Table of Contents
Get Ready to Run to the Heartland
Voters Sidetrack Rail Cycle by Geoffrey Willis
Show and Tell Time
Thank You SCA
"Miles Stone" Birthday by JoAnne & Geoffrey Willis
Retired Couple Pedal Cross Country on Route 66 by Lue Christian
Books
New Drivin' Route 66 CD for Computers by Charley Hepperle
Who We Are
GET READY TO RUN TO THE HEARTLAND
1996 is the 70th anniversary of the legendary highway, Route 66. To mark
this occasion CHR66A will be leading the west in the national eight-state vehicle tour,
RUN TO THE HEARTLAND. Drivers will start from both ends of Historic Route 66, Chicago and
Santa Monica, and caravan to the Texas panhandle for a weekend of festivities on Friday
and Saturday, October 11th and 12th of this year. George Rook,
president of the Old Route 66 Association of Texas, will host the celebration at his
museum in Vega, TX, the exact half-way point on the road.
Docent tours at California historical points of interest and city parades along the
route as well as a possible "poker-run" for both days are other events being
planned. This historical tour is open to all kinds of vehicles, new and old.
Although registered drivers may start at any point along the route, the official
beginning of our California tour is Friday, October 4, between 9 and 10 am on the Santa
Monica Pier. Following a kickoff ceremony, we will head for our first destination of the
eight-day cruise, Victorville, CA. A reception with music and food at the new California
Route 66 Museum, in the city’s Old Town district, will take place from 6 pm to 10 pm.
Extended hours for the museum are planned that evening for all cruisers, and to register
new drivers.
Saturday, October 5, we will depart at 9 am for Needles. The museum will open early to
provide coffee and breakfast pastries for this kick-off. Needles is where the CHR66A
Mojave 66 28-panel vintage photo exhibit will be on display. El Garces, the former Santa
Fe Railway depot and Harvey House, will be open for tours by local docents. A catered
dinner and prize drawings will be part of the fun that night. Busses will be available to
shuttle cruisers to the Needles Annual Rodeo Dance at approximately 9 pm.
Sunday, October 6, all who wish to continue may follow a provided itinerary for the
leisurely enjoyment of Historic Route 66 across Arizona, New Mexico, and into Texas.
Activities from Needles east will primarily be self-directed and receptions will be on a
smaller scale. Our final destination is Amarillo, Texas on Friday, October 11. This is
about 35 miles east of Vega where the awards dinner will take place that evening about 7
pm, featuring Mother Road luminaries such as authors Michael Wallis, Tom Teague, and
artist Bob Waldmire. We will be joined there by the travelers from Chicago and the other
Route 66 cities east of Vega.
A Texas-style celebration with live music, street dancing, vehicle and art shows, a
barbeque, raffles, and a Texas calf-roping contest on Saturday, October 12, wraps up this
RUN TO THE HEARTLAND.
VOTERS SIDETRACK RAIL CYCLE by Geoffrey Willis
The heated battle over the proposed waste mega-dump near Amboy, CA ended in a draw in
the March 26 California primary. Measure L, a citizens initiative that would have
prohibited any landfill or waste dump within 10 miles of an aquifer of clean drinking
water was narrowly defeated by a margin of 5.7%. However, Measure M , the landfill
operators business license tax upon which the dump depended, was soundly defeated by a
margin of 17%. The net result is that all players in the Mojave Desert dump war now return
to square one. No new law prevents such a dump, but no new tax enables it. The dump was
proposed by a private venture between Waste Management Inc. (WMX) of Illinois and the
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad. Up to 21,000 tons of waste per day would have
been hauled by train from Los Angeles County and various other regions around the state
and the country to the Amboy site.
Those of us who opposed this dump however, can take heart in other developments that
may have shifted the sands of the desert dump war in our favor. San Bernardino County
Supervisor Marsha Turoci, who favored the dump and represented the district it would be
in, was strongly challenged in the primary by Apple Valley Council-woman Kathy Davis who
opposed it. Her challenge proved so strong as to cause Turoci to retire rather than face
Davis in a runoff election this November. Davis has stated her intention to ally with
Supervisors Larry Walker of Chino and Jon Michaels of Rancho Cucamonga in opposing the
dump. This would create a 3-to-2 majority of supervisors against Rail Cycle.
