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Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society adds three groups of honorees to Wall of Fame

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The Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society added three groups of honorees to the Route 66 Wall of Fame during their annual membership meeting Saturday. Route 66 Society senior advisor Gary Sosniecki introduced the Wall as a way to honor “those who made exceptional contributions to the development, or promotion of Route 66 or who operated legendary businesses on Route 66.” The program was begun in 2022 and now has four classes of inductees. “This year’s honorees were selected by a seven-person committee with knowledge of local Route 66 history,” Sosniecki said. “More than forty names were considered, most from our own research but some nominated by the public.” Pete and Jessie Hudson were the founders of the Munger Moss Hotel. Citing Susan Croce Kelly’s interview with Jessie Hudson in “Route 66: The Highway and Its People”, Sosniecki charted the couple’s journey to build Lebanon’s first motel. Beginning in Devil’s Elbow by buying the then barbeque restaurant Munger Moss, the Hudsons later moved the business to Lebanon and turned their new property into a motel. After Romana Lehman bought the motel, Jessie Hudson continued to live in the house connected to the property. Kathy Hudson, daughter of Pete and Jessie Hudson, accepted her parents’ plaque on their behalf and thanked the Route 66 Society. The organization also provided a plaque to the new owner of the Munger Moss Motel, CEO Mark Bertel of the Dels Corporation, in the hope he would hang it in the motel’s office. Sosniecki then described Harry “Shorty” Jones, Bill Jones Sr. and Bill “Billy” Jones Jr. as “three generations of a family that has been a prominent part of Route 66 and Laclede County’s history for a century.” After moving to Laclede County with his wife, “Shorty” Jones opened a gas station next to the southern side of Route 66 in the local giraffe style. In a 2017 interview with the Record, Jones, Jr. noted his grandfather did mechanic work, rented cabins and sold gas in the 1920s. Jones Sr. continued to operate the station after his father’s death until the station was torn down in 1956 for I-44 construction. Still owning land nearby, Jones, Sr. opened Bill’s Garage. Jones, Jr. later ran the garage for ten years. After retiring, Jones Jr. became active in the Route 66 Society, serving as president from 2016 to 2020. Sosniecki added that without Jones Jr.’s volunteering at a time where several board members resigned, the group might have disbanded. Jones Jr. also helped secure funding for the Route 66 murals in Boswell Park and facilitated the reestablishment of the Route 66 Festival. He was present at Saturday’s meeting to accept his plaque, and he expressed his appreciation for the group despite being unable to remain as active due to health concerns. “It’s been fun working with all you guys and meeting different people. We’ve had our ups and downs. Gary and I have had a fist fight or two,” Jones Jr. said. Sosniecki jumped in to joke that now he fights with President Bruce Owens. “Anyway, I appreciate it, guys. Dad and Grandpa would too.” For more on this story, see Wednesday's LCR.