Meeting Characters in the Ozarks

Tuesday. Sept. 28 – Springfield, Mo.

It didn’t take us long to leave Springfield behind (no, KDs, I didn’t see 700 Landers Bldg.). After passing a sorry collection of auto repair shops and boarded-up buildings, we found ourselves in pastureland dotted with stands of trees. The air was cool, sun warm, and the sky was a beautiful clear blue.

We rolled along on two-lane Route 66 past gray barns, red barns and made an interesting observation: At least 99 percent of the farm houses we saw were painted white. Some had green or black shutters, but only the occasional house was painted some other color.

Just before reaching Halltown, population 189, we passed an abandoned masonry building that had long lost its roof and now was covered with vines outside; shrubs and small trees lived inside.

Dr. Jerry E. White

Our guidebook encouraged us to visit the Whitehall Mercantile, built in 1900 by George Hall. The present owner, Dr. Jerry E. White, whose great-uncle had managed the store in 1910, purchased it 29 years ago to give his wife something to do. She filled it with odd items and collectibles, and today it’s a jumble of items and the occasional antique.

Dr. White greeted us wearing a plaid shirt and camouflage pants, playing “Fascination,” on his harmonica. He reckoned he had “15 harmonicas in the place and needed to be sure they all worked.”

I suspect life at the Whitehall Mercantile can be pretty lonely. It was obvious that Dr. White didn’t want us to leave, chatting us up to the point of hanging onto the door of the car. Among the things we learned is that he still lives in the house where he was born.

At our next stop, the Gay Parita filling station, we met another chatty fellow, but this time it was a bit of a hard sell. He helped us take pictures, but then put the arm on us to buy a book of Route 66 photos. They were great photos, and several in the group purchased them, but we are relying on our own images. We finally bought a $7 T-shirt and were on our way.

But yikes! We had a stowaway! A not-so-small grasshopper landed on my lap, then hid behind the rearview mirror. He finally hopped away, but several of his kin wound up as really big splats on the windshield.

We met up with the gang at Red Oak, a time-warp settlement of old buildings that had been moved onto the property along with a huge assortment vehicles, including a rusting airplane. Les, our erstwhile USAF veteran, donned his leather cap, goggles and scarf and sat in the pilot’s seat with one hand on the outside mounted machine gun. Once more, he resembled Snoopy and his Sopwith Camel.

Posing for the reporter at Red Oak

A reporter from the nearby Carthage, Ill., newspaper learned we were there and came to take photos and interview us. Pressed for time, we posed as instructed, but didn’t do much else. Turns out a worker at Red Oak had alerted him. Slow news day in Carthage.

Next stop was Webb City for lunch at Bradbury Bishop Drugs with its old-fashioned soda fountain and restaurant. We called ahead and when we arrived, there was a table for 10 on 1950s Formica and chrome tables with matching chairs. We were surrounded by poodle skirts, posters, records and other memorabilia on the walls, but all eyes were on the back end of a ‘50s Buick that was embedded in the wall. Lunch fare included patty melts, reubens, burgers, and of course, milk shakes and root beer floats.

Manager Sheri Roosevelt told us the history of the building, which was across the street from the former Teel Drugs. The two were in hot competition in the 1930s (please pardon the pun when you see it). It seems that it was customary for both businesses (and others, we presume) to store fireworks in the buildings. (Side note: We saw many, many fireworks stands, shops and distributors in this area.)

In an effort to discourage people from patronizing the rival business, the two drug stores would routinely shoot Roman candles across the street at each other to scare customers away from the other’s business! These “drug-store wars” went on for years, until one of Teel’s Roman candles flew amok and blew out the Bradbury Bishop front window. What’s worse, it landed in Bradbury Bishop's stash of fireworks and set the building on fire.

Of course, they rebuilt, and now who’s got the last laugh? Teel Drugs no longer exists.

From here Bill and Doris join us as we  popped into Kansas for 13 miles, just long enough to see the 1930s-era Phillips 66 station that has been restored and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. We were invited to "sign" a brick on the painted wall.

Giant Ku Ku Bird sighting

The farther west we went, the flatter the land became. We were headed for Oklahoma. Soon we were in Miami. No we didn’t make a wrong turn and arrive in Florida. This is Miami, Okla., but it’s not pronounced in the typical way. Here it is Mi-am-uh for the Indian tribe in the area. After doing a quick laundry, we headed into town to have dinner at Waylan’s Ku Ku Burger, a renowned Route 66 diner.

Gene Waylan

Once part of a 200-plus Ku Ku chain in the Midwest, Waylan’s, originally built in 1965, is the very last one standing. And on this night, owner Gene Waylan, who has owned it for 37 years, was flipping burgers in the back. We decided to order everything odd or unusual on the menu; so it was breaded, deep-fried dill pickle spears; deep-fried yellow squash; Frito pie; and then for a "known" entree, delicious grilled chicken burgers. And the best fresh-squeezed limeade we've ever had -- spectacular. Nevertheless, it was a weird, far-out dinner. We liked the pickles more than the squash and loved the Frito pie. Gene came out to meet us and we enjoyed hearing more about his many years in this location. Gene is not just an entrepreneur, he’s a community volunteer, local sports team sponsor, and we were told by another customer that he does all he can to help troubled youth in the area. The Waylan walls are covered with plaques and commendations from the community.

And so it was time to blog and go to bed. More to come!

Judy and Gordon