Texola, Shamrock on Rt. 66
Jan 19, 2019
We are off and running officially chasing after the book I am Rt 66. I have partnered with Bob “Croc” Lile to work on collecting I am portraits of people who live, work and travel Rt 66. “Croc” is a veteran of the road. He has been traveling the road since 1996. Today he is not only a well respected Rt 66 historian. He officially is a tour guide leading travelers down Rt 66 several times a year. Add in “Croc” being an internationally known artist using paint chips from the graffitied Cadillac Ranch to create his amazing Cadilite jewelry and I could not ask for a better person work with in doing this project.
An Example of Bob Lile's Cadilite Jewelry
Our goal is to travel the entirety of Rt 66 and gather "I am" portraits and tell the story of those amazing people involved with the Mother Road of America. We official started that journey in our trip to Texola, Oklahoma and then back to Amarillo. Amarillo is conveniently located for this project almost in the center of Rt 66. To be fair the midpoint is about 45 miles west of us in a town called Adrian but our proximity to that puts then end and the beginning of the highway equally distant and a good part of the highway within a day or two. So we are planning on lots of day trips like our trip to Texola and back.
Texola is nearly a ghost town on Rt 66. At its heyday, it had nearly 700 people before the interstate by-passed it. Today there is less than 100 and many of the buildings in the town are abandoned. Texola is right on the state line between Oklahoma and Texas.
The first person we met is Mazel Zimmer of the Tumbleweed Grill in Texola. Mazel’s story is wonderful. In short, her motorhome broke down in Texola and she stayed!
When we got home I threw together a mock-up of what I envision the pages of the book to look like. What do you think?
After visiting with Mazel we traveled to one of the more icon restored gas stations on Rt 66. The U Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas. You might recognize this historic building from the movie Cars!
The U Drop Inn is a café and gas station built in the 1930’s. Its classic architecture and neon lighting make it visually stunning. It is no longer being used as a gas station or restaurant, but it is open as a sort of museum.
We interviewed and got portraits of several people in Shamrock:
Actually getting on Rt 66 and talking with folks and photographing them caused me so much hope and excitement about this project. I wonder where the road leads next?