The mother of all roads is turning 90 this year. To celebrate nine decades of travel across the wide open spaces of America, Route 66 lovers are converging on the Twin Cities later this week. The 2nd Annual Route 66 Miles of Possibility Conference is Thursday through Sunday, featuring a variety of speakers, historic tours and more.
Organized by Terri Ryburn, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Route 66, The 2nd Annual Route 66 Miles of Possibility Conference features speakers who address a variety of topics related to Route 66, plus lighthearted activities in the spirit of The Mother Road.
Part of what makes this conference unique, said Ryburn, is the fact that Route 66 scholarship is front and center. "There are pockets of academia out there who studying the road, and the effects of the road. So we're trying to bring them together in one place so they can talk about their research. It isn't as dry as all that, because we are talking about Route 66."
There are often Route 66 themed gatherings, such as car shows and festivals, said Ryburn. But this is the first effort to bring together the academic element. "A lot of people focus on just the nostalgia aspect. We are looking at a lot of different aspects. For instance, we have four tracts that people can attend. We have one on economic development, one on promotion and marketing, there's one on research and education, and one on preservation. One thing that is unique that I've not seen before is the focus on the experiences of minorities traveling Route 66."
Over 25 speakers and presentations will be a part of the conference. There's an updated listing of events online.
Some communities along Route 66 are successfully harnessing the highway's renaissance as a catalyst for historic district revitalization and economic development. It's one of the topics as this week's conference. Jim Hinckley has written fourteen books, five on Route 66 specific subjects. His talk Saturday is titled "Crossroads of the Past and Future." In this interview with GLT's Willis Kern, Hinckley says the international appeal of the mother road is at the heart of the economic expansion it's creating.
Frank Norris is a historian with the National Park Service in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At this weekend's Route 66 Miles of Possibility Conference, he'll discuss the experience of African American travelers along Route 66 before the passage of the Civil Rights Act. In this Skype conversation with GLT's Jon Norton, Norris talks about the physical legacy of accommodations that welcomed African American motorists. He also talked about strategies for finding those places to stop.
Route 66 was not only a highway, it was a pieway. Let's hear about food on the mother road. Rob Dirks is a retired food anthropologist at Illinois State University who will participate in the Route 66 Miles of Possibilities Conference later this week. In this conversation with GLT's Charlie Schlenker, Dirks says the cultural commonality in the restaurants along Route 66 was capitalist competition and a desire to be distinctive.
Americans used to think big. Big buildings to accommodate big business. Big roads to cover big spaces. Big cars on those roads. And big roadside attractions. Now we live in a world of tiny electronic devices and tiny homes are a fad. But thanks to Joel Baker, some of the big roadside attractions are not forgotten and even restored. He and some friends locate and restore those giant fiberglass statues of men holding mufflers, or hotdogs, or Paul Bunyan holding an ax. Or giant women who helped to sell Uniroyal tires. Baker, one of the conference presenters, speaks with GLT's Mike McCurdy.
