Two new American Giants on Route 66
There are more new American Giants along Route 66 and we made a special side trip to meet them both. Oddly enough, they both got installed within week of one another so let’s start with one from Mary Beth Babcock. Yep, we just wrote about her recently in an article about Stella Atom who is another newer fixture along Route 66.
This time we’re here to visit Meadow Gold Mack, the friendly lumberjack.
Meadow Gold Mack the friendly lumberjack
I often wonder what in the wide, wide world of sports some people are doing and what craziness inspires them. In the case of Meadow Gold Mack, he was just sitting in someone’s storage facility until Mary Beth talked to the owner and found out that he was there.
I mean, I keep too much stuff myself but not a 21’ tall lumber jack.
But that’s okay because the lumber jack figure, crafted by International Fiberglass some time in the 1960s, was pretty well preserved since he was just hanging out a storage facility.
Today he stands tall and shiny in front of the collection of local stores that bear his new name. In the shadow of the famous Meadow Gold Dairy sign in Tulsa, Oklahoma there is a collection of small shops from local artisans, craftspeople, collectors and just fun folk. This is sort of like an unusual mall of unusual things, some created by these locals and some just a part of their collection.
But it’s all for sale and it’s really fun to walk through.
I really liked a vintage telephone that had been turned into a lamp but there were also shoes, shirts, art, vinyl, collectibles and a ton more. If you’re cruising Route 66 in Tulsa, this is an absolute must stop.
Oh, and there are some new things too including a good number of items that reflect the continued revitalization of the Mother Road.
You should know that this collection of wonderful things is just a few steps from another collection of wonderful things in the shadow of Buck Atom and, now, Stella Atom over at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios. We have a number of articles about this favorite spot of ours here:
Justin Scarred also did a great video of this unique place which you can watch here:
Lumi the pie lady
At almost the same time that Meadow Gold Mack was coming back to town, another American Giant was being installed about a day away. Lumi the pie lady is a new fixture outside of Country Aire restaurant in Atlanta, Illinois.
If you want to know why we love Atlanta, here’s our podcast about the American Giants Museum that is a relatively new fixture and where we learned about Lumi.
Owner of Country Aire, Nick Bekteshi, took some time with us when we stopped in there to share that his family has owned the diner for over two decades now. Recently they chose to shut down for a while and refurbish the place and I will say it’s really nice.
You are also greeted by a whole case of pies, cakes and other goodies right as you step into the door and these are the creation of his wife. That’s who was the inspiration for the American Giant, this time a woman, holding the pie outside the restaurant and beckoning hungry folks to stop in.
“We’re known for our pies,” said Nick. In fact he took the time to show us some of the awards the pies had earned and, of course, we had to try the pies!
Whoever gave the pies awards knew what they were talking about but I was also really impressed with how quickly the food came out of the kitchen and how good that was as well. I had a club sandwich which had bacon and turkey and the bacon was really, really good. Not the flavorless stuff some places use, but this was goooood bacon!
Peggy had a chicken salad sandwich which she also really liked.
Of course I had to try the cheesecake and I’m going to say that I am very, very picky about cheesecake. While this was a different style than what I grew up with, it was every bit as fantastic. In fact this might be the best restaurant cheesecake I’ve ever had. Period.
Peggy had peach pie and, if I were giving awards for pies, I would give one to this peach pie. It was also very, very good.
Route 66 and American Giants
To me the renewed interest in these giant fiberglass people along with the creativity, enthusiasm and joy that these merchants are bringing to Route 66 is very inspirational.
Nick Bekteshi clearly runs a great place with his Country Aire restaurant - the staff was upbeat, telling jokes and were prime examples of who you want dealing with the public.
By the same token Mary Beth Babcock down at Meadow Gold Mack’s is another shining example of a joyful person bringing happiness to the Mother Road.
And I’d also like to tip my hat to Joel Baker and Mark Cline. Joel really has ignited the fire of interest in these American Giants and Mark Cline is creating new ones that are fun to see. So thank you to all those who are providing inspiration, and giant fiberglass people, to the Mother Road.