Chery Cory’s road journal is online

Web guru and fellow roadie Guy Randall had been working on this, and I’m excited to see it’s done.

What I’m talking about is Chery Cory’s Route 66 journals from 1992 until her untimely death in 2001. She and her husband Earl traveled Route 66 in an RV, and Cheryl wrote about her experiences. She wrote stories for Bob Moore’s Mother Road Journal, a precursor of Route 66 Magazine.

Because some of the businesses mentioned are gone or have changed, Cheryl’s journal should be of interest to Route 66 historians.

Cheryl Cory died in May 2001 after being struck by a car. In the online journal’s epitaph, Earl wrote:

Traveling route 66 will never be the same for me. The memories I have of traveling the old road with Cheryl will last me a lifetime. Along the way we met so many wonderful people. Many have expressed their desire that I return to the 66 fold. That may be possible one day.

Many of the icons are gone now. But many live on, as do great sections of that wonderful old highway. Most of the preceding photos were taken by my loving wife and come from our hundreds of route 66 photos. Copies of the old post cards are from Cheryl’s collection A few photos were taken by me and luckily Cheryl was in quite a few.

The stories were written as we lived them, over a period of twelve years or so. Cheryl loved our adventures and cherished every moment. Hopefully this tribute will keep her memory alive. I can only dream.

Earl sort of disappeared from Route 66 for several years after Cheryl’s death. I’m sure the Mother Road was too bittersweet for him.

But the good news is that he showed up at the last Route 66 yahoogroup gathering during the National Route 66 Festival in Clinton, Okla., so he’s connecting with the road again. And his decision to make Cheryl’s journal available to anyone with a computer connection is incredibly generous, to which roadies should be eternally grateful.