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VOICE ONE:
It is called “The Mother Road.” “The Main Street of America.” Itextends from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. I’mSteve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Phoebe Zimmermann. We tell about Route Sixty-Six andefforts to protect this important road on the VOA Special Englishprogram, This is America.
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VOICE ONE:
The idea for Route Sixty-Sixstarted in the state of Oklahoma. Citizens wanted to link theirstate with states to the east and west. By the nineteen-twenties,federal officials wanted to connect state roads to provide ashorter, faster way across the country. So a plan was developed toconnect existing state roads into one long national road.
United States Highway Sixty-Six opened in nineteen-twenty-six. Itwas one of America’s first national road systems. It crossed eightAmerican states. It was three-thousand-eight-hundred kilometerslong. People soon began calling Route Sixty-Six “the main street ofAmerica.”
Route Sixty-Six became the most famous road in America. The roadextended through the centers of many American cities and towns. Itcrossed deserts, mountains, valleys and rivers.
VOICE TWO:
In the nineteen-thirties, Americans suffered through the GreatDepression. Many poor farm families in the state of Oklahoma losttheir farms because of severe dry weather. So they traveled west toCalifornia on Route Sixty-Six in search of a better life. Innineteen-thirty-nine, American writer John Steinbeck wrote a bookcalled “The Grapes of Wrath” about these people.
VOICE ONE:
In the book, John Steinbeck wrote: “Sixty-Six — the longconcrete path across the country, waving gently up and down on themap … over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into themountains, crossing the Divide and down into the bright and terribledesert, and across the desert to the mountains again, and into therich California valleys.”
Steinbeck wrote: “Sixty-Six is the path of a people in flight,refugees from dust and shrinking land … Sixty-Six is the motherroad, the road of flight.”
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen-forty-six, an American songwriter and his wife droveacross the country to Los Angeles. Bobby Troup wrote a song abouthis trip on Route Sixty-Six. He wrote that people could have funtraveling on the road. The song said people could “get their kicks”on Route-Sixty-Six. When he arrived in Los Angeles, Bobby Troup tookthe song to Nat King Cole. Cole recorded the song. It became a hugehit.
Here is Nat King Cole’s daughter, Natalie Cole, singing “RouteSixty-Six.”
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VOICE ONE:
In the nineteen-fifties, many American families began to explorethe western part of the country during their holidays. They enjoyedtravelling on Route Sixty-Six. In the nineteen-sixties, Americanswatched a popular television show called “Route Sixty-Six.” It wasabout two young men driving across the country. Route Sixty-Sixrepresented the spirit of movement and excitement. The televisionshow was filmed in cities and towns across America. Yet only a fewshows were filmed on the real Route Sixty-Six.
VOICE TWO:
Also in the nineteen-sixties, the federal government beganbuilding huge road systems through a number of states. Cars andtrucks could travel at very high speeds. People started driving onthese new interstate highways instead of on Route Sixty-Six. Innineteen-sixty-two, parts of Route Sixty-Six were closed becausethey were in bad condition.
Then in nineteen-eighty-five, Route Sixty-Six was officiallyremoved from the national highway system. During the past few years,however, people living near the old Route Sixty-Six have formedorganizations. They have succeeded in saving parts of the road. Theyalso are saving hundreds of eating places, places to stay andinteresting places to visit along the way.
VOICE ONE:
Michael Wallis is one of America’s top experts on RouteSixty-Six. He wrote a book called “Route Sixty-Six: The MotherRoad.” Mister Wallis has lived in seven of the eight states thatRoute Sixty-Six crosses. He and his wife Suzanne have led groups ofvisitors on two-week bus trips on Route Sixty-Six. Mister Wallissays there has been a huge increase in interest in Route Sixty-Sixfrom Americans and people around the world.
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VOICE TWO:
Now it is our turn to take a trip on Route Sixty-Six. We willhave to search for it at times. Many parts of it have new names ornumbers. Some parts of it are included in other interstate highways.Our trip begins in the middle western city of Chicago, Illinois.Chicago is America’s third largest city. It has almost three-millionpeople. From Chicago, the road goes southwest through many smalltowns in Illinois. One of them is Springfield, the home of America’ssixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.
Now we drive through Saint Louis, Missouri, a city of more thanthree-hundred-thousand people. Saint Louis is called “the gateway tothe West.” Missouri has many natural wonders. One of the most famouson Route Sixty-Six is Meramec Caverns in Stanton.
VOICE ONE:
The next part of our drive takes us for a very short time throughthe state of Kansas. Then we enter the state of Oklahoma. MichaelWallis says Oklahoma remains the heart and soul of Route Sixty-Six.That is because there are more kilometers of the road in Oklahomathan in any other state.
In Claremore, Oklahoma, a statue honors a famous American, WillRogers. Will Rogers was born in Claremore. He became a popularactor, radio broadcaster and newspaper writer in thenineteen-twenties and thirties.
We pass through many historic towns in Oklahoma. In OklahomaCity, we can visit the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and WesternHeritage Center. And in Clinton, we can see the Route Sixty-SixMuseum. It is the first official museum that tells the completehistory of the road and its importance to America.
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VOICE TWO:
Now we drive through the northern part of the state of Texas. Thearea is called the Texas panhandle. We stop near the town ofAmarillo to look at an unusual kind of art that celebrates RouteSixty-Six. It is called Cadillac Ranch. A Cadillac is a large,costly American automobile. Cadillac Ranch has ten Cadillac carshalf buried in the ground. Stanley Marsh, a rich farmer and artcollector, created it to honor America’s roads.
Continuing west, we travel through the states of New Mexico andArizona. We pass through some of the most beautiful country in theSouthwest. Petrified Forest National Park is one of the wonders ofArizona. Trees that are millions of years old have been turned tostone in unusual shapes. North of Route Sixty-Six is the PaintedDesert. It is named for the colorful red and yellow sand and rocks.
VOICE ONE:
We continue on our trip driving on a winding road up and down theBlack Mountains. We arrive at the town of Oatman, Arizona. Long ago,Oatman was a rich gold-mining town. But everyone left the town whenthe mining ended. Today Oatman still looks like it did in the past.
Now we enter the state of California. We pass through the MojaveDesert, some mountains and several interesting towns. But RouteSixty-Six becomes lost among the large road systems of Los Angeles.This “main street of America” ends at the Pacific Ocean in SantaMonica.
VOICE TWO:
Jim Conkle is a historian of Route Sixty-Six. This week, he isbeginning a trip on the historic road. He is leading a group ofvehicles that will travel from Santa Monica to Chicago. The tripwill last sixty-six days. Mister Conkle will place signs along RouteSixty-Six to point out interesting, unusual and historic places. Thesigns say “Roadside Attraction.” They will serve as a road map forfuture travelers who want to know where to stop to learn about thehistory of Route Sixty-Six. Mister Conkle’s goal is to raise concernabout protecting America’s most famous road.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced byCynthia Kirk. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, This is America.