Join Route 66 Podcast host, Anthony Arno, as he talks with Emma Wheeler, the latest winner of a $1000 Route 66 College Scholarship Award.

Emma is currenlty a sophmore at Maryville University, studying secondard education.

Highlights from the show include:

• Hometown: Augusta and Washington, Missouri
  • Corn Pipe Capitol of the World
  • Notable residents - Jack Wagner
  • Closest point to Route 66 (Cuba, MO)
• Earliest memory of Route 66 and Pixar's Cars
• Nearby Route 66 sites
• Awareness of Route 66 among friends
• Family interest in classic cars
• Washington Town & Country Fair
• High School Highlights
• Personal Hobbies
• Maryville University and Career Goals
• Video Submission
  • Video Format
  • Video segments

2022 Route 66 Scholarship Program Episode

2020 Route 66 Scholarship Program Episode

Join Route 66 Podcast host Anthony Arno, as he talks with Joseph Baxter , a dedicated preservationist and volunteer at the Round Barn. It's the only Round Barn along Route 66, but even more impressive is the history of the barn and its builder, William Oder.

• Early history of Round Barns
• Needed skill and architectural knowledge for construction

• The genius of William Oder and his Round Barn
• Last minute construction revision to make Round Barn a focal point for area social dances

• Frank Vrana years and eventual deterioration of barn
• Vrana family donation of the Round Barn
• Luke Robinson and the Over-the-Hill Gang
• Round Barn reopens (1992)
• Planning your visit to the Round Barn
• Other area attractions

Phil Gordon has a unique hobby related to Route 66. As an engineer, he’s very careful not to let even his closest acquaintances know that he is passionate about collecting historic Route 66 matchcovers. With a collection beyond 5000 matchcovers, Phil has painstakingly scanned and uploaded his collection online to share with the world and Route 66 fans.

Join The Route 66 Podcast host Anthony Arno as he talks with Phil about one of the most unusual hobbies as a phillumenist. Highlights include:

• Matchbook versus matchcover Collecting

• Does the absence of matches in a matchcover collection diminish the value?

• Earliest history of matches and matchbook advertising

• Most popular configurations of matchbooks

• Philuminist by definition

• Transition from collecting postcards to match covers

• The original 10 matchcovers in Phil's collection

• The most coveted Route 66 matchcover: Peach Springs Garage

• What do people think of someone who has collected over 5,000 matchcovers?

• Developing an organized system for collecting and cataloging Route 66 matchcovers

  • Motels and lodgings

  • Cafes and restaurants

  • Gas stations

  • Trading Posts

• Full length matchcovers designs

• Background knowledge needed for collecting matchcovers

• Ebay scammers selling matchcovers

• Current demand for matchbooks

• Rear striker versus front striker matchbooks design changes (1973)

• Back striker safety versus rear striker

• Discovering unknown Route 66 history through match cover collecting

• The ultimate Route 66 matchcover that Phil has spent 20+ years searching for

  • Scherer's (estimated value $50)

• The holy grail of matccovers outside of Route 66: Charles Lindbergh (estimated value several thousand)

• The very first advertising: hand written matcbook covers

• First commercial matchbook ever printed

• Initial interest in posting matchovers online: Whiting brothers

• Sharing matchcovers online with the whole world

• Step by step process for uploading matchcovers

• Popularity of matchbooks today with the decline of smoking

• National organization of matchcover collectors

The Route 66 Matchcover Collector - Search wide variety of Route 66 establishments for matchcovers

Phil’s Route 66 Website: Personal website containing both postcards and matchcovers