Some know it as ‘The Main Street of America’. Others refer to it affectionately as ‘The Mother Road’ or the ‘Wil Rogers Highway’. But what is it about this infamous Route 66 that has people knocking down the doors of J&O, scrambling for whatever yardage they can find, and jumping for joy once their package of cherished fabric has been received? Tell me please.....what is it about this original federal U.S. route that inspired the 1946 song “Get your Kicks on Route 66â€, which was written and composed by jazz performer Bobby Troup and later performed and made popular by a slue of musical artists such as Nat King Cole, Depeche Mode, Chuck Berry, Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones?
Maybe it’s the scenic views that inspired the nostalgic 1960’s TV show by the same name or the highway’s own mystical and romanticized reputation that has people singing its tune in the form of a sad country song and in between the pages of a good love novel. Even Kmart has a clothing brand in ode to the road.
Since the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, Route 66 has served as a major transportation route for Americans traveling from the east to the west. Back then it was in the hopes of settling down, starting a trade and raising a family. In the 1950’s, it was the main highway for vacationers and tourists heading to LA. Today, it remains only partly intact as a symbol of the American-dreamer in all of us.
Originally spanning from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California before ending up in Los Angeles, Route 66 ran for a total of 2,448 miles and passed through numerous small towns and beautiful landmarks such as the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon. With the growing traffic on the highway, this slab of black gravel helped create the rise of mom & pop businesses like restaurants, service stations, teepee shaped motels, Indian curio shops and craft shacks alike. If a road could talk, one could only imagine the stories it would tell.
Although Route 66 was an easy number to remember, and pleasing to the ear as its originator had intended, it would become a treasured memory less than 30 years after the first bucket of tar had formed its borders. By 1956, with the signing of the Interstate Highway Act, President Dwight Eisenhower decommissioned the road and Interstate 40 took over the largest chunk.
While the original Route 66 may be gone, it is surely not forgotten. It can be found right here between the evergreen forests and sunny beaches of J&O. All you need is a bit of creativity, and this little piece of Americana can be your big piece of heaven.
Check out our route 66 fabric here!
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