Threatt Station, Two Springfields, and Tons of Photos

It’s hard to imagine what my life would be like today had I not decided to see what this Route 66 thing was all about.

It was the summer of 2013 when I first set out to see a bit of the old Mother Road, on purpose anyway. July 5th, to be exact. I drove up to Miami to see the Coleman Theatre Beautiful and it blew me away. Two years later, I’d driven the whole thing and had started connecting with people whose passion for preserving the road served as an inspiration. Those relationships would eventually lead me to leadership roles in organizations that would define the next chapter of my life.

This past week, I continued to write those pages as I ticked off miles in Springfield (MO), Lebanon, St. Louis, Springfield (IL), Pontiac, Joliet, and more. I just celebrated a year of service with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and I guess I can say I’ve “settled in” but there’s no true settling when the road itself is your office. I was out and about, spreading the good word about the Preserve Route 66 program’s latest grant round and checking in with previous grantees. I also attended the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, gave a talk to some roadway engineers, and celebrated the latest addition to an important Oklahoma Route 66 landmark.

The Threatt Filling Station in Luther, Oklahoma is one of (if not THE) earliest African-American owned-and-operated service station on Route 66 during the Jim Crow era. The Threatts came to Oklahoma from Louisiana in the early 20th century and in 1915 they opened a gas station along the Ozark Trail. That roadway would later become Oklahoma Route 7 and then US Highway 66. In the early 30s, the station as we know it today was built and served travelers of all kinds. Not just with fuel, but cafe fare and dry goods, aid as a Red Cross station (the only one operated by African-American owners in America, according to newspaper accounts in 1939), service as a Greyhound Bus Stop, and as a safe haven for travelers that were not welcome in surrounding communities. The station closed in the 1970s and for the past several years the family has been restoring the station in preparation for a interpretive center that will tell the family’s story and the larger context of travel during segregation.

On Friday, August 8th, the Threatts celebrated the latest addition to their project: a Route 66 Centennial Monument Sign. Signs like these are going up around Oklahoma and in other Route 66 states to celebrate the road’s imminent 100th Birthday. The first time I stopped at the Threatt Station a decade ago it was overgrown and boarded up. I wondered what its story was. Well, today, travelers can walk up to the sign and scan a QR code to learn more instantly. Soon, people will be able to walk in the door of the station and talk to someone about it, too. I’m so happy about the progress they have made and it was truly an honor to be there with them to celebrate.

After the celebration in Luther, it was off to Stillwater to speak at the annual conference of Oklahoma’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Historic Route 66 had just been designated as a National Civil Engineering Landmark and it was great to not only share that news but to talk about the road’s significance to a completely different kind of audience. Oh, and I finally ate at Eskimo Joe’s. First time at 44 years old at this Oklahoma institution…don’t tell anyone it took me this long.

It was back in the car and back to sixty-six as I headed up to Springfield, Missouri and their annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. My trip was a last-minute addition to my calendar so the traditional vintage motels were all booked up, but it gave me a good excuse to stay in a place from MY past: the University Plaza Hotel. When I was a kid, my family would come up to Springfield once a year for an annual Food Show. The distribution company for the grocery store Dad worked for held an annual convention and the rest of the family would always come along. I have so many fond memories of those years – it’s kind of crazy to return in such a vastly different capacity. I thought about asking the front desk clerk if they had any 35-year-old Micro Machines in Lost and Found, but decided against it. The festival was, as always, a fun time catching up with roadies and making new friends. We had our traditional Saturday night gathering at the Rockwood Motor Court and fun was had by all.

For the next week, I was on the road on behalf of the National Trust, as I mentioned earlier. I made a lot of stops and talked to quite a few people – and everyone is anticipating the Centennial. Nobody quite knows what to expect, but we’re all excited about the possibilities.

Rather than go into details about each and every stop, I figure I’ll just share a gallery of photos. After all, each one is worth 1,000 words! They appear to be out of order, but, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.