PUBLISHED WORK…
Brick Road near Auburn, Illinois.
Auburn Brick Road. Photo by Cheryl Eichar Jett.
Articles
Edwardsville Intelligencer (Illinois)
“Bucky Fuller’s Geodesic Dome Nurtures Spirituality,” May 2012
“Cathcart’s Cafe, Known from Coast to Coast,” June 2013
“The Taverns of Stolz Block,” June 2013
Forum Journal (The Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation)
“The Trail of Tears across Southern Illinois: Garnering State Support for a Historic Trail,” Fall 2007, Volume 22, No.1
Get Your Kicks… (Newsletter of the Canadian Route 66 Association)
“Darlene Dorgan and the Gypsy Coeds,” Vol. 20, No. 2, Fall 2017
Illinois Heritage (A publication of The Illinois State Historical Society)
“Roadside attraction: Collinsville’s catsup bottle gets a new owner,” January-February 2016
Lies Magazine (New Mexico)
“Remembering Jerry Garcia,” 1997
Madison Historical (The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois)
“Route 66 in Madison County”
Prairie Land Buzz (Illinois) (Issues from 2018 through current issue are online)
“The Tourist Haven Lives Again as Weezy’s,” September 2012
“The Bohm Building Stands Sentinel in Edwardsville,” October 2012
“Edwardsville’s A&W Drive-In: Root Beer, Cars, and Memories,” November 2012
“Dippold’s Drug Store: Gillespie’s Corner Drug Store for a Century,” December 2012
“When Route 66 Came to Carlinville,” January 2013
“A 1931 Motor Tour: Father and Son Travel from Illinois to California and Back,” February 2013
“Museum in a Shed: Vernon Buske’s Collection of Midwest Americana,” March 2013
“The Route 66 Alignment That Never Was,” April 2013
“Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center Opens,” May 2013
“Edwardsville’s Route 66 Festival,” June 2013
“Edwardsville’s West End Service Station,” July 2013
“Stolz Block Staggered into History on Route 66,” August 2013
“International Festival Has Local Connections,” September 2013
“Signs, Shrines, Rabbits, and Ramps,” October 2013
“Carlinville’s Loomis House,” November 2013
“The Neon’s Back on: The Relighting of the Vic Suhling Sign,” December 2013
“Death on Route 66: The Murders of Gene Reed and Martin Drenovac, Part One,” January 2014
“Death on Route 66: The Murders of Gene Reed and Martin Drenovac, Part Two,” February 2014
“Ghost Sites of Route 66,” March 2014
“The Murder of Dr. Maurice Sanderson,” April 2014
“Festivals, Blue Carpet Corridor, and Route 66 in Illinois book release,” May 2014
“Edwardsville’s Hi-Way Tavern Lives Again,” June 2014
“Edwardsville Garage and Ford Dealerships,” August 2014
“A Big Man with a Big Pair of Shoes: Harry Butler Chevrolet,” September 2014
“Automobile Dealer Robert Knetzer: Edwardsville’s Infamous Car Swindler, Part One,” October 2014
“Automobile Dealer Robert Knetzer: Edwardsville’s Infamous Car Swindler, Part Two,” November 2014
“Harry Baumgartner, Prohibition, and the Green Gables Tourist Camp,” December 2014
“Forgotten Route 66: Collinsville Road,” January 2015
“Honeymoons on Route 66: Mother Jones, an RV Named Max, and a Dream Come True,” February 2015
“The Frank Lloyd Wright Connection on Illinois Route 66,” March 2015
“Miles of Possibility: Major Route 66 Event Coming to Edwardsville,” April 2015
“Sisters on the Fly: Women’s Adventure Group Traveling Route 66,” May 2015
Miners, Mobsters, and the Mother Road: First Annual Blue Carpet Corridor Festival,” June 2015
“Watching over Travelers: The Shrine and the Cross, July 2015
“Forgotten Route 66: The Route through Granite City,” August 2015
“Revisiting Legate’s Curve: Legate’s Motel and the Hilltop House Restaurant,” September 2015
“Miles of Possibility: Major Route 66 Event Comes to Edwardsville,” October 2015
“Historic Hospitality in Litchfield,” November 2015
“Read for Kicks on Route 66: Ben-Gil School Bases Reading Program on Virtual Route 66 Trip,” December 2015
“Collinsville’s Catsup Bottle Gets a New Owner,” January 2016
