Curiosity Greets the Customer

"One is apt to see anything along the American Road." Larry McMurtry, Roads

From filling stations with dinosaurs to caricatures out of an episode of "Lost in Space," the open highway has many roadside characters. In the middle of the High Plains in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66 where powerful gusts of wind, blinding sunshine and Mohave dry heat dominate the region is a roadside artifact, the Tepee Curios shop.

 

For many years Mike Callens, now with a hair line that is quietly fading into the sunset along with his wife Betty, owned the souvenir and gift shop. The business had been passed down from several proprietors including Callens's uncle, Jene Klaverweiden, who also served as mayor of Tucumcari. According to Gallens, "I have so many relatives in this town," he says. Both of his grandfathers were in business in town. He adds," Being here on Route 66 in Tucumcari is as good as it gets." Callens took over the shop in 1985, four years after I-40 by-passed town.

When I came to his shop in 2005, I was greeted by a Doberman-husky named Trouble whose bark caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. However, moments later, Callen reassured me that "Trouble is a good boy and doesn't mean any harm." From postcards to Native American jewelry and crafts, Tepee offers locals and travelers a small taste of the American Southwest. The outside plaster walls are adorned with paintings of Native American dancers and a Route 66 shield painted by the late artist Bob Waldmire.

According to Roadside Architecture, (Tepee Curios) opened as a Gulf gas station, grocery store, and souvenir shop in 1944. During road expansion in 1959, the teepee-shaped entrance was added and the gas pumps were removed. The neon sign was built in the mid-1960s. It was restored in 2003, based on a vintage photo. Shortly thereafter, a neon longhorn skull was installed over the building's entrance.

In August 2013, according to Route 66 News (Tepee Curios gets new owners), Gar and Heidi Engman of Fort Dodge, Iowa, who dreamt of owning a roadside attraction along the Mother of All Roads, bought the shop. I have yet to meet them, but look forward to seeing how these new owners have taken care of the Tucumcari and Route 66 icon.

Sources:
Wallis, M. (1990). Route 66: the mother road. New York: St. Martin's Press.