New Mexico isn't afraid to announce their presence... or what I call a large print border sign. Right after the border sign is a visitor center. The KOA we are going to stay at isn't far from the border, maybe 40 miles.
How many remember watching Cars? It is my opinion that the movie was loosely based on this town. Rte. 66 was the main drag in this town... until I-40 created a bypass right around the town. The town really never recovered. This campground is more of a short stay, like a couple of nights. We are going to try and make the best of this stop.
The first three days we stayed in house because of the extremely windy and overcast clouds the first couple of days, and rain the next day.
The sun finally came out, so we went out. Our venture today was the Tucumcari Historical Museum.
https://www.tucumcarimuseum.org.
This building had many functions before it became the museum. In 1903 it started out as Central School; in the 30's it was a soup kitchen; 1935 saw it as the district offices for the Army Corps of Engineers. 1936/37 it was a hospital. In support of the war effort, it became a military glider school in 1942. In 1948 it was again opened as the Central School, and stayed that way until it closed in 1965. The Tucumcari Historical Research Society was handed the building.
This room is filled, like all the others, with history of the people from these parts.
I love the railroad, and am always intrigued with the making of the railroad. I am constantly amazed at how they tracked the laying of track, and here is no different.
These are date nails, used to identify when track was laid. This collection dates from the late 1800s, to the 1970s.
Another fascination for me is the opportunity for blind folks to read and write. I remember the Little House On The Prairie episode where the oldest daughter lost her sight, and started a school for the blind with her husband. Back then it took time to create braille books for the blind.
Then along comes modern technology... the braille typewriter. This machine is known as the "Perkins Brailler" It functions similar to a conventional typewriter, with the major difference being the six keys that correspond to the braille code. To made words the user would simultaneously push combinations of keys. The rollers that hold and advance the paper, are grooved, to prevent compressing the punched holes. Should you wonder, this machine began production in 1951.
As we venture into the next room, we find that it is a tribute to the militaries, and previous uses of the building. If you remember, I said the building served as a hospital for awhile. We have all seen the different types of wheelchairs that use to clutter the halls... but how about this designer chair:
I am told it was designed for the sports fans so they wouldn't miss any part of their game... I think it was used for other reasons... being it was in the hospital.
William (Billy) Spurgeon Walters Jr. was not one of those that spent time in the hospital. Billy was born here in Tucumcari, and enlisted in the Navy. 
He was the first Tucumcari resident to die in WWII. He was stationed on the USS Arizona, in Hawaii, and was killed nine days before his 20th birthday. In memory of Navy and Marine son's, a Mother's Club was organized in Tucumcari, and named in honor of Billy Walters.
For those of us that were at home during WWII, we enjoyed ration stamps for many of our food items and gas, our guys in the Civil Defense were ensuring we were prepared to survive if the U.S. was attacked. This was achieved through air raid exercises, and the storage of food provisions.
These would have been provisions kept in or near a bomb shelter. What you see is a can of saltine crackers, a can of biscuits, a sanitation kit, and... toilet paper.
When my mom and I lived in Wichita in a house that was part of turned over government housing, I ventured into (broke into) the vacant house in front of ours, and found similar items in the kitchen, including a bag of sugar, and a bag of dried beans. Apparently military families were issued similar rations.
In a different room visitors can find the everyday household items like an old ice box, an assortment of irons, and bottles.
The ice box is circa 1904, and manufacturing lasted into the 20's, when electric refrigerators became available. Ice boxes like this survived into the 30's in rural areas where electricity hadn't made its way. The bottle are a small sample of everything from alcohol to medicine bottles.
Depending on the family income it may have determined what type of iron they owned. Can anyone identify this little kitchen device? Turning the tag around, the visitor learns that it is a cherry stoner, used for removing cherry pits. There were many other items to be seen in this room, but we are going to take a walk outside to visit some of the other buildings.
Outside, the museum was preparing to re-mount their windmill, after its restoration. We moved to the caboose.
This Southern Pacific Railroad caboose #443 was used on the Arizona/New Mexico rails of Southern Pacific, and was donated to the museum in 1982, by Southern Pacific.
The next building on the trail is Firehouse #1. The firehouse was
used by the Tucumcari Volunteer Fire Department. The firehouse is probably about 30 feet square. Inside of the firehouse is a fire truck purchased by Tucumcari, for the volunteer fire department; the arrival was reported in an addition of the 1927 Tucumcari newspaper, reporting it came "with a representative and demonstrator." After the fire truck was retired, it sat on museum property before being restored, which only occurred thanks to the community on different levels.
