VOICE ONE:
It is called “the mother road.” The main street of America. Itextends from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. Thisyear it celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. The story of Route Sixty-Six is ourreport today on the VOA Special English program, This is America.
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VOICE ONE:
The idea for Route Sixty-Six started in the state of Oklahoma.Citizens wanted to link their state with states to the east andwest. By the Nineteen-Twenties, federal officials wanted to connectstate roads to provide a shorter, faster way across the country. Soa plan was developed to connect existing state roads into one longnational 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-Six represented the spirit of movement andexcitement. The television show was filmed in cities and townsacross America. Yet only a few shows were filmed on the real RouteSixty-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 a two-week bus trip 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. Rogers was born in Claremore. He became the most popularactor in Hollywood in the Nineteen-Thirties. We pass through manyhistoric towns in Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma City, we can visit the National Cowboy Hall of Fameand Western Heritage Center. And in Clinton, we can see the RouteSixty-Six Museum. It is the first official museum that tells thecomplete history 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 largecostly 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 hundreds 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:
Route Sixty-Six celebrates its seventy-fifty anniversary thisyear. Towns and cities in the eight states along the road areorganizing activities to observe the anniversary. There will bespecial drives for cars and motorcycles along Route Sixty-Six. Thelargest anniversary events will take place in several cities in NewMexico this month. They include art shows, poetry readings, films,music, dances, and food.
This year, people will be coming from all over the world to “gettheir kicks” on Route Sixty-Six. They will be honoring America’smost famous road.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, This is America.