In 2013 American Road Magazine featured a unique store in rural Indiana that has weathered the changes in American toy tastes for the past 75 years. Veach’s Toy Station has found a way to the heart of the child in all of us for three generation of the Veach family in Richmond, Indiana. In part 2 of the conversation that we had with John Veach, the current owner, he begins by reflecting on the reappearance of some of his favorite childhood toys. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...
Dec 24, 2014•9 min
Rebecca Repp is the General Manager of American Road Magazine which she publishes along with husband Thomas Repp. Normally Becky stays behind the scenes but in the 2014 Spring Issue she stepped from behind the headlines into our Tunnel Vision section. There we learned about her appointment to the America’s Byways Foundation. This group is a non-profit group organized years ago to help Byway committees all over the country share resources and ideas for growth. Becky Repp brings her considerable i...
Dec 21, 2014•11 min
It’s holiday time and that’s the time for giving toys to our favorite girls and boys. In 2013 American Road Magazine featured a unique store in rural Indiana that has weathered the changes in American toy tastes for the past 75 years. Veach’s Toy Station has found a way to the heart of the child in all of us for three generation of the Veach family in Richmond, Indiana. This podcast is part 1 of the conversation that we had with John Veach, the current owner, about the magic of selling toys for ...
Dec 17, 2014•10 min
In our Fall issue of the magazine, the Tunnel Vision column features a story about Old 41 Caters to Gaters. It was the tale of the valiant efforts of John Brady, a local photographer, to save one of the last everglade showplaces in Florida. The Everglades Wonder Gardens. In part two we will hear about the colorful history of the original Wonder Gardens and how it has come to be one of the last places in Florida where you can see pink flamingos and still be sober! Just kidding. Please enjoy part ...
Dec 17, 2014•8 min
In our Fall issue of the magazine, the Tunnel Vision column features a story about Old 41 Caters to Gaters. It was the tale of the valiant efforts of John Brady, a local photographer, to save one of the last everglade showplaces in Florida. The Everglades Wonder Gardens. In our first part of the story in this podcast, John tells the story of how this famous, original Florida roadside attraction was about to fade into history. But John and some other lovers of Florida’s wild beauty with the help ...
Nov 28, 2014•8 min
In our Fall 2014 issue of American Road Magazine an article entitled Rock, Paper, Scissor featured a visit to the Cardboard Boat Museum in New Richmond, Ohio. Our guest for part 2 of our podcast about the museum is Ray Perszyk a colorful Ohio river man who is the chairman of the Cardboard Race Committee. It might seem remarkable that craft made of something so frail as cardboard could last up to 10 years and be featured in the museum. That is where we pick up our conversation with Ray in today’s...
Nov 24, 2014•7 min
Normally you wouldn’t associate anything make out of cardboard with the word “racing” but the paper flotillas of New Richmond, Ohio defy that notion. In our Fall 2014 issue of American Road Magazine a clever article entitled Rock, Paper, Scissor included a visit to the Cardboard Boat Museum in that little Ohio river town. Our guest is Ray Perszyk a colorful local who is the chairman of the Cardboard Race Committee. In this part of conversation, Ray talks about the race and its origins and in par...
Nov 24, 2014•8 min
For many of us the image of North Dakota the pops to mind comes from the movie Fargo: A vast sea of white snow, bitter cold and knife like winds. Needless to say there is much more to the Peace Garden State than that and the newly expanded State Museum in Bismarck says it all. Our guest today is Kim Jondahl, Communication and Education director for the State Historical Society of North Dakota. At the end of October 2014 the state opened a magnificent 97,000 sq ft expansion that includes to very ...
Oct 31, 2014•12 min
A lot of our listeners/readers are avid travelers and many use the itineraries posted on our American Road Magazine homepage. The holiday season for 2014 is just starting to get into high gear whether grandma lives in Tampa, Fl or Topiniabee, Michigan, Spokane, WA or Seabrook Island, SC. The folks at the National Motor Club have your best interests at heart and have a special winter driving checklist to offer you. In this podcast we speak with Heidi Vincent, President of NMC about their services...
Oct 30, 2014•15 min
In the Friends in the Fast Lane column of our Fall 2014 magazine, we highlighted the official designation of a portion of a famous California costal highway as part of the Purple Heart Trail. In reality the famous commemorative trail is not a contiguous, physical route but rather a symbolic system of roads honoring the men and women of our armed forces over the decades. In this podcast we speak with Kathy Long, Ventura County Supervisor, about the official inclusion of scenic coastal Highway 101...
