Return of Drive-In Theaters-- Part 7: The 66 Drive-In Theatre

And what would drive-in theater's be without at least one on the famed Mother Road, Route 66?  There are several, including one that just reopened on Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and, of course, Litchfield, Illinois, but probably the most famous one even carries the name, 66 Drive-In Theatre neat Carthage, Missouri.

Its original neon sign continues to attract road-trippers.  (Route 66 is part of the National Trust's National Treasures Program.)

Tickets are often sold out of the original ticket booth, a glowing little building with walls made entirely of glass blocks.

For a complete Route 66 experience ,owner Nathan McDonald recommends staying at the recently restored Boots Court motel (1939) in the nearby town of Carthage, which advertises "A Radio In Every Room)"

Whether You Want One Or Not.  --CootBoots

I Sure Got My History Last Week-- Part 1: Our 45th Wedding Anniversary

And, I can never get too much history as you might guess.  The more the better.

Last week, August 22 to August 28, Liz and I went out to the Mississippi River to Galena, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary, and that is some history right there.  We went to Galena or our honeymoon and visited Dubuque back in 1973.

The motel we stayed in, the Palace, an old mom-and-pop motel, no longer stands, but there is still one of those mom-and-pop motels in Galena called Grant Hills Motel and we stayed there for four nights.  A highlight for us was eating dinner at The Log Cabin Steakhouse in Galena which is where we ate the day after we got married.  Other than the prices, that place has not changed a bit since then.

--DaCoot

Some More On Heart of Wilmington Motel

Information from the CardCow postcard: 60 rooms, pool, meeting room, 24-hour telephone service. Walking distance to business, finacial and shopping districts. Telephone 743-0121. Featuring the Boucan Restaurant. I did find a site mentioning a Boucan Room at 311 N. 3rd Street at one time. Again, I do not believe the motel is still there. //// --DaCoot

Back Then, 1962: Wilmington, NC-- Heart of Wilmington Motel and Cable TV

From the April 24, 2012, Wilmington (NC) Star-News. //// APRIL 15, 1962: Construction on the Heart of Wilmington Motel expected to start in June. It was downtown Wilmington's first motel. The rooms had acccess from the outside. It is planned for the area of Third and Grace streets. I found a picture of it on the CardCow site and it was quite impressive looking. I am not sure if it is still there. ///// APRIL 15TH, 1962: Cable TV coming to Wilmington. The Cable Television Company, based at 7 South Second Street bragged that residents would now have access to as many channels as viewers in New York City and Los Angeles. They would now have FIVE channels: WRAL in Raleigh, WECT in Wilmington, WITN in Washington (NC), WNCT in Greenville and WTVD in Durham. //// Wow! Five Channels. A Different Time Indeed. --Cooter

Dead Page: Sidekick-- Cell Phones-- Vibrating Beds

From the July6, 2009, Time Magazine Milestones.

ED McMAHON, 86

Died June 23,2009.  Johnny Carson's sidekick for all those years (30) even though I rarely watched the show.  But, who doesn't know "Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!!"  And, I never won any millions from Publisher's clearing House!!


JOHN F. MITCHELL, 81

Died June 11, 2009.  Formulated idea for DynaTac, Motorola's prototype for the first cellular phone.  He boasted his creation would be useful to a wide variety of people.  But, probably not four-year-olds like I've seen.  Enabled millions to walk around with plastic pressed to their ears.  And, you can now even press it to your ear without hands now.  Ain't technology great?


JOHN HOUGHTALING, 92

Using a mattress, a coin meter and clip-on vibrating device, created the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed, billing it as a sleep aid.  Became a staple in motel rooms in US motels everywhere in 60s and 70s.  People would check their quarter supply before checking in.  Who can ever forget that vibrating bed in the Griswald's room in that movie?

Motels Update Properties

From the September 19th Chicago Tribune.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are currently underway with a major renovation campaign on most all of their motels.

Some interesting facts about them and other motel chains. Year founded, number of hotels, typical room cost.

HOLIDAY INN: 1952, more than 3,400, $80-$119 a night.

BEST WESTERN: 1946, more than 4,000, $70-$100 a night.

RED ROOF INN: 1972, 345, $50-$72 a night.

MOTEL SIX: 1962, 1,060, $40-$59 a night.

SUPER 8: 1974, 2,150, $55-$75 a night.

Keep those prices down. I stay in a lot of motels on travels. So far this year I've spent 40 nights in motels so price is a major consideration.

Do You Have AARP? --Cooter

July Mississippi River Trip-- Part 4-- Galena and Grant Hills Motel

July 17th continued.

We did have some reasonable food at the Elizabeth Fair, but that was the high point of it. It was definitely a hard deal to beat the $1.25 for a big slice of pie.

Drove US-20 to Galena and took a walk around US Grant Park on the other side of the Galena River. They have monuments to Grant and soldiers as well as four captured cannons from the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II.


JOHNNY ROCKER AT THE GRAPE ESCAPE

Unbelievably, we found a parking space right in front of the Grape Escape where we had seen they were going to have entertainment in the afternoon.

Johnny Rocker is in two bands and also performs solo singing a great variety of different songs. Too bad we were the only folks in the place for awhile, but he went ahead and gave us a show anyway. Eventually others came in. He played several songs by Social Outcast which i will have to check out.


GRANT HILLS MOTEL

We went back to the motel and ended up sitting outside from five to 10:30 talking with several other couples, including one from Woodstock, Illinois, about ten miles from us back home. This sitting outside your room and talking with people is one of the things I really like the most when you stay at a Mom and Pop Motel. Try doing that at the newer ones. It just doesn't happen very much, if at all.

What I'd Call a Pretty Good Day. --Cooter