National Audio Company projects (D. Hoekstra photo)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Rewind.
The National Audio Company near downtown Springfield does more than backtrack the past as the largest manufacturer of cassette tapes in the world. Vintage maple desktops in the company’s first-floor office have classic pink “While You Were Out” notepads. Employees still come to offices and answer phones at National Audio, just a country heartbeat from the birthplace of Route 66.
Company president Steve Stepp is a model train buff and sings the praises of songwriter Neil Young, a long-time Lionel train collector, [...]
All postcards are from the author’s collection and not from the web.
I once knew of simple passages where I could find adventure.
The Antique Trove in Scottsdale, Az. and Antiques on Pierce in Milwaukee each contained booths filled with bright postcards busting at the seams in rows of white memory boxes. The backsides told of new horizons, unadorned pleasures, and a longing for the reader on the other end. The postcards were neatly organized by states, countries, and themes (Baseball, birds, Christmas, diners, etc.) I visited each antique store in the last couple of months.
The collection in [...]
SPRINGFIELD, IL.–The new exhibit “The State of Sound (A World of Music From Illinois)” celebrates the migratory paths artists took to Illinois. Visitors at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield can learn about the roots of our musical tree as well as a multitude of contemporary branches.
Photo by Dave Hoekstra
You can follow some of this Chicago-to-Springfield path to visit “The State of Sound,” which runs through January 2022.
The ALPLM is rolling out a special $29 “State of Sound” VIP ticket starting May 26. That includes a T-shirt, our 36-page souvenir [...]
The road to find out & Larry King radio; 1991. The author at Santo Domingo Pueblo, N.M.
It sounds like a strange thing to bring Larry King into a conversation about the American road.
But I got hooked on Mr. King in the summer of 1991 when I drove Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Ca. I was alone and I took my time: Saint James, Mo., Stroud, Ok., Seligman, Az., etc. My soundtrack was country and soul music, regional baseball games, and Mr. King, who had a late-night show on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Mr. King–who died Saturday at the age of 87–featured guest authors and [...]
