Longtime Radio Personality Marv Luten interviews guests, shares community updates, National and Local sports and more. The Marv in the Morning Podcast is a production of O’Quinn Media. For guest or sponsorship opportunities, email tracy@oquinnmarketing.com or marvinthemorning53@gmail.com.
— Automated Transcript —
**Intro**
Welcome to the Marv in the Morning Podcast. Now, here’s Marv.
Thank you and welcome again to another episode of the Marv in the Morning podcast, brought to you by Bales Construction, The Bank of Crocker, Paul’s Furniture, Shelter Insurance Agent Dave Hallett of Richland, St. Robert Auto Supply, Seager Toyota, The Pulaski County Health Center, STR Glass of St. Robert, The VFW Post 3168 of Waynesville, TK’s Pizza, and Three Brothers Meat Company at Lynn Creek.
**Mid-June Reflections**
We have made our way past the mid-part of June. Now, we’re headed to the Fourth of July celebration, and in case you haven’t heard, it’s the country’s 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries since we broke away from the strings of Great Britain to form a democracy that’s still going strong today despite a few hiccups along the way.
One of the latest hiccups with Iran seems to be coming to a close, at least that was the word as this week began. But we’ve heard this time and time again from our President. But this time even the news reporters seem to be optimistic, which is something unusual from previous reports we were fed time and time again.
If the war, or whatever it’s called, does end up ending, and oil tankers are on the move leaving the Strait of Hormuz, don’t expect a drastic drop in gas prices, but any little bit helps. But I wonder if those prices at the grocery stores will get back to where they were before this all started, or if the grocery stores will keep the prices up where they are, or will the grocery prices trickle down with the lower fuel prices, just like they jumped up with the higher cost of fuel to deliver the goods. Time will tell, but if I were a betting man, I don’t think I’d wager on this one.
**President’s Birthday and Boxing Memories**
Last Sunday was the President’s 80th birthday. They held a UFC cage fight at the White House. It was well attended. I called it an MMA fight in an earlier podcast, but I had the wrong federation. Each to his own, but I am not a big fan of these MMA or UFC or whatever they want to call them events.
I liked pro wrestling when I was a kid, but as I grew older, I enjoyed boxing, especially when Ali, Frazier, Foreman, and other heavyweights ruled the ring. I also enjoy the middleweight classes with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Tommy Hearns. And we can’t forget about the Spinks brothers because they were from my hometown in St. Louis.
When I went to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada as a spectator, we got tickets to the boxing venue. Paid about 20 bucks for 16 fights, all elimination events, none were for medals, but it was interesting. Saw both Spinks brothers, Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Davis, just to name a few Americans, and they all won.
Our seats were two rows behind where Howard Cosell was calling the fights, and we had a short visit with him. He was as interesting as the fights, except the one between a Briton and a boxer from Ireland. There was no rope-a-dope, no dancing all over the ring. It was just two men from neighboring countries that were not getting along at the time, trading punches.
Those days of great boxing matches are gone, and the MMA and UFC bouts have taken over. I won’t be able to comment on the gig at the White House because it was not going to be on my TV.
**Community Event & Classic Cars**
There’s a big free food and free event coming to the Shrine Club Park in Buckhorn tomorrow as we drop this podcast on this Friday. On June 20th, Meet the Heroes of Pulaski County. There will be fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, rescue boats, helicopters, road graders, and bulldozers taking over the Shrine Club Park with demonstrations on how all these machines work. Bounce houses for the kids to enjoy, and again, plenty of free food to enjoy.
Again, it’s all free and takes place from 10:00 in the morning until 3:00 this Saturday afternoon. An event the whole family can enjoy.
So where were you last Thursday? If you like to look at old cars, we were in seventh heaven here along Route 66 in Pulaski County, Missouri, as a huge hot rod club made their way down the Mother Road, headed to Springfield, then Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I made the trip into town early to catch some of the rides, and the local car clubs were stationed on the side of the road, wishing the hot rod club well with their classic cars. I saw about every muscle car ever made, along with a bunch of ’55, ’56, and ’57 Chevys. On Icard Avenue, I was sitting next to a Candy Apple Red panel van. Pretty sure it was a Chevy.
One bad thing about these older cars in summertime, back in the day air conditioning was not a standard feature. And many of these older cars had their windows down enjoying the summer breeze because that was about the only relief they were getting from Mother Nature.
I can’t tell you how many came through Pulaski County, but in my short time in town, I saw more than a hundred classic cars and trucks. And reports came in there were thousands that came through. One of the joys of living on the historic route, with more to come as Route 66 celebrates its 100th birthday this year in 2026.
**Route 66 Trip with Steve Law**
Today on the podcast, and this kind of filters right into what we were just talking about, we’re taking a trip down Route 66 and visit with a former colleague of mine who with his wife and puppy hit the Mother Road, and we’ll hear of what they’re doing in other places on America’s highway, other than Missouri. Steve Law joins us next and talks about his trip to New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, and Missouri, on Route 66. Steve is next.
