Day 2: October 31, 2024 Conference and Parade Comment via blog

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Rumors that I took this picture of the restored Tropics sign because it was something I could do from inside my dry car are only partially true. It really wasn't raining much at all.

Although the sky was still gray and the pavement was still wet, it was no longer raining when I reached the Illinois state fairgrounds in Springfield and I walked around a bit to take pictures. I originally thought this "micro version of Illinois Route 66" would be too tacky and artificial but the signs are so well done that I've changed my mind and quite like the place. Now I need to see it at night. There is a description here and some much better photos by the outfit that made the signs here.

I drove through Springfield then stopped for breakfast on the south side of town at Charlie Parker's. I tried to order a pony shoe but apparently did not try hard enough because a full size breakfast horse shoe is what I got. I made a sizable dent in that plate but surrendered well short of victory.

There is a duplicate of this statue in Cincinnati and two duplicates of just the Lincoln figure in Iowa. Civil War veteran Captain Charles Clinton is responsible for this statue in Bunker Hill, where he was born, and the one in Cincinnati, where he spent his later years. As I made my way from Springfield to Atlanta, I sometimes followed Historic Route 66 and sometimes not. At some point I came upon a pointer to Bunker Hill which triggered the memory of Captain Clinton and the statues and put the town solidly on my route to the conference.

I made it to Edwardsville in plenty of time to say a few hellos and get situated before Chery Eichar Jett introduced the first speaker. That first speaker was Rhys Martin, President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, who presented an introduction to the road and an update on things in Oklahoma. Then Kaisa Barthuli of the National Park Service and Bill Thomas of the Road Ahead Partnership updated us on plans for the centennial and more. Ron Romero closed the day's presentations with updates on the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum and its tornado encounter.

After the presentations, Cindy Reinhardt offered a show and tell on the Wildey Theater that included a look at some stairs that once led to box seats and the theater's "green room".

Following dinner, several conference attendees returned to the Wildey to watch the Edwardsville Halloween parade. It's nice to see that the Yellow Submarine is still afloat fifty-five years after its launch. The girl riding the dragon gets my vote if anyone is considering a People's Choice award.

Ax throwing seems a little scary to me under any circumstances and doubly so on a moving platform. The Edwardsville High School Band was one of the parade's larger groups and a respectable number of people -- but not everybody -- was Kung Fu fighting.

Thes vehicles were near the parade's end. There were, of course, other vehicles in the parade towing floats and such. The parade was a little different from what I was expecting with only a few entries in elaborate costumes and those not being particularly frightening. I think the focus was on candy and I suspect growing up in Edwardsville is a steady progression from catching to tossing to towing the tossers.

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