McJerry66 is your online source for information about the creations of noted Route 66 authority and artist Jerry McClanahan.

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Tri State festival on Jun 22, 2010 at 12:26:12 am
The Tri State Festival held at the Downstream Casino in OK, near Joplin, Mo and Galena and Baxter Springs KS, was a blast. Kudos to Carolyn Pendleton, Melba Rigg, and everyone else who worked extremly hard to pull it off.

Many well-deserving roadies won awards:(thanks to Kathy Anderson for the list)


Bob Waldmire - Artist of the Year

Dean Walker - Ambassador of the Year

Dan Rice/66-to-Cali - New Business of the Year

Marty & Geri Bilecki - Lifetime Achievement Award

Gary Turner - Mother Road Person of the Year

Pops, Arcadia OK - Business of the Year

Melvera Heisch, NPS - Cyrus Avery Award

Bob Gehl, MO -The Founders Award

and lastly, some dude named Jerry Mcclanahan won The Will Rogers Award...

A highlight for me was getting to visit again with my good friend Akkey Takieuchi from near Osaka Japan, along with his charming wife Yasuko (kawaiii)and his lovely daughter Ayako. I believe this may have been Akkey's 17th trip to the states...as the Japanese say: "SUGOI !!"

Another highlight was during Michael Walli's speech, when he said that only an "imbecile" couldn't follow 66 using my EZ Guide!

Route 66 is one big family that reaches worldwide. I am proud to be a member.

McJ

Another Loss to the Route on Feb 24, 2010 at 9:27:39 pm
Lenore Weiss passed away on February 22, 2010. Along with her husband John, she worked tirelessly for Route 66 preservation, especially in their home state of Illinois. Successes include the restoration of the Standard Station in Odell, Illinois.

Bob Waldmire on Dec 17, 2009 at 4:10:07 pm
Beloved Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire passed away on December 16.

Bob has been a vital part of the Route 66 resurgence, and his work and example will continue to inspire roadies as long as we still revere the Mother Road. Besides his awesome creativity and intelligence, Bob will be remembered for his warmth, patience and sweet, warming smile.

I am glad I was able to attend his Last Art Show in Springfield Illinois on November 22. This incredible outpouring of love and affection was the perfect cap to a life well lived.

The road will miss you, Bob...but your presence will endure across the entire length of Route 66, and in the hearts of those you have touched across the world.


All Pumped up! on Nov 12, 2009 at 5:08:29 pm
Yesterday I installed a 1925-era G&B Model 176 visible gasoline pump in front of my (in progress) gallery!

A kind gentleman gave me a great deal on this highly weathered, but extremely cool looking old hand-pumped, nearly 9 foot tall relic of the road.

I need a few parts (like the glass cylinder and pump handle) but I think I will not restore it, at least for a while. I like the "patina" this old pump has now.

(not for sale!)

Corvettes on Sep 01, 2009 at 11:22:41 pm
Lots of Vettes doing 66 this week, headed to Bowling Green KY for a big event!

Monday I had a group of 15 Vettes visit the (still in progress)Gallery (they were using the EZ Guide) led by Bob Brown. Most were from the San Diego area. They invited me to eat luch with them at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, so I fired up my 57 Chevy Wagon and led the way. Of course I had to impress the Corvette drivers. When we arrived, I was asked if I had a Vette engine in my wagon. Nope, just a 283. But I had them pushing to catch up!

Our group of 29 shocked and awed the two waitresses working the Rock that aft, but they were very efficient, and the food was great.

Tuesday morning, another group of 150 Corvettes stopped for breakfast at the Route 66 Interpretive Center in the fabulous 1937 Armory that Chandler fortunately had the foresight to restore.

Getting your kicks on Route 66 in a classic Corvette..where have I heard that before??

COJAG on Mar 20, 2009 at 3:26:15 pm
Saturday 3-21-09 found the Central OK Jaguar Club on a visit to Chandler. I don't have a Jag, but a good friend, Don Ferrill (his wife Sally runs the North End Gallery where I have work on exhibit) has a nice collection of old cars, including a '56 XK140 and an E-Type.