**Sponsor – St. Robert Auto Supply**
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**Sponsor – Bales Construction**
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**Sponsor – Paul’s Furniture**
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**Podcast Interview with Steve Law – Part 1**
Marv: Today on the podcast, we are going to take a little trip down the Mother Road because Steve Law is with us, a former colleague at KFBD radio with me and a frequent guest on our podcast because he’s always got a lot to talk about and Steve just got back from getting his kicks on Route 66 and you did it on the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road. Thanks for being here, and uh, let’s, let’s start taking a little trip, buddy.
Steve: All right, yeah, well we, we didn’t do the entire route. We just, we, uh, actually I had a friend that lives in Las Cruces. He got us tickets to go see a concert in, um, Albuquerque. So we were like, well, let’s take the trip down and we’ll, on the way down, we’ll kind of make a different route, but on the way back, we’ll take Route 66 as best we can, and so we did. And it was about, we left on Saturday the 30th and we got back on Monday, so it was about an eight-day trip.
Marv: And of course, uh, you live in Rolla, so I guess on the way down there, you pretty much took 44.
Steve: We took 44 down to somewhere in Oklahoma, and then we wanted to, actually, we, we headed south, we wanted to stay about Wichita Falls because we, uh, our first stop we wanted to do was the town of Archer City, Texas. Archer City, Texas is famous for basically a couple things. Larry McMurtry is an author, he, he grew up there. He wrote The Last Picture Show. I don’t know if you remember that movie in 1971, that old black and white, Peter Bogdanovich, and the whole entire film was filmed in Archer City. So we wanted to go see Archer City, and you drive into that city and it looks just like it did in 1971. Kind of desolate, kind of lonely. You know, they got the picture show theater and all that stuff, and then Larry McMurtry actually has, um, his book collection, when he died, was like over 300,000 books, so they put a library together. And so we walked into the library and talked to people about the history of Archer City and Larry McMurtry and stuff, and that was kind of cool. So that was awesome to go to Archer City, Texas to see that. But before I get to that, before the, on Saturday night, we were driving down toward Wichita Falls, and we were in Oklahoma, uh, coming up on a town called Chickashea, Oklahoma. And I just happened to glance over, Siri was, my wife was driving, and I saw a leg lamp. I was like, what? I said, Siri, let’s pull over and see what this is all about. And they have, apparently, the original guy who made a leg lamp for himself was the inspiration for the, you know the movie Christmas Story? They, he gets the, the leg lamp as a gift. So they put up a statue of the leg lamp in the middle of downtown with the Fra-gi-le box underneath it. So we got pictures of ourselves in front of the leg lamp. It’s right there in the middle of, of the town of Chickashea, Oklahoma.
Marv: That looks like it to be about uh 25, 30 feet tall.
Steve: I think it’s like 80 feet, to tell you the truth. Yeah. Yeah. So it’s just random, almost Route 66-ish, but it wasn’t on the route, but yeah, it was like, okay, so that was our first stop was Chickashea, Oklahoma to go see the leg lamp statue. So go see it, folks.
Marv: Okay. And then you were on to.
Steve: Then we went to Archer City, like I said, and saw the, the, uh, the last picture show, the, the, the, the, the, the movie theater that was in the last picture show. And the downtown, if you look, the very first scene of, of, um, The Last Picture Show, it looks like a desolate downtown and it looks exactly the same. It’s like it was a set that they left there, but it’s the actual town.
Marv: Who starred in that?
Steve: That was Cybill Shepherd.
Marv: Cybill, that’s what I thought.
Steve: And what’s his face, the, uh, the, the Bridges guy. Jeff Bridges. Yeah. So that was, so we did that and then our next stop was Lubbock, Texas, because I wanted to go to Buddy Holly’s hometown. And so we went to the Buddy Holly Museum and saw the statue of Buddy Holly and got pictures there, and that was a lot of fun. And we ended up staying in, of all places, well, before that, we went to a, a brewery in, um, in Lubbock, and the brewery has an IPA called the Buddy Hoppy IPA. So we bought a six-pack of that out of there because, you know, we like beer.
Marv: Of course.
Steve: Am I talking too much?
Marv: No, no, you’re, you’re from up north. Of course you like beer. Yeah.
Steve: Of course, of course. So then we stopped in Roswell, New Mexico to go to the alien, alien museum.
Marv: That’s where I want to, that’s where I want to start this thing. All right. So what is Roswell actually? I mean, I’m sure there are plenty of museums and stuff like that with aliens all over the place.
