Thoughts from a Route 66 Business Owner: Afton OK

The town of Afton has taken a turn, it seems to me. I can't quite assess the direction of this turn, but it just feels different somehow this season. It might be the construction occurring across the street, now that it's starting to look like a real building rather than a wooden box.

It might be the increasing number of mental patients trudging around town, giving Afton just a touch of horror movie flare. Whatever the case, Afton is long due for a change -- a change of any kind. Of course, on a daily basis I see only the main street of town, Route 66. I don't know what goes on down on the back streets. People are living their lives back there, in this town devoid of grocery stores, pharmacies, and other necessities of living life. I know only a handful of them, and those I know are fine people. But how much longer will they be able to exist here in a town without economic diversity? I'm so glad that I'm going to be a part of the changes this town needs and with which it could flourish.

When I threw myself into the mix a few days ago during our Economic Development meeting with the Mayor and others, my first interest was, naturally, Route 66. It seems to me that it's the key, and perhaps the only key, to raising awareness of the town in a way that will bring prosperity back to Afton. Selfishly, it won't hurt my business to plump up the attractiveness and viability of Route 66 here. But in the long run, it's the folks who have hung in there and still live here -- those folks on the side streets whom I rarely see -- who will be the real winners if our little plot to improve their city takes hold. That doesn't really explain why Afton feels different to me now though, does it? Maybe nothing is different at all, but there does seem to be a whiff of change in the air, and that whiff might make all the difference.

____________

I got here at 8:30 today hoping those Model As would show up. It's 10:30 now and no Model As or anything else, for that matter. I've done a few routine chores and now will dig into the Sunday crossword. That should surely bring on a barrage of visitors.

____________

Well, the travelers started coming shortly after I wrote that last paragraph, and by the end of the day we had a respectable 17 visitors. They came from Oak Ridge TN, Tulsa OK, Gaylord MI, Bentonville AR, and Vinita OK. The Michigan visitors were a family of mother, two daughters, and daughters' two friends. All the girls excaped back to their car while the mother and the boyfriend of one of the girls stayed around, took lots of photos, and we chatted for a while.

The Oak Ridge couple was doing the full Chicago-to-L.A. trip. The five folks from Bentonville, Arkansas were scouting for an upcoming vintage car cruise. I'm delighted to tell you that they assured me that we will definitely be a stop on the summer cruise. They were most impressed by our facility and car collection. That opinion made for a great end to my day. But. . . no Model As.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

One bright spot. . .

. . . in a very dull day was a visit from these two lovely ladies.

Susan Roberts and Bonica Brown were scheduled to meet with me this afternoon about a grant they have obtained to assist small towns like Afton improve their economic viability. I took Ron M. with me because he helps me with matters of public relations and such. Susan and Bonica were going to meet with Mayor Harrison of Afton after their meeting with me, to discuss revamping the Chamber of Commerce and getting the City of Afton online in the form of a website. I had plenty to say to them, as I've felt the ache of being mostly ignored by the town during the entire 10 years I've been there. I do love Afton and would love to see some progress made in bringing it back to life, so I was eager to speak to these folks. They agreed with us that the most important way to bring back said vitality would be to emphasize the obvious, that Afton sits on Route 66. So far, other that Afton Station, there has been no emphasis on the Mother Road, despite the fact that Afton Station has brought about 6,000 visitors a year into the town, and others in town could potentially benefit financially from those visitors if they tried. The next step is a joint meeting with the mayor, me, and any other interested citizens. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Other than Susan and Bonica, we had exactly ZERO visitors today. We read all the available periodicals, and I did three crossword puzzles. Betty Baumann came for a while in the morning and it was nice to see her after several week's absence. She will be bringing in a brand new batch of her beautiful handmade items soon, so our shelves will be full of wonderful Route 66 items.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Instead of the DVD. . .

There is a wonderful DVD of Afton, made quite a few years ago, and Betty W. has given me a copy. The first third of it is a tour of town given by Tom Bassett, the father of our friend, the current Tommy Bassett. I believe the video was made in the '70s or '80s but I could be off by several years. It features a number of buildings which are now gone or altered.

