The Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, will open its “Will Rogers Highway: Route 66” exhibit on Feb. 27.
The exhibit opens at 5 p.m. Admission will be free.
The Cherokee Phoenix reported:
The exhibit launches with the 1880s, illustrating America’s push for better roads beyond rough wagon trails, which spurred the rapid Good Roads Movement. Through Oklahoma’s Cyrus Avery – a Route 66 visionary – visitors trace the highway’s creation in 1925–26, its naming in April 1926, inauguration in November, and final paving by 1938.
The installation also features the history of how Route 66 became a lifeline for “Okies” heading to California during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Later, the highway served as a main route for the movement of soldiers and civilians during World War II. It carried people and equipment to military bases, while ordinary citizens traveled west to take jobs in war factories.
After the Oklahoma-born Rogers died in an Alaska plane crash in 1935, the U.S. Highway Association designated Route 66 as “Will Rogers Highway.” Rogers was a big booster of the fledgling highway.
The opening of the show comes with Movie Night at the museum, featuring the 2006 Disney/Pixar film “Cars,” at 7 that evening. The animated movie took much of its inspiration from Route 66.
Special guests at the opening include “Route 66: The Mother Road” author Michael Wallis — also the voice of the sheriff in “Cars” — and Ken Busby, executive director of the Route 66 Alliance.
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