Steve: Yeah, the downtown is beautiful and vibrant, and they’ve got, you know, kitschy shops and you can buy t-shirts and all that stuff. And then they have the Roswell Museum, which was their old theater. You walk through and it has all the evidence of all the pictures and all the news stories and all the history of Area 51 and the whole Roswell alien thing and it’s just really cool. We loved it because every shop in the downtown was dog friendly. We ate breakfast with our dog in the, in the shop, and in the, in the restaurant, and we went into all these different kitschy shops and they let us bring our dog in, and it was wonderful. So if you want to go on a trip with, and you want to bring your dog, go to Roswell, New Mexico, you’ll be invited everywhere.
Marv: So Satchmo, of course, is your dog, that’s, uh, is he a, is he a full dachshund?
Steve: He’s a half dachshund and he’s half something else. I always say he’s half dachshund and half terrier, so I call him a Terrier. But that’s not really true, so.
Marv: Okay. I’m sure Satchmo probably just had a blast.
Steve: Oh, he had the time of his life. A 12-year-old puppy, well behaved. Everybody that walked, every time we walked in with him, they just loved him and swooned, and he was, yeah, he had the time of his life.
Marv: So the concert, uh, you went to before we get you back on Route 66 on the way home, uh, who did you see?
Steve: We saw, and then some people will know him, some people won’t, Joe Jackson. Joe Jackson had, probably his two most famous hits are Steppin’ Out, and Is She Really Going Out With Him? Those are his two big hits. And it was a great concert. He’s a, he’s a, uh, English guy from Portsmouth, England, and he’s got a great band and it’s just a, it was a great show. He’s a great storyteller. He just, it was, yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Marv: So when you hopped on Route 66 on your way back.
Steve: Yes.
Marv: Uh, where did you start?
Steve: We started in, um, the concert was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So we started in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But real quick before we get back to that, let me show one more thing I want to talk about. When we drove down to Las Cruces to meet him because Las Cruces is four hours from, um, from Albuquerque, we stopped in the town of Alamogordo, New Mexico. And in Alamogordo they have the world’s largest pistachio. And so we got pictures at the world’s largest pistachio.
Marv: And I’m looking at a picture of this world’s largest pistachio, and it’s, again, probably about 50, 60 feet tall.
Steve: Yeah, easily, easily. Oh, and we also went to White Sands National Park where you, where the sand looks like snow, and you walk in it and it’s like 50 degrees. It’s 100 degrees out, but the sand is cool. So that’s another great place to go.
Marv: Okay, so.
Steve: More, more, more weird stuff. Anyway, so let’s get back to I guess once we got done with the concert, we went to Route 66. We drove Route 66.
Marv: On the, on the way back. Most people go from here to California, but there’s a lot of people who do come the other way.
Steve: Yeah, we decided to go the other way, and we so we started in, um, Albuquerque and drove through New Mexico, uh, to different spots. We, we found a place called Carter’s Corners that’s been there since the 1940s on the side of the road, it’s just a big old truck stop area. And they got kitschy stuff, and it’s gorgeous, and it was a lot of fun. They even have a Zoltair machine from Big, when he wishes he was big. Yeah, the Zoltair machine. So that was weird. Uh, our next stop was Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Just, a lot of that’s the, the great thing about driving through these towns is you go and some of them are still have stuff, and some of them are really desolate and almost ghost towns. But, being the 100th anniversary of Route 66, a lot of these towns spruced themselves up and made, you know, got new, uh, businesses going and repainted the signs and relit, you know, like the St., the Neon Park here in St. Robert.
Marv: Right.
Steve: A lot of the neon part signs were refurbished and everything. Stopped at a place called Sidekicks in a town called Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Marv: I’ve heard of Tucumcari, never been there, but.
Steve: Yes. Jimmie Rogers had the song, 10 More Miles to Tucumcari.
Marv: Right.
Steve: Yes. And then after that, we went to the Cadillac Ranch. We, we got into Texas.
Marv: Where now, is the Cadillac Ranch, is in Texas, right?
Steve: Yes, we, yeah, so once we got out of New Mexico, and we, like I said, we kept going into these small towns and some of them were pretty desolate, and some of them were kind of sad. But then we got into Texas and we stopped in at the Cadillac Ranch, which is just west of Amarillo. And got our pictures taken at the Cadillac Ranch.
Marv: So did you paint any of the?
Steve: We didn’t spray paint. We actually, we had gone to the Cadillac Ranch 10 years ago and we did the spray paint, but everybody else there was spray painting, and we just, it was getting late, and we wanted to get past Amarillo into, into Oklahoma for the night, so we just stopped and took pictures and then moved on.
Marv: If anybody has never seen a picture of the Cadillac Ranch, there is probably about what, 10, 15 Cadillacs.
Steve: Yes, I believe it. Yeah.
Marv: Basically the 1950s into the early 60s.
