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They were planning to go to Ireland, but the chance to buy a historic motel on Route 66 doesn’t come along every day so two sisters from two Decatures took it.
Pricilla Bledsaw, Decatur Ill., and Deborah Harvey, Decatur, Ga., signed the final papers and closed the transaction on the historic Boots Motel on Wednesday, opening a new chapter in the Route 66 icon’s history.
Harvey, a historic preservation consultant, and Bledsaw, a one-time jewelry store owner, were in Carthage on Wednesday to sign the final papers and take possession of the motel.
Local Realtor Jim Hunter, who handled the sale of the Boots for Hometown Bank, took the two women on a tour of Carthage and introduced them to some of the business leaders in the community.
“Everyone has been wonderful,” Harvey said. “We’ve met a number of people here in Carthage and they’ve all been wonderful. They’ve been very excited.”
The sisters said they have a number of plans. The most immediate is an open house, slated for Sept. 10-11.
“We won’t do anything to the building until after that so people can see what it looks like before we start,” Bledsaw said. “People who have always been curious about what’s in there will get their chance to see. If you want to see Clark Gable’s room they can do that.”
Part of the open house will be special “tunnel tours” of a tunnel that leads from the basement of the motel.
The sisters are also looking for any photos that might show the Boots Motel, even in the background. They are especially looking for pictures that show whether the Boots ever had any cabins anywhere around it.
“Does anyone remember the cabins at the Boots?” Bledsaw said. “In the earliest pictures that we can find of the Boots, over the front door, it says cabins. It doesn’t say vacancy, it doesn’t say office, it says cabins.
“We want them to dredge up their memories, because this restoration project is not going to be based on what we think would have been a fun thing to be at the Boots, we want it to be an actual historic restoration project. If they had the ugliest bedspreads in captivity, we’re going to have the ugliest bedspreads in captivity. We may have to pay someone to buy the ugliest bedspreads in captivity.”
They were planning to go to Ireland, but the chance to buy a historic motel on Route 66 doesn’t come along every day so two sisters from two Decatures took it.
Pricilla Bledsaw, Decatur Ill., and Deborah Harvey, Decatur, Ga., signed the final papers and closed the transaction on the historic Boots Motel on Wednesday, opening a new chapter in the Route 66 icon’s history.
Harvey, a historic preservation consultant, and Bledsaw, a one-time jewelry store owner, were in Carthage on Wednesday to sign the final papers and take possession of the motel.
Local Realtor Jim Hunter, who handled the sale of the Boots for Hometown Bank, took the two women on a tour of Carthage and introduced them to some of the business leaders in the community.
“Everyone has been wonderful,” Harvey said. “We’ve met a number of people here in Carthage and they’ve all been wonderful. They’ve been very excited.”
The sisters said they have a number of plans. The most immediate is an open house, slated for Sept. 10-11.
“We won’t do anything to the building until after that so people can see what it looks like before we start,” Bledsaw said. “People who have always been curious about what’s in there will get their chance to see. If you want to see Clark Gable’s room they can do that.”
Part of the open house will be special “tunnel tours” of a tunnel that leads from the basement of the motel.
The sisters are also looking for any photos that might show the Boots Motel, even in the background. They are especially looking for pictures that show whether the Boots ever had any cabins anywhere around it.
“Does anyone remember the cabins at the Boots?” Bledsaw said. “In the earliest pictures that we can find of the Boots, over the front door, it says cabins. It doesn’t say vacancy, it doesn’t say office, it says cabins.
“We want them to dredge up their memories, because this restoration project is not going to be based on what we think would have been a fun thing to be at the Boots, we want it to be an actual historic restoration project. If they had the ugliest bedspreads in captivity, we’re going to have the ugliest bedspreads in captivity. We may have to pay someone to buy the ugliest bedspreads in captivity.”
