Route 66 is fun to drive, but after awhile, the auto museums, fleabag motels, rusty gas pumps, throwback burger joints, and tchotchke shops start to blur together. The nostalgia can feel canned and inauthentic. Then, you happen upon Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, OK, and everything changes.
If it’s open, go inside. If it’s not, knock like hell. The goal is to meet Harley Russell, an eccentric Okie with a 30-year history entertaining passers-by. The self-described “redneck hoarder” has filled his shop with antique signs and ephemera, none of which is for sale. (“You couldn’t pay me a million dollars for that!” he’ll scoff if you ask the price of something.) Whiskey bottles, ashtrays, tambourines, and guitars are interspersed with tourist photos and mash notes.
Harley may or may not be wearing his “redneck tuxedo” (red-and-white striped overalls, sans shirt) and he may or may not serenade you with “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66.” Long a musician, his performing has slowed after the passing of his beloved wife, Annabelle Russell (“the best thing that ever happened to me”), two years ago. She was 68. Together, Harley and Annabelle formed the Mediocre Music Makers. Watch the endearing video below to see the duo in action.
Even without a song, Harley will happily pose for pictures, gurgling Jack Daniels like mouthwash before taking a selfie. Dirty-old-man jokes are his thing, so leave your delicate sensibilities and prudish friends in the car. This guy is madcap funny, hollering “Hell no!” every chance he gets. (In conversation, you can see why he was an inspiration for the Tow Mater character in Disney’s animated Cars flick.) Harley identifies as a Christian conservative but has a free-wheeling attitude about sex and drugs. If he takes a real liking to you, he might invite you back to his house, a.k.a. the “Redneck Castle and Insanitarium,” for a tour. Like the shop, it’s an explosion of clutter. “Every inch counts,” he’ll say with a a wink. Tips are welcome but not expected. It’s worth every penny. Harley is the only-on-Route 66 personality roadtrippers dream of meeting.
201 S. Sheb Wooley Ave., Erick, OK; 580-526-3738.
