Here’s a clip from an old St. Louis public access television show called “World Wide Magazine,” in which Vince and Marty stoll across the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge that once carried Route 66 from Madison, Ill., to north St. Louis.

Vince and Marty are a coupla goofs, but the footage from the bridge is nice, and so is the “Old Man River” soundtrack.

The Clinton (Okla.) Chamber of Commerce needs volunteers for 2- to 3-hour shifts to help man a promotional booth at the Best Fest at Riverparks West Bank Festival Area in Tulsa on Nov. 17-19.

The Chamber will be there to promote the 2007 Route 66 Festival. Here’s an Acrobat file of the Best Fest brochure that provides more information about the event.

If you can help e-mail Erin Adams, president of the Clinton Chamber, at erinadams(at)clintonok(dot)org , or call 580-323-2222.

It’s true. But it’s not as sinister as it first appears.

Fellow road warrior Tim Steil pointed out this Arizona roads site, which shows a scan from a 1927 Rand McNally atlas. And look on the lower right corner of the page — a swastika on the Arizona highway marker. I included a close-up excerpt of the page.

The Arizona roads site explains:

This was actually taken from a Native American design. It was removed in the 1940s, after it became associated with the Nazis.

There are many reasons for despising the Nazis. One of them includes appropriating an otherwise-harmless symbol of the American Indians and a slew of other cultures and turning it into something that’s associated with death, hatred and bigotry.

Wikipedia has a more clear-headed history of the swastika.

Michelle Thompson is cycling on part of Route 66 during a 2,500-mile trip from Glen Ellyn, Ill., to Costa Mesa, Calif., to raise money for her brother, who is being treated for oral cancer, reports the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph.

The trek is expected to take six weeks, and Thompson, 35, hopes to raise $50,000.

The cross-country trek came about when she saw how cancer affected every aspect of her brother’s life after he was diagnosed last year. His first round of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation didn’t halt the cancer’s progress.

He underwent a second surgery which led to the loss of parts of his palate, tongue and jawbone. The latest surgery was to open his esophagus to make it easier for him to eat and drink.

“It’s a health issue. It’s a financial issue. It’s a social issue. He is relearning how to talk,” she said. “On a personal level, I want to help him fight this. I couldn’t sell enough brownies to make a difference so I decided on the bike-a-thon.”

Thompson reportedly has launched a Web site, route2outsmartcancer.com, but it’s not up yet as of noon Thursday. Donations can also be mailed to Thompson at P.O. Box 142, Glen Ellyn, IL 60138.

UPDATE: The Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader caught up with Thompson for a story. And her Web site is up.

If you’re traveling Route 66 in Oklahoma and need a haircut, a historic, Route 66-themed barbershop recently opened in Yukon, according to the Daily Oklahoman.

Bob Jeffrey, 60, moved from New York to Yukon to be closer to his daughter and her family. So he acquired the 70-year-old Midway Barbershop at 432 W. Main St. in Yukon, which is right on Route 66. It’s been renamed the Colonial Barbershop.

Bob Jeffrey has an affinity for the old. He collects barbers’ antiques, such as backward clocks that reflect correctly in the mirror, shaving mugs and brushes and rare street poles, and just about everything has a story.

A copy of Norman Rockwell pencil sketch “First Haircut” hangs on the shop’s wall. It’s a copy of the original sketch Rockwell gave to his barber Archille “Scotty” Cibelli, who is pictured in the sketch. Cibelli gave it to Bob Jeffrey in 1997 after the Jeffrey’s visited his barbershop in Stockbridge, Mass.

Best of all, a haircut is just $11.

I stumbled across this obituary for Glen Leonhardt in the San Bernardino County Sun. He held the somewhat ordinary job of a mechanic, but his deeds and experiences made his life extraordinary.

His ties to Route 66 were multiple: He helped build that road in Vega, Texas; he married a woman from the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M.; and he eventually settled in the Route 66 town of San Bernardino, Calif.

But that’s not all, by a long shot. Just read about Leonhardt’s story.

The Salt Lake City Tribune has a lists from prominent and not-so-prominent residents of their 10 favorite road songs. It’s a diverse bunch of music artists, including Chick Corea, Talking Heads, Drive-By Truckers, Waylon Jennings and Brahms — although I find the lists a bit short of country music.

