 AL MORRISSETTE |
ROUTE 66 FOUNDATION
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 Their
lobbying efforts to link Chicago and Los Angeles were no more than efforts until the
federal government enacted the national program of highway and road development. From its beginning, Route 66
became essential for Midwest farmers to distribute products through Chicago. The trucking
industry became stronger because of the highway's temperate climate and flatness through
the prairies. As segments of the highway
were finished, it provided a main artery across the nation, linking small towns and
neighboring towns that would not normally have seen much growth or interaction. During the Dust Bowl Era, the
highway became home to about 210,000 people who established auto camps and campsites as
they migrated to California looking for hope and home. These auto camps evolved into cabin
camps and motels. When World War II came around,
the highway served our military as a quick way to move troops to the West, where the dry
climate at new training camps supported year-round maneuvers and training. The military
transports strengthened the early roadside businesses with their patronage, and in 1946
when Nat King Cole sang those famous words "get your kicks on Route 66," America
was set on its wheels and the road of neon lights made it easy for the people of a growing
country to visit each other. By the time the popular TV
series "Route 66" hit the airwaves in the early 1960s, the highway and its
uniqueness was embedded in America. But the highway that gained the name "The Main
Street of America," or as John Steinbeck labeled it in the Grapes of Wrath,
"Mother Road," rapidly became replaced by Interstate 40 and other interstate
highways as America's post-1970s need for wider and safer highways grew. These interstates
knifed their way around and through Route 66, leaving it in small sections and abandoning
the closeness of the towns for the speed of travel. Throughout the 8 states and
2,400 miles of Route 66, small groups of people work to preserve the Mother Road based
upon their love and respect for what the highway has done for America. Route 66 is known throughout
the world and has many fan clubs and followers, both domestic and in foreign countries.
It's a large attraction that brings these families to Route 66 for vacation, and they
leave with souvenirs of their trip from the surviving attractions. The efforts in other states
have been more organized, so their preservation efforts have grown greatly compared to
California's. In California, many communities have established groups and associations to
preserve the highway in their local areas. Finding it difficult to work with other groups
or government agencies, these preservation groups often flounder or change direction.
Knowing this, government agencies such as the BLM, San Bernardino County, Caltrans and
numerous cities and counties went to Jim Conkle for a solution. For the past five years, Jim
Conkle has worked with others in the High Desert to establish and maintain the Route 66
Historical Museum in Victorville. "We need an organization to work with the
governments and private groups," said Conkle, so the California Route 66 Preservation
Foundation was developed. The Foundation is not looking
to replace or compete with any other organization in keeping Route 66 alive. Its direction
is towards helping others enhance their own efforts and to help them to gain needed
funding. They can't restore what has already been destroyed along the highway, but they
can help restore existing buildings and monuments that would be demolished for new
construction. The Foundation team is diligently working toward developing a financial base
of grants and donations to do so. They will produce products for sale to the public with
the proceeds going into the fund. The Foundation has approached
Assemblyman Phil Wyman to sponsor a bill to the Legislature for the establishment of a
Route 66 Commemorative License Plate. Assemblyman Wyman has accepted the challenge and
will present his bill this month. If the bill is passed, the Foundation will have 12
months to find at least 7,500 people who want the plates and are willing to commit to
leaving a refundable deposit or the DMV will drop the plate from the system. This would be
a wonderful way for the classic car clubs to support the restoration of the highway from
the era their cars represent. Successful Commemorative Plates usually raise millions of
dollars for their cause. If this proves to be the case for the Foundation, it will be able
to give a major shot in the arm to the preservation of the Mother Road and its
attractions. For more information, write to
California Route 66 Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box 290066, Phelan, CA 92329-0066, or
call (760) 868-3320 and soon you will get them on the Internet at www.cart66pf.org. |
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