KNOWN TO MANY as “Mrs. Tucumcari,” Bettie Ditto owned the Best Western Pow Wow Inn for more than 50 years. Her brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Helen Lins, opened the adjacent Pow Wow Room that became one of Route 66’s liveliest watering holes. After Ditto passed away in 2008, the inn has had several owners, but her legacy of hospitality still resonates on the Mother Road.
“People came to dine at the restaurant,” Ditto said in the February 2001 issue of New Mexico Magazine. “In those days we all danced and sang in the piano bar. Helen was a famous Chicago singer, and she led the singing. My sister, Agnes Lins, enjoyed helping with the entertainment. … All the governors stayed here at one time or another. It was a place where travelers could feel at home.”
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