The big orange can be seen at least a mile away with its 7-foot figure and small service window that once attended the busy highway of Route 66. Bono’s Orange stand, along with other produce stands down Route 66, served fresh produce to motorist who visited the busy highway. As traffic on Route 66 increased, the small produce stand branched out to a restaurant that served Italian cuisine.
Today, it is a much different sight. Bono’s Orange is one of the last surviving stands and the once thriving restaurant and deli now has a vacant lot and gated windows in the front entrance of the restaurant. There’s a big sign that reads “Coming Back Soon”. Joe Bono, current owner of the orange stand and restaurant, intends to reopen the facility that his parents once managed.
A once busy milestone now rests in the hands of Route 66 enthusiast to preserve the historical highway, but how exactly are these businesses preserving the Americana history of Route 66?
Route 66, also known as the Mother Road or the Main Street of America, was established Nov.11, 1926. It became a monumental route and is still being used today, but not like before. “By the 1970s, Route 66 had been largely replaced by five different interstates,” said Joe Holley of the Houston Chronicle.
For decades the Mother Road served as the main highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. It passed through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The National Historic Route 66 Federation says 85 percent of the route is “still easily drivable in an ordinary car.”
Businesses began to develop for the travelers of Route 66, including the Wigwam Motel.
“The California Wigwam Motel was built within the city limits of San Bernardino in 1949, a period when citrus groves flourished,” said the website for the Wigwam Motel. “In its fanciful emulation of an Indian encampment, Wigwam Village No. 2 exemplifies a unique type of architecture created for automobile travelers along the American roadside.”
Kumar Patal, current owner of the Wigwam Motel on 2728 W. Foothill Blvd. in San Bernardino has maintained the property for nearly twelve years, along with his mother Ramila Patal. The site features nineteen 30 ft. tall teepees.
“We have people from all over the country that visit. Many of them stay at the motel between March and October, but the peak months are between August through October,” said Patal. “I do it for the people that want to revisit the Route. That’s what makes this job enjoyable.”
Patal’s goal is to reach out to the younger community so that they could continue to preserve the history of the highway.
“With the Disney Pixar movie Cars that came out just recently, Route 66 was able to regain that attention once again,” said Patal.
The McDonald’s museum, located on 1398 N. E St. in San Bernardino, also preserves the highway and the location of the first McDonald’s. The museum had opened in 1998, when Juan Pollo’s franchise owner, Albert Okura, had purchased the facility. Jack Marcus, former marketer for Juan Pollo, manages the museum for Okura and provides tours for guest that visit the museum.
“We get a lot of visitors,” said Marcus. “People from all over the country send anything that is related to McDonalds. We have items from as far as Germany and Japan, some of which were the uniforms from McDonald’s.”
Marcus has worked with Okura since the Juan Pollo franchise began. “I remember him walking into the office one day and saying ‘I’m going to buy a piece of history,’” said Marcus. Okura bought the landmark because of the memories that he shared as a boy at McDonalds and wanted to preserve its history.
Okura started his Juan Pollo business in 1984 in a building near Route 66. “It is my Destiny,” said Okura when asked why he does he invest in preserving the Mother Road.
Okura also purchased the town of Amboy, California in May 2005 and is currently the mayor. Like the McDonalds museum, he intends to preserve the Americana history of Route 66 by preserving Roy’s Motel and Café and other historical sites in the town of Amboy.
“I want to keep Amboy pure,” said Okura. “Everything currently is stuck in the 1960’s and I’m not trying to modernize it.” Okura continues to preserve some of the original buildings in Amboy such as the post office, the town church, which was built in 1951, and the town gas station. Okura said he gets tourist every day, and hopes it continues to progress.
The California Route 66 Museum, located on 16825 D St. in Victorville, also host tours for travelers interested in the historical highway. The iconic symbol of Route 66 is displayed throughout the museum. The museums website shows upcoming car show events and pictures of visitors. Laurie Werp of Victorville is a museum employee.
“The Museum started 20 years ago,” said Werp.
“We have three rooms filled with historical items such as stoves and washers from that time period.”
Local schools are encouraged by the museum to have fieldtrips at their site.
“People from different countries visit this museum, even from as far as France,” said Werp, “which keeps the route thriving.”
Debra Hodkin from the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, located on 681 N. First Ave in Barstow is another museum that branches off near the route. They too preserve items from that time period and give educational tours about the old historical highway. They showcase the history of Barstow with automobile memorabilia and other items from Route 66.
She is saddened when I tell her that I talked to Bono the other day and that he was too sick for an interview.
“Thank you for telling me,” Hodkin said with remorse in her voice. “I’ve known the Bono family for quite some time.”
They are tight community even though their businesses are far from each other.
“We normally encourage our customers to visit the other sites,” Hodkin said.
They have 50 to 100 travelers in tour buses that visit each week, even though the museum is open for three days.
As enthusiast of Route 66, their businesses continue to preserve the Americana culture and the once busy highway of Route 66 by bringing awareness through their museums.
“We received a lot of attention, especially after the Disney Pixar movie Cars and Cars land in Disney California Adventure,” said Hodkin. The Route 66 highway was able to regain the historical fame it once had. “It is nice to see for a change that the younger kids are actually bringing in their dads and grandfathers to come and visit our museum,” said Hodkin.
Bob “Crocodile” Lile, of Amarillo, Texas, is a tourist guide for Route 66. Twice every year he and a group of tourist from New Zealand take a road trip down Route 66, a road trip that usually lasts three weeks. His mission is to preserve the history of Route 66 by bringing awareness through his tour guides.
“I just recently got back from a 30 day trip,” said Lile, “We rented 2016 Mustangs and traveled down Route 66.” He and his tourist had even stayed at the Wigwam Motel to stop and rest for the night. He has saved a few businesses through his tour guides and social media that promote the historical highway.
“We rally around and get them to save it,” said Lile.
“The people make the road,” said Lile. By educating people about the history of Route 66 he hopes, that in return, it will preserve the road.
Travelers experience not only the historical highway but also the culture of America during that time.
Lile also tries to preserve the historical highway through his artwork. Lile Art Gallery, located on 2719 SW 6th Ave in Amarillo, Texas consists of artwork about Route 66. He creates paintings and jewelry from the fragmented paint pieces from the cars on the Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, on Route 66.
This tight community of preservationists along the Main Road of America has allowed many to relive the Americana history.
With that said, even though this historical highway and many of its businesses on Route 66 are on the verge of being forgotten, recognition should be given to the community of historical enthusiast who choose to preserve the monumental highway for generations to come.