Betty W. has been trying and trying to get the DVD made into a format which is compatible with Blogger, and Ron M. has been working on the problem, too. It's a very long DVD, for one thing, so it can't just be thrown up on YouTube or even Vimeo. So, until this problem is solved such that I can link it up here on my blog, I've been doing something I haven't done since the Gulf War (the first Gulf War!) -- that is, taking photos of my screen while pausing the video. Besides this being a very nerdy thing to do, the quality of the photos is awful because I can't figure out how to turn off the flash on my camera, other than to just put my finger over it. I guess that makes me a rare dual personality -- a nerd who has little or no technical sense. :-)

Nevertheless, I am going to post some of the photos here.

The old bank building on the corner of 1st and Main. It no longer exists, and the bank built in it's place is just a featureless box.

Can you see the MOTEL sign at the center of the picture? The description from the DVD indicates that the motel was no longer there when the video was taken, however the sign was. The sign no longer exists, and I have no idea of the name of the motel which was in that location.

Although this looks a bit like Afton Station, it is not. This is the old Phillips station which is several blocks down the road. It still exists, but is unrecognizable since it has been covered over with metal sheathing. What a shame, because its spade-shaped office is, from what I'm told, extremely rare.

This is the building that was recently torn down to make way for the new one they're building now. According to the video, it was once a grocery store and also "the town basketball court". Not only is the building gone now, but so is that nice row of trees. The Palmer Hotel still stands directly across from Afton Station, but in this photo it appears there are no broken windows. I don't believe it was occupied at the time of the filming, however.

Some day, I hope to be able to show you the video. Along with the tour of town at the beginning, some of the "old timers" from Afton are interviewed. It's quite wonderful!

Friday, February 25, 2011

A neat device

I'll be going back to Afton Station tomorrow but meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to keep my readers amused and away from their Delete key, I've rummaged through my Route 66 memorabilia to find something interesting that would fit in my scanner. I came up with this vintage flyer advertising the Desert Service, "World's Largest Cooler Rental Network" out of San Bernardino, CA. Without this device, along with a desert water bag, I'm sure that a summer excursion across the desert on Route 66 was an unbearable experience. I see these devices now and then on Ebay, and I wish I had one to display at Afton Station.

The other side of the folder (which didn't quite fit on the scanner, but close enough) is a rudimentary map of the desert pointing out a few sponsoring filling stations.

I had a bit of a disappointment yesterday involving the town of Afton. I'd rather not go into it here, but I felt the sting of something I think was extremely unfair. Maybe I'm just sensitive. I still feel affection for the town and hope that some day someone will come along with the incentive and funds to buy a few of the historic buildings along Route 66 and restore them, and I continue to do my best to "sell" the town to just about every traveler who comes my way. Apparently, the town doesn't care if I feel this way.

Ok, I'm finished grumping. I apologize.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Sob sniff!

This is a snowy morning in Tulsa, and since I have nowhere to go (other than perhaps heading out later to test the snow-worthiness of the new Subaru), I'm sitting here weeding out my Favorites list and looking over some of my old blog entries.

I defy any true, dyed-in-the-wool Route 66 fan to make it all the way through "Our Town", James Taylor's song from the "Cars" movie, without at least shedding a tear or two. As for me, I just flat out blubber like a baby when I listen to it. In fact, I'm mopping up my keyboard right now.

Last winter I posted a video on YouTube which I made using old postcards of Afton compared to photos of Afton today. I used the James Taylor song as a backdrop. If you're feeling a little melancholy today, as I am, please check it out. I need someone to cry with.

It's such a small world. I had an email from a person with whom I graduated from high school a million years ago (well, only 47 years ago), and she indicated that she'd found me through an article written in the University of Kentucky alumni magazine recently. She's from Kentucky, but her mother was born in Afton in 1907! She recollected stories her mother had told her about the town. On top of that, her father was a Packard and Studebaker dealer! This is all very exciting. She told me she'd try to dig out some old Afton pictures and send them along. I am thrilled!

