River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6

'River to River Classic Car Cruise' Set for August 23-25, 2013

The wheels are turning and  Dave Darby, the Director of the Iowa US Route 6 Association, is busy making arrangements and preparations for the 3rd Annual River to River Classic Car Cruise which promises to be bigger and better this year!  

Emmy nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle will be gathering final footage for their new documentary River to River: Iowa's Highway 6 during the tour, scheduled for August 23-25, 2013.  The cruise begins in Davenport, Iowa and ends in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

"This year's classic car cruise across Iowa will be the biggest one we've ever put on. Excitement is building!" said Dave Darby.  "We are extremely pleased to announce that we are partnering with the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities on our Classic Car Cruise."

Get off of I-80 and see the Midwest at its best!  Mark your calendars and register/RSVP at usroute6iowa@gmail.com.  

For more information about this fabulous road trip, special lodging rates and the cruise itinerary and special stops and events along the way, visit:  http://www.route6tour.com/Route6iowa.htm or https://www.facebook.com/usroute6iowa?fref=ts.

"Highway 6" Filmmakers Premiere New Documentaries on Ioway Indians in Iowa City Feb. 23

Delegations from the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska will return to their ancestral homeland of Iowa to attend the world premiere of Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3 at the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, 17 N. Clinton St., Macbride Hall Auditorium in Iowa City on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.  Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, producers of the Emmy® nominated documentary Country School: One Room-One Nation and the award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway 1will join the Ioway and other film participants for Q&A following the screenings.

When the Ioway were forcibly removed from their ancestral homeland of Iowa in 1837 to a reservation on the border of Nebraska and Northeast Kansas, Ioway leader White Cloud (The Younger) believed his people must relocate to survive. But intermarriage, broken treaties and the end of communal living led to a split in 1878 and the establishment of a second Ioway tribe in Oklahoma. Both tribes endured hardship and challenges to their traditions and culture to achieve successful land claims and self-determination in the 1970s. Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3 brings the dramatic Ioway story full circle.

“I believe all the tribes had their trail of tears, said Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Elder Joyce Big Soldier-Miller. “They all suffered--all those Indians who made those treks away from their former homelands.”

“It’s always good to look at the past and remember that it does affect the future,” said Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska tribal member Reuben Ironhorse-Kent. “The ancestors did the best they could with what they had.”

Ioway Elders and tribal members join other Native scholars, historians, archaeologists and anthropologists to tell the dramatic and true story of the small tribe that once claimed the territory between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from Pipestone, Minnesota to St. Louis. The state of Iowa takes its name from the Ioway Tribe.

In addition to the premiere, the public is welcome to visit the new Ioway exhibit at the Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center in Toddville, Iowa (40 minutes north of Iowa City), a special Ioway display and premiere reception in the Iowa Hall at the Museum of Natural History from 5:30pm until 6:30pm.

The world premiere of Lost Nation: The Ioway 2&3 is hosted by the Museum of Natural History, University of Iowa, 17 N. Clinton, Macbride Hall Auditorium, Iowa City, Iowa and will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. The films contain mature themes and historical images that may be disturbing to young children.  A premiere reception will take place from 5:30pm-6:30pm in the Museum's Iowa Hall.

The documentaries will continue screening throughout the U.S. and will be released on a single full-featured DVD in April 2013. An alternative soundtrack in the nearly extinct Ioway language will be offered on the DVD. Broadcasts on Midwestern PBS stations are slated for 2013.

Lost Nation: The Ioway 2&3 was partially funded by grants from Humanities Iowa and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, as well as humanities councils in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Rundles are currently in production on the documentary River to River: Iowa's Highway 6 which will be released in 2014.

2nd "River to River" Iowa-U.S. Route 6 Classic Car Cruise September 7-9

Iowa-U.S. Route 6 Classic Car Cruise rolls a second time from Davenport to Council Bluffs, Iowa the
weekend of Sept. 7-9, 2012. (Photo 2011 Cruise. Copyright Fourth Wall Films.)

The Iowa division of the US Route 6 Tourist Association will sponsor a classic car cruise across Iowa on old Route 6 the weekend of September 7-9, 2012. 

Portions of the cruise will be included in the new documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films (Country School: One Room - One Nation, Lost Nation: The Ioway, Villisca: Living with a Mystery).  The film will feature scenic and historic towns and attractions along the historic highway.