“Two Bombings and a Murder: St. Valentine’s Day Crimes along Route 66,” February 2016
“Architect of Conflict: Elijah Myers and His Landmarks along Route 66,” March 2016
“Movie Palaces: Historic Theaters along the Blue Carpet Corridor - Part One,” April 2016
“Movie Palaces: Historic Theaters along the Blue Carpet Corridor - Part Two, May 2016
“Come Celebrate Route 66 on the Illinois Blue Carpet Corridor: 2nd Annual Blue Carpet Corridor Festival is June 11-12,” June 2016
“All Roads Lead to Edwardsville: Orientalists T. Dunlap, Edwardsville Road Builder,” July 2016
“Mining the Past to Fuel the Future: the Illinois Coal Museum at Gillespie,” August 2016
“When Hollywood Came to Edwardsville: the Making of the Movie, Stingray,” September 2016
“Submarine on Route 66: Captured Japanese Sub on a War Bond Mission Visited Edwardsville,” October 2016
“Livingston’s Service Stations: Teen Hang Out, Repairs, and a Body in a Trunk,” November 2016
“Christmas Eve at the Starlite Motel” (Annual Holiday Fiction), December 2016
“Route 66 Resolutions: Must See Stops along the Mother Road,” January 2017
“The Ghostly Hitchhiker of Sunset Hill,” February 2017
“Country Singers, Hollywood Actors, and Rock ‘n Roll: Celebrity Sightings on Route 66,” March 2017
“A Family Affair: the Mansholt Family Hospitality Businesses in Litchfield,” April 2017
“Six Attractions You May Have Missed on Route 66: A Half-Dozen Unique Stops on the Blue Carpet Corridor,” May 2017
“Blue Carpet Corridor to Hold 3rd Annual Route 66 Event,” June 2017
“Historic Roadhouse Opens as DeCamp Station,” July 2017
“Route 66 Prairie: A Growing Attraction,” September 2017
“Collinsville’s Seven Gates of Hell,” October 2017
“Runners, Corn Whiskey, and a Cheater: the Staunton-to-Virden Lap of the 1928 Transcontinental Footrace,” November 2017
“The Old Route 66 Market” (Annual Holiday Fiction), December 2017
“Darlene Dorgan and the Gypsy Co-Eds,” January 2018
“When Route 66 Was New: the Path of Illinois Route 66 in 1926,” February 2018
“Edwardsville’s Skyscrapers: Two Tall Banks Once Flanked the Madison County Courthouse,” March 2018
“Walking Fiddler Otto Funk: Illinois Musician Walked Across America to His Own Accompaniment,” April 2018
“Mitchell’s Mid-20th Century Hospitality Signs,” May 2018
“Miners,Mobsters, and the Mother Road Festival with Route 66 Royalty Cruise on the Illinois Route 66 Blue Carpet Corridor Tour,” June 2018
“Carlinville’s Silent Film Accompanist: Frieda Ring Paul (1893-1976),” July 2018
“Route 66 Creamery Opens at Hamel’s Historic Depot,” August 2018
“The New Virden History Mural: Walldogs Mural Artist Pain the City’s Proud Past,” September 2018
“Ten Spooky Sites on or near Route 66,” October 2018
“Ann Scheibe: the Wonder Woman of Madison County Cafes,” November 2018
“The Holiday Cafe” (Annual Holiday Fiction,” December 2018
“Deck’s Drug Store, Doc’s Soda Fountain, and the Passing of Wyman ‘Bill’ Deck,” January 2019
“Penny Candy, Armed Robbery, and an Elvis Sighting: Daily Life at Jacober’s Neighborhood Market,” February 2019
“The Woodpecker Camp in the Grove of the Thomas Mansion,” March 2019
“From the Coral Court Motel to Livingston, Illinois: A Trail of Murders and Money,” April 2019
“The Sad Story of the McKee Brothers,” May 2019
“Arthur Large and His Skinny’s Cafe,” June 2019
“New Stage Play Celebrates Women’s Work on Route 66,” July 2019
“The Woman Behind the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center: Martha Jackson,” August 2019
“The Hamel Bank Robbery and Two Murders Remain Unsolved,” September 2019
“Castles, A Famous Bend, and Route 66: the Chain of Rocks Bridge,” October 2019
“Writer-Photographer Tom Varner: A Local Man’s Adventure on Route 66,” November 2019
“The Coliseum Ballroom Rises Again (Annual Holiday Fiction),” December 2019
“Route 66 Resolutions,” January 2020