ADDITION: You MUST see this video. It was made 5 years ago, but is totally relevant today. It's a lifestyle changer, if you ask me. There's some Route 66 on it, but it's not dedicated strictly to Route 66. It's a nationwide issue. Be prepared to be moved.

Independent America - The Two Lane Search For Mom and Pop - Watch the Documentary Film for Free Watch Free Documentaries On...

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Old Videos For a Cold Day

I've had fun this morning sifting through a lot of old advertising videos on YouTube. Since Afton Station is a former D-X service station which is now a Packard showroom museum, I've decided to share these two. Then, I added a couple of interesting videos relating to Afton, too. So, when you have about 15 minutes to spare, sit back and enjoy!

The first is a (Circa) 1967 D-X Gasoline ad. Win a thousand dollar jackpot in a scratch-off game at your friendly local D-X dealer! The actors playing both the attendant and the customer look familiar, but I can't place them. Any ideas?

Next, the latest innovation by the Packard Motor Car Company! Push Button Drive! "What a wonderful convenience!" "Like taking off for a trip to the moon!" By 1955, when this was aired, Packard was just a couple of years away from its demise. What a shame to lose such a great, well-made vehicle. The push buttons, however, never caught on.

Next, since we're talking about Afton, Oklahoma here, I present a totally random video I found on YouTube -- Melvin Birks Makes Biscuits. He's an Afton resident, and I think this video will make you smile. . . and make you hungry, too! I don't know Mr. Birks, but I hope to meet him some day!

Ok, one more. I can't resist adding another Melvin Birks video. His son has recorded a series of interviews with Mr. Birks in which he recalls his life as a young boy in Afton. This one references the iconic Rest Haven Motel, just down the street from Afton Station. Melvin's grandmother had a taxi service in Afton. Hard to imagine such a thing, but apparently it did well for a while. Mr. Birks himself had a bus station and a funeral parlor.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Thoughts of my Dad

Were he alive today, my dad would be 100 years old right now. I thought about him a lot today, and I'll explain shortly. But first, a brief explanation of my day. . .

I headed for Afton Station, but my heart wasn't really in it. It's just so darn cold in there when I first arrive, and it takes hours to warm the place up. I just wasn't in the mood for shivering away my morning. However, I wanted to do the end-of-month books and the end-of-year books for 2010. I discovered after I arrived that, since almost nothing sold in December, it took me about 5 minutes to do the monthly accounting. Winding up the year barely took longer than that. I stuck it out at Afton for about 2 hours though, then felt the itch to leave. I doubted there would be any visitors anyway.

I decided to drive to Welch to visit the grave of Ma Barker, the notorious outlaw. She and her family are buried in a small cemetery on the road to Welch, and Betty W. has explained to me several times how to get to it, so I figured I could find it on my own.

The first small cemetery I passed looked right, so I drove all the way to the back, as Betty had explained, and tramped around in the cold wind for a while, finding no Barkers whatsoever. When I got too chilly to continue, I just gave up. I decided to continue on the road to Chetopa KS, as I was feeling I needed a little dose of Great Plains under my tires.

It was then that I started to think of my father. Nobody I've ever known was as avid a roadie as my dad. He was never happier than when he was behind the wheel of the family car, preferably on some small road out in the middle of nowhere. If he wasn't driving and exclaiming about the beauty of farmers' fields or lakes or silos, he was almost equally as happy driving through tiny towns, very slowly so as to take in every detail of life there. We'd often have discussions about the stores and houses in the little villages, imagining who lived there and what it would be like to live so far from civilization. These were the best times of my childhood.

My dad never had the chance to live that small-town life. He was born in Cleveland, worked his way through school crewing on the ore boats on the Great Lakes, and from there went on to a succession of high-intensity jobs that took him up the corporate spiral quickly and left very little time for dreaming. (Did you know my dad invented the Sealy Posturpedic Mattress?) But in all of his high level positions, he always -- ALWAYS -- made time for vacations. He was fortunate to have come to the point where he could get away several times a year for extended lengths of time, and he also retired at age 54.