This is an F-100A Super Sabre, of which there are only 17 known to be in existence in the United States. Manufactured in 1955, it was removed from inventory in 1966, when donated to the museum. Before it was retired it spent time fighting in the Vietnam War. It arrived from Santa Fe via helicopter, landing at Tucumcari Airport in 1969. The plane originally was on display at the Tucumcari Park, but due to vandalism, was moved to museum grounds.
The next building was filled with overflow items such as a telephone switchboard, wagons, and tools. The last building we moved to was an annex to the compound. This was an interesting bench seat
For those unfamiliar with this device... it is a rotary telephone. Callers were required to stick a finger in the hole of the number they wished to use, then make the clear wheel move in a clockwise motion... this had to be done for each number being dialed.
Before we leave this museum, lets talk some about the legend of Tucumcari Mountain.
This is how the legend goes passed down by the Indian tribes: Wautonomah, an Apache Chief, knew he was close to death and was concerned about his successor. He had a daughter named Kari. His two finest braves, Tonopah and Tocom, were both interested in her hand in marriage, but they were bitter enemies because of this. So-Wautonomah took them aside and told them that they were to fight for his daughters hand and leadership of the tribe. Kari loved Tocom, and hated Tonopah. The braves hurled themselves at each other, knives drawn. No one knew that Kari hid herself during the fight. Tonopah got the upper hand on Tocom, and killed him. Kari came out of concealment and killed Tonopah. She grabbed Tocom's knife, and stabbed herself in grief. Wautonomah was led to the scene, heartbroken, he took Kari's knife and killed himself. His last utterance before dying was "Tocom-Kari". The legend lives on, with a slight change to "Tucumcari".
This was a small museum, but full of information and exhibits. They did want visitors to know that the museum is to be fun and informative.
The next day we drove all the way over to the other side of town to visit their Rte. 66 museum.
This was a sculpture in front of the convention center, which is located in front of the museum.
This is a small museum that deals more in the New Mexico portion of Rte. 66. On several of the walls are photographs from a gentleman that drove the entire route, from Illinois to California.
We spoke with the gentleman working the day we visited, and he had some good stories to tell. That orange car on the left in the photo was owned by a high school student he went to school with. The owner of the car graduated high school and moved on, and after making his "fortune", he returned to Tucumcari. Before he left town, he sold his car. Over the years he kept track of the VIN for the vehicle. He tracked his old car to an area near Gallup New Mexico, and bought it back. After $70,000.00 in restorations, the car looks good as new. There are a couple of Chevrolets on display that belong to a teacher that taught at the high school.
The next day we drove all the way over to the other side of town to visit their Rte. 66 museum.
I'm going to give you a look at how Carol and I looked in our younger days... so beware.
that's right, time does something to people.
After the museum we began our drive back to the campground. Before we got there we made a few stops at some points of interest... probably more for us than you the reader.
Rte. 66 was considered the "mother road" of America in its day. In its day people traveled more for pleasure, I believe they called it vacation, so there were many stopping points for a good nights rest... they called them motels, or motor lodges. Like it is today, advertising was the way to get customers to stay at one's motel, and here is an example:
note the selling point "100% refrigerated air", another term for air conditioning. The Blue Swallow is still one of the original active motels in town.
How many of you know that John Deere made motorcycles... I didn't.
Probably a one and only prototype. This one is in front of the town's welcome center/gift shop.
For those adventurous wanderers interested in traveling Rte. 66, there is a guide to help on your adventure. This guide breaks down Rte. 66 by state.
We have driven more of Rte. 66 than we knew. A lot of the route was made into I-40 in the southwest. Don't be afraid to get your kicks on Rte. 66.
My last chore before leaving Tucumcari was getting propane. I knew ahead of time I could not get it from the KOA, it is under new ownership, and they are not certified in New Mexico yet. My next stop was the Conoco in town... that was a no-go. There was a sign on their propane filling station indicating it was closed for business. We needed to get diesel, so we got it at Conoco, and while doing so I got the story about their propane. Apparently earlier in the month a tractor trailer took out their propane tank and all associated equipment. The fill station was repaired, and just waiting for state certification. Moving to plan "C", the Love's truck stop down the road. I arrived there to be informed they were out of propane and didn't know when they would get their nest shipment. So off to our next stop, one tank down on propane.
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