Moreover, the 5.7% margin of defeat for Measure L is deceiving. When analyzed,
it amounts to a 2.4% swing vote against the measure. Many who were involved with the Measure
L campaign believe that roughly 2.5% of those voting were confused by the advertising
blitz mounted by the so-called Coalition For Clean Drinking Water sponsored by WMX, the
parent corporation of Rail Cycle. The obvious similarity with the name Clean Desert Water
Coalition (sponsors of Measure L) was deliberately confusing. Posturing as a
champion of the environment, they warned that existing landfills in the heavily populated
areas of the county would be overstressed and drinking water would be polluted. They also
characterized the Cadiz Land Company (which operates a large agricultural concern next to
the proposed dump site and irrigates with water from the aquifer endangered by it) as some
kind of foreign controlled villain sinisterly bent on serving its own greedy ends by
backing Measure L.
The facts are that most of San Bernardino County’s landfills will be closing
in the near future regardless of the ultimate outcome of the Mojave dump war. All
California counties are under a state mandate to drastically reduce their landfill waste
and increase recycling efforts. Recycling, across the board, has already had quite an
impact in freeing up landfill space. Orange County landfills, for example, have for some
time been offering a special low rate of $18 per ton for waste materials brought from
other counties. As for water pollution, much of the Inland Empire’s ground water in
its heavily populated areas has been contaminated for years.
The bogus environmental campaign against Measure L was clearly an attempt to
distort the facts and cause alarm and confusion among enough voters to defeat it. In this
they succeeded. Now that the smoke screen has dissipated, however, more people can see
that Rail Cycle had nothing to do with protecting the environment or serving the actual
waste disposal needs of Southern California. It only had to do with making a mountain of
money from a mountain of trash.
SHOW AND TELL TIME
Automobile Centennial Celebration, May 4 – CHR66A participated in what
appears to be the first observance of the 100th anniversary of the American
automobile in mass production. The Automobile Centennial Celebration was sponsored by the
California Route 66 Museum in Old Town Victorville. Hundreds of visitors toured the
museum. The Association and Route 66 Magazine had booths adjacent to the museum.
Dozens of beautiful antique, hot rod and custom vehicles were there to enjoy.
Antique Truck Show, May 5 – President Wayne Hallowell and new member
Charley Hepperle manned the CHR66A booth at the Annual American Truck Historical Society
show in Whittier. This was the first time CHR66A attended this show. Several new members
joined and many fund-raising items were sold. The contacts made were endless.
Monrovia Historic House Tour, May 12 – This was the third year we have
participated in the Annual Monrovia Mother’s Day House Tour. Again, we attracted many
visitors and sold many Route 66 Fund-raising souvenirs. Our booth was on the landscaped
grounds of the Chateau Bradbury built in 1912. Eight historic homes were open for viewing,
including a craftsman bungalow at 13 South Shamrock, on an early alignment of Route 66.
THANK YOU, SCA
On April 19, 1996, CHR66A was privileged to exhibit at the Society for Commercial
Archeology national conference in downtown Los Angeles. The conference theme was
transportation and road-related architecture. We were delighted to display a large portion
of our Mojave 66 vintage photo exhibit for such a focused crowd. We also produced
two new photo panels titled, California US 66 Roadside Architecture to coincide
with their convention theme.
The Automobile Club of Southern California gave presentations about early divided
express highways in northern and eastern cities that predated our Pasadena Freeway. Other
highway projects, involving Wilshire and Olympic Boulevards were also detailed with slides
of the original plans. To learn of these projects gave a fascinating perspective on the
growth and self-image of Southern California in the early 20th century.
Presentations detailing "Googie" style restaurants and "stucco box"
architecture were fun and informative. A piece on car wash design focused on their ultra
modern features and the entertainment appeal of their customer viewing areas.
All of the above presentations were part of the daytime agenda which was scholarly in
its intent. A ruefully humorous account of one couple’s journey along the original
alignments of the Lincoln Highway set the tone of the evening’s fun-focused
activities. Chris Nichols, a CHR66A member and also serving the Los Angeles Conservancy
Modern Committee, topped off the evening by delighting everyone with his vaudeville style
narration of vintage Los Angeles videos. Dressed in a tuxedo and accompanied by a
keyboardist, he directed this whimsical and nostalgic retrospective which the audience was
privileged to watch on 1950s/60s TV monitors strategically located around the room. The
stale popcorn was a fitting, if unintentional touch.
The three-day symposium also offered bus tours featuring post WWII architecture such as
Capitol Records in Hollywood and the 1950s shopping district in Beverly Hills.
Our sincere thanks to the SCA for extending to us the opportunity to participate in
this enlightening and entertaining event.
