Preserving Route 66 Treasures
DX Station, Afton, Oklahoma
 |
| View of Laurel and David's Afton Station |
Afton Station began life as a gas station. Exactly what it will be when owners David and Laurel Kane finish restoring it is anybody’s guess.
“People keep saying, ‘Well, what is it going to be when it’s done?’” Laurel said during a recent interview. “That’s a very difficult question for me. It’s not going to be a museum; it’s not going to be a souvenir shop. It’s going to be a stopping-off place.”
When the Kanes finish restoring the old service station, one end will house Laurel’s collection of Route 66 memorabilia, a few of the 40,000 postcards in her collection, a small library of books about the Mother Road, free snacks and cold drinks for weary travelers, and a computer visitors can use to check their e-mail or send messages from the road.
The other end, where the garage used to be, will showcase David’s collection of vintage Packards.
 |
| The “Packard Showroom” section |
There will be a few items for sale—mostly books, Route 66 artwork and laminated enlargements of postcards from the Mother Road—but don’t expect to find an assortment of Afton Station shot glasses or Route 66 T-shirts.
“I don’t want it to turn into a souvenir shop,” Laurel said. “I am going to be selling items— only books, Route 66 guidebooks, that sort of thing; photographs; artwork—but only quality stuff is all I’m selling.”
For want of a better term, Laurel is calling Afton Station a “visitors’ center—but unofficial. Completely unofficial.”
The Kanes bought Afton Station about 18 months ago. After living in Connecticut for 28 years, they couldn’t resist the lure of the Mother Road—so they packed up everything and headed for Oklahoma.
“We actually just happened upon” Afton Station, Laurel said. “I knew I wanted a property on Route 66—that was one of the reasons for living here. We kept driving through Afton to get here and there. There were about three vintage stations still standing.”
 |
| A portion of the station's interior |
One was nice but small and not salvageable. A second wasn’t as historically valuable. The third was just right: “We really liked it because it was in (better) condition than the others, and it had room for the cars.”
Laurel’s passion for Route 66 began with motels. “I’ve always been interested in roadside travel since I was a kid,” she said. “I’ve been obsessed by motels for a long time—I would rather be in a motel than a house or a forest or anywhere else.”
About 20 years ago, Laurel’s interest grew when she and David—then avid sailboat racers—stopped at an antique store in Maine during a boating trip. The store’s proprietor was selling a box of 5,000 postcards for $50. Laurel couldn’t resist. She handed over the $50, hauled the box back to the boat, and took home the beginnings of a collection that has since grown to 40,000, including about 2,500 vintage postcards from Route 66.
“Fortunately, I collect something that’s little, portable, small,” she laughed. “They used to be cheap. I can’t say that any more.”
David’s collection takes up a bit more room. He “has always been interested in vintage cars, since he was a kid,” Laurel said. “The first few that he had were not Packards, but then he bought his first Packard” about 10 or 15 years ago. “I’m gonna guess we have 12 to 14 Packards, running from 1929, which is the oldest one, to 1958, which is the last time any car was produced under the name 'Packard.'”
David restores the cars himself. “They are beautiful,” Laurel said. “He has a couple that are unrestored, which doesn’t mean they’re wrecks, but they’ve been driven so little, they look like they just came off the showroom floor.”
The garage side of Afton Station eventually will be a replica of a Packard showroom that will house part of David’s collection. Getting to that point will take time. Right now, Laurel is excited about a recent sandblasting project that removed layers of old paint from the outside of the building. The next step is to give the building a fresh coat of paint.
 |
| An example of prevailing conditions |
After that, a host of other projects await, including the monumental task of replacing the building’s decrepit air conditioner. Right now, Laurel can spend only a few hours a day in the building before the heat drives her home, but replacing the air conditioner isn’t as easy as it sounds: The entire building will have to be rewired to accommodate a modern unit.
The renovations aren’t going as quickly as the Kanes would have liked. “Our timing is so off,” Laurel said. “We had hoped to have it finished by now. The move down here has taken a lot longer than anticipated.” At this point, Laurel hopes to have her side of the building finished by Christmas. After that, work will begin on the Packard showroom.
Despite the heat and headaches, Laurel is thrilled to have a place of her own on the Mother Road. “I sit there in my station and look out, and I say, 'My goodness—I own a building on Route 66!'” she said. “I pinch myself so often, one of these days, I’m just gonna be bruised.”
 |
| Laurel Kane, at right, greets one of her many visitors to the Afton Station. |
Visitors are welcome to stop by and visit the Kanes’ work-in-progress. Afton Station is open by appointment or by chance. To make an appointment, call (918) 791-9056.
