Route 66 spans from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California and reflects the dreams and memories of people traveling or living on it during the Great Depression. It was the road to adventure for treasure-seekers, displaced farmers and Hollywood hopefuls. Route 66 conjures up memories of two-lane highways, family vacations, picnic lunches at roadside tables, souvenir shops, reptile pits, cozy motor courts and an Orange Crush with a two-cent deposit. It has traveled through mountains and deserts, plains and forests.
Today it is known as the world’s most famous highway, even though it officially no longer exists. Route 66 began with the ordinary needs of a growing nation and the vision of one Oklahoman, Cyrus Avery.
It’s history was captured in the book “Route 66: The Mother Road,” by Tulsan Michael Wallis, the first book in the Spring, 2013 Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma reading and discussion series at McAlester Public Library.
Dr. Lewis Parkhill will give a scholarly presentation about the book at 6 p.m. Thursday in the library’s Whiteacre Room. Dr. Parkhill is Professor Emeritus of English and past chair of the Department of English and Languages at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. His Ph.D. in American Literature is from the University of Texas at Austin.
He has taught writing, humanities, film and world, British and American literatures. He served on the board of the Oklahoma Humanities Council and is a former chair of the OHC board.
He has served as a member of the Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma advisory board, is a co-developer of the LTAIO Vietnam series, assisted with the American Renaissance, and he has given many LTAIO presentations.
His essay, “The Humanities: A Conversation of Story and Place,” appeared in the May 2008 Oklahoma Humanities magazine. A member of the Tishomingo city council for thirteen years, he is currently serving a fifth term as mayor.
In “Route 66: The Mother Road,” state for state, Michael Wallis chronicles the history of Route 66 against the backdrop of American history. As America grew, so too did Highway 66. The highway connected Americans from every walk of life. The road served as a lifeline from east to west for everyone from the roadside gas station owner to the fathers of the great highway up to the dawning of the interstate system.
Starting in Illinois, Wallis weaves his way across the West to California like so many American travelers who satisfied their pioneering spirit.
Wallis cares for the highway and the people along it. He takes time along the journey to pull over and enjoy life just off the road. From the Funk family’s homemade maple syrup in Illinois, to Buster Burris’ motel, café, and service station, Wallis captures the spirit and adventure of a bygone era.
The book touched off an effort to preserve the memory of Route 66 after it was published in 1990.
Books, services and other materials are provided by LTAIO, a project of the Oklahoma Humanities Council, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Local funding is provided by the J.G. Puterbaugh Foundation.
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