The East Mountain Historical Society is selling the eighth edition of its annual calendars, and this one features images from old Route 66 in the region.
A news release from the society states:
Now available through the society’s online store, each of the 12 months of Old Route 66 features a historic photo related to the legendary highway as it winds through the Sandia and Manzano Mountains east of Albuquerque. To liven things up, each month also features a photo of a colorful historic New Mexico license plate. The daily date section of each month includes facts about local history.
The calendars were produced by the all-volunteer, non-profit East Mountain Historical Society, a group dedicated to preserving and documenting history in the Sandia, Manzano and Manzanita Mountain towns and villages east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, including portions of Route 66 and the historic Turquoise Trail.
While EMHS calendars in previous years included historic photos of Route 66, this is the first dedicated solely to the Mother Road. EMHS also has reproduced six historic Route 66 postcards, also available via the online store. The packet of six cards includes photos of the Canyon Trading Post, 101 Cafe & Gas Station, The Oasis Gas Station, Zuzax Trading Post, Blackie’s and Dead Man’s Curve. The backside of each card shows a current photo of each historic view as it looks today. Photos of the postcards may be viewed online on the EMHS Store site.
Here’s a sample of one of the pages:
The calendar costs $15, plus $5 for handling and shipping.
A perusal of the Route 66 calendar listings on Amazon lists about a half-dozen so far, but most are of modern-day images from along the highway. It’s rare to see a calendar of obscure and long-vanished sites.
The fact the East Mountain Historical Society is a nonprofit provides another reason to buy it.
(Images courtesy of the East Mountain Historical Society)