Readers also shared their thoughts on their favorite driving tunes, including one woman who digs the “Cars” movie soundtrack.

So here is my top 10 from my dozens of favorite road tunes parked in my iTunes jukebox, in no particular order:

1. “White Rose,” Slaid Cleaves (from a Fred Eaglesmith tribute)
2. “Six Days on the Road,” Dave Dudley
3. “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
4. “Pink Motel,” Cisco
5. “Up Around the Bend,” Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. “This Old Road,” Kris Kristofferson
7. “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere,” Dwight Yoakam
8. “Thunderstorms and Neon Signs,” Wayne Hancock
9. “Little Man,” Alan Jackson
10. “Tucumcari Here I Come,” Dale Watson

So what is your top 10? Chime in with the comments link. Your comments won’t show up right away; it will be held in moderation in an effort to keep out spammers, which seem to pretty busy lately.

The Cheetah Girls debuted their version of Bobby Troup’s immortal song “Route 66″ this weekend. They’re helping promote the upcoming release of the “Cars” DVD, which comes out Nov. 7.

You can see the Cheetah Girls’ video here:

Pixar Animation Studios, the lovely folks who gave us the “Cars” movie, has an employee by the screen name of Patrix who has a Flickr online photo account.

One of the photos is of the Route 66 tribute at Pixar. The photo of it is here (warning: it’s a big file and may take some time to load).

I don’t think the roadkill made it into the display case, though. (I’ll elaborate on that sometime in the future.)

(Hat tip the Upcoming Pixar blog.) 

The Cadillac (Mich.) News has a story about the drop in gasoline prices in the U.S., which most industry experts say will be only temporary.

The story provides this interesting angle about Bill and Barb McCarthy traveling Route 66 in their new Ford Torino. It cost them $6.80 to fill up the tank, which Bill considered to be expensive in those days.

That was 1968.

That eventually leads to this factoid in the article: Adjusted for inflation, gasoline costs less today than it did in 1980. In fact, gas has to rise to well past $3 a gallon to approach 1980 inflation-adjusted levels.

People complain a lot about gasoline prices. But in the scheme of things, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Gasoline has a lower impact on the U.S. economy than it did in previous decades.

Yet it is a big deal for some people, because they made bad lifestyle choices. They are the ones who use fuel-guzzling SUVs as primary transportation, or drive a long distance to and from work. When they do both, then you’re talking about a big hit in the wallet.

But if you live close to work and have a fuel-efficient vehicle, like I do, you shrug off the higher gas prices as inflation.

It appears gas prices haven’t made much of an impact on Route 66 tourism, mostly because the “Cars” movie more than made up for any shortfall.

Also, I keep telling potential tourists that Route 66 is an ideal low-cost vacation. Even if gas prices are high, you’re going to save as much money or more sleeping along the Mother Road’s cheap mom-and-pop motels and eating at the cheap mom-and-pop cafes. Also, driving on Route 66 tends to be at a lower speed, so most vehicles will burn less gas.

The Cadillac News also gives these gas-saving tips:

Equivalent gasoline savings are based on if the price of fuel is $2.31/gallon.

• Drive sensibly: aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. The equivalent is 12 to 75 cents per gallon.
• Observe the speed limit: While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. For every 5 mph a person drives over 60 mph, it is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.
• Remove excess weight: avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle. An extra 100 pounds in a vehicle can reduce miles per gallon by up to 2 percent. Taking out 100 extra pounds can save between 2 and 5 cents per gallon.
• Use cruise control: can help maintain a constant speed and save gas.
• Use overdrive gears: car’s engine speed goes down which saves gas and reduces engine wear.

A caveat: I’m not sure whether using cruise control is fuel-efficient in mountainous areas. I’ve had better results driving like a trucker: Go somewhat faster the normal on downhill grades and let gravity to do the work for you, then go somewhat slower than normal on uphill climbs to create less work for the engine.

I’m surprised the Cadillac News also didn’t mention this, but make sure your tires are inflated properly. That can make a 10-20 percent difference in your mileage.