GET YOUR (T-BIRD) KICKS ON ROUTE 66 !!!!!

Chapter 1 - Where is America's Highway?

by Sky Silverton, Copyright 1998, Silver Sky, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

"Away from the superslab, you can still order a piece of pie from the person who baked it, still get change from the shop owner, still take a moment to care and to be cared about, a long way from home."^(c) Tom Snyder, Founder, Route 66 Association; preface from the book, "Route 66 The Mother Road" by Michael Wallis, St. Martin's Press.

U.S. Route 66 is unquestionably the most famous "back road" in America, and from this "Mother Road" or "Main Street of America" as it is affectionately known, we can all learn both large and small lessons in American culture.

Route 66 history, in brief: U.S. Route 66 is in fact already vanished "history." Technically, the road no longer exists. Certain sections have been renumbered; other stretches are abandoned; still other pieces have been paved over by interstate, so don't pick up a current day road map and try to find it! But yes, it IS still there for us to explore----sort of.

The original U.S. Route 66 went from Chicago to Los Angeles and covered approximately 2,400 miles. The span included Illinois, Missouri, Kansas (a very small segment), Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Some major cities en route were (east to west): Springfield (Illinois and Missouri), St. Louis, Joplin, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Tucumcari, Albuquerque, Gallup, Holbrook, Flagstaff, Barstow and Santa Monica, but a listing of great cities and towns along Route 66 could go on for paragraphs!

Moreover, the allure of Route 66 had little to do with its destination cities and towns. Along the way were quintessential old cafes, gas stations, motels, roadhouses and other highway icons that reflected American mobility, character and culture. Route 66 was in fact one of the first continuous roadways connecting the Midwest to the "Promised Land" of California.

Cyrus Avery got it all started. Born in Pennsylvania in 1871, Avery graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. By 1921 he was elected as president of the Associated Highways Association of America. In 1924 Avery sat on related governing highway boards and eventually became the highway specialist consultant to the U.S. Highway System. A year later, work began on numbering existing main routes using a reasonably logical scheme. Of course many fine U.S. routes were established, but Route 66 always had a certain extra special charm about it. As Avery himself stated, "...we assure you that U.S. Route 66 will be a road....that the U.S. will be proud of..."

So who exactly IS proud of Route 66? Millions of us. Those notables having a love of the old road included John Steinbeck, Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, world class photographer Dorthea Lange, and even Mickey Mantle, to name a small sampling. Route 66 was free; and particularly west-bound, it was a road of dreams, adventure and challenge. In a way, it was America, herself.

So Where is Route 66? As mentioned earlier, the road no longer exists, per se. However, you can still locate pieces of it, under differing numbers. Using a Route 66 road guide (available in larger book stores), you can easily trace parts of the old road; occasionally you may even wander off to an abandoned stretch of old 66, where the rustic scenery can get really interesting!

I think you'll find the old U.S. route system fascinating. I (as aka, Edward Sarkis Balian) have published past articles (Shutterbug, January, 1991), done TV interviews, and recently directed a 25 minute cable television video, "Along the Way..." using my black and white still photo-essay portfolio as the basis for the production. My wife Judith and I continue to travel all existing U.S. routes, with over 100,000 miles already logged. And the experiences of American culture and photography will stay with us for the rest of our lives. In fact, it was my photo shoots that had originally led us to explore these back roads. In this way, photography has given more to me than I will ever be able to give back.

I only relate these personal anecdotes to you for one reason, if you haven't yet experienced Route 66 or other American back roads, give it strong consideration on your next outing. Time is short as these highways and their resident cultures are disappearing quickly.

HAVE FUN-FUN-FUN ON ROUTE 66, AND LET ME KNOW OF YOUR ADVENTURES; I WOULD LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!

If you have any questions concerning Route 66, that you would like Sky to address in a future article, or to relate your own experience on Route 66 E-Mail him, and please give your name and email address.

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