Oct 26, 2014•9 min
Drive in theatres have been featured in a couple of issues of our magazine because they are a unique part of the American Road heritage. The same goes for diners; we even have a regular column called Diner Days. In our summer 2014 issue we featured the Mayberry Diner and Drive In, a unique combination of these two classics. In this podcast we talk with Bob Craig the owner of this fine establishment located in the mountains of central Virginia near Smith Mountain Lake. You’ll never guess where Bo...
Oct 22, 2014•12 min
In the summer edition of American Road Magazine Erika Nelson, author of the Think Big column, found a big bottle of pop to quench her thirst: a 66 ‘ bottle to be exact outside of Pops Restaurant in Arcadia, OK. We talked extensively in another podcast with her about the enormous roadside attraction but the restaurant behind it looked just as interesting. Enter Marty Doepke, General Manager for Pops Restaurant. In this podcast Marty gives us the background of why Pops has that name and describes ...
Sep 29, 2014•11 min
Erika Nelson is someone who is hard to catch up to because she is always on the road and always traveling. The big game she is hunting, literally Big Game, are the largest attractions along the American Road. Erika then turns them into the smallest replicas of the Largest Attractions on the American Road. And she has a travelling collection. She also contributes a regular column about her finds called Think Big. True to form the story that appeared in the summer edition of American Road Magazine...
Sep 29, 2014•10 min
In the summer issue of American Road Magazine we took a jog through the Deep South in Tunnel Vision and explored the Grand Gulf-Raymond Scenic Byway. Signs have finally been put up that tells the story of this 50 mile stretch of southern byway beauty which traces one of the most significant marches in America’s bloody Civil War. Our guest on this podcast is Ret. General Parker Hills, a Civil War military expert and longtime supporter of the Grand Gulf-Raymond Scenic Byway. Journey with us as he ...
Sep 24, 2014•12 min
Over the last few years American Road Magazine has featured stories about the Hocking Hills in southeast Ohio. This beautiful part of the state is quite different from the flat farms lands of the north and east of the Buckeye state. In the Hocking Hills the land begins to roll gently as it heads southeast into the Appalachian Mountains and the Virginias. This is a two-part conversation about a time-honored tradition of the region: moonshining! While the typical homemade and very illegal distille...
Sep 11, 2014•13 min
Over the last few years American Road Magazine has featured stories about the Hocking Hills in southeast Ohio. This beautiful part of the state is quite different from the flat farms lands of the north and east of the Buckeye state. In the Hocking Hills the land begins to roll gently as it heads southeast into the Appalachian Mountains and the Virginias. This is a two-part conversation about a time-honored tradition of the region: moonshining! While the typical homemade and very illegal distille...
Aug 31, 2014•10 min
As a reader of American Road Magazine, you know we are all about enjoying and preserving America’s Scenic Byways. They are not just great vacation destinations but are also vital economic links to a host of communities offering entertainment, opportunities to learn and appreciate our heritage and taste the wonderful variety of American cuisine; but this is a delicate ecosystem that needs support. Anaise Berry, our guest, is the chair of the National Scenic Byway Foundation, a volunteer organizat...
Aug 29, 2014•13 min
There is just no better treat on a hot summer day than a scoop of ice cream. Our Friends of the Fastlane column in the Summer Edition celebrated one of America’s oldest ice cream companies, Velvet Ice Cream as they celebrated their Centennial. What adds to the charm of this family owned creamery is that is located in the heart of central Ohio’s countryside in Utica, Ohio 45 minutes north of Columbus. Andre Dager, one of the three sisters who run the company, gave us a family history and a peek a...
Aug 26, 2014•11 min
The summer 2014 issue of American Road Magazine brought back one of our favorite family themes for the lazy, hazy days, A Night at Drive In Part 2. This podcast is part 2 of a series focused on the Melody Drive In located in rural northern Indiana near the Bass Lake campground resort. Their family owned drive in is one of the few that still sport grass infield rather than asphalt or gravel and give an almost park like feel. But it has not always been nostalgic fun for the Heiss’s. Fred and his f...
Jul 31, 2014•9 min
The summer 2014 issue of American Road Magazine brought back one of our favorite family themes for the lazy, hazy days, A Night at Drive In Part 2. The best part about the more than 30 outdoor movie palaces reviewed is that the majority of them are still going strong. Being a family business seems to be one of the big factors in their survival. Families work cheap! Just ask Fred Heiss and his son Fred Jr. Three generations of their family have kept the Melody Drive In going in the beautiful coun...
