April 8, 1997
Up and out to the Kingman Chamber of Commerce to meet with Licia (the reporter for the Kingman Daily Miner). Arrived at the Chamber and parked out front. Anne L. and Bobbie H. were inside waiting for us. Anne had been invited to take off with us down Historic Route 66 and had accepted.
Anne hopped into Oscar's passenger seat. She had a grin from ear to ear. Off we went down the Route past the steam locomotive Old No. 3759. We turned around and headed back to the Chamber. Lucia took photos for the paper then wished us well.
Off to Seligman, a very small town out in the Arizona desert. We stopped by the world famous Angel's Barber Shop. Angel D., soon to retire at 70 years old, is the founder of the Route 66 Historical Society. His work has done a great deal to bring Route 66 before the public for recognition, preserving history and generating revenue for the state through taxes on souvenirs.
Angel was quite taken and humbled by our visit and presentation of a special shotglass with Oscar painted on it. Angel offered to give us something in return. We told him that he had given enough already.
We asked Angel where to eat in Seligman. He told us the "Copper Cart" was just right down the street. Off we all went. Scrambled eggs, hot sauce and chili beans... great breakfast.
While leaving the Copper Cart, we ran into Vince S. (fishy name his comment, not ours). He recognized Oscar from a newspaper article he had read recently. He didn't remember which paper nor where he was when he read it. Anyway, he wanted to meet the truck and crew. Turns out he knows Anne L. and Bobbie H. of Kingman. Small world.
Just before leaving Seligman, we ran into Gerald A. C. of Seligman. Gerald goes by "Doc" and has an auto repair place there. He's from Tennessee and knows the brand, Dickel.
Hit the road again. Headed east and began to climb. Just before Williams, the Chase Truck began to run like it was starving for fuel. We stopped in Williams to discover fine rust, like jewelers rouge had clogged our fuel filter.
We found a light blue painted wooded building with a gas stove inside that handled N.A.P.A. auto parts. The fella inside saw Oscar and walked out to inspect him while I was talking with Ray regarding the fuel filter. I wasn't sure which filter it took. The fella, Dean W., just waved his hand in the air as he passed saying he knew which it took.
We looked at one another and followed him inside. Sure 'nough. The right filter. The filter was installed and the engine lit off. Ran like a champ.
A young woman came out of the store just as we were pulling out. She approached and identified herself as Jenny G. She apparently works at the store. She wanted to see Oscar too. We said "Sure." and let her look over the truck.
I was struck by the color of her eyes; gray-green, then green, then blue. They actually seemed to change color by the minute. I mentioned this to her and she told me that they actually do.
Off to Flagstaff. What beautiful country through the snow and trees. Made Flagstaff around 1500 (3:00 pm). We called both the TV station (KNAZ-TV) and the local paper (The Arizona Sun). The TV folks had all their camera people in the field. They asked we go by the paper first then stop by the station. We agreed.
As we approached an intersection near the Arizona Sun and had to stop due to traffic. Ray and I were in Oscar at the time. We were stopped on a slight slope behind several other cars and a pickup truck making turns.
Oscar would roll back when the clutch was depressed, so I just left it engaged (the centrifugal). There was enough friction to keep us in place on the slope..... big mistake. The centrifugal clutch overheated and lost it's functional ability. We were dead in the water in near rush-hour traffic on a busy intersection with cars behind us... "Oh, Lord..."
Ray and I both leapt from Oscar and began pushing him up to the yield sign at the intersection. At one point I slipped on a loose rock, I suppose used for traction in snow conditions. I landed on my left side striking the outer aspect of my knee on a marble-sized rock. We finally got across the intersection and pushed Oscar into a parking lot.
Ray and I both were huffing and puffing..... 6900 feet above sea level...
Oscar's centrifugal clutch cooled and returned to action. We made the paper, had the interview and left for the TV station. Still puffing...
The TV folks were fun. We asked the cameraman if he'd like to come along... the usual answer, "Sure".
All of us were worried about staying in Flagstaff as storms were forecast and Oscar had no chains. We drove him through snow covered roadtops on the way into the station. He did well, but we still wanted to get down to Holbrook for the night.
While pulling into the Holbrook KOA, I ran into Ron and Kelly Smith of Northern California. Ron was wearing his SEAL Team 2 hat at the time. Small world.
As we set up camp, our KOA neighbors across from us saw the Dickel signs on Oscar. They approached to purchase a bottle of their favorite whisky only to find we too were in search of it. Henry and Sandra H. of Round Pond, Maine were disappointed but we buoyed their spirits by presenting them with a special shotglass.
Later we drove over to a Pizza Hut for grub. Our waitress, Shannon M. of Joseph City, had seen us pull in. She was curious so we filled her in on our mission. I asked her if she knew any history regarding a "Ghost Gas Station" south of HWY 40 west of Holbrook. She knew of the station, but no history.
This station is a hoot. The building is obviously abandoned with broken glass, discarded barrels, metal, etc. But more... There's a late model car in the pump islands on cinder blocks with no wheels. Higbee thinks it's left over from the 1972 gas lines.
Before long, the entire Pizza Hut crew had milled out, around Oscar, and back into the parlor. We were the only customers in the parlor, as family night (the zoo) had concluded just before we arrived. All of them had questions. Higbee offered a special shotglass to the individual that could guess the total cost of Oscar closest to the actual figure.
Tonya B., manager, happened to guess closest. Actually, she hit within $200.00.
Back to camp and into the sack we went...