Vancouver author Rick Antonson has written a book called Route 66 Still Kicks, a 2,400-mile journey along “America’s main street” from Chicago to Los Angeles complete with photographs, obscure stories, and a perspective on the rich history of the highway.
Route 66, popularized by historical figures such as Al Capone, Salvador Dali, and Mickey Mantle, served as a major path for those who migrated west, especially during the depression of the 1930s. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway up until the creation of America’s interstate highway system.
“We’ve all travelled some part of Route 66, if only in our dreams. Road-tripping 66 is largely a young person’s rite of passage – when everything is possible and nothing is certain. Rick Antonson comes to this mythic road in later years and his Mustang-enabled journey with a buddy represents a life ‘without restrictions or obligations,'” writes Keith Bellows, a book reviewer with Amazon.
Rick Antonson lives in Vancouver and is the brother of Mission resident Brian Antonson, president of the 2014 BC Winter Games. He’s also the author of Slumach’s Gold and To Timbuktu for a Haircut.
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Another book written by Mission resident David Pullen, self-published through Sue’s Copy Place, is a colourful autobiography called Always a Farm Boy, of the 76-year-old’s life in rural England and the Fraser Valley.
Beautifully crafted stories, poems, and photographs tell of a life of living on or around farms.
“When I started, people were still hand-milking,” he says, adding farming has slowly disappeared in the Fraser Valley, and those farms that remain are largely automated with machinery now.
Pullen wrote his first poem at the age of 15 after leaving his home and visiting rural Devon, England. It begins:
“What does life hold for each of us?
For those who run to catch a bus,
That takes them into darkest city,
On such as these I have but pity.”
Pullen, who farmed in Pitt Meadows for a decade on a pig farm, says Mission still has a small town atmosphere he really enjoys.
“You can walk down the main streets here and see people you know. You don’t get that in the big city.”
Pullen says he was encouraged by his family to a write a book and share his experiences and love of farming. The books are sold almost at cost, and he’s just happy to know that people enjoy them.
If you’d like to purchase a copy of the book, call David at 604-826-8232 or 604-751-2007.