Jul 31, 2014•14 min
The summer 2014 issue of American Road Magazine brought back one of our favorite family themes for the lazy, hazy days, A Night at Drive In Part 2. The best part about the more than 30 outdoor movie palaces reviewed is that the majority of them are still going strong. According to Steve Bloomer, second-generation owner of the Skyview Drive In of Belleville, Illinois, things have never been better. We know you will enjoy Steve’s stories in this podcast as he describes a family business he has bee...
Jul 27, 2014•14 min
Summertime and the living is easy or so the so went in the famous operetta Porgy and Bess. We certainly hope the arrival of our summer edition of American Road Magazine is adding to your summertime relaxation. Our Friends in the Fast Lane column made a stop at a unique exhibition at the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum in Latrobe, PA. There we met executive director, Olga Herbert, who described the Postcard Exhibit which launched in May of 2014. Thousands of postcards from destinations along th...
Jul 22, 2014•10 min
Our Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine featured an article entitled Hopping the Hippety Highway by Jillian Gurney. The author followed rabbit trails all over the country tracking down big bunnies. One of the stops was Odessa, Texas, home of the largest jackrabbit in the world. In this two-part interview with Linda Sweat of the Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau we will find out about the history of the rascally native jackrabbits and even more about the surprising cultural oasis that...
Jun 30, 2014•11 min
This is part 2 of our Odessa, Texas interview. Our Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine featured an article entitled Hopping the Hippety Highway by Jillian Gurney. The author followed rabbit trails all over the country tracking down big bunnies. One of the stops was Odessa, Texas, home of the largest jackrabbit in the world. In this two-part interview with Linda Sweat of the Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau we will find out about the history of the rascally native jackrabbits and eve...
Jun 30, 2014•9 min
In the Spring 2014 issue of the magazine Tunnel Vision highlighted the birth of a new scenic roadway, the Nanticoke Heritage Byway which will eventually traverse parts of southern and western Delaware. In this podcast Dan Parsons, a historic preservationist for the Delaware, tells us about the importance of this unique byway and its link to the beginnings of our nation. To keep up with the Nanticoke Heritage Byway development, visit their Facebook page. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pr...
Jun 24, 2014•14 min
The Tunnel Vision Column of our Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine featured a bizarre piece of art called the “Paulverizer” in front of an auto recycler on Highway 501 in Buena Vista, VA. It is just one of dozens of huge, humorous and highly visible works of art created by Mark Cline. In our interview, I hope you will catch some of his passion for creating these merry roadside monsters that have found homes all over the country. His one regret…His may be a dying art. See Privacy Policy ...
Jun 13, 2014•15 min
In our Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine, you’ll find a story about a three wheeled, bullet shaped orange car called the Urbee 2 in our Friends in the Fast Lane column. The strange little car represents the vision of Jim Kor and Bruce Stewart to build an aerodynamically perfect and absolutely energy efficient vehicle. In Part 1 of the Urbee 2 story, Jim and Bruce share the journey that is taking them toward an historic voyage on the American Road. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co...
Jun 12, 2014•12 min
In our Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine we presented the story of a three wheeled, bullet-shaped orange car called the Urbee 2 in our Friends in the Fast Lane column. The strange little car represents the vision of Jim Kor and Bruce Stewart to build an aerodynamically perfect and absolutely energy efficient vehicle. In Part 2 of the Urbee 2 story, Jim and Bruce describe how 3D Printing will give their ultra efficient vehicle the ability to cross the US on just 10 gallons of gas. See P...
Jun 12, 2014•14 min
2016 will mark the official 100th anniversary of our number highway system. Up to 1926 the process of naming, building and publicizing a stretch of roadway was very much a local affair. The results were often confusing if pleasantly familiar to the folks who drove them. The named trails served a valuable purpose in their day, but they began to pass into history when the American Association of State Highway Officials adopted the U.S. numbered highway system on November 11, 1926. The Spring 2014 ...
May 28, 2014•14 min
The Think Big Column in our magazine is a regular platform for some of the most remarkable sights along the American Road. Erika Nelson is the peripatetic folk artist who chronicles kings and queens of the highway like the largest ketchup bottle or biggest baseball bat in the World’s Largest Collection of the Smallest Replicas of the World’s Largest Things. In this conversation Erika shares her most recent find: a titanic turtle that is displayed in our Spring 2014 issue. How does she find these...
May 19, 2014•10 min
