By Betty Himes
May 20, 2007 12:44 am
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“Get your kicks on Route 66” serenades the song about the highway that “winds from Chicago to L.A.” Many people took to the road when it became the country’s first continuous span of paved highway linking East and West.
Begun in 1926 with many existing paved, two-lane stretches, it was completed in 1937, according to Michael Wallis in “Route 66: The Mother Road.” Henry Ford changed the life of a nation the year it was begun by lowering the price of motorcars. With the automobile available, the transcontinental highway stretched out beckoning the American family with adventure and sights they had never seen before.
You can travel down Route 66 memory lane with a variety of books and/or videos.
Wallis’ book hums down the highway with photos of enduring architecture, tourist attractions and motor courts where travelers could spend the night; it also features interviews with persons connected with the highway and recommendations of dishes you still may choose in diners along the way.
Drew Knowles has written the “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” to direct those interested in traveling the highway today. He has instructions for getting the most out of a trip from one coast to another or through any of the states crossed by it.
Some historic pictures of Route 66 are presented in Quinta Scott’s photographic essay, “Route 66;” tourist attractions are featured in “Route 66 The Empires of Amusement,” by Thomas Arthur Repp; and drawings and photos are highlighted in “Once Upon a Highway Route 66 in Oklahoma” by John Calvin Womack.
If you would like to visit the route by video, try “Route 66 Revisited,” “Route 66: An American Odyssey,” or the Michael Wallis-hosted “A Journey Down Route 66.” The Pixar animated story “Cars” highlights many of the fondly remembered character types who could be found on Route 66.
The food along the highway is fondly remembered as being cooked and served by the same person. To recapture some of the flavors, serve up some recipes from “The Route 66 Cookbook” by Marian Clark or retrace the route with Wallis’ recommendations in “Hogs on 66: Best Feed and Hangouts for Road Trips on Route 66.”
Music lovers can find the Route 66 song with lyrics in Hal Leonard’s “Big Book of Swing” and the television series theme in “TV Themes Past & Present,” also published by Hal Leonard.
New Forums Press has released “Just for Kicks Oklahoma Route 66 Music Guide” showing a map of the historic route from East to West in Oklahoma, providing a history of each town, music events, notable musicians and local traditions with Web site and contact information for the community. Larger communities like Oklahoma City have musically related side trips from the area.
Explore Oklahoma this summer by traveling the historic “Mother Road” — Route 66.
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