By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
In 1947, Art Lacey opened a small, five pump filling station along Highway 99E in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was the same year he had his biggest—and his best—idea: Why not mount a full-sized, four-engined airplane on top of a roadside gas station business?
When he heard that the military was scrapping [...]

By Michael Karl Witzel ©2007-2008
Back in the fifties, while cruisers were haunting the drive-in restaurants found along the loop, couples were finding entertainment in places that weren’t so brightly lit. With many of the same characteristics that made curb service so popular, the drive-in theater became a secondary destination for the mobile teen. [...]

By Michael Karl Witzel and Gyvel Young ©2007-2008
Today, the remnants of a once booming mineral water business can still be seen in the town of Mineral Wells, Texas. Originally built as a seven-story luxury resort, the Crazy Hotel is now a retirement home; the Milling Sanitarium a VFW hall, and the towering Baker Hotel—once the [...]