The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma, later this month will host its biannual Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, plus a new photo exhibit by a current Route 66 advocate.
The free ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. on July 27, though the museum itself at 2229 W. Gary Blvd. (aka Route 66) will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More about the big day:
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association will induct two special Oklahomans into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame. The inductees will be announced at the ceremony. Inductions are held every two years for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion or preservation of Route 66. The selection includes a nomination and committee process conducted by the association. The winners’ plaques are displayed in the Oklahoma Route 66 Association Hall of Fame, located in the WOW! Exhibit Room at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.
Immediately following the ceremony, the museum will hold an opening for a new photo exhibit titled “Discovering 66” by Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Although Martin grew up in the Tulsa area, he had never given historic Route 66 a thought until he took a life-changing trip around the world. After returning, he looked closer at his home state and soon discovered that the famous highway was a mirror of his own experience for tens of thousands of international travelers. Come experience a photographic journey covering over 38,000 miles and how it led back home to Route 66, the most famous historic highway in the world.
Much of Martin’s photography can be seen on his Cloudless Lens website.
The previous Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame inductees were Allen Threatt Jr., founder of the Threatt Filling Station near Luther, and Betty Wheatley, former owner of the Dairy Ranch in Afton.
(Image of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton courtesy of Oklahoma Tourism)