Route 66 heritage celebrated this weekend in Rolla

Some call it “The Will Rogers Highway,” while others call it “The Main Street of America.” American author John Steinbeck referred to it as the “Mother Road” in his classic novel The Grapes of Wrath. We all know it best by the nostalgic brown and white U.S. Route 66 signs that are located along State Highway 63 (Bishop Avenue) and Kingshighway (Business 44) in the City’s business district.

Just as Steinbeck’s classic 1939 novel and 1940 film recreation sought to immortalize the legacy of Historic U.S. Route 66, the organizers of Rolla’s Route 66 Summerfest, held this weekend in downtown Rolla, have also gone a long ways to immortalize Route 66. The Summerfest festivities should be well underway in the City’s Downtown Festival Park and at the Ber Juan Tennis Complex by the time you start reading this morning’s issue of the Rolla Daily News.

You may have missed the Route 66 classic car cruise-in from St. James to Rolla last night while the winner of the Route 66 pageant was being crowned, but you’ll have plenty of time to see all the classic cars, and enjoy all the Summerfest festivities, including great food and family fun today and tonight in the City’s Downtown Festival Park and along Pine Street.

Missouri was the first of the eight states that comprise old Route 66 (a 2,448-mile-long road that stretches from Chicago, Ill. to Los Angeles, Calif.) to have its entire portion of Route 66 completely paved. In fact, the building that was once the home of the Edwin Long Hotel and Rolla National Bank, and is now Phelps County Bank, (located at the corner of 8th and Pine Streets in downtown Rolla), was the location of a memorable celebration on March 15, 1931 where 8,000 people celebrated the completion of Historic U.S. Route 66 in the State of Missouri. Missouri’s Governor at that time, Henry S. Caulfield, was the keynote speaker.

The original U.S. Route 66 in Rolla ran right through the center of downtown on Pine Street, and with the construction of Interstate 44 has been realigned twice. Some of the well-known establishments in Rolla that still promote U.S. Route 66 include the Totem Pole Trading Post located at 1413 Martin Springs Drive, where historic Route 66 markers tell travelers they are traveling along “The Mother Road.” One of the many icons located along Route 66 in Rolla, the Totem Pole Trading Post still has the original 1933 Totem Pole. The Trading Post, with all its history and Route 66 memorabilia is definitely worth a visit, and it’s conveniently located behind the Rolla Visitor Center. The Mule Trading Post, located at 11160 Dillon Outer Road, also is a treasure-trove of Route 66 memorabilia, and can’t be missed with the large motorized sign that is visible from Interstate 44.

Whether you are a life-long resident of Rolla and Phelps County, or a visitor from a neighboring town or state, I think you’ll discover with all the Summerfest festivities planned this weekend that the legendary U.S. Route 66 is very much a part of our heritage in Rolla and Phelps County.