On family vacations, we would drive and drive. My dad remained in a constant, unbroken state of wonder when he was behind the wheel. Everything was taken in and appreciated. Majestic mountains weren't any more interesting to him than little details such as the laundry on the clotheslines of passing farmhouses. He loved to visit little local grocery stores, and especially tiny 5 and 10s. He was the perfect companion for any road trip.

I was thinking today that a huge chunk of my genetic makeup comes from my dad. And he was with me as I drove through the ranchland to Chetopa, and then Oswego, KS. I've been to Chetopa before. I wrote about it here once before, mentioning that it's called the Pecan and Catfish Capital of Kansas, but on both that trip and this, I was unable to find any place to purchase either of those things. However, this time I found this restored Sinclair station which is now a variety store.

I love towns that have parking down the middle of their Main Streets. Oswego is such a town. I'd never seen that before moving to this part of the country, and it sure makes a lot of sense. I took an immediate liking to Oswego. It seems relatively vital and well-kept. There were several large Victorian houses of the type that I appreciate. My father would have liked this town, too. If he'd been with me in body rather than just in spirit, I'm sure we would have stopped and walked around a little, stopping for a bite at one of the local cafes. Being alone and not having a lot of time, I just drove around a bit.

I liked the fact that the old theater marquee was still standing, although it appeared that the building was being used as an antique auction place. That's ok, at least it's still there.

Time was getting short, so I headed for Tulsa. Back on the road outside of Welch, I passed another cemetery sign, and after arriving home I looked up Ma Barker and found out that she was indeed buried in the second graveyard, Timberhill. Oh well, that gives me another excuse to explore that territory some time!

Wrong Cemetery

Correct Cemetery

Information about Ma Barker and her "gang" here:

Kate "Ma" Barker (1877 - 1935) - Find A Grave Memorial

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Ron M., Grand Marshal of the Afton Fourth of July Parade

At Afton Station, we do a lot of talking about how much the town of Afton could use a parade. We may be short on floats, big balloons, marching bands and people, but we're convinced we could put on an eclectic parade that would reflect the spirit of the town. Our vintage cars would be used of course, and they could be accompanied by kids on bicycles, kids on their dads' John Deere tractors, Fork Lift Man with his fleet of three forklifts, the guy on the golf cart with the dog that rides with him, assorted folks from the mental health clinic behind the Station, and for music I'd be happy to play my kazoo. Oh, and we would have to include the three-legged dog, of course. It might be a rag-tag procession, but it would be our very own parade.

But alas, another Fourth of July was threatening to pass without any kind of parade at all. So, taking the matter into my own hands, today I declared Ron M. the "Grand Marshal of the 2010 Afton Fourth of July Parade". He was thrilled! He was so thrilled, in fact, that he put on his Uncle Sam hat, padded his tummy with a pillow, and .... god help us.... put in his fake teeth left over from Halloween. (This may be the creepiest picture I've ever posted!)

For his manner of transportation, we placed him in the back of our '65 Chevy convertible, where he proudly waved the American flag and practiced the royal wave.

Now, all we needed was a parade.

Alas, it wasn't to be. No citizens lined up behind our festive vehicle. No bands, no floats, no balloons. Eventually, we had to give up and return to reality. And not a moment too soon.

Just after we resigned ourselves to no parade and stopped dreaming and fooling around, a TRUE parade of visitors began to arrive. The atmosphere became festive indeed. It seems that LOTS of folks were celebrating their independence by traveling Route 66, the Mother Road.

They came from Woodlawn IL, Evansville IN, Oakland CA, Toronto Canada, McAllen TX, Greenburg IN, Donna TX, Concord New Zealand, Mt. Vernon MO, Marysville CA, Terre Haute IN, Lawrenceburg KY, Chanute KS, and Grove, Afton, Jackton, and Langley OK. Betty W. came and was able to stay for a while, and her dear friend Reuben Tipton brought us some more of his remarkable sweet corn.

And then I realized that we really didn't need a fancy parade. We had everything we needed to make us happy just by having the honor of meeting and greeting our traveling friends from all over the Earth. It was a very good Independence Day!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Bottom of the barrel?