Steve: Yeah, it was built in 1974. The guy just buried a bunch of Cadillacs. And for the longest time, they were just the Cadillacs. It was just out there. And then somebody got the bright idea to start spray painting, so instead of telling them, no, you can’t, they said, all right. So you they actually sell spray paint in, at right there at the, they got a little trailer. You can get t-shirts and they sell spray paint and you go spray whatever you want to spray and then the next day it gets sprayed over.
Marv: Right. So, I mean, it’s just, again, a tourist trap basically, but.
Steve: Yes.
Marv: Something unique along the way.
Steve: Yes. And then, so then we stayed in Elk City, Oklahoma. And in Elk City is the actual National Route 66 Museum. Now it was, it was Sunday morning, so it was closed, but we got to walk around and see some of the old Route 66 bridges that they have saved and put there and stuff.
Marv: Wow, the picture of that bridge, I can’t imagine a vehicle going across that bridge.
Steve: Uh, I probably one-way traffic as it was back then when they first started out. But yeah, it was pretty cool and it was, another, another nice town. I’ll you can’t see this obviously in the podcast, but you can see the downtown areas. I always marveled west of, I always say west of Kansas City, they built the, they built the towns for cars. Whereas east of the Mississippi, they built the town for horses and carriages because you got skinny streets in this area and stuff. You go out there, the city, the city streets are at least five car lanes wide so they can do, you know, uh, angled parking and all that. And it’s just wonderful because they’re so, the cities are so much more vast and expansive, you know.
Marv: And you wouldn’t think that because of the Old West, you would think it’d be just the opposite, uh, in the eastern portion of the United States where.
Steve: I agree.
Marv: There would have been a lot more people in the eastern portion because the West had not been opened up yet.
Steve: But they had, you know, they had built the big cities, you know, the skyscrapers with the, with the, you know, with horse and carriages, whereas when they, when you got out west, they may have been western towns, but then when they decided to build a better town, they just expanded the streets, which was kind of cool. So then next was Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we stopped there for a quick, uh, for a quick brew. Had a lot of fun. And then it was on to Catoosa, Oklahoma. And I don’t know if you know what’s in Catoosa, Oklahoma, that’s the Big Blue Whale of Catoosa.
Marv: I’ve heard of that.
Steve: Yes. There was a, uh, a, uh, married couple had a, like a, a, like a farm or a, a petting zoo type place. And the husband wanted to surprise his wife with a, with a anniversary gift. So out of wire and cement of, um, iron and cement, he built this big blue whale in the middle of one of the ponds. And they, uh, it became a tourist attraction on Route 66 with a kiosk and everything and it’s just a big blue whale out in the middle of.
Marv: Out in the middle of nowhere, basically.
Steve: Yeah. But you got to go off the road. And we, like I said, we went off the road and it was wonderful. We had just a time of our lives. And then kept heading back and then we got into Missouri, went, went through Joplin, did the Route 66 through Joplin. Then we just decided, you know what, it’s 8:00 at night, let’s get home. So we took I-44 and that was on Sunday night. And we drove right through the tornadoes. So we had to pull over at the world’s largest candy store just outside of Lebanon and wait out the tornado for about a half hour and then we got home about 12:15 on a, on Monday morning.
Marv: So interesting, um, out west. It’s a shame you couldn’t get all the way to, um, California.
Steve: Yes. Our next goal is we want to fly out to Albuquerque and then just rent a vehicle and do from Albuquerque to Santa Monica and do the rest of the Route 66 and hit Winslow, Arizona for the Eagles statue on the corner and go to Barstow and San Bernardino and the whole nine yards. So that’s our next one.
Marv: Is that the, that’s not the Eagles statue on the corner, that’s just Glenn Frey, isn’t it?
Steve: It’s just Glenn Frey. Yeah. They put a statue of Glenn Frey on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, which is a nice tribute.
Marv: Oh, certainly is.
Steve: I’ve seen pictures. I’ve seen pictures. Now I want to see it face to face.
Marv: Well, I mean, that’s got, that has to be one of the most famous cities that’s ever, um, been recorded in a song.
Steve: Oh, exactly, exactly. That would be, I would say that and New York, New York.
Marv: You can’t forget about that one.
Steve: But yeah, we, uh, I actually made a CD for our trip out there. And it’s some highway songs, some Route 66 songs. And I’ll just, if you don’t mind, I’ll just run through. Started out with Holiday Road by Lindsey Buckingham because National Lampoon’s Vacation, you got to play that song first. And then I did Route 66 Nat King Cole’s version from, you know, the whole song about Route 66. And, uh, I, maybe we talked about this one time, but in Springfield, up until a couple years ago, there was a hamburger joint called Reds on Route 66.
Marv: Yes.