“A Valentine Story: Arthur Valentine and His Diners,” February 2020
“Ninety Years of Auto Service on Route 66 in Granite City: O’Brien Tire & Auto Care,” March 2020
“Tom Noonan finds a Home for His Breweriana Collection at New Sangamo Brewing Company,” April 2020
“Soda Pop and Paper Flags: The Route 66 TV Show Once Filmed in Highland,” May 2020
“The Inn at 835 and the Legacy of Bell Miller,” June 2020
“Copps Corner: From Early Complex to Today’s Curve Inn,” July 2020
“Original Route 66 Highway: the Auburn Brick Road,” August 2020
“J. F. Boente and Sons: Driving Close to a Century of Business,” September 2020
“Hazel Funk Holmes: the Woman Who Preserved Funk’s Grove Maple Sirup Camp,” October 2020
“The Bates Test Road: When Illinois Learned Highway Construction,” November 2020
“Romance at the Riviera (Annual Holiday Fiction,” December 2020
“Six Historic Route 66 Segments in Illinois,” January 2021
“A Valentine’s Day Murder: Joyce Tarro, Proprietor of the Coliseum Ballroom,” February 2021
“Helping Women-Owned Businesses on Route 66: The Extraordinary Women Initiative and its Illinois Task Force,” March 2021
“Celebrate Spring with a Visit to One of Springfield’s Route 66 Parks,” April 2021
“The Illinois White House: Castle Eden in Darien,” May 2021
“Gillespie Begins Tourism Season Honoring Local Coal Mining History,” June 2021
“Illinois Rock & Roll Museum to Open on Route 66,” July 2021
“Central Illinois -- Where the Land of Lincoln Meets Route 66,” August 2021
“6th Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference — All Virtual for 2021,” September 2021
“Haunted Illinois Route 66,” October 2021
“Arson at the Arsenal: How a Small Boy Caused One of Springfield’s Biggest Fires,” November 2021
“Finding My Oasis: A Christmas Fiction,” December 2021
“Route 66 Resolutions for 2022,” January 2022
“The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” February 2022
“An Illinois Route 66 Icon Is Gone,” March 2022
“A Place to Get Your Kicks: Route 66 Flea Market, Kickstand, and Teri’s Diner,” April 2022
“Illinois State Police Celebrate 100th Anniversary,” May 2022
“The Illinois Atlanta on Route 66,” June 2022
“Springfield’s Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop,” July 2022
“The ‘Last 100 Miles’ of Illinois Route 66 Gets a Mural Trail, a Route 66 Visitor’s Center, and More,” August 2022
“7th Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference,” September 2022
“Downtown Springfield’s Haunted Sites,” October 2022
“Priddy’s Inn: A Christmas Fiction,” December 2022
“Illinois Route 66 Resolutions for 2023,” January 2023
“Gigantar Comes to the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum,” February 2023
“Robby Robinson: From Litchfield Native on Route 66 to a Career with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,” March 2023
“2023 Annual Red Carpet Corridor May 6-7,” April 2023
ROUTE Magazine
“A Small Town Experience,” October/November 2020
“On the Prairie,” April/May 2021
“Carthage Nostalgia,” June/July 2021
“Americana’s Finest,” August/September 2021
“Under the Texan Sky,” October/November 2021
“Hooked on Nostalgia,” December/January 2022
“Keeping Up With the Diazes,” February/March 2022
“A Night at the Museum,” April/May 2022
“The Crown Jewel,” June/July 2022
“America’s 1st Drive-Thru,” August/September 2022
“Route 66 Museum,” October/November 2022
“At the River’s Edge,” December/January 2023
“Santa Fe’s Gem,” February/March 2023
“La Posada Chic (The Turquoise Room),” April/May 2023
Route 66 Magazine
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Mayme Ousley: First Female Mayor in Missouri,” Fall 2019, Volume 26, Number 4
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Joyce Tarro: Proprietor of the Coliseum Ballroom,” Winter 2019-2020, Volume 27, Number 1
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Ruby Denton: Owner-Operator of the Golden Spread Grill,” Spring 2020, Volume 27, Number 2
