Before Allison Lyon’s wedding on April 27, 2019, Karen and I found ourselves in Edmond, Oklahoma with time to explore. Nicole Lyon’s plus one Steven, Karen’s brother Shawn and his wife Laurie joined us. Off we went down a stretch of Old Route 66 to locate some iconic roadside attractions in Arcadia, Oklahoma.
Our first stop was Pops 66 Soda Ranch. The 65-foot pop bottle out front makes this place easy to find.
The diner in Pops serves up shakes, burgers, chicken dinners and desserts but it’s the 700 varieties of soda pop in the coolers that keeps the crowds coming. Crazy concoctions like, Pirate Fizz’s Blackbeard Coconut Lime, Lester’s Ranch Dressing, Freaky Dog Bulldog Blue Razz, Bowls Guarana Exotic Blue, Three Stooges Root Beer, Avery Kittie Piddle and Grass Soda made choosing tough. I tried Lester’s Bacon Maple. My recommendation to you, “Don’t.”
William Odor built his Round Barn in 1898. He had to soak every board and place them in a form to create the curves needed. Why round? He believed tornadoes would go by instead of through it. Must have worked, it’s still there.
The Round Barn was refurbished in 1992 and operates on donations. Local musicians donate their time and admission is free. Joe Baxter and Andrea MacMullen pulled up a few folding chairs with friends and played during our visit.
The young men who helped Mr. Odor build his barn talked him into upgrading the wooden floor on the second level to host dances. It’s still hosts community gatherings. The impressive dome is 43-feet high and the barn is 60-feet in diameter. It was an engineering marvel at the time and still very impressive.
The gate was closed when we got to John Hargrave’s Place. I’d read about the man who retired, bought land next to Rt. 66 and built his own attraction online. Steven Googled his phone number and I called. John said, “I’m getting ready to run a marathon tomorrow. I’m closed.” I was disappointed and thanked him. He asked, “Where are you from?” I replied, “North Carolina.” There was a short pause and John opened the gate to let us in.
John led us into a giant pole barn. The first room was his workshop. He’s currently building a hot rod from an old Ford among the vast array of eye-popping knickknacks and collectables.
The next room housed John’s race car and another boat load of eye candy. It was here where he began to tell me about his running prowess. “I’m 72-years-old. I’ve run in over 300 marathons and twenty-five 100-Milers. Tomorrow I’m running the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon and that’s 26.2 miles. I’ve completed every Oklahoma Memorial race since it began in 2001. Running eases my chronic pain. I run a minimum of 20 to 30 miles a week.” I was flabbergasted.
The last chamber we visited was John’s Antique Theater complete with working soda fountain. He hosts community groups and shows movies for various organizations. Stashed about John’s pole barn and outside property were tributes to famous Rt. 66 attractions in other states, like the Wigwam Motel.
So what does a man who builds his whims drive? A three-wheeler he made from scratch. He explained, “I bought the newest wreck at the junkyard for engine, drivetrain and suspension parts then made everything else from aluminum and styrofoam covered in fiberglass. “Does it run?” John smiled. “I drove it to the store this morning. Everything I create works.” John, I can only hope you keep creating and running for many years to come.