Oklahoma Route 66 Association President Rhys Martin and Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell were inducted Saturday into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Frisco Center in Clinton.
The third inductee was the late Charles Tompkins of El Reno, the third director for the U.S. 66 Highway Association and a promoter of Route 66.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame typically inducts one living person and one deceased every two years, but increased the total this year because of the highway’s centennial.
Martin was first elected president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association in 2019. He is also a member of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, Route 66 Alliance, Tulsa Route 66 Commission and the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission and works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation as their Preserve Route 66 manager.
In a statement today on Facebook after his induction, Martin wrote:
I had insisted that the selection committee ignore my nomination, but they ignored MY plea instead.
I’ve been so lucky to be supported by so many people over the last decade; people that have believed in me and the work we’re doing. But no supporter has been more in my corner than Samantha. She’s been there for everything, even the things I didn’t anticipate (that she had already prepared for!) I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
Thank you to everyone that has given me an encouraging word, lent their expertise, supported my ideas, and literally just been there. This recognition is not just mine, it is the sum of so many people working together. And there’s more to come!
Pinnell, who leads the state’s tourism department as part of his lieutenant governor duties, has been a strong advocate for Route 66 since the moment he took office in 2019. During his tenure, if there was a Route 66 event, you could bet the farm he’d be there.
He stated on Facebook before his induction:
Route 66 has always been more than a highway; it’s the heartbeat of so many Oklahoma communities and a driving force behind our state’s tourism industry. It has been a privilege to help celebrate and promote the Mother Road, and I’m grateful to receive this recognition alongside so many who have dedicated their lives to preserving its legacy.
Thank you to everyone who has worked to make Oklahoma the premier Route 66 destination. This honor belongs to all of us.
Earlier this year, Pinnell turned down a bid to run for governor and will soon be vice president of development and alumni relations at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, his alma mater.
According to research by El Reno historian Carolyn Barker, Tompkins was born in 1873 in Texas and worked on a ranch before he was a teenager. He won several prominent roping competitions and landed a gig as a performer for the John Robinson Circus of Cincinnati for a few years.
Tompkins ran his own Wild West show and performed at the World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904. He toured Europe with other productions.
He married, moved to El Reno, opened a car dealership there and became a Works Progress Administration administrator.
“He served as mayor of El Reno and was president of the US Highway 66 Assn for two terms. He was responsible for bringing paving to several sections of the road,” Barker wrote.
Tompkins died in 1957 at age 84 and is buried in El Reno Cemetery.
(Image of Rhys Martin and Matt Pinnell at their Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame induction via Hiway Cafe on Facebook)