Steve: And they had the sign, it said, uh, uh, Reds Hamburgers, but the sign was too tall for the power lines, so he had to cut it off so it said Reds, Reds Hamburg. And there’s a group in Springfield that recorded a song called Reds by, called The Marells. And if you get a chance, go onto YouTube, folks, look up The Marells, M O R E L L S Reds. And it’s a video that they made in Reds with the original Red guy about the hamburger, cheeseburger, lettuce and tomato. It’s a great song. Springfield group. So there you go.
Marv: There you go.
Steve: And then, of course, I put on Cadillac Ranch. Uh, we stopped in Tulsa, so I had to play Take Me Back to Tulsa by Bob Wills. Uh, Tucumcari, Jimmie Rodgers, we talked about that. Woody Guthrie, you know, talks, drove the, uh, during the Dust Bowl. So I had to have a Woody Guthrie song on there. We had Amarillo by Morning by George Strait.
Marv: One of the greatest songs ever recorded as far as I’m concerned.
Steve: Exactly. Yeah. Uh, on the Road Again by Willie Nelson. The Ghost of Tom Joad because, you know, um, the, the Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad moving out on Route 66, so I had that on there. Smokey Joe’s Cafe by Buddy Holly because Buddy. Um, and then, uh, and then a song by Weird Al Yankovic that’s 11 minutes long that has nothing to do with anything except the title of the song’s called Albuquerque. It’s a weird ass song.
Marv: Well, of course, from Weird Al, what would you expect?
Steve: Yeah. So that was kind of our road trip CD.
Marv: So, I, I didn’t hear, uh, Get Your Kicks on Route 66 by Asleep At The Wheel. Of course, that was.
Steve: I don’t.
Marv: That was that Nat King Cole song.
Steve: That’s the Nat King Cole song.
Marv: Back.
Steve: I mean, I could have put an entire CD of nothing but that song. You know, you’ve got Nat King Cole and you’ve got Asleep At The Wheel. Uh, the punk rock group from Twin Cities of The Replacements did a version of Route 66. Everybody, even The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby have a copy of that song, so, yeah. But I could have put, yeah, I could have put the Asleep At The Wheel one because that’s a good one, too.
Marv: Oh, yeah.
Steve: Yeah.
Marv: That’s the, that’s the latest one I remember, but I’m sure there’s been more and will be more this year because of the 100th anniversary.
Steve: And in the soundtrack for Cars, I think somebody does a version of Route 66, too. Which by the way, if, if those that don’t know Cars is basically about Route 66. It’s about this, you know, that that Dixie Pixar movie. It’s an animated movie and the race car breaks down and gets stuck in Radiator Springs and he’s, you know, it’s an old ghost town because of Route 66 and stuff. And there was a song in there called Our Town that Randy Newman wrote. I think it was even nominated. I put that on our CD, too. It’s, you know, about how this used to be a vibrant town and now with the highway, it’s pretty much dead. So that’s kind of the way Route 66 went, you know, for all those years, and let’s hope this 100th anniversary reinvigorates people going on it.
Marv: So did you stay in any of the roadside motels on the way back, or?
Steve: I don’t think we had the courage to do that. But I from what I understand, a lot of these are refurbished and they’re beautiful now. I mean, I don’t know if you’ve heard about the Shamrock Hotel Motel in Sullivan.
Marv: Yes.
Steve: They’ve refurbished that, they’ve gutted all the buildings and redid them, and apparently that, the you stay in those little huts that they have there, apparently it’s gorgeous. So I wouldn’t mind doing that sometime.
Marv: Yeah, all along, uh, Route 66 here in Missouri. There have been refurbish. And then the Munger Moss.
Steve: Oh my gosh.
Marv: That, that down in Lebanon. That’s been going on for years. And I, they haven’t had to refurbish it always.
Steve: They have it.
Marv: All they do is just upkeep it.
Steve: They’re, they’re the owners of that one have really kept that one well. And I will say the other thing about being on the Route 66 in Oklahoma and New Mexico, they have a lot of those towns have really kept up the route and kept up those hotels. Some of them have been dilapidated, but a lot of them, you would, you drive along and it’s like, wow, these buildings look like pristine, look like they did in 1955. You know, it’s kind of cool.
Marv: We came back from, uh, St. Louis not long ago, and of course, uh, we hit Watson Road, which is Route 66.
Steve: Yeah.
Marv: Uh, come on out of St. Louis, and passed the old Coral Courts Motel.
Steve: Oh my gosh, yeah.
Marv: Which we won’t go into because of my days in St. Louis. That was.
Steve: One of those hotels.
Marv: Well, it was kind of like, um, you know, for your one-night stands and, you know, um.
Steve: The hourly rate motel.
Marv: That’s exactly what it should have been called, was the hourly rate motel. And of course, hit some White Castles on the way home.
Steve: Sure.
Marv: Uh, St. Louis, but, um, you get out of, um, St. Louis and you, you get into Rolla. Now, a lot of people don’t know that. They think, they think, um, Marv Springs Drive is pretty much Route 66, but actually to get on Route 66.