The SCA is the oldest national organization devoted to the commercial-built
environment. Its purpose is to recognize the unique historical significance of that
environment and the cultural landscapes of America, with a particular emphasis on the
impact the automobile had on the shaping of our culture. For information, write to:
Society For Commercial Archeology, c/o room 5010, National Museum of American History,
Washington, DC 20560.
"MILES STONE" BIRTHDAY by JoAnne & Geoffrey Willis
Centennial celebrations are usually promoted as auspicious occasions demanding
attention from the general public. On May 4, 1996, for example. Old Town Victorville
celebrated the 100th anniversary of the American automobile with classic
vehicles, live radio broadcasts, music, food, and exhibits.
On June 8, 1996, just a few miles down 66 in Hesperia, however, another centennial
celebration took place without much fanfare. There was no parade, no ribbon cutting
ceremony, no awards were given. All those who attended though, knew they were in a very
special place and time honoring a very special man. It was the 100th birthday
of Miles Marion Mahan – retired carny (carnival worker) and architect of Hula Ville,
a Route 66 fixture over the course of 30-odd years.
Hula Ville was one of the last truly unique and infectious roadside attractions on
Route 66. Built from scrap lumber (or, as Miles called it, "odd timbers") it
stretched to the north and south over one half-acre from its center point of a huge and
beautiful Joshua tree.
The south end featured his "Boot Hill" symbolic cemetery paying homage to his
hobo and carnival cronies with names like Rubber Tramp Ralph, Dirty Neck Harry, Peg Leg
Peat, and Steam Train Wagner painted on the wooden mock grave markers. A quote: "Here
Lies Peter Yeast, Excuse Me for Not Rising." To the north was his small
Miles-designed miniature golf course where he would invite visitors to play for a
quarter-a-hole in eyeshot of a huge, handpainted wooden cowboy saying, "Howdy,
Welcome to Mahan’s Half Acre." Scattered throughout was his "cactus
garden" of discarded wine bottles hung on nails driven into fence posts and samples
of his folk poetry painted on wood shingles.
In the center was his "office", which Miles formally named "The
Jungle" – a sparse wooden framework built under the shade of the Joshua tree.
Beside its entrance was a sign inviting you to "Relax, Enjoy the Poems." Inside
was a desk, a couch, a refrigerator, a chair, and a rug but no electricity or plumbing.
His bedroom was an old Cadillac with shelves for his vitamins. He later replaced it with a
pickup truck camper shell. Between the office and the camper shell was his "dance
pavilion" where he would recreate some of his old carnival routines and dances. Along
it were his museum curios such as odd pieces of china, beer bottles, and a 45 RPM record
of John Ellars singing "Cocaine Bill" and "Sick and Tired of Working."
The eye-catching attraction that lured travelers off the road, of course, was the
museum’s namesake hula girl. Dressed in traditional grass skirt and lei around her
neck, she stood about nine feet tall in a seductive dance pose. Beneath her feet was a
poem in her honor and beneath that, a row of green wine bottles aimed at her as stage
lights. Next to her was a sign informing us that "She charmed at Montebello."
The Hula Girl sign had been salvaged from the trash of a burned restaurant and, like
everything else at Hula Ville, had been enlisted into a new and creative service. Author
Tom Teague described this roadside gem as a "shrine to the discarded —
discarding people, discarded things, and a discarded way of life."
The cheer of "Miles’ Quaint Museum" was outdone only by the hospitality
and charm of its host. Miles’ endless wealth of stories about his hobo and carny life
gave us a priceless peek at the past. His poetry, which he had available as a book for
$10, was a keepsake really worth keeping.
At the birthday party were some of those who had played important and not so important
roles in Miles’ life. There was Millie who had generously kept him in fresh eggs from
her own chicken pen. There was Archie, a long-time friend who had made it his mission to
see to it that Miles (ever the vagabond) would at last have a comfortable home, and found
it at the wonderful private care home now hosting the party. There was Joe, another
neighbor who had brought meals to Miles, shot rolls of film and was a proud owner of an
early edition of Miles’ poetry book, later titled Legendary Poems of the Valley.
One of the many memories recounted at the party was that Millie rode in the limousine
that took Miles to his engagement on The Tonite Show Starring Johnny Carson.. He
had first been spotted on Real People. Archie said Miles stole the show. After
dialogue and poetry, the audience roared when Miles stood up saying, "Well, Johnny.
I’m not here to talk, I’m here to dance!"