Some of you may think that I have finally succumbed to scraping the bottom of the barrel after you see this post. But really, it's not true. Ok, it IS more photos of the backs of buildings, but I'm not taking the pictures just to fill up blog space. As I said earlier this week, I've always been interested in and fascinated by back alleys in small towns. In fact, I remembered that even when I was a kid I was always exploring what was behind buildings. This was especially so when it came to motels. As a child, when traveling with my parents I would often take a walk out behind the motel just to see what was back there. Sometimes there were cows, and sometimes there were corn fields. Sometimes there was just litter and trash. Once, in Virginia, our motel backed up to a small mountain/large hill, and as I was exploring what was behind the building, a small explosion up on the mountain made me almost jump out of my socks and flee back to my parents. It turns out that they were doing some blasting for a mining operation up there.

Today, I'm showing you more back alleys because 1) I had time to take some photos on my way to Afton this morning, and 2) it was a very uneventful day at Afton Station today, so I don't have that much to talk about.

We had only two visitors, both from Collinsville, Oklahoma. I think the lack of visitors (after having a record 18 on Tuesday) had to do with the fact that David had his huge, 44-foot long motorhome out for a spring cleaning in the driveway, thus blocking almost the entire view of the Station from Route 66. It was a nice day, however. Marly was there helping David, and it's the first time he's been around for almost two months, so it was nice to see him. Tattoo Man dropped in for a little while to have me take a better picture of his new Waldmire tattoo, by request of Jim Conkle of the Route 66 Pulse, who wants to use the photo in the next issue. Jim himself called me this morning from his home in California and we had a great chat. The next issue is almost done and he'll be delivering it in person in a couple of weeks.

OK, here we go with the photos of back alleys!

Back alley Vinita, OK

Behind Main St. -- Chelsea, OK

Afton, OK -- Palmer Hotel block from the rear

Monday, January 11, 2010

Tales of Afton Past

The 90-minute DVD that Betty gave me yesterday will haunt me for a long, long time. I don't know exactly why a town that I've never lived in, and actually have only known intimately for about 10 years, evokes such fascination and sentimentality in me. Perhaps it's because everything about the town presages it's eventual demise. Although I realize that to everything there is a time and a purpose, the loss of a town -- a whole town! -- seems to be an unspeakable tragedy. For a while, I thought I was the only person in town who "got" that, but now I realize that I was foolish to be so presumptuous.

The DVD opens with Tom Bassett, now deceased (2nd of three generations of grocery store proprietors) leading a "tour" of Afton, pointing out all the existing buildings and explaining the changes and the tear-downs and showing where buildings once were that are no more. This seems to have been filmed in the late '70s or early '80s. Following that, there are numerous interviews with citizens of Afton who were obviously chosen for their longevity and their knowledge of the town as it was in the early part of the 20th century. If there was ever an argument for taking oral histories from our senior citizens, this is it. The citizens are articulate and have amazing memories, often in great detail.

Afton Depot -- gone

Although I was quite emotional while I watched the DVD, I managed to jot down a few things that I felt were important, or interesting, or just amusing. From what was said, most of the people interviewed were born between 1905 and 1912, so many of the recollections were pre-Route 66 days. There were numerous references to how busy and vital Afton once was, primarily because of the large number of trains that stopped there -- about 20 in a 24-hour period. Many buildings had rooms on their second floors where railroad workers could "flop".

There was talk of several livery stables, and how many people would come in from the country in their buggies. A five-mile trip to Afton to shop was considered a big deal, an all-day excursion. The largest celebration of the year was held on the 4th of July, when people came from all around to party all day and night.

Fourth of July in Afton

Every Saturday night, all the stores remained open until midnight because the "country people" would come in to stock up on necesssities and to eat at one of the numerous cafes in town.

Cross Mercantile

One woman told of coming to Afton from the country when she was very young and finding the granite pillar in front of the bank to be the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Old bank building - note pillar

One extraordinary fact that surprised me was reference to the "town pump" which stood in the middle of the intersection of "66 and Main". Wow, that blew me away!

