Route 66 historians examine the Mother Road as it approaches 100 years

Yahoo

22-06-2025

Jun. 22—Buckle up as Jim Ross and Shellee Graham take readers for a ride down "The Main Street of America" in "Route 66: The First 100 Years."
In 2026, the Mother Road will be celebrating its centennial birthday.
In preparation for the big occasion, Ross and Graham's new book features a mixture of photographs, postcards and text that will bring people back to the days of the Model-Ts, sock hops and vibrant neon signs.
The book, which came out in May, encourages travelers to blast Bobby Troup's "Route 66" on their iPhones and Androids as they drive by the majestic red sandstone cliffs on New Mexico 118 (old 66) in McKinley County, or lower their windows and listen to the buzzing sounds of neon in Tucumcari on a warm summer evening.
Ross and Graham have published other books on the Mother Road, but Ross said "Route 66: The Next 100 Years" was written in a way "to make it interesting and appealing to those who don't know anything (about the road) without boring people who know something or a lot."
"People often say, 'What is the big deal about Route 66? What makes it special? What (puts it) on the same level as our national parks and other American icons?' " Ross said. "I think it's the legend. The legend hearkens back to when the route got its number and became a kind of an outcast in the sense it had '66,' which deviated from the agreed upon grid of east and west or north and south highways ending in 0 or 1."
In the 1920s, Chicago to Los Angeles highway advocates like Tulsa, Oklahoma, businessman Cyrus Avery requested that the route to be designated as U.S. 60, but Kentucky Gov. William Fields wanted that numbered highway to run through his state. To alleviate the tension, a list of numbers not yet used by the new system was sent to Avery who was intrigued with 66.
From that point on, "... that misfit, rebel road forever branded with a pair of rhythmic sixes" would become part of the American landscape, Ross said.
In the Land of Enchantment, the Double Six runs from Glenrio to the Arizona line, parts of which follow historic routes like El Camino Real Royal de Tierra Adentro and National Old Trails Road, an early 20th century auto trail.
From 1926-1937, part of U.S. 66 went from Romeroville to Los Lunas via Santa Fe. Part of that alignment went through La Bajada, a harrowing experience for many on their way to Albuquerque and beyond.
"It was a treacherous descent, even after improvements, and was so daunting that the pathway down was moved to the other side of the plateau in 1924, just prior to the advent of 66," Ross said. "During 1932 paving projects, it was moved again, this time 2 miles south to the pathway now used by (Interstate) 25."
A 1962 La Bajada postcard published in the book reads: "Dear Mother: This is a picture of the new highway down this hill. You and Letha will probably remember the 23 hairpin turns of 1926. The old Hudson just barely made them."
By the late 1930s, U.S. 66 officially no longer ran through La Bajada as the Santa Fe Loop was replaced by the Santa Rosa Cutoff and Laguna Cutoff, which created a direct east to west route between Santa Rosa and Laguna.
Along with a history of the road, "Route 66: The First 100 Years" looks at businesses, like the Santo Domingo Indian Trading Post, and people from the road such as Chief Joe Deerfoot who operated a trading post in Gallup.
"We tried to bring to the surface some personalities and things that haven't been exposed before to the Route 66 community," Ross said.
The book also delves into the rise of 66, especially during the post-World War II boom as travelers hit the road in droves, staying at places like the De Anza Motor Lodge in Albuquerque. Paradoxically, the road's popularity led to the creation of the interstate system and its demise.
The increased traffic created an enormous demand for repairs and upgrades that couldn't be kept up, he said. Over the next couple of decades, 66 was "sliced, diced, realigned and otherwise mistreated in a slow, methodical dismemberment," Ross said.
Route 66 was officially decommissioned by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in 1985. But there were people like Angel Delgadillo, of Seligman, Arizona, whose passion to preserve the road in their communities resurrected it from the asphalt ashes. That passion would spread across all eight states on the route.
The Mother Road's renaissance continued to grow through the release of works by historians Michael Wallis and Jim Hinckley, the Pixar film "Cars," which introduced younger generations to the Mother Road, and the efforts of various state and international 66 associations and advocacy groups, Ross said.
"Route 66 in its afterlife is very much a coin with two sides," he said. "One side reveals that as a national landmark and nostalgic playground, the road's future and popularity are assured. The flip side represents the keepers of the highways, those who live and work along its reaches and serve as hosts, helpers, advisors and guides to all who encounter them."