Also at the party was David Allen, writer for the Victorville Daily Press, with
pad and pencil. And then there were Route 66 enthusiasts such as ourselves and present
curator of the California Route 66 Museum, Dan Harlow, was there with others from the
museum. The spread of food was amazing.
Entertainment was provided by the Happy Trio. Although he is now somewhat fragile and
unsteady, Miles was repeatedly out of his chair dancing to the mellow trumpet and singing
and recited a poem as he did many times from his platform at Hula Ville: Here I come with
wand in hand, Just like the leader of the band, Right here in this desert land, And of
this never ending book, I hope you take another look. The shadow casts a silhouette,
It’s me you see. I hope you don’t forget.
Everyone had a Miles Mahan story to tell. However, the most eloquent remembrance came
in a birthday card from an admirer in Eugene, Oregon, along with a lovely framed photo of
Miles with a personalized poem within the frame. Her card read: It is so wonderful to
know that someone like you has been on this earth sharing stories and bringing smiles to
people for a hundred years. My friend Rob and I met you seven or eight years ago…
Your beautiful bottle trees were glistening in the afternoon sun and … brought us to
the most amazing acre on earth, your Hula Ville. You and that acre have been in my heart
ever since. You gave us a tour, did a dance, and told us your stories, helping me realize
that there truly are some extra ordinary people in this fairly ordinary world.
We made many trips to Hula Ville over the years and took many photographs… We have
several on the walls of our home. I took a trip down to California last November and
sadly, you and your work were gone. I stayed there most of the day remembering our visits,
looking at the broken bottles in the desert sand I realized that Hula Ville wasn’t
really gone at all. It would always remain there on that acre for me, for you, and for
hundreds of other visitors over the years.
WHY, INDEED! RETIRED COUPLE PEDAL CROSS-COUNTRY ON ROUTE 66 by Lue Christian
"Mom, it’s too dangerous!" my daughters cried. To which Shannon and I
turned deaf ears. The idea had germinated for a year before we announced our plans to ride
our tandem across America.
The negativity didn’t dampen our enthusiasm, although we heard the "why"
word often enough to realize our age group was categorized by young and old to a sedentary
status. When would people discover that the more active a person is, the more he/she can
accomplish? Age has little to do with it. Why, indeed!
In the last several years, we had ridden three six-day tours — two down the Oregon
Coast and one in Northern Arizona. Sure, they were supported and we didn’t have to
carry any gear. But we had gotten to the point where we were putting in between five-and
six-thousand miles a year on our tandem and enjoying every mile of it. We knew we had
endurance and we knew we could climb. Carrying between 40 and 50 pounds of gear was okay,
but no extra gear for camping — a credit card is lots lighter.
What we needed now was to find a book to show us it was possible for an older couple to
bicycle, unsupported, across the continent. A book that would give us: 1) a route with
motels on an average of 50 miles apart, 2) a route with a minimum of tough climbs, 3) a
route where we would not suffer extreme temperatures, and 4) a route of no more than 4,000
miles. There is no such book.
We researched about a year and discovered we would have to design our own tour, and
from this we would write the first book to offer a laid-back tour for young and old —
for cyclists looking for a fun trip and leisure time to see the real America.
Why not drive our proposed route, just to be certain the route had all the elements we
needed? Why, indeed! We’re both retired, so time was no issue. It was a good
insurance policy. We left in our van the first week in August of 1994, pad and pencil in
hand, and drove the back roads to Bakersfield where we took a left and climbed over the
Tehachapi Mountains, headed for Barstow. There we joined Route 66 and followed it to
Wilmington, 50 miles south of Chicago. We left the Old Route and headed east through
northwest Indiana, northeast through Michigan to Port Huron and centered Canada. Threading
our way through farm country, we reached Toronto, then headed north along Lake Ontario,
then the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and City of Quebec — the end of our tour, at
3,800 miles.
We cdiscovered we ould do that. The route encompassed all our requirements. It was a
go!
The preparation began when we returned home a month later, putting together daily route
instructions from the notes we had taken, a list of what to carry with us, and
conditioning ourselves at a gym during the winter months. We wrote to a flock of tandem
couples along our route and received 21 invitations to overnight with them. Along with all
this, I put together a book proposal and submitted it to a number of publishers. That
effort brought us a good publisher, and they expect our revised manuscript by late spring
of 1998 if it meets with their approval. From our book we hope to lead the way for
countless cyclists who feel a long tour like this is too difficult for them. All they may
need is proof from an over-the-hill couple like us.