“Ninety Years of Auto Service on Route 66 in Granite City: O’Brien Tire & Auto Care,” Spring 2020, Volume 27, Number 2
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Lucille Hamons: Mother of the Mother Road,” Summer 2020, Volume 27, Number 3
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Mazie Krebs: Designer of the S.S. Admiral Excursion Steamer,” Fall 2020, Volume 27, Number 4
“Memorable Women of Route 66 - Darlene Dorgan and the Gypsy Co-Eds,” Winter 2020-2021, Volume 28, Number 1
RP News (an online publication of Rensberry Publishing)
“Trump’s Racism on Display at Mt. Rushmore Rally,” July 15, 2020
“Trump’s ‘Secret Police Force’ Casts a Dystopian Pall,” July 24, 2020
“The Great 2020 Bathroom Tissue ‘Hoard,’” August 3, 2020
“Biden’s VP Pick Checks All the Right Boxes,” August 17, 2020
“Take-Aways from Trump’s ‘Suburban Housewives’ Myth,” October 29, 2020
“Harriet Tubman to Replace Andrew Jackson on $20 Bill,” February 10, 2021
Show Me Route 66 (a publication of the Route 66 Association of Missouri)
“A Trip through Madison County,” Vol. 21 No. 2, 2011
“Edwardsville’s A&W Drive-In: Root Beer, Cars, and Memories,” Vol. 23 No. 1, 2013
“Cathcart’s Cafe: Known from Coast to Coast,” Vol. 23 No. 2, 2013
“Death on Route 66: the Murders of Gene Reed and Martin Drenovac, Part One,” Vol. 23 No. 3, 2013
“Death on Route 66: the Murders of Gene Reed and Martin Drenovac, Part Two,” Vol. 23 No. 4, 2013
“Breakfast at the Crossroads of America: Carthage, Missouri,” Vol. 24 No. 1, 2014
“Our Town, Your Town: Lebanon’s Hospitality History,” Vol. 24 No. 2, 2014
“Route 66 in Illinois,” (co-written with Joe Sonderman) Vol. 24 No. 3, 2014
“The Ghost Town of Arlington,” Vol. 24 No. 3, 2014
“A Home Away from Home: the History of the Wagon Wheel Motel,” Vol. 25 No. 3, 2015
“Edwardsville’s Place on Route 66: ‘Known from Coast to Coast,’” Vol. 25 No. 4, 2015
“New Format Route 66 Event Wins Raves,” Vol. 26 No. 1, 2016
“Baxter Springs Heritage Center: A Kansas Route 66 Highlight,” Vol. 26 No. 1, 2016
“Route 66 in Kansas,” (co-written with Joe Sonderman) Vol. 26 No. 2, 2016
“Movie Palaces: Historic Theaters in the Metro East,” Vol. 26 No. 4, 2016
Cover Photo: The Halltown Mercantile, Halltown, Missouri, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2017
“Summer Nights and Double Features: Missouri’s Route 66 Drive-In Theaters,” Vol 27 No. 2, 2017
“Dreams, Designs, and Dastardly Deeds: the Women of Missouri Route 66,” Vol. 27, No. 3, 2017
Cover Photo: Avilla, Missouri, Vol. 27 No. 4, 2017
“The Ghost Town of Avilla, MO: the Civil War, Route 66, the Death Tree, and the Shadow People,” Vol. 27 No. 4, 2017
“The New Caretakers: Barbara and George Bloom at Gary’s Gay Parita,” Vol. 27, No. 4
“Larry Baggett’s Trail of Tears Memorial Gets a Rejuvenation,” Vol. 28 No. 1, 2018
“Missouri Trail of Tears Sites along Route 66,” Vol. 28 No. 1, 2018
Cuba, Missouri: A Small town with Big Ideas,” Vol. 28 No. 4, 2018
“Ten Things You Might Not Know about Cuba, Missouri,” Vol. 28 No. 4, 2018
“The Henry Shaw Gardenway,” Vol. 29 No. 1, 2019
“The Public Art of Missouri’s Route 66 ‘Mural City,’” Vol. 29 No.1, 2019
“Kansas Route 66 Kicks It Up Another Notch,” Vol. 29 No. 2, 2019
“The Castle of Carthage: the Jasper County Courthouse,” Vol. 30 No. 1, 2020
“Annie White Baxter: Trailblazing Jasper County Clerk,” Vol. 30 No. 1, 2020
“The Norman Rockwell of Rural Art: Lowell Davis and Red Oak II,” Vol. 30 No. 1, 2020
“The Sisters Who Saved the Boots,” Vol. 30 No. 3, 2020
“Land of a Million Smiles: the Ozark Playgrounds Association,” Vol. 31 No. 1, 2021
“Extraordinary Women: A New Initiative and Missouri’s Iconic Female Business Owners,” Vol. 31 No. 2, 2021
“Luge Hardman: Route 66 Mayor,” Vol. 31 No. 3, 2021
“Ambassador of Waynesville: Jax Welborn,” Vol. 32 No. 1, 2022