Steve: Yes.
Marv: Don’t you have to go behind the tater patch.
Steve: I believe that was the.
Marv: Or College Station Road.
Steve: Yeah, College Road was the original and then when they built the highway, they put Martin Springs. But College merged into Martin Springs after like, whatever that, the Beaumont Inn or whatever. Because if you go past Rolla, then you see the bridge that they replaced and all that stuff.
Marv: Yeah. And then you’re headed down, uh, toward Martin Springs Drive, you headed down to Newberg, and you hit P Highway. And next thing you know, you’re in Devil’s Elbow and then.
Steve: And before Devil’s Elbow.
Marv: Through St. Robert.
Steve: Exit 156 before Devil’s Elbow. When we first moved here in 2010, there was still, uh, there’s another offshoot that goes down to Arlington, which that that’s where the route originally went, and there was an old hotel there. It’s now private property and they won’t let you on. But at the one time, you could see it was the one of those old motels with the doors on the outside and stuff.
Marv: And you can still see that from I-44 when you look down, uh, toward the North as you’re going down 44. And you look at Arlington, you can see the tracks and you can see that hotel.
Steve: Yeah, exactly. And apparently that was an incorporated town at one time, and now it just says Arlington is just one building. Yeah.
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Marv: We’re going to take a break, and we’re going to come back with Steve Law in just a moment. Don’t go away.
**Sponsor – WIC**
WIC is here to help your growing family thrive. WIC is a supplemental nutrition program providing healthy foods, free nutrition education and community referrals. If you are pregnant or have a child under the age of five, you or your child may be eligible for WIC. With a card to use at the store and more fruit and vegetable dollars, it’s a great time to be on WIC. Call the Pulaski County Health Center at 573-774-3115 to learn more. That’s 573-774-3115. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
**Sponsor – STR Glass**
In these days of texting and emails, words, phrases, and names are shortened to letters. It doesn’t change anything, it just makes things easier. That’s the case of STR Glass, a St. Robert establishment since the 60s. Still the same great service when it comes to auto glass, windows, shower doors, and anything to do with glass. And when it comes to fixing chips in your windshield to prevent cracking, there’s none better. They’re still in the same location on VFW Memorial Drive and still have the same phone number, 336-4122. They’ve just shortened their name from St. Robert Glass to STR Glass, but will never shorten their services to you, the customer.
**Sponsor – Shelter Insurance**
At Shelter Insurance, we believe insurance should adjust to fit your needs. That’s why we work with you to design an auto, home, and life insurance plan that’s particular to you. Insurance that fits just right. And Shelter is known for our award-winning customer service, satisfied customers, and a plan for you. Ready to check us out? Shelter Insurance. We’re your shield, we’re your shelter. For a free insurance review, for auto, home, life, farm or business insurance, see me, Dave Hallett, your Shelter Insurance Agent in Richland.
**Podcast Interview with Steve Law – Part 2**
Marv: Back with Steve Law, as we, uh, take a little trip down Route 66. Of course, I would, I would recommend this to anybody who has some time on their hands and can afford the gas. What was the gas prices that, uh, you hit?
Steve: It varied. It varied. There was some, I think when we were in parts of Oklahoma, it was over four. In parts of Texas, it was under 3.60. So it varied. We got out to New Mexico. Some of the bigger towns were about 4.19, 4.20. And some of the smaller towns were three, we saw as low as 3.53. So it, I think it all depends on how big the city is. You know, like, and even up here, you see St. Robert’s usually about 10 to 15 cents cheaper than Rolla. You know, so it varied. But I would say the most expensive we saw was probably about 4, 4.40, and the least expensive was 3.50.
Marv: I know when we made that trip to St. Louis, my wife and I, uh, this is about a month ago, um, it was pretty much 4.19 all the way up I-44 to St. Louis. You got into St. Louis and it jumped up, you know, up to about 4.25, 4.30. Uh, but other than that, um, when you came back, um, got back here and do, uh, Waynesville, St. Robert, the prices dropped again.
Steve: Exactly. Yeah. I, I always say, um, I’m glad I work in St. Robert and live in Rolla because when I get to St. Robert, I can fill up.
Marv: Rolla is more expensive.
Steve: I would say it’s between 10 and 20 cents more expensive than than than than St. Robert is.
Marv: I wonder why that is. I’m sure there’s, I’m sure there’s a reason.
Steve: There is. I, the area that my wife and I grew up in in northern Minnesota, it’s the same thing. You go, you miles, like 20 miles apart between bigger cities, sometimes you’ll see 10 to 20 cents difference. And I think it’s just whoever, whatever, um, gas stations are in that town, if they want to compete or if they want to jack up the prices, they basically dictate, you know, for the most part. And state taxes and all that stuff always affects it, too.
