La Posada Hotel, Winslow, Arizona
Chocolate Ice Cream Soda, Fair Oaks Pharmacy, South Pasadena, California
Cobb Salad, Brown Derby, Beverly Hills, California
Fried Fish, Bennett’s Sea Food Grotto, Santa Monica, California
PREFACE
Six years into active research on this book project it seemed important for me to drive Highway 66 as nearly as I could to the way old-time motorists experienced it. Others might say that my several 2,400-mile road trips in modern cars were arduous enough, but my mind became set. Eighty-five percent of the old pavement was still there, I had a willing sidekick, and I owned an appropriately basic antique car. We made the entire trip in both directions in a four-cylinder 1930 Ford station wagon with a varnished wooden body, waterproof canvas top, and snap-on window covers. In the heat of July 2017, we bounced from Chicago to California and back, the skinny tires thumping at every pavement expansion joint along the way.
Making about two hundred miles a day, we crossed and then recrossed the heartland in thirty-five-mile-per-hour “slow motion.” Some days we ended up covered with dust, especially in the Southwest. When we halted each evening, weary from the constant shaking of the car, we wolfed down whatever a café offered, washed off the day’s grime, and tumbled into bed. The next morning we rose before dawn, had a bite of breakfast, and set out again. Each time we killed the motor to add fuel or take a welcome break from the constant trembling of the little car, we never knew for sure how easily it would start again.
Why would anyone want to undergo this test of mind and body? College-student companion Chris Gillis and I wanted to recreate insofar as we could what road travel was like for pre–World War II motorists. To do this, we made “the California trip” in the type of vehicle for which Route 66 originally was designed and built. During the monthlong sojourn, we bunked down in multiple historic lodgings with squeaky bedsprings and took meals at many roadside eateries, some celebrated and others not. This experience made real for us the three elements of road travel that left perhaps the strongest impressions on motorists during first half of the twentieth century: bodily fatigue, physical discomfort, and emotional uncertainty.
The purpose of this book is to explore the eating encounters of travelers along U.S. Highway 66. The volume covers the road’s entire length, from Chicago to the Pacific, from its initial designation in 1926 through its phased replacement by interstate highways, mostly constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. During this half century, both motoring and public dining changed dramatically. Vehicles evolved from the primitive, boxy, and sometimes temperamental Model Ts into streamlined, dependable motorcars with air conditioning that cruised along at seventy plus miles per hour. At the same time, Americans transitioned from eating primarily locally grown foods cooked from raw ingredients to dining on fare raised and processed in distant locales and often shipped pre-prepared to restaurants along roadsides. Some of the entrepreneurs along Highway 66 themselves played instrumental roles in helping transform how Americans nationwide ate. There was never one, single Route 66 eating experience. Instead, there were multiple, constantly varying ways that travelers found nourishment going from place to place. This book sets out to examine how roving wayfarers on the Mother Road ate while America changed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book project was born when I suggested to Acquisitions Editor Charles E. “Chuck” Rankin from the University of Oklahoma Press that I thought it would be fun to write a book about roadside dining along Route 66. We chatted at a reception during the Western History Association annual meeting in San Diego, California, in October 2001. Since that time, Chuck, Editor-in-Chief and later Director John N. Drayton, Acquisitions Editor Jay Dew, Director B. Byron Price, and Editorial Director J. Kent Calder have all encouraged me to pursue this large and complex topic, and I sincerely appreciate their long-term moral support.
More than anyone else, my sweet bride, Julie P. Baker, has “lived” with Route 66 and its roadside eateries throughout this project. Not only has she served as my most brutal and most valuable editor, but she has bounced down the old pavement with me in two complete end-to-end research trips along Highway 66 as we sought out both existing historic eating places and the sites where former eateries served food and drink. Together, the two of us kitchen tested multiple historic recipes to come up with the ones selected as sidebars on these pages, and Julie’s formal training in dietetics greatly facilitated our redrafting these instructions in ways that modern cooks can more easily understand.
Chris Gillis Jr. joined me for a sojourn by four-cylinder Ford the length of the Mother Road in both directions. Always in good humor, this college student put up with his septuagenarian travel companion’s inscrutable ways for a full month on the road, while traversing parts of urban and rural America that he never imagined existed. Every time that the little car had mechanical problems, we pooled our combined know-how and ignorance to get it going again.
From the outset, experts on the history of Route 66 generously have imparted their knowledge to me. They have shared their own rare documents, photographs, and publications, and have directed me to the repositories containing even more. They likewise have suggested helpful people to interview. As the project drew to its close, a number of them critiqued parts or all of the manuscript. Among these generous and eminently knowledgeable colleagues have been David G. Clark, Chicago, Illinois; Dave Sullivan, Pontiac, Illinois; Dr. Terri Ryburn, Normal, Illinois; Bill Thomas, Atlanta, Illinois; Buz Waldmire, Rochester, Illinois; Joe Sonderman, Saint Louis, Missouri; John F. Bradbury, Rolla, Missouri; Tommy G. Pike, Springfield, Missouri; Susan Croce Kelly, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri; Michele Hansford, Carthage, Missouri; Michael Wallis, Marian Clark, and Rhys Martin, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jerry McClanahan and Mariko Kusabe, Chandler, Oklahoma; Jim Ross and Shellee Graham, Edmond, Oklahoma; Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Delbert Trew, Allanreed, Texas; Frank Norris and Kaisa Barthuli, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Paul Milan and Steve Owen, Grants, New Mexico; R. Sean Evans, Flagstaff, Arizona; Jim Hinckley, Jan Davis, and Louise Benner Kingman, Arizona; David Knudson, Yucaipa, California; Albert Okura, San Bernardino, California; Morgan Yates, Los Angeles, California; and Scott Piotrowski, Glendale, California. Steve Rider and Mike Ward, known for their extensive private collections of Route 66 paper ephemera, generously shared copies of historic menus from roadside eating places during the early stages of this project and then toward the conclusion critically reviewed the manuscript.
