The greatest artifact of his Route 66 Museum may just be old Bill Shea himself. For nearly four decades Bill Shea pumped gas along Route 66 and he kept everything he could put his hands on: oil cans, calendars, signs, glass cabinets, a 15-cent-a-pack cigarette machine, old cash registers, an 80-year-old peanut dispenser, an oil company pump jack, and on and on. Now in his eighties, Bill has dedicated himself and his former gas station to the memory of the Mother Road. �I�ve no intention of retiring. I�ll keep working until I�m 90, then maybe work half days.� Open year round, Tuesday through Friday, 7am to 4pm, and until noon on Saturday, Shea�s Gas Station Museum, located along a Route 66 alignment at 2075 Peoria Road, is home to some of the finest Route 66 collectibles you�ll ever see. A Hall of Fame member of the Route 66 Association of Illinois, it�s not unusual to find Bill playing host to visitors from as far away as Australia, China and Ireland, not to mentioned being interviewed by the national media. Bill�s museum has been the subject of a public television special in Boston, featured in People magazine, and listed in scores of tourism publications. �We don�t sell anything and we don�t charge anybody to come and look around. However, donations are appreciated.� This simple philosophy is mirrored in the signage you�ll find on the walls, �If you write in our dust, please don�t put the date.� Along with a row of shiny red petrol pumps, you�ll find Bill�s original Texaco uniform and a narration from him on those bygone days. He recently restored a 14 by 14-ft gas station he purchased from the Mahon family in Middletown. The former Philips 66 station is one of the oldest and possibly the first gas station in Illinois. Along with his son ands two grandsons, Bill repainted the metal exterior to its original colors and filled the inside with treasures from the days when it was operating. So the next time you find yourself with a few extra hours, stop by Bill�s Route 66 Museum, sit down on the back seat of an old Chevy and let Bill take you back to a delightful place in time along Route 66.

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Media Contact: Sharon Johnson +1 (217) 789-2360, ext 136 sjohnson@springfield.il.us