Marv: Have you ever seen our Neon Park here in St. Robert lit up?
Steve: Oh, yeah. Yeah, we walked through it. Oh, it had to be back in February or March, we walked through it. And it’s just gorgeous what they did with that. I’m glad they that they, um, salvaged all those lights. And if you drive some of these towns at night, like especially Albuquerque, Albuquerque’s Route 66 goes right through there, the heart of their town. So you drive that at night and the lights are all lit up and it’s just gorgeous. Yeah. I, I love what, what St. Robert has done with that Neon Park sign. It’s Neon sign park.
Marv: And there’s going to be, uh, a lot more things that are going on here in St. Robert. We’re going to talk to the mayor of St. Robert, James Breckenridge, coming up here, I think in the early part of July on the podcast, and he’ll give us a reminder of some of the things that are going on here because there are, uh, some special events here in the city of St. Robert and Waynesville, uh, that are going to be going on here in Pulaski County that are going to be going on here.
Steve: We noticed on the drive that a lot of the towns had signs about their 66 festival. And even some of them are having Route 66 festivals that first weekend in June when we were driving through. It’s a big celebration this year, and I’m glad they’re doing it. And my only hope is that, well, one of my hopes is that it continues to grow even after this year and that after this year, they don’t just forget about it again.
Marv: Seen some really neat cars coming through, uh, St. Robert recently. Um, saw a beautiful, I think it was a Chevy panel van. Um, all souped up and decked out in cherry red, you know, that candy apple red.
Steve: Well, this is the year to do it. If you’re going to do it, if you’re going to travel Route 66, get a vintage car.
Marv: In matter of fact, I was sitting at the radio station, um, the old radio station where you work still, uh, the other day, looked out the window and saw a Model T.
Steve: No.
Marv: Cruising, cruising down the, uh, city route while I was sitting there talking to our engineer.
Steve: Really? Seriously?
Marv: Yeah. Well, Steve, it’s been fun, buddy.
Steve: Yeah, I’m glad I could be here. I, I hope, uh, hope people go see, even if they do the Route 66 in Missouri or in Illinois or whatever, just go. It’s gorgeous. Um, my favorite one, my favorite towns were Tulsa and Albuquerque, and, yeah, I just think the, the entire stretch is phenomenal what they’ve done.
Marv: I think Albuquerque, New Mexico would be a pretty, because I have been through Albuquerque, uh, been through, uh, several towns in, in New Mexico. Matter of fact, stayed in one outside, stayed in Aztec, New Mexico.
Steve: Okay.
Marv: Which is just south of, uh, Colorado. And then we, uh, took the route into Colorado and did some skiing.
Steve: Oh, there you go.
Marv: Yeah. Um, many years ago. I don’t think, I don’t think my butt is going to get back on a pair of skis.
Steve: Well, if it does, you’re going to get down a lot faster than you used to because of gravity.
Marv: Yeah. Thank you very much. Steve Law has been our guest and we’re getting out of here with that one. Folks, thanks for joining us. We’ll be right back.
**Sponsor – Seager Toyota**
Hold up, this is good. If you haven’t been to Seager Toyota of St. Robert, you’re missing out. This is the place where buying a Toyota actually feels good. Great selection, friendly faces, and zero, I said zero awkward pressure. It’s why drivers keep voting us Pulaski County’s number one dealership four years in a row. So whether you’re ready to buy today or just ready to smile, come by Seager Toyota of St. Robert. Doing it the right way, the Seager Way for over 56 years. Come see what all the talk’s about. Seager Toyota of St. Robert, the fun starts here, next to Walmart and at SeagerToyota.net.
**Sponsor – Bank of Crocker**
Since 1911, The Bank of Crocker has served the greater Pulaski County area. This year marks their 115th year. How do you last that long? Well, by giving their customers cutting-edge banking services with a hometown flair. You can do your banking from anywhere in the world with their convenient online banking. At the big banks, you’re just another number. At The Bank of Crocker, they know your name, maybe some of your family and might even know the name of the dog sitting next to you in the drive-in facility. It’s called the personal touch, which is why they’re celebrating their 115th year as your hometown bank. And there’s four locations for your convenience in Crocker, Richland, Waynesville, and St. Robert. The Bank of Crocker, member FDIC and equal housing lender.
**Sponsor – TK’s Pizza**
Remember when pizza night meant piling into the car and heading to your favorite local spot, everyone enjoying great food and spending time together? Well, at TK’s Pizza, we’re happy to say that tradition is still alive and well. Family owned and proudly serving the Pulaski County area for 47 years, TK’s still makes every pie the old-fashioned way. Fresh hand-tossed dough, hearty toppings, and plenty of love. Call 573-336-FAST. Order online at 336fast.com, or just come on in to 743 Missouri Avenue in St. Robert. The same little spot we’ve been throwing dough for decades. TK’s Pizza, where neighbors become regulars, and every slice feels like home. Taste the TK’s tradition today.
