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When Anderson Ford in Berwyn closed its doors for good, Ogden Avenue lost a piece of its past as Dealer’s Row and historic Route 66. Even more alarming to history buffs like Jon Fey, the Berwyn Route 66 Museum was once again on the road — without a home.
That’s when Fey — a Downers Grove resident — decided to rearrange his company’s storefront at 7003 Ogden Ave., to give the museum a permanent home.
“I just hated to see it fall by the wayside,” Fey said.
Previously, the museum had consisted of a handful of display cases crammed against restaurant walls and tucked into the parts department of a car dealership. Now, Fey is almost single-handedly leading the charge to transform the fledgling collection of artifacts and memorabilia into a legitimate museum.
“I never thought I’d open a museum. What have gotten myself into?” Fey said. “We started working on this last April, and it’s really grown quite a bit since we gave it its own space and put a lot of energy into it, but we still have a long way to go.”
Fey is driven by a zeal for history and a love of Berwyn.
“I spend more time in Berwyn than I do in any other spot on the earth, and I have for 30 years right here on Route 66,” Fey said.
The museum is currently in what Fey calls a “semi-open state” from 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He hopes to be in full swing by April, when tourism traffic on Route 66 kicks into gear.
For now, the museum is staffed and funded by volunteers on Fey’s team at SWF Products, including Nona Chapman, Berwyn’s 1st Ward Alderman, who has worked for Fey for over 20 years.
“I really feel that this is something that will really grow and give our kids and our future the knowledge of Route 66 and Berwyn,” Chapman said. “As long as I’ve known Jon, he has been involved in Berwyn. This is his home, whether he lives here or not.”
In the future, Fey hopes to expand the museum, and may include an extra exhibit on Berwyn’s Depot District. But he’s waiting to see how the community responds.
“My vision for the future really depends on what the community wants,” Fey said. “My role over the next 20 years may be that crazy guy who said, ‘why not? Let’s just do it.’ We’ll see.”
When Anderson Ford in Berwyn closed its doors for good, Ogden Avenue lost a piece of its past as Dealer’s Row and historic Route 66. Even more alarming to history buffs like Jon Fey, the Berwyn Route 66 Museum was once again on the road — without a home.
That’s when Fey — a Downers Grove resident — decided to rearrange his company’s storefront at 7003 Ogden Ave., to give the museum a permanent home.
“I just hated to see it fall by the wayside,” Fey said.
Previously, the museum had consisted of a handful of display cases crammed against restaurant walls and tucked into the parts department of a car dealership. Now, Fey is almost single-handedly leading the charge to transform the fledgling collection of artifacts and memorabilia into a legitimate museum.
“I never thought I’d open a museum. What have gotten myself into?” Fey said. “We started working on this last April, and it’s really grown quite a bit since we gave it its own space and put a lot of energy into it, but we still have a long way to go.”
Fey is driven by a zeal for history and a love of Berwyn.
“I spend more time in Berwyn than I do in any other spot on the earth, and I have for 30 years right here on Route 66,” Fey said.
The museum is currently in what Fey calls a “semi-open state” from 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He hopes to be in full swing by April, when tourism traffic on Route 66 kicks into gear.
For now, the museum is staffed and funded by volunteers on Fey’s team at SWF Products, including Nona Chapman, Berwyn’s 1st Ward Alderman, who has worked for Fey for over 20 years.
“I really feel that this is something that will really grow and give our kids and our future the knowledge of Route 66 and Berwyn,” Chapman said. “As long as I’ve known Jon, he has been involved in Berwyn. This is his home, whether he lives here or not.”
In the future, Fey hopes to expand the museum, and may include an extra exhibit on Berwyn’s Depot District. But he’s waiting to see how the community responds.
“My vision for the future really depends on what the community wants,” Fey said. “My role over the next 20 years may be that crazy guy who said, ‘why not? Let’s just do it.’ We’ll see.”
Notable
Fey enjoys making art cars. His favorite car is a Christmas-themed cruiser that he and his wife use to play Mr. and Mrs. Claus in Christmas parades.
& quotable
Despite Fey’s unwavering commitment to the museum, he’s still looking for help. “We’re definitely open to donations of time, money and especially information.”
Hobbies
Fey also is a self-described “plane nut” and pilot. He bought property on a private air strip in Downers Grove and then saved for 10 years to build a new house there.
Contact
The Berwyn Route 66 Museum can be reached at (708) 484-9349 or info
@berwynrt66
museum.org.
