Miata-ville

When Ron M. and I left Tulsa for Afton on this gloomy, drizzly morning, I don't think we expected to have as great a day as we had! We had 47 visitors today! It's amazing how a full day like today seems to fly by, whereas a slow day is just that. . . a slow day. This one flew by like the wind.

Immediately after we opened, four cheery gentlemen from Gaule, Sweden came through the door. They are doing a full Chicago-to-L.A. Route 66 trip, but had taken a little side trip to Memphis to see Graceland -- an important pilgrimage for so many Europeans. They're a little concerned about getting back to Sweden in 11 days, as it will all depend on the dissemination of that gigantic volcanic cloud that's hanging over Europe.

The NW Arkansas Miata Club arrived next. This year, there were 14 snappy little Miata convertibles containing 27 people. I was impressed by this congenial group. They all seemed like such good friends. It turns out that they meet twice a month and take a cruise once a month, so they have lots of chances to get to know one another. Other car clubs should take note. These people are clearly good friends, not just people they see once or twice a year.

At the same time the Miata folks were here, some of the little kids from town came in to check out what was going on. That string of Miatas stretching for a whole block is an impressive sight.
And then, of course, there were all the other visitors. They arrived continually all day. They came from Bentonville AR, Wichita KS, Eugene OR, and Choctaw, Midwest City, Tahlequah, Miami, and Langley, OK. We ended the day with a first visit from the pastor of the 1st Baptist Church of Afton, who hasn't been able to visit previously due to caring for his disabled wife. He's a car collector himself and was most interested in seeing our collection.

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The roof of Bassett's Grocery across the street collapsed, virtually destroying the interior of the building. This is such a sad development for the 1911 Pierce-Harvey Buggy Company building. It's VERY fortunate that the grocery is closed and no one was harmed in the collapse.

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Tattoo Man called to report that he's feeling much better (just bored!) but will have to stay at the hospital for several more days while he's receiving intravenous antibiotics.

View from a window

I had completely forgotten about this photo of Afton Station, taken by Ron M. some time ago from the window of the apartment above Bassett's Grocery. It's kind of spooky, don't you think? I love it. That's all for today. I plan to spend the next two hours watching "Revolutionary Road", which just arrived from NetFlix. I've been waiting to see it, since most of it was filmed in my old neighborhood in Connecticut.

A little more about Bassett's

Ghost sign on the side of Bassett's Grocery

I'm a little bit obsessed about finding a way to keep Bassett's Grocery alive. I appreciate Ron Warnick featuring it on his blog today, http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/, because he gets many times more hits than I get here.

It just seems that Bassett's could be a very viable business if a few things were to happen. For one, it would need to be advertised as a Route 66 attraction. It's one of the oldest -- if not THE oldest -- continuously operating groceries on all of Route 66. It's never really taken advantage of the tourist trade. There's never even been a Route 66 shield on the exterior, and those of us with business on the Route know that tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are very much attracted to that shield. Word of mouth and inclusion in Route 66 guidebooks would also help. Secondly, here are a couple of things I didn't mention in yesterday's post. The store comes with a viable and active video/DVD rental business. It also has a full butcher shop in the back. From listening to the wishes and wants of tourists who come to Afton Station, we know that one thing many of them are seeking is a place to sit down and have a sandwich, or even stand up and have one! Tommy never made sandwiches at Bassett's, although he did sell fresh sliced deli meat and bread. But I think a couple of tables and a small sandwich-making operation would be a big attraction. Look how well Wrink's Market (Lebanon, MO) and Eisler Bros. (Riverton, KS) do by just offering sandwiches.

Well, that's enough from me on this subject. I just really want to see something happen over there. The town of Afton needs it!

Ad from an early '50s newspaper

R.I.P. Bassett's Grocery

I'm so sad. I knew it was coming, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. Shortly after we arrived at Afton Station this morning, Tommy Bassett came over to announce that he's officially closing his little grocery store next week. His grandfather founded Bassett's Grocery in 1922 and his father ran it until Tommy took it over many years ago. Now, Tommy is getting older and ready to retire, and business has fallen off lately with big, relatively new WalMart Supercenters in the towns both east and west of Afton.

It's hard to describe how sad this makes me. I've even surprised myself by this reaction. I don't want to be the only business in town! I mourn for what was once a vital, thriving community and now is sinking into ghost town status. I mourn for the beautiful historic building that houses Bassett's (built in 1911 for the Pierce Harvey Buggy Co.). I fear it will fall into the "wrong" hands and be razed, the fate of so many other buildings in town. I mourn for the few folks who still live here who can't make the trip to a distant town to buy groceries. I mourn for Route 66 travelers who, a few years from now, will never know the quaint charms of a small town grocery.

Bassett's is up for sale or lease -- the whole building and contents of the grocery store. The rather large building includes space for two other storefronts and apartments above. Tommy also said he'd lease all the grocery equipment and fixtures to anyone who is interested in running it as a grocery store again. I'm hopeful, but not particularly optimistic, that some energetic preservation-minded person will take a chance on this piece of Route 66 history. I don't wanna be the only gal in town!!!

Despite all of this, it was an exceptionally good day at Afton Station. Ron M. was with me, and Betty stopped in for a while. We had 17 visitors, coming from Minnesota, Arkansas, and Missouri, and from Claremore, Stillwater, Tahlequah, and Vinita Oklahoma. As usual, they all had their stories to tell, but for once I'm not really in the mood to tell them.

To close on a more upbeat note...
I love flowers that bloom year round! Here are my pansies, planted last fall and looking even better than they did before winter came. Look closely and you can see that my daffodils are about to flower, too. Hurry up, Spring!