We decided to start the actual tour April 10, 1995, weather permitting, which would get
us into Quebec around the 10th of July. We couldn’t have picked a better
window and were only about four days off our original schedule due to severe thunder
storms. Riding the Mother Road gave us a taste of the real America. We arrived in Quebec
City on July 13, relieved it was over, yet sorry, too, because it had been truly the most
exciting three months of our lives! Why? Why, indeed!
Editor’s note: CHR66A offers a bicycle guide for riding Route 66.
BOOKS – A NEW BOOK REMEMBERS THE OLD ROUTE 66
Author Michael Karl Witzel is known for his roadside books and the care in which he
seeks significant sources, images and information. In this latest work, Witzel remembers
Route 66.
Titled Route 66 Remembered, the book concentrates on the past with
histories and images of significant people and places. With more than 125 color and 75
black and white photographs, it is a kaleidoscope of the old road. However, Witzel does
not rely solely on the emotional impact of the visual. Solid research reflects the real
history of the road.
The story of the Wigwam Villages reminds the reader of the day when attracting the
attention of travelers was a creative process. Noting the faith of John and Bebe Numm when
they opened the Shamrock Texas landmark Tower Station and U-Drop-In Café in 1936 is just
one of the many salutes to the people that made Route 66 a highway to remember.
Adding to the author’s own collection of roadside memorabilia are pamphlets,
matchbooks, maps and postcards submitted by a host of highway enthusiasts from across the
country. These present a colorful and telling history. First person accounts of travel on
America’s Main Street complete a well-rounded portrait of the historic road.
Many recognizable Route 66 names appear in the credits including photographers Shellee
Graham, Jerry McClanahan, and Dan Harlow along with road researcher Jim Ross. Paul Taylor,
publisher of the Route 66 Magazine, penned the appealing forward.
The book is now available at retailers along the highway, and bookstores.
66 BOOK’S SECOND EDITION OFFERS MORE
Tom Teague bills the second edition of his Searching for 66¸ published
in March 1996, as "The Complete Route 66 Book." It has all the text of the first
edition plus three times as much art, seven new chapters, a new eight-page color insert of
original 66 art, and a full guide on how to drive Old Route 66 from Chicago to Santa
Monica.
Written in the late 80s, the book is one man’s odyssey to explore the now
fragmented, unmarked road and its people, their recollections of its heyday, and how the
world had changed for them after decertification. Many of its passages evoke the deep
sense of loss so many shared. However, a recurring sense of resilience beneath the
heartache suggests that this road has destinies yet to fulfill. It was first published in
1991.
Since then, Teague has served as president of the Route 66 Association of Illinois,
manager of its Hall of Fame, chairman of its annual motor tour, and editor of its
newsletter.
Bob Waldmire is the book’s principal artist, contributing 37 drawings and the
cover. Waldmire lives in Hackberry, Arizona, where he operates the International
Bioregional Old Route 66 Visitor Center.
Lon Haldeman of Sharon, Wisconsin, wrote the travel guide. During the 1950s he and his
wife Susan sponsored many bicycle tours yearly around the U.S. The guide was written for a
Route 66 tour they will lead in June, 1996. In addition to mile-by-mile driving
instructions, it offers frequent suggestions on places to visit.
The book features original Route 66 art work by artists from four states and Canada.
Established 66 painter Jerry McClanahan, Waldmire, and photographer Shellee Graham are
among the contributors.
NEW DRIVIN’ ROUTE 66 CD-ROM FOR COMPUTERS by Charley Hepperle
You can enjoy Route 66 on your computer with the Drivin’ Route 66
CD-ROM produced by Cambridge Digital Media, Inc. For those who are not familiar with it, a
CD-ROM is a special compact disk containing photos, movies, text, music and narration that
runs on your PC or Macintosh.
Drivin’ Route 66 opens with a map of the eight states 66 passes through.
You can click your mouse on any state for a closer look. When you click on a 66 sign,
you’ll see a superb full-screen photo by Lucinda Lewis of the site at that point on
the map. A Travel Planner feature provides specific information about eats, sleeps and
sites that you can print out to take with you when you travel. Snappy music accompanies
this and three additional areas of the CD-ROM you can explore.
Cruise Control – a twenty-minute guided tour begins with an overview of
Route 66, then proceeds from Chicago to Santa Monica. With beautifully produced photos,
music and narration, it shows you famous and obscure locations. Watch for the blinking
neon signs.
The Stores of Route 66 – Twelve stories, each accompanied by a photo, take
from half-a-minute to about two minutes each. We hear about the lives of those who lived,
worked and traveled along the route.
