Route 66 in the News
Route 66 Hall of Fame in Pontiac
2004-08-31 20:12:00
Route 66 began to be something in the early 1920s with a vision of a paved highway that would connect Chicago to Los Angeles and the west.
By the time it was completed, the road would cover 2,400 miles, three time zones and eight states. It would link the windy shores of Lake Michigan with the peaceful waters of the pacific, going southwest, tying together the vestiges of America's pioneer passages into one meandering and magnificent highway.
Route 66 became the Mother Road -- the Main Street of America. In 1985, the legendary Route 66 stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. Songwriter Bobby Troup had written one hit, "Daddy," before joining the Marines in 1942.
After the war and out of the service, he and his wife headed for Hollywood to see where he could fit into the music business. They had just turned off of Highway 40, and onto Route 66, when his wife suggested a new song title. She said, "How about, "Get Your Kicks on Route 66." Troup liked the idea and by the time they got to California, they had put together a song that would be on the lips of thousands. It was bouncy, had a catchy tune and was a lesson in geography from Chicago to San Bernardino.
Nat King Cole recorded the song right away. He later told Troup he had more requests for it than any other song. It became a hit for Perry Como, too. Henry Mancini wrote a second musical tribute to Route 66 for the TV series of the same name.
That's a part of the glorious past of Route 66. It was June 6 this year when the Route 66 all of Fame and Museum opened in Pontiac, after several months of work.
Old City Hall, which is on the National Registry, houses the new home of the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum. There are some 20 craft and antique shops, along with a gourmet food shop and ever so many quaint shops.
They have several motels on Interstate I-55 and one located in the hart of the downtown district. You can be a part of this spectacular panorama by simply showing up in Pontiac.
The Hall of Fame is in the fire house of Old City Hall. The first floor is awaiting your appearance and the second floor is under renovation. When the renovations are completed, the second floor will permit the expansion of what is now on the first floor.
I checked with an enthusiastic Becky McComb at the museum and she said, "Can you believe we've had more than 2,000 visitors since we opened?"
When I called her, it had been open 77 days and those visitors were from 40 states and 14 countries, based on their visitor's registration.
She told of having a tractor run from Lexington to Dwight, a distance of 40 miles. There were 94 tractors in the parade and she said 31 of those tractors were painted bright red and had the name plate of International Harvester on them.
Pontiac's population is 11,864, compared to Canton's 15,288. The citizens with an eye on the future and with a spirit of "Pontiaction" turned to their chief resource of the past and that was Route 66.
Now they are on their way. They are tying in with events. Pontiac has the second oldest show in the U.S.A. It is the 56th Annual Threshermen Reunion from Sept. 2 through Sept. 6, and the 12th annual Threshermen's Bluegrass Festival on Sept. 24, 25 and 26.
The Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday by appointment.
It has been immortalized in song, literature and memories, Route 66 was the ribbon that tied Lake Michigan to the Pacific. Route 66 acquired several picturesque aliases. It was christened "the Mother Road" in John Steinbeck's 1939 novel "The Grapes of Wrath." It responded to the title of "Main Street of America" and the "Will Rogers Highway," and all of them fit.
"A stop in one of the small towns most anywhere along old Route 66, offers evidence that life begins at the off-ramp. Away from the super-slab, you can still order a piece of pie from the person who baked it, still get your change right from the shop owner, still take a moment to care and to be cared about, a long way from home."
--from Route 66: The Mother Road by Michael Wallis, 1990
This article by C. Wright, Canton Daily Ledger
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