Around election time, the men of Afton (but not the women, since they couldn't vote) would gather in town and many fights would break out between the opposing factions. One woman described Afton as a "shoot 'em up" town. Another described it as the "hay center of the world", which might be a bit of hyperbole, but I'm sure that at the time the citizens believed it.

There was only one black family in town, and the gentleman whose name was Uncle Joe was in charge of uprighting the outhouses which were frequently tipped over by exuberant teen age boys.

There was oh, so much more that I can relate here. If there's a way I can post the entire CD, I will do that. In the meantime, I must say that one woman said "I can't think of this becoming a ghost town", and another said "There's just no town pride any more." I'm afraid that, sadly, I must agree.

________________

On a different note, I noticed when passing the Blue Whale yesterday on my way home from Afton, that he was encased in a frozen pond. I couldn't stop to take a photo because of a car riding my back bumper. Fortunately, however, Brad Nickson (who is a great photographer) went out there this morning and took this picture of the frozen fishie. Thanks, Brad!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

I have an icicle

It's probably ruining my gutter, but I'm "growing" this icicle. It's about 4 ft. long now, maybe a little longer. To me, it represents melting. And I do LOVE melting! As you know, I hate snow. It snowed a little more this morning, but just a dusting and didn't stick. If I have to see snow, I'd like it to be that kind. It's gone now, and the glorious sun is out. It was -1 degree in Afton this morning, so I didn't go. However, I'm tired of making excuses, so unless there's a tornado, blizzard, earthquake, or volcanic eruption, I'll be driving up there tomorrow. Being without operational kidneys, I can spend many hours there without worrying about the frozen potty if, in fact, it's still frozen. I don't know if David fixed that yet, but I doubt it. The visitors will have to fend for themselves, I'm afraid.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from visiting Afton Station tomorrow. I'll be there, so come ahead. I'd hate a whole day with no visitors!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

For your viewing pleasure. . . (I hope!)

I looked back at my records for the 2 1/2 years I've been keeping records at Afton Station, and this was only the third day in all that time that we were open a full day and had no (ZERO) visitors. I can't say that I blame people. It was cold, in the low 20s this morning, and only warmed up to the low 40s this afternoon. But it was a sunny day and I'm a bit disappointed that no road warriors were out battling the cold.

On the other hand, the time went very quickly because Ron M. and I worked all day, non-stop, to finish the video I've been talking about for months. It's far from perfect, but it was my first effort, and I couldn't have done it without Ron's technical help. Kudos to Betty too, who was able to find some of the "before" photos for me. We just about went nuts trying to insert the right transitions between pictures, and some of them still aren't quite right, but it'll have to do for now.

So now, for your viewing pleasure. . . AFTON -- THEN AND NOW, the somewhat sad tale of a small town bypassed by Route 66. (It looks much better if you view it on Full Screen.)

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Sound of Silence

A few days ago I suggested you check out a Hulu video entitled “The Creek Runs Red”. Hulu - Independent Lens: The Creek Runs Red - Watch the full episode now. I would love to be able to make it required viewing for all of my readers, but somehow I don’t think that would work. However, for those of you that can spare an hour, I highly recommend it, particularly if reading my blog has sparked your curiosity about the county in which Afton Station sits. Picher is about a half mile off Route 66. [One important note, however: The documentary was made in 2006, prior to a tornado that wiped out just about everything you’ll see in the film. There’s basically nothing left in Picher or Cardin now. What the Superfund Site buyout didn’t take away, last year’s tornado did. That makes the story even more interesting.]

The documentary doesn't take sides on the issue of abandonment of Picher and Cardin, and I like that. I'm not even sure I've made up my own mind about the ongoing debate. I just know that a lot of people were faced with heartaches because of something that happened many years ago and never got fixed. The visuals alone, not to mention the interviews with folks from the towns, make it worth watching.