“We want to encourage people to leave the interstate and head out on the old two lane highway, to leave the rat race of today’s world and to stop and smell the roses,” says Iowa Route 6 Tourist Association Executive Director David Darby. “Not only is it more enjoyable, but it benefits the local economy.”

The ride begins in Davenport, Iowa with drivers meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 7th at the corner of 2nd and Iowa streets.

Drivers are invited to join for all or part of the cruise as they travel west on Route 6, stopping at various locations on the way to Council Bluffs, Iowa--the final destination of the tour.  Lodging with special Route 6 tour rates to be announced.

Those wishing to join for the western half of the cruise can either meet in Newton, Iowa on Friday night at the Valle Drive-In or Saturday, September 8th for breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Mid Town (Old Maytag) Cafe.  Cars will depart from the square at 9:30 a.m. for the next leg of the tour.

Some of the best food in the state will be sampled at several eateries during the tour.  A firm believer in buying local, Darby said, “When you go to a chain restaurant, the experience is soon forgotten. But when you go to a 'mom and pop' establishment, you can make friends, capture some history, and take with you memories that last a lifetime while the money stays within the community.”

An itinerary will be distributed to drivers during the cruise.  Stops along the Route 6 tour include:

Friday, September 7, 2012:

Choice of The Wilton Candy Kitchen, world's oldest ice cream soda fountain - Wilton, IA; or, Brunch at the delicious Hill of Beans Bistro in Durant, IA.

Happy Hour at the Ladora Bank Bistro - Ladora, IA.

Dinner at the Carnforth Inn – Victor, IA.

Valle Drive-In (Iowa's oldest drive-in movie theater) - Newton, IA. (Drivers from the western half are welcome to join us for the movie as well.)
 
Saturday, September 8, 2012:

Breakfast at the Mid Town Café – Newton, IA.

Tony's Classic Cars, T-Bird restoration HQ – Des Moines, IA.

Bonnie & Clyde historical site, and Drew's Chocolates - Dexter, IA.

Bonnie & Clyde bank robbery site - Stuart, IA.

Lunch at the Menlo Café – Menlo, IA.

Jesse James Train robbery site – Adair, IA.

Dinner at the Wiota Steakhouse – Wiota, IA.
 
Sunday, September 9, 2012:

Breakfast at the Weather Vane Café - Anita, IA.

Lunch at George’s Chili King - Des Moines, IA.

The documentary is the first step in reaching a wider audience.  Once the film is complete, Darby plans on publishing a book he’s authored entitled “From River to River: Your Guide to the Original Highway 6” to further encourage drivers to use Route 6 over the interstate for their travels.

“In such an impersonal world, it is a joy to take off on an adventure along the heartland of America, and breathe in exactly what America was built on,” Darby says. “Instead of a flat, straight pair of lanes interrupted by only green signs and overpasses, the rolling fields and curving roads undulate under your wheels in between the small towns that are filled with friendly people.”

River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 is slated for release late in 2013.  The documentary project recently received a grant from Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

Dave Darby, is the Executive Director of the Iowa Route 6 Tourist Association.  The non-profit organization works to encourage state and local government to place historical signage designating Route 6 roads; preserve historical buildings, bridges, and alignments along Route 6; and to encourage co-operation of communities along the highway to hold festivals, concerts, car shows and more, to boost tourism and traffic to local businesses.

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David W. Darby,
Executive Director
Iowa Route 6 Tourist Association
dwdarby@aol.com

Durant, Wilton and Walcott Put Highway 6 Back on the Map

Dave Darby, Executive Director of the Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association.

Wilton, Iowa's Community Center will be the place to be on Thursday, June 14, 2012 when representatives from the towns of Durant, Wilton and Walcott are presented with their new Historic Iowa U.S. Route 6 signs by Dave Darby, Executive Director of the Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association.

The dedication and presentation begins at 6:00 p.m. and is open to the public.  Attendees include Quad City Times columnist Bill Wundram, representatives of the Iowa Department of Transportation, and River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

The Wilton Candy Kitchen, on Highway 6 in Wilton, Iowa.

The Rundles visited the town of Wilton with Darby in April 2011 and shot preliminary footage at the Wilton Candy Kitchen for their new documentary.

The Wilton Community Center is located at 1215 Cypress Street in Wilton, Iowa.