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As city officials and business leaders were celebrating National Tourism Week in Central Park on Tuesday, the tourists they were celebrating were traveling through town on Route 66.
Moments after Tuesday’s picnic, a couple from Paris, France dismounted from their Harley Davidson Motorcycle in the parking lot of the Boots Motel and started taking pictures.
Gilles Prunevielle and Marie Fleur, from Paris, were fascinated by the classic architecture and the neon lights, but disappointed that the old motel wasn’t open for business.
They said if it was restored and open, as suggested by the Drury University students on Monday in their final presentation to the Carthage Downtown Visioning Committee, they would have stayed there.
“Definitely, because we did the same in Lebanon,” Prunevielle said in a distinctly French accent. “We stayed at the Moss Motel and it is kind of the same, from the 50s, original stuff, it has been restored. We Europeans, we are looking for these kind of places, that’s why we come here.”
They even thought it was abandoned, even though it is currently being used as low-rent housing.
“It’s a shame to leave such a nice place abandoned,” Prunevielle said. “Soon it will be destroyed to do something else and the history would be gone.”
The two were traveling Route 66 using a guidebook called EZ66 Guide for Travelers.
Fleur showed an entire page in the book dedicated to Carthage and such items as Lowell Davis’ “flying manure spreader” at the Flying W store and Red Oak II.
The book suggests taking the old Route 66 along the Spring River in Kellogg Lake.
The notation in the book about the Boots Motel says: “Carthage’s classic Boots Motel, world famous for its architecture, neon and history, was recently endangered by ‘development.’ Now serving as apartments, HOPEFULLY some wise soul will restore the Boots to its Route 66 glory.”
The book also talks about the Civil War Museum, and its “dramatic mural of ‘The Battle of Carthage,’” the historic Square, the Pancake Hut, the Route 66 Drive In, and Precious Moments.
“Everyone knows this route,” Fleur added. “It’s something, when you say you are going on Route 66, everyone knows what it is.”
“When we told our friends we were going to do this, they were like wow, that’s fantastic!” Prunevielle added. “Route 66 is very, very big, it’s a myth. It’s crossing the states on a Harley, that’s the proper way to do it.”
As city officials and business leaders were celebrating National Tourism Week in Central Park on Tuesday, the tourists they were celebrating were traveling through town on Route 66.
Moments after Tuesday’s picnic, a couple from Paris, France dismounted from their Harley Davidson Motorcycle in the parking lot of the Boots Motel and started taking pictures.
Gilles Prunevielle and Marie Fleur, from Paris, were fascinated by the classic architecture and the neon lights, but disappointed that the old motel wasn’t open for business.
They said if it was restored and open, as suggested by the Drury University students on Monday in their final presentation to the Carthage Downtown Visioning Committee, they would have stayed there.
“Definitely, because we did the same in Lebanon,” Prunevielle said in a distinctly French accent. “We stayed at the Moss Motel and it is kind of the same, from the 50s, original stuff, it has been restored. We Europeans, we are looking for these kind of places, that’s why we come here.”
They even thought it was abandoned, even though it is currently being used as low-rent housing.
“It’s a shame to leave such a nice place abandoned,” Prunevielle said. “Soon it will be destroyed to do something else and the history would be gone.”
The two were traveling Route 66 using a guidebook called EZ66 Guide for Travelers.
Fleur showed an entire page in the book dedicated to Carthage and such items as Lowell Davis’ “flying manure spreader” at the Flying W store and Red Oak II.
The book suggests taking the old Route 66 along the Spring River in Kellogg Lake.
The notation in the book about the Boots Motel says: “Carthage’s classic Boots Motel, world famous for its architecture, neon and history, was recently endangered by ‘development.’ Now serving as apartments, HOPEFULLY some wise soul will restore the Boots to its Route 66 glory.”
The book also talks about the Civil War Museum, and its “dramatic mural of ‘The Battle of Carthage,’” the historic Square, the Pancake Hut, the Route 66 Drive In, and Precious Moments.
“Everyone knows this route,” Fleur added. “It’s something, when you say you are going on Route 66, everyone knows what it is.”
“When we told our friends we were going to do this, they were like wow, that’s fantastic!” Prunevielle added. “Route 66 is very, very big, it’s a myth. It’s crossing the states on a Harley, that’s the proper way to do it.”
Prunevielle said he and Fleur were traveling by themselves, but a group from the Czech Republic was traveling at the same time as them and they had gotten to know them along the road. That group on about a half-dozen motorcycles passed on Garrison Avenue as Prunevielle and Fleur spoke with a reporter.
Prunevielle said Carthage residents should restore the Boots Motel and let the world know when it was open for travelers.
“In every European country you have travel agencies organizing tours,” he said. “You should make contact with them and say we’ve been restoring the Boots Motel, it’s a must stop. If you do the proper marketing, I’m sure you could make this place alive.”
