Women on the Mother Road website launched

Women on the Mother Road

Cinefemme and the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program announced Thursday the release of The Women on the Mother Road website and oral-history project.

According to a news release from the corridor program:

The Women On The Mother Road: Route 66 Web-site and Oral History Project, www.route66women.com, creates a public history record that sheds light on diverse womens experiences of historic Route 66 over several decades. 

The time period covered by Route 66s history from its inception in 1926, to its decommissioning in 1985 and ongoing revitalization represents a national steady march forward for women on all fronts including the domestic, political, social and economic spheres of their lives. The research and stories gathered fit into a wider context of women’s history in America.

“As a mirror-reflection of the socioeconomic climate of its time, Route 66 can tell many important stories of America through decades of significant change in the 20th century.” said Kaisa Barthuli, program manager of the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. “This project helps shed light on some of the under-told stories, revealing a deeper understanding of the important role of women in this chapter of American history.”

The corridor program gave a cost-share grant to Cinefemme, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping woman filmmakers, to help get the project off the ground.

Surfing over the website, I saw familiar names such as:

  • U.S. Highway 66 Association co-director Gladys Cutberth
  • Longtime roadie Jane Dippel
  • Negro Motorist Green Book historian Candacy Taylor
  • Architect Mary Colter
  • Photographer Shellee Graham
  • Photographer Dorothea Lange
  • Cars on the Route co-founders Melba Rigg and Renee Charles
  • Mediocre Music Makers co-founder Annabelle Russell
  • Longtime Blue Swallow Motel owner Lillian Redman
  • Longtime Lucille’s gas station owner Lucille Hamons
  • Longtime Midpoint Cafe owner Fran Houser
  • Former Exotic World Burlesque Museum owner Dixie Evans
  • Wagon Wheel Motel owner Connie Echols
  • Rock Cafe owner Dawn Welch

There are more names, and many of the stories are fascinating and even entertaining. The website also contains an interactive map. You could spent hours surfing the site.

Eventually, The Women on the Mother Road creators want to produce a documentary film about the influential women of Route 66.

(Image from the home page of The Women the Mother Road website)

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