**Sports Update**
In sports, brought to you by Three Brothers Meat Company at Lynn Creek. High school sports is done for the 25-26 school year. Athletes that will be returning to the prep level will spend the summer months in the weight rooms or on some traveling teams, keeping their skills sharp and getting ready for the start of the next school year, with practices getting underway in August, and now that’s just about two months away.
Congrats to the New York Knicks, winners of the NBA title, downing San Antonio in five games and did it in Texas with another comeback victory. In game four, when the Spurs went up by 29 points in the first half, I gave it up. I went to bed. As did my wife. We were both stunned the next morning when we learned the Knicks came back and won it with just seconds left on the clock. I made sure I didn’t miss game five.
And about 24 hours after the NBA crowned their champion, the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs also came to an end, when the Carolina Hurricanes shut out the Golden Knights of Vegas, three to zip to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup, making the Canes the champions of hockey in 2026. The sixth and final game of the finals was the least exciting. In the previous games, the third period saw comebacks after comebacks by both teams. But in game six, the Hurricanes were dialed in, and their swarming defense and play of goalie Brandon Busey, who was inserted as a backup after game three was nothing less than outstanding.
I was sad to see hockey come to an end because this series was so entertaining, and I really didn’t care who won it, just wanted to see more ice hockey. But that ended leaving golf, baseball, and World Cup soccer as the only three big men’s national sports still going on for the summer. In Missouri Major League Baseball, no changes really from last week.
Coming into this week, St. Louis went seven and three in their last 10 games and remains in second place in the NL Central. As of Sunday, they were five games back of Milwaukee with two and a half games ahead of third place Chicago and seven games over 500. Kansas City Royals remain in last place in the AL Central, 10 games back of first place Chicago White Sox. Well, that’s some sports, brought to you by Three Brothers Meat Company at Lynn Creek. Back with the wrap, after this.
**Sponsor – Three Brothers Meat Company**
Need to fill your freezer and save some serious money? Well, that’s a problem Three Brothers Meat Company is happy to fix. We’re talking whole beef bundles, quarter beef bundles, and the mighty freezer buster, stacked with beef, chicken, and pork. So good, you might start inviting yourself to your own house for dinner. These bundles are perfect for grilling, family dinners, or just beating grocery store prices with much better quality food. Check them all out on our Facebook page. They’re pinned right there at the top of the page. Call 573-346-5233 or just swing by and see us, 2179 State Highway A in Montreal.
**Sponsor – VFW Post 3168**
“Meet you at the V.” is a popular saying in our neck of the woods, and for a good reason. VFW Post 3168 at Exit 150 off I-44 is a popular place, especially on Friday and Saturday night, because it’s Steak Night from 4:00 to 9:00. Where folks come from miles around to get some of the best steaks at a price that makes even the most thrifty smile. With several cuts of juicy steaks cooked the way you like, complimented by salad, baked potato, and a veggie. Their canteen is open Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to midnight, Friday from 3:00 to 1:00, and they open at noon on Saturday and Sundays. Their kitchen is open from 5:00 to 9:00, Mondays through Thursdays with daily specials. And did I mention Steak Nights Fridays and Saturdays? And there’s karaoke Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:00 to close. Plenty of TVs to catch up on all the big games and a huge meeting room for rent for your special occasions. Queen of Hearts runs every Tuesday, and check out their website for Bingo Nights. And every second Saturday of the month, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m., they host a Veteran Service Officer event. Waynesville VFW Post 3168, Exit 150 off I-44. See why more people are heading to the V every day.
**Outro**
Want to say thanks to my sponsors, Bales Construction, The Bank of Crocker, Paul’s Furniture, Shelter Insurance Agent Dave Hallett of Richland, St. Robert Auto Supply, Seager Toyota, The Pulaski County Health Center, STR Glass of St. Robert, VFW Post 3168 of Waynesville, TK’s Pizza, and Three Brothers Meat Company at Lynn Creek. If you’re enjoying the Marv in the Morning podcast, we invite you to leave a review on whatever app you’re listening on. We would also love for you to share the episode with family and friends on your social media accounts. Be sure to follow our podcast on Facebook, on the Marv in the Morning podcast page, and you’re also invited to join us on Facebook on the Fort Not Lost in the Woods podcast group. This podcast is a production of O’Quinn Media. Thanks to Tracy, my producer for gluing this together. Thanks to the sponsors and thanks to you, my podcast listeners, for allowing me to be a part of your life, albeit for a short period of time. Join us next week when we take a look around the Frisco League, talk a little high school baseball, talk about a father whose son is playing pro baseball right now, when we visit with Harve Antel, who has retired from coaching high school baseball, and Harve has some interesting thoughts. Join us next week. Until then, later.