COLUMBUS, OHIO—The mid-century modern breeze of Columbus makes for one of my favorite tropical getaways.
Part of that comes from the fact I spent time as a kid on North Star Road in the suburb of Upper Arlington. Summer nights were long and songs were short. There were wide-eyed trips to the since-razed Kahiki Polynesian Supper Club, an architectural and cultural classic of tiki life.
And beyond the horizon, there was the South Wind Motel, a place I had not heard about until I visited Columbus over the summer.
The South Wind opened in 1959 at 919 S. High St. in the German Village section of Columbus. It went through some funky times [...]
The Historic Red Rooster as the Hillsboro Hotel in the early 1900s.
We are privileged to have our “Beacons in the Darkness: Hope and Transformation Among America’s Community Newspapers” book party become the first public event at the Historic Red Rooster Inn in Hillsboro, Il. The town of Hillsboro (pop. 6,100) is a town of wonder and it is about an hour’s drive south of Springfield, Il.
The Red Rooster building turns 120 years old on Nov. 21. It opened as the Hillsboro Hotel and the initials were carved into the anchor post of the lobby staircase. They can still be seen today. The free event begins at 7 p.m. on Nov. [...]
A Tesuque Pueblo player during a pickup game on July 4, 2021 at the Pueblo in Santa Fe, NM. The Tesuques play in the All Indian League, an adult baseball league that includes pueblos across New Mexico. (Courtesy of Jean Fruth)
Grassroots baseball players have always been highway gypsies.
They travel from diamond to diamond with jewels of their trade: bats that are needles of a mystic compass, gloves that try to catch all that goes by, and cleats that are as down and dirty as road tires. And when the journey is realized, the gypsy is safe at home.
The new Jean Fruth book “Grassroots Baseball: Route [...]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.–Out on the west side of Springfield, Mo., there is a new campground called Revive 66. It is along a forsaken stretch of Route 66. Some dreams died here. Others moved on. The campground is across the Chestnut Expressway from the Orchard Hills pharmacy and flower shop. The campground is adjacent to the Redwood Motel, a separately owned transient lodge where a sign suggests “Try Jesus.”
Revive 66 is a landing place for the homeless.
It is one of the most innovative projects to serve the homeless in America.
People sleep in one of 43 new solar-powered teardrop campers. It is the first solar-powered RV park in the United [...]
