Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday signed and enacted a bill that creates a state Route 66 Centennial Commission. According to a news release, the signing took place Tuesday in Plainfield. The commission is tasked with developing plans for the 100th anniversary of Route 66 in 2026. The Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission will consist … Continue reading Governor signs Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission bill
Today, when the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill to set up a federal-level 100th anniversary commission for Route 66, two Midwestern states also are poised to set up their commissions to mark the road’s centennial in 2026. Missouri’s governor signed such a bill into law this year, and Illinois’ … Continue reading Two states poised to celebrate Route 66’s centennial in 2026
The Route 66: The Road Ahead Partnership exited its second annual board of directors meeting Feb. 15-17 in Tulsa with a lengthy to-do list — including a Route 66 navigational app and funding for preservation project — for the months ahead. In addition to approving a 2018 budget and a five-year budget, the group approved … Continue reading Long to-do list for Route 66: The Road Ahead group
The Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative is seeking to have Route 66 advocates lobby their local U.S. representative and senator to co-sponsor two bills working their way through Congress. The bills are HR 801, which would name Route 66 as a National Historic Trail, and HR 66, which would set up a Route 66 … Continue reading Route 66 bills in Congress need co-sponsors
It’s still 10 years away, but an Illinois lawmaker wants to set up a commission to help celebrate Route 66’s 100th anniversary in 2026. State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) introduced House Bill 6624 that would form an Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission. Butler revealed his proposal Thursday — the day before the highway marked its 90th birthday. More from … Continue reading Lawmaker seeks Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission
44 The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is hosting an exhibit and lecture series this fall to commemorate the 90th birthday of Route 66. A news release from the university contains some details about the upcoming “Life and Times on New Mexico Route 66” exhibit at the university’s Zimmerman Library: Route 66 was exciting for the … Continue reading University of New Mexico hosting Route 66 exhibit, lecture series
A marketing professor revealed a little-known word — anemoia — he’d discovered only in the past year that probably explains why many people explore Route 66. Nick Gerlich, a professor at West Texas A&M and an avid explorer of old Route 66, explained during his presentation Oct. 31 at the Miles of Possibility Conference in Edwardsville, Illinois, that anemoia … Continue reading “Cultural Heritage Tourism: Why People Travel Route 66”
The historic Rock Creek Bridge near Sapulpa, Oklahoma, was reopened to traffic Wednesday morning after a ceremony marking the occasion attended by the state’s lieutenant governor. Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb was there to cut the ceremonial ribbon to the bridge, then rode in an antique car across the historic span, along with several dozen other … Continue reading Rock Creek Bridge reopens to traffic
The World Monuments Fund this month released its report on the “Route 66: The Road Ahead” roundtable held in November at Anaheim, California, that involved many movers and shakers of the Route 66 community. The 67-page Acrobat document can be read in its entirety here. I commend it to your attention. Much of the report … Continue reading “Route 66: The Road Ahead” report released
The small Route 66 town of Newberry Springs, Calif., will receive a historical marker Sunday from a fraternal organization at The Barn on Route 66 bar, reported the Desert Dispatch newspaper of nearby Barstow. The members of E. Clampus Vitus, aka The Clampers, are building the monument. The fraternity, which consists of history buffs, has erected … Continue reading Newberry Springs will receive a historical marker
