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Day 13: April 29, 2018 More MO Comment via blog |
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Before leaving Saint Joseph, I paused after turning south onto 5th from
Jules. This is the intersection where the combined Jefferson Highway
Association and Pikes Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Association headquarters
once stood. I believe it was on the south east corner where the walled
parking lot is currently.
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A few miles south of Saint Joseph, I spotted JHA member Roger Bell looking
over a bridge and pulled over to say hi and see what he'd found. He had
been looking for dates, but found none. Then I was off on narrow roads
with Jefferson Highway signs.
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In Smithville, the Jefferson Highway (a.k.a, Commercial Avenue) was
blocked off just south of downtown. I explored side streets to both east
and west without success. In the end, I had the move on using US-169.
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I didn't have to drive through the center of Kansas City, and the traffic
wasn't terrible, but there was construction, and I don't care much for
city driving in any case. Good thing I could pretend that the city was a
huge steamboat with two big highfalutin smoke stacks.
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Some JH era road equipment and a pair of nice murals can be seen in
Harrisonville.
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This spot a few miles south of Archie instantly became one of my favorite
Jefferson Highway windshield scenes. Plus there's a little fixer-upper
home on the right. Crescent Hill Cemetery is just ahead on the left.
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A few miles northeast of Rich Hill, it appears that a space now crossed by
a dam like road, was once crossed by a fairly high level bridge. The
near-side metal columns are easily seen while
those on the other side are somewhat hidden.
About a dozen miles of driving brought me to a dam that I assume was built
by beavers and a bridge I assume was built by humans appeared after
another eight miles. That bridge crosses the Marmaton River at a point
with a hard rock bank.
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These three buildings are right on the Jefferson Highway in Nevada,
Missouri. The first is the Bushwhacker Museum in the old Vernon County Jail. The
old church is directly across the street. Of course, the Vernon County
Courthouse sits in the town square.
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Those are cool buildings but this is the building I'm really here for.
Like the sign says, the White Grill has been here since 1938. There are a
half-dozen or so booths but I parked myself on one of the stools and
placed my order. It was soon on the grill then on a plate in front of me.
Those 'burgers are big balls of fresh ground beef before they're flattened
on the grill. The potatoes are called Suzy Q's which apparently everyone
in the world, or at least in Missouri, knows besides me. They are fresh
spiral cut then kept in water until cooked and they are a world apart from
fast food "curly fries". Red McLaughlin, the White Grill's
founder, is credited with inventing them. A sign on the back of the
building says "HONK FOR CURB SERVICE". I'm not sure how that
works and failed to ask. Gotta come back to find out, I guess.
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This is a bonus bridge. As I turned a corner in Lamar, I see some guy
standing at street side wave as if to flag me down. Making a snap decision
that it was not likely I'd be mugged with a garden hose, I pulled over and
met Joe Davis. Joe, who works with the local historical society, had
spotted the JH signs on my car. I learned of this salvaged LH bridge while
chatting with him and a neighbor and found it on only the second try. The
Plaza Theater and Harry Truman's birthplace are not-quite-on-the-JH Lamar
attractions.
Less than six miles south of Lamar, the inevitable happened. I'd been driving section lines back and forth over railroad tracks all day and finally got caught by a freight train. That wasn't really a problem as far as I was concerned. More of a little break. |
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I've been through Jasper before but stopped to refresh my memory of how
tricky it is to photograph a sheet of glass with the sun shining directly
on it.
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When I saw the cop waiting beside the road, I knew it was time to stop for
the day. I pulled around the other side of the building and right up to
my room. That's not my picture on the
window. Just a strong resemblance. That third picture leaves no doubt
about where I'm staying. Although they can't really be seen, that's Debye
and Debbie Dee out front in the fourth picture. The neon does seem to get
brighter as it gets darker, but, no matter how dark it gets, John Law
never sleeps.
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