The 66 News (a publication of the Route 66 Association of Illinois)
“Dippold’s Drug Store: Gillespie’s Corner Drug Store for a Century,” Spring 2013
“Edwardsville Dedicates Illinois Scenic Byway Experience Hub,” Summer 2013
“A 1931 Motor Tour: Father and Son Travel from Illinois to California and Back,” Fall 2013
“The Neon’s Back on: Relighting of the Vic Suhling Sign in Litchfield,” Winter 2013
“Edwardsville’s West End Service Station,” Spring 2014
“Two New Books for Your Route 66 Collection,” Summer 2014
“Edwardsville Garage and the Ford Dealerships,” Fall 2014
“A Big Man with Big Shoes: Harry Butler Chevrolet,” Winter 2014
“Honeymoons on Route 66,” Spring 2015
“The Frank Lloyd Wright Connection on Illinois Route 66,” Summer 2015
“Forgotten Route 66: the Route through Granite City,” Fall 2015
“Historic Hospitality in Litchfield,” Winter 2015
“Collinsville’s Catsup Bottle Gets a New Owner,” Spring 2016
“Movie Palaces: Historic Theaters along the Blue Carpet Corridor,” Summer 2016
“Movie Palaces: Historic Theaters along the Blue Carpet Corridor,” Fall 2016
“Livingston’s Service Stations: Teen Hang Out, Repairs, and a Body in a Trunk,” Winter 2016
“The Ghostly Hitchhiker of Sunset Hill,” Spring 2017
“Blue Carpet Corridor to Hold 3rd Annual Route 66 Event,” Spring 2017
“A Family Affair: the Mansholt Family Hospitality Businesses in Litchfield,” Summer 2017
“Historic Route 66 Roadhouse Reopens as DeCamp Station,” Fall 2017
“Runners, Corn Whiskey, and a Cheater,” Winter 2017
“Darlene Dorgan and the Gypsy Co-Eds,” Spring 2018
“‘Walking Fiddler’ Otto Funk: Illinois Musician Walked Across America to His Own Accompaniment,” Summer 2018
“The New Virden History Mural: Walldogs Mural Artists Pain the City’s Proud Past,” Fall 2018
“Ann Scheibe: the Wonder Woman of Madison County Cafes,” Winter 2018
“Penny Candy, Armed Robbery, and an Elvis Sighting: Daily Life at Jacober’s Neighborhood Market,” Spring 2019
“Arthur Large and His Skinny’s Cafe,” Summer 2019
“The Woman Behind the Litchfield Museum: Martha Jackson,” Fall 2019
“Illinois Writer-Photographer Tom Varner’s Route 66 Adventures,” Winter 2020
“Ninety Years of Auto Service on Route 66 in Granite City: O’Brien Tire & Auto Care,” Spring 2020
“Soda Pop and Paper Flags: the Route 66 TV Show Once Filmed in Highland IL,” Summer 2020
“Original Route 66 Highway: the Auburn Brick Road,” Fall 2020
“The Bates Test Road: When Illinois Learned Highway Construction,” Winter 2021
“Helping Women-Owned Businesses on Route 66: The Extraordinary Women Initiative and its Illinois Task Force,” Spring 2021
“The Illinois White House: Castle Eden in Darien,” Summer 2021
“Sixth Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference,” Fall 2021
“Arson at the Arsenal: How a Small Boy Caused One of Springfield’s Biggest Fires,” Fall 2022
“Springfield’s Maid-Rite SandwichShop,” Winter 2022
WOW! Women on Writing (an ezine promoting the communication between women writers, authors, editors, agents, publishers, and readers
“Telling the Story in Captions: Writing Cutlines for Pictorial Histories,” Summer 2016
Books
Alton (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, 2009
Edwardsville (Postcard History Series), Arcadia Publishing, 2009
Route 66 in Madison County (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, 2010
Route 66 in Springfield (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, 2010
Route 66 in Illinois (Images of America), co-author Joe Sonderman, Arcadia Publishing, 2014
Route 66 in Kansas (Images of America), co-author Joe Sonderman, Arcadia Publishing, 2016
Fiction
“Coffee on the Map,” Las Cruces Magazine, Spring-Summer 2016 (first place in Las Cruces Magazines’s First Annual Fiction Contest)
“Waiting out the War,” WOW! Women on Writing, Spring 2015 (Flash Fiction Contest, Top Ten)
“Circus Blood,” WOW! Women on Writing, Winter 2015 (Flash Fiction Contest, Top Ten)