Day 4: October 30, 2015 Conferring Comment via blog

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The lobby of the Wildey Theater is the conference entry portal.

Conference Director Cheryl Eichar Jett got things started by introducing Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton who welcomed us to his city and told us some of its history. Keynote speaker Dr. David K. Dunaway followed with "The Hidden Voices of Route 66". With the help of audio clips, Dunaway talked about people such as blacks and the very poor who do not always appear in the common view of Route 66.

I took advantage of the break between sessions to snap a shot from the Wildey's balcony.

Then I used the rest of the break to visit the vendor's area on the third floor.

I finished up my morning with author Susan Croce Kelly's presentation "Father of Route 66: Cy Avery".

Lunch was with Fred Zander and Dave Wickline at Northside Dairy Haven on the next to last day of the season. We all got the fish special, Fred & I also got pumpkin shakes, and I got a wonderful smile.

The first afternoon session I attended was "Route 66 in Illinois" with Cheryl Eichar Jett and Joe Sonderman. Then it was Swa Frantzen's "Route 66 as Seen through European Eyes". Swa lives in Belgium, has traveled Route 66 multiple times, and operates the oldest Route 66 website in existence. I wrapped things up with "Family-Friendly Route 66" by Dr. Anne Maro Slanina, author of Annie Mouse Books.

Lots of talking and laughing took place at the conference dinner.

A concert by every roadie's favorite band, The Road Crew. For anyone not familiar with the band, the sequence of the individual pictures is Woody, Joe, Jason, and Don. This show was kind of special for a couple members of The Crew. Woody recently had both hips replaced and the concert was one of the incentives that kept him focused on his rehabilitation. It could not have been easy but its success was confirmed by the fact that concert goers wouldn't have known anything about it if Don hadn't told the story. This was also a special show for Joe since his son lives near St Louis and he had two granddaughters dancing in the front row. The last shot is of the group doing Pretty Woman in their Roy Orbison disguises. The transformation is uncanny.

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