Saving Route 66:
All 2,400 Miles Of It
by David Knudson
Executive Director/National Historic Route 66 Federation
Over 30 years ago, I drove from the Midwest to California on Route
66. Fresh out of college, I had pocket change, plenty of dreams and no job.
Fortunately, California turned out to be very good to me over the years,
but I never forgot my trip out magical Route 66 with all the fancy motor
courts, "exotic" trading posts, and the aroma of sweet smoke from
the pit barbecues. I couldnt afford to stop at any of them. I slept
in my car. But I vowed that one day Id drive Route 66 again and buy some
of those little pine scented things you put in drawers, sample the great-smelling
barbecue and stay in a few places with clean sheets. Mary Lou, my wife,
also traveled the road as a girl. She remembers riding back and forth during
WWII as her dad risked their lives by passing huge military convoys on his
way to Air Force bases in California and Illinois. In August of '94,
our chance came to relive our bittersweet memories. As we started looking
for a few of the great places we remembered, THEY WERE GONE! In fact, we
could hardly find Route 66 until we picked up a guide book along the way.
We spent over two weeks searching across the country for what was left
of the legendary highway. We discovered that many of the landmarks we remembered
along those wonderful 2,400 miles were gone, bypassed by a major interstate.
Entire towns were boarded up and miles of the road bed had been replaced
with cornfields. |
I was saddened by the experience. So much so, that I sold my shares
in my business when we got home and determined to devote full time to saving
Route 66 before it was too late. When we told my mother-in-law, her eyes
narrowed and she quietly sighed, "Thats nice." But I knew she
was thinking, "What has he gotten my daughter into now?" So there
we were. Both out of work with the nations largest preservation project
ahead of us. Im not exaggerating when I say we had more than a few sleepless
nights...How would we start? Where would we get funding? Who should we talk
with? Should I hide under the bed? We wrote letters to every person
and every organization even vaguely connected to Route 66 and to preservation.
Responses ranged from cordial to almost flammable. Who would have believed
so many folks would tell us to stay home and mind our own business? We knew
many people would think we probably werent the sharpest knives in the drawer
for taking on such a task, but why get so angry with us? Our biggest
allies turned out to be Route 66 authors and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, all of whom were very concerned about preserving as much of
the road as possible.
By attending our first National Trust seminar in Fort Worth, we learned
a lot of the preservation ropes and the huge organization became a major
supporter. Incidentally, if you are interested in attending one of their
annual preservation conferences, it will be in Santa Fe this year: October
15 - 19. Look for a Route 66 Congressional Bill. Over the three years since
we formed the Federation, we have traveled most of the Mother Road again.
In an effort to encourage a Route 66 |
Spring 1997