Dream Cars of Route 66 – The opening page shows photos of 38 cars from the
20s to the 70s. To check your spotting skill, move the mouse over the car to make its
year, make and model appear. Click the mouse on a particular car and you’ll see a
full-screen image then click again to hear a narration. Seven of the cars include a video.
For the ’56 T-Bird, Bing Crosby points out the features, gets in and roars away.
Minimum Computer Requirements – Macintosh: ‘68030 processor, System
7.0, 8 MB RAM, 2X CD-ROM drive, 256 color monitor. PCs: 486SX/25, Windows 3.1, 8 MB RAM,
2X CD-ROM drive, Super VGA monitor, sound card and speakers.
Drivin’ Route 66 can be ordered from Creative Multimedia at 1-800 262-7668,
ext. 511, $19.95 + $6.95 S&H.
WHO WE ARE – The California Historic Route 66 Association (CHR66A) is a
non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, education, and enjoyment
of Historic Route 66 in California. There is such an organization in each of the eight
Route 66 states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico. Arizona and
California. We are independent of the other states and ours is the youngest of the
organizations. Our history coincides with December 1990 legislation designating Route 66
as "State Historic Highway Route 66". This legislation made signage permissible
for the now decommissioned federal highway.
Signage Along Route 66 – Our association was instrumental in designing
historic signs and the California Transportation Authority (Caltrans) responded to our
request for directional signs to guide you to the Route from Interstate Highways 40 and
15. Caltrans produced and erected the earliest historic signs. Unfortunately, they were
stolen immediately. It is now our responsibility to encourage Route 66 communities and
businesses to purchase and erect signs.
Association Publications - California Historic Route 66 Association publishes Roadsigns,
a quarterly 16-page newsletter. It includes news of current events, preservation
issues, history and current travel information along Route 66 in California, as well as
updates on signage and events in the other seven Route 66 states. When required between
issues, an interim newsletter is published with late-breaking news.
California Historic Route 66 Association also publishes the Guide To Historic
Route 66 in California now in its third edition. It is a 47-page comb-bound travel
guide. It includes easy to follow maps, directions, mileage, photos, and camp ground
information. It sells for $7.50, ($10 includes S&H).
Route 66 Souvenirs – T-shirts, hats, pins, mugs, signs and other merchandise
promoting our association are available.
On the Internate – You can visit the California portion of Route 66 on the
Internet’s world wide web via your computer (California
Historic Route 66 Association). See historic and modern photos, stories and guides to
restaurants and attractions along California’s legendary highway. Souvenir purchase
information is available.
Special Educational Events - In 1992 our association orchestrated the renowned
"66 Anniversary Shield Relay" involving all eight Route 66 states. At no charge,
caravaners were invited to follow lead drivers who relayed a commemorative shield from
state to state and other lead drivers on as much of the Mother Road that could be driven
(about 80%). The month-long national event began in Chicago, Illinois and was relayed
publicly ending on the very day of its 66th anniversary, November 11, 1992 in
Santa Monica, California. This event helped attract world-wide attention to the highway
also known as "America’s Main Street" and the "Will Rogers
Highway."
In May, 1994, our annual membership meeting, "Spirit of Route 66" was held at
the historic Aztec Hotel in Monrovia and showcased historical societies from California
cities along old Route 66 to learn of their preservation efforts.
Join in the fun on vintage motorcoach tours, visits to historic sites and other
exciting activities. Members promote Route 66 preservation and education at the CHR66A
booth which is displayed at car shows, fairs, city celebrations, and anywhere else Route
66 fans are likely to gather.
California Route 66 Museum – In 1995 we befriended the Old Town Victorville
Property Owners Association in recognition of their efforts to revitalize their town. This
inspired them to turn Victorville’s first bank building, on Old Route 66, into the
California Route 66 Museum. This was a small, exploratory start. Only part of our
"Mojave 66" 28-panel photo exhibit along with other acquisitions could fit their
space. A very successful opening combined with our annual membership meeting. The museum
quickly outgrew its space as donated items flowed in and we all learned of the need for a
larger California Route 66 Museum. Expansion of this museum, restoring the adjacent closed
historic café and additional related projects are now in the planning stages.
A Dedicated Non-profit Organization - California Historic Route 66 Association is
an all-volunteer group always in need of new active members. Business and community
associations are encouraged to participate to better serve the interests of our historic
highway.
Our annual membership rate is $20 for individual or family; and $50 for businesses,
which includes one business-card size advertisement free in our Roadsigns.
