Book review: “Route 66: The First 100 Years”

As Route 66’s centennial next year approaches, the first book that takes a retrospective look at the highway and looks ahead at its next century has entered the market.

That book is the sumptuously illustrated “Route 66: The First 100 Years” (Amazon affiliate link) by the husband-and-wife team of Jim Ross and Shellee Graham, both longtime Route 66 aficionados and published authors even before they married.

Perhaps they might have been tempted to take a more clinical approach to the highway’s first century. Instead, the book’s text crackles with vivid descriptions of the sights and people who populated the road. It’s written by enthusiasts, and it reads like it.

Appropriately enough, the book’s foreword was written by Michael Wallis, author of the 1990 bestselling “Route 66: The Mother Road” that helped jump-start the highway’s renaissance. Wallis’ vivid writing in that volume — consciously or not — often serves as a template for “Route 66: The First 100 Years.”

Ross, a longtime researcher of the road, and Graham tease out fresh storytelling about the highway’s early history, including precursor roads such as the Ozark Trail and the fateful 1926 telegram from Springfield, Missouri, that gave Route 66 its memorable number, a compromise from the originally desired No. 60.

The effects of the Dust Bowl, Bunion Derby, postwar prosperity and Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” song are given the same treatment.

One thing that should be mentioned is the overall look of the book. Graham long has been known as an excellent photographer and graphic artist. “Route 66: The First 100 Years” clearly benefits from her talents. In a sidebar story about the Coral Court Motel in suburban St. Louis, she and Ross on the criminal underworld details from an earlier book Graham wrote about the famed no-tell motel.

They added chapters about the Black and Native Americans who added to its culture. Not only does the book delve into the history of Indian trading posts, but a reader would learn about key figures such as Henry Wolf Robe Hunt, related by marriage to Catoosa Blue Whale founder Hugh Davis.

The “Ladies of Legend” chapter — about key women along the route — is also a welcome addition to the highway’s history. It’s difficult not to admire the long-term tenacity of Joy Nevin, for example. And sparked by a discarded check, the authors dug up a bit of history about Ella Jones, an employee of the Texas Longhorn cafe and motel at the Texas-New Mexico border town of Glenrio during the 1950s.

The “Bypass” chapter, which details the long, drawn-out decertification of U.S. 66, talks about business survivors such as Lucille Hamons in Oklahoma and the Rocky’s Old Stage Station in Arizona. But many more places perished after the interstate arrived.

An interesting part of “Route 66: The First 100 Years” is how much happened in the 1990s to keep the highway’s spirit alive — the rise of state and national associations, Wallis’ book, much-needed directional maps and the start of Route 66 Magazine. The renaissance continued with the release of the Disney-Pixar film “Cars” in 2006.

The “Preservation” chapter documents how much has been saved in recent decades — though the loss of historic bridges remains an ongoing and complex problem.

Even a profound loss, such as the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque in 1970, spurred the city to enact landmark programs and other historic conservation efforts.

The chapter details the resurrection of the Round Barn, U-Drop Inn, Cool Springs Camp, Boots Court and others. One of the most striking stories is saving the long-abandoned Painted Desert Trading Post. It shows how much a few volunteers with varying talents can accomplish.

The book closes on an optimistic note:

“The future of the route is not in doubt. One hundred years from now its value as an American treasure will be stronger than today. More communities are coming on board, capitalizing on its popularity and curating their own icons. Route 66 is now embedded in state tourism efforts, and highway builders better understand the need to preserve original roadbed and integral structures. Internationally, the route is regarded as the world’s most famous roadway, and it should be. Tourists from around the globe find their way along its reaches by the thousands each year, drawn not only by the lore of the highway, but by the vast expanse of the American West and a chance for adventure in the land of the free. More will join them.

“Here’s to the next 100 years. And beyond.”

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