“Our Town”

I’ve been told that this video is played in 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan., and that it moves a lot of Route 66 visitors.

I’ll let the creator, Jim DeGraff, explain it:

My family has lived in or near Galena, KS, for over 100 years. Main Street of Galena is also the original Route 66. My father was born on that street during the Depression; in those days it was called “Main Street Of America,” mainly because Galena is geographically located at the center of the U.S. I spent a couple hours in Galena the other day taking pictures of the vacant buildings along Main Street. As a boy I remember when all these shops were thriving businesses, I was in and out of all of them.

All is not as bleak as this video might suggest; many of these buildings are being rebuilt due to a surge of interest in old Route 66. During the afternoon I was there, tourists from Japan and Norway were happily taking pictures along Main Street. Disney and Pixar scouts came through Galena before shooting the movie “Cars.” They based the character “Tow Mater” on a tow truck they found here; the truck is on display at an old gas station.

The music is written and performed by Iris DeMent. In addition to the pictures I took, I also used old shots of my parents and grandparents that were taken in Galena 40 to 60 years ago.