Yesterday morning I got up early to drive up to Picher and Cardin to check out the area once again. It’s about 20 miles up Route 66 from Afton, thus about 100 miles from Tulsa where I live. I just can’t seem to stay away, despite the despair I feel when I go there. The silence there yesterday was deafening, and there wasn’t a single sign of life other than the chirping of birds. I drove around for about a half hour and took a few pictures. At times, it felt like I’d landed on the moon. And whether you side with the folks who were grateful for the buyout so they could get their children away from the toxic environment or with those who flatly refused to leave their ancestral homes, the story is a moving one. After all, it’s about the death of two cities.

Here are some of the photos I took.

Is this the Moon, or is it northeastern Oklahoma? One of the many mountain-sized piles of lead slag left over from early 20th century lead and zinc mining.

Picher Mining Museum, like everything else in town, is closed.

Another slag heap

This slag mountain is literally in the back yard of this abandoned home.

A warning to kids -- but there are no kids left here any more.

Homage, of sorts, to the mining past of Picher and Cardin. Plaque reads "In Loving Memory of Herschel B. Ellis who mined these mines for 30 years and was one of the last miners to be pulled from the underground while the water was coming up around his ankles as he worked to remove equipment. Wife and Family". It was a tough life even when the mines were in operation.

Hoppy's Museum and Pool Hall. Hoppy was one man who refused to leave. I thought his museum was still open, but it certainly looked abandoned yesterday. The bucket out front is what brought the ore up from the underground mines.

A winding road through the "mountains". Government signs said I shouldn't go there, but I went anyway.Abandoned church

I could go on and on about this, and I have more photos too, but I'll stop now. Please watch the video. Thanks.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Crowd in the street

In the poor excuse for poetry I posted here yesterday, I mentioned the "crowds on dusty streets" in Afton. Clearly, that's an image from the past since the streets of Afton are no longer dusty and the closest thing to a crowd there these days is when I have more than a couple of visitors to Afton Station at once. However, here's the photo postcard from the turn of the century that inspired that reference. I suspect, since the people are in their finery, that this was some sort of celebration. It's in front of Livingston's Dry Goods, which no longer exists, but Afton Station is just beyond the vacant lot that used to be Livingston's.

A group of Mustangs drivers will be visiting Afton Station tomorrow, and I'll be there with my camera at the ready.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Flow Gently

Word has it, among those who know a little bit about Afton history, that the town was named for Afton Ayres, the daughter of a railroad surveyor, in 1886. Afton was a big railroad town back in the day, and many people employed by the railroad lived there. They further say that Afton Ayres herself was named after the River Afton in Scotland, which happens to be in the county of Ayrshire [Ayres=Ayrshire. Get it?]. The River Afton is famous for being the subject of Robert Burns' poem, Flow Gently Sweet Afton. Not long ago, I was contacted by a Scottish gentleman who has been doing research to find all the towns and other geographic entities in the world that carry the name of Afton. I helped him out a bit by telling him of the Aftons I know exist in the U.S.

Yesterday he sent me a link to a website on which are several photos of the River Afton in Scotland. It bears absolutely NO resemblance to Afton, Oklahoma, and yet I feel connected to it somehow. It's beautiful country!

This monument to Robert Burns is erected close to the River Afton.

Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Melancholia

I'm not intrinsically a sad person, but occasionally I have brief spells of sadness. They rarely last more than a few hours, but this morning I had one. Why the sadness? It started with Rod Stewart singing "Forever Young" on the radio while I was on the way to Afton. That song always gets to me, and more so now that I'm older. Most people like music on their car radios. I don't. I don't even like music very much anywhere. "Normal" people like it because it sets moods, which is exactly the reason I don't care for it. I'm moody enough without it.

My sadness continued during the ride, thinking about things. My dad would have been 90 years old today if he were still alive. My ex turns 65 today. For some reason, that saddens me. My friend's wife was diagnosed with cancer. Obviously, that saddens me, too.

There are people in the world who make me sad, too. Currently, the incredibly ignorant folks known as "birthers" just refuse to get out of my mind. I feel sad for people whose lives are so narrow that they have nothing better to do than to try to disprove proven facts. How about using your time more creatively, people? Restore an old building. Take your family on a vacation. Volunteer somewhere. Stop being jerks.

