Lincoln Country Historical Society Museum of Pioneer History

On impulse, I decided to leave I-44 between Oklahoma City and Tulsa to get onto Route 66. Yes, the famous Route 66. I wasn’t sure at first until I pulled into the Post Office in Wellston, Oklahoma and asked the Postmaster. He directed me to 66 East and said I’d find some information on Route 66 in stores the next town over.

The road was a ribbon of faded blacktop, mostly two lanes, through waves of green hills and ranchland.

In Chandler, Oklahoma, I stopped off at the Lincoln Country Historical Society Museum of Pioneer History on Manvel Road (Rt. 66).and found the Oklahoma version of the Route 66 information newspaper. Inside I found easy-to-follow maps of the route county by county with lists of key sites to see.

Had a donut and coffee at the Chandler Bakery before continuing on my way through Depew, Davenport and by the time I reached Bristow, I was ready for lunch.

Russ’ Ribs provided a delicious pork rib dinner plate with a tossed salad, corn on the cob and toast. Owner James “Russ” Russell talked about the time he met Roy Rogers as a boy in the 1950s after winning a contest at the local rodeo and the chance to sit in Roy’s box seats. He recalls how he was surprised to see how Roy wore a lot of makeup. “He had photo shoots,” Russ explains.

In 1994, he visited the Roy Rogers museum in Victorville, California and missed meeting Roy – who happened to be at the museum that morning – by 30 minutes.

“Some men break down when they meet him,” said Russ, “That whole era – Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter. After watching him on TV and then having the chance to meet him. Well, that’s something.”