I volunteered to help Don get his garage in a fromer Pontiac dealership on 66 in downtown Chandler ready for their visit. This involved shoving several cars around by hand, including a 1914 Oldsmobile.

Then we moved his XK140 from its home of 25 years in the former Ford dealership up to Don's garage. It took some work to loosen up the frozen brake drums so that we could tow the Jag a block up 66...with me steering and desperately working the emergency brake, trying not to crunch into the tow vehicle.

Don also has a Model A that hadn't run in several years, but my Dad and I fixed that problem for him. Dad had driven Model As in his youth, and it all came back to him. This was the first time I'd gotten to tinker with an A Model.

On the Saturday of the visit, I set up in Don's garage with artwork and EZ Guides, and had a great time visiting with the Jaguar Club members. I love old cars and old car people.

EZ 66 Guide SECOND EDITION on Feb 25, 2009 at 5:29:25 pm
The second edition of the EZ 66 Guide is available!

Despite a change in cover color it’s the same EZ 66 Guide that has accompanied tourists on their Route 66 expeditions since it was first published in 2005: 200 pages containing over 200 maps, direction both west AND eastbound, mom and pop recommendations and much more.

This second edition features all of the revisions necessitated by the evolution of Route 66 over the last 3 years (about 90 pages worth), eliminating the need for those with earlier versions to study a list of revisions. All previous updates through the end of June 2008 are present and accounted for.

Check www.national66.org for ordering info (or see the link on the EZ66 Update page).

You will still be able to get updates for any version of the EZ Guide here at mcjerry66.com

Italian Route 66 on Jan 13, 2009 at 5:56:30 pm

I recieved a thick, glossy Italian magazine in the mail yesterday, called "Solo Auto Americane Cruisin".

I wasn't expecting this, but it is a pretty neat mag focusing mainly on classic American autos, with what looks like part one of a story on Route 66 (it ends in Kansas, and it looks like it says part two will continue on into OK...since I don't read Italian its just a guess :-).

When I turned to page 23 I found a nice little spot in their US news section about my gallery! I don't ever recall corresponding with them, so I suppose someone at the mag found my website and liked my work!

I used a yahoo free translation site to sort of translate the copy. Something is lost in the translation, but it seems to be a very positive piece about 66 and my art.

too cool!

McJerry

PS: I actually have been working on remodeling my gallery recently. I am fixing up the front room for a "mini gallery" until I can partition off the main room of the former electric repair shop.


Tattoo Man on Jan 04, 2009 at 8:45:18 pm
I went up to Bartlesville OK this Saturday (north of Tulsa, and home to Phillips 66) and visited with Ron "Tattoo Man" Jones and his wife Rosalyn. Ron has about 74 Route-related tattoos upon his person, and more are coming! He is a walking Route 66 landmark and a great guy.

I got to ride in his red, white and blue '56 Chevy too. Back around 1998, I had met Ron and Ros at the reopening of the Route 66 Drive In in Carthage, Mo. Ros secretly had me photograph Ron's Chevy for a suprise painting, and it was good to see it again after so many years. Now his Chevy also appears artistically on three of his tattos.

New Years Eve Expedition on Jan 01, 2009 at 12:56:08 am
Jim Ross, Shellee Graham and I, led by Dawn Wells (of the Rock Cafe) tromped thru the brush east of Sapulpa, looking at an old F.A.P. marker along a stretch of original 66 abandoned in 1960(a concrete marker with a brass shield giving data on the date and contract of a road section...in this case 1927). We also investegated several rock/mortar flood control structures which may date back to the pre-66 days of the Ozark trail.

Work on restoring the Rock Cafe in Sapulpa is proceeding, with a contactor and workers on site restoring the rock walls and adding new lumber.

Another reason to visit Sapulpa was for Jim and Shellee to meet a rep of a Tulsa printers, who delivered copies of their brand new Roadside postcard book. More on this later.

I wish work on my gallery was progressing as well! I'm finding that an old house (added onto over many decades) is more than enough to keep me busy (try going a week without plumbing because of a sewer problem). But in this new year I will be working to convert my shop building into a gallery. In the meantime, please call and see if you can catch me at home, or check my online gallery.

I wish everyone on 66 (and those who admire it from afar) a very Happy New Year!

McJerry

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