____________

Just in the nick of time, my first visitor to the Station got me out of my funk. (I told you they never lasts very long.) He was Ron Jones, but not our Ron "Tattoo Man" Jones. This Ron Jones was from Vinita, but he grew up in Afton in the '40s and '50s. We had a wonderful chat, in which he told me a few interesting Afton stories. One story took place in the '50s, when a guy with a gun stood on the balcony across the street (see picture) and, for a very long time, waved the gun around threatening to kill somebody. He never did, but Mr. Jones said it kept the whole town occupied for many hours.

My next visitors were from Southhampton, Great Britain, a young couple on an 8-week odyssey through the U.S. which is also including New Orleans and New York City along with Route 66. Later guests came from Gardner, KS and more folks from Vinita, OK. Neighbor Mike stopped by to tell me he's sold his house and plans to leave town. It wasn't a busy day.

________________

Joplin, Missouri is the closest "big city" to Afton, just about 42 miles via Route 66. Yesterday Betty brought me an incredibly interesting article from the Joplin newspaper about Joplin's criminal history. Bonnie and Clyde (and the rest of the Barrow gang), the Jesse James gang, "Machine Gun" Kelly and his crew, and the notorious Ma Barker and her four sons all hung out in Joplin at one time or another in the '30s. Bonnie and Clyde gunned down two lawmen at this Joplin apartment, which in now on the National Register of Historic Places. Joplin was known to be a "safe" place for the gangs, as there were several people in the town who harbored them. This is so interesting! When I lived up in Grove, Joplin was my go-to place for shopping, but I never knew about this. Now, I must take a trip up there and check out this significant landmark of criminal history.

Bonnie and Clyde apartment in Joplin, MO

Photo du jour:

The once-neon lit Elms Motel sign in Claremore. I like it.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Super Chopper

First, let's get the sunrise picture out of the way. :-)

There, now I can proceed with my Ramblings....

I'm afraid this will be the last day this summer that I'll be able to have the door open and the A/C turned off at Afton Station. It was HOT today, but I was once again too stubborn to flip on the air conditioner to get some relief. I know the electric bills will soar to unbelievable heights when I finally succcumb, but it's not fair to my volunteers and guests to make everyone suffer just because I'm feeling like a cheapskate lately. So, I surrender! On Tuesday, there will be COOL!

Loose bull! Loose bull! I've seen more and more cattle grazing dangerously near the side of the road lately, having escaped their fenced pastures. Usually they're cows -- this time it was a bull!

My photo du jour is of Cotton Eyed Joe's BBQ on Route 66 in Claremore. I love their sign, I love their atmosphere, and I particularly LOVE their barbeque! Try it some time. You won't be sorry. You don't have to take just my word for it. Marian Clark, author of The Route 66 Cookbook, is also a fan.

Despite the heat, it was a very good day at Afton Station. Ron "Tattoo Man" Jones was there most of the time, and Betty came for a few hours, too. We started the day with the arrival of folks from V8 Choppers in Miami. http://v8choppers.com/ They custom-build gorgeous motorcycles with automobile V8 engines! They came to take some photos of one of the Choppers in front of our gas pumps. The photograper made us a little nervous by spending an inordinate amount of time in the middle of the street, but since he managed to escape death by semi-tractor trailer truck, it was a pleasant visit. Here's the rather spectacular 350V8 bike. Get a load of that engine! If it toppled over, I believe one would need a tow truck to upright it.

Other visitors were mostly of the tri-state variety. There were 20 of them, and the farthest came from Carthage, MO. The others came from Bentonville, AR and Owasso, Miami, Shindler, Tulsa, and Claremore OK. Perhaps all those predictions that family travel will be of the closer-to-home variety this summer will prove to be true. Most of the travelers were either on day trips or weekend outings. There wasn't a long-distance Route 66 traveler in the bunch. No matter, they were all enjoying the sun and the road.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Monday, January 11, 2010

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Friday, November 6, 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009

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