Get Your Kicks: Celebrating 100 Years of Route 66

Ajouté : 2026-06-01

[00:00:02]100 Years of the Mother Road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.

[00:00:09]This year, a piece of American history turns 100 years old. It's history that cuts through the metro. Back in 1926, historic Route 66 came to fruition right here in Missouri. It was decommissioned in 1985, but every year, thousands of people still follow it from Chicago to Santa Monica. They visit interesting and historic spots all along the way. Our very own Steve Harris has been on a journey down the Mother Road since the beginning of this year, starting in Lichfield, Illinois. Established in 1926, historic Route 66 is turning 100 years old, and I'm standing on it. Hey, there's tons of stories along the Mother Road, so who's ready for a road trip?

[00:00:55]Let's kick things off in Lichfield, Illinois. a town that takes Route 66 very seriously. [music] And why not? I mean, the historic highway does run right through town to a place folks around here are pretty proud of.

[00:01:08]>> Basically, along this area is our Route 66 um items.

[00:01:13]>> Carol Sne is president of the Lichfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center.

[00:01:17]Stepping inside is like stepping back in time when the main street of America was being built. when gas was 32 cents a gallon, license plate numbers were raised and Nat King Cole was on the radio.

[00:01:31]>> Get your kicks on Route 66.

[00:01:35]>> That [music] um feeling of nostalgia, I think, and that's what uh brings them to this road.

[00:01:43]>> And this museum is a popular stop. Every year we literally welcome thousands of visitors that are traveling route 66.

[00:01:52]>> Not just from the US either. Visitors from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Brazil, France, England.

[00:01:58]>> You name it, they've been here. It's amazing. Some of these folks don't even speak English. And they they're traveling 2,000 miles across our country and they manage.

[00:02:09]>> Even a guy from Japan who was pulling a rickshaw down old Route 66. He planned to pull it all the way to California.

[00:02:16]>> Meeting people like that is Carol's favorite thing about the museum.

[00:02:19]>> Often those people tell me that it's the small town they like the best.

[00:02:23]>> So, from the past to the future, how does this small town plan to celebrate the 100th birthday?

[00:02:29]>> Special exhibits that we're working on that highlight u that iconic Route 66 feel. Sounds like if you want to know more, you're going to have to take a road trip.

[00:02:41][music] >> Travelers from all over are making plans to see America along this historic highway. But there's also some very strange sites to see as well. Steve Harris went to Livingston, Illinois to get the backstory on a rather peculiar packaderm.

[00:03:02]If you see a pink elephant and you're sober, odds are you're in Livingston, Illinois. And if said elephant is joined by a dinosaur, UFO, giant beach boy, and President Trump, well, that's definitely where you are.

[00:03:14]>> You're roadside America.

[00:03:15]>> This is the Pink Elephant Antique Mall in historic Route 66.

[00:03:19]>> We have something for everybody.

[00:03:20]>> It was Livingston High School until it closed in 2005. Now Wayne and Tanya Picker own it.

[00:03:25]>> That's a 1960s era international fiberglass pink elephant. outside is like a playground full of all kinds of interesting stuff that Wayne has found.

[00:03:34]>> I call it crap. Chronic roadside acquired projects. Um, and he just keeps bringing home more.

[00:03:40]>> Well, you know what they say, one woman's chronic acquired roadside project is another man's treasure.

[00:03:44]>> Our UFO out here, 1969 Futuro home. The Red Baron plane is a Six Flags ride.

[00:03:51]1933 Chicago World's Fair concession trailer. This would have been inside of a McDonald's. And if you think the outside is impressive, check out the inside. There's a 50s style diner, a candy store.

[00:04:03]>> It has retro candies from back in the oldtime candies. If we can find it, we get it.

[00:04:07]>> A haunted school in October. And a massive, and I mean massive, antique mall in the old high school gym. I don't even know where to start. Kings, rings, unusual things, fans, cans, and a giant green man. Phones, cones, houses, and mouses. Cars, jars, Loretta, and Twitty.

[00:04:24]Stein, signs, and things that look pretty. knick-knacks and duads and really old toys. Squirrels, girls, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

[00:04:33]>> Yes. Uh, the century just called. It wants all its stuff back.

[00:04:37]>> It's a pretty popular place for people taking the historic highway. Just ask Colin, who came here from England.

[00:04:43]>> I think it's one of the most popular places to stop on beginning of Route 66 between St. Louis and Chicago. So, we had to we had to come here.

[00:04:50]>> So, every year we put up a new map because it fills up. We like to see where all of our friends from around the world come from. Where are you guys from?

[00:04:56]>> From Spain.

[00:04:57]>> Where?

[00:04:58]>> Spain.

[00:04:58]>> Spain.

[00:04:59]>> Spain.

[00:04:59]>> Yeah.

[00:05:00]>> What brought you here?

[00:05:02]>> We are doing the Route 66.

[00:05:05]>> What do you think of this place?

[00:05:06]>> Oh, strange. Weird. I mean, [laughter] >> really, really strange.

[00:05:11]>> That's just classic. Classic old style Americana that, you know, and seeing a place like this with all the models and that, that's what people want.

[00:05:18]>> That's what Wayne and Tanya like to hear.

[00:05:22]Missouri is the birthplace of this fabled highway and as you just heard has a little bit of everything to offer.

[00:05:28]Steve Harris continues his trip as he takes us to Verden, Illinois where he met up with a fellow traveler who's on the very same mission.

[00:05:37]>> I got a tip to check out something different on the mother road. So, I headed to Verden, Illinois to the Sly Fox bookstore. I think I may be about the only one in uh in Illinois that's actually on one of the Route 66 alignments.

[00:05:50]>> George Rishell is the owner. Built in 1915, it's been a part of his family's history since before the historic highway.

[00:05:57]>> My aunt opened up here uh in 1922 with a hat shop. We became a woman's clothing store. So, we've been in this building in one form or another ever since then.

[00:06:09]>> In 1998, he turned it into a bookstore with an unforgettable name. I chose the name because it was not only my nickname when I was growing up. Fox is my middle name and my mom's maiden name.

[00:06:20]>> It's what you picture when you think of a quaint little bookstore with character inside and out. Check out that mural on the side of the building. Now, while I was there, a guy on a motorcycle came in. His name is Steven Hilner, and he's on assignment.

[00:06:34]>> So, I work for the New York Times for the travel section of the Times. I am on a uh motorcycle trip along the entire route of Route 66 from Chicago to LA.

[00:06:42]>> Wow. Great gig. If my boss is listening, you should rent me a sports car and let me do the same thing.

[00:06:48]>> Steven also had the Sly Fox on his agenda.

[00:06:50]>> Obviously, I work with, you know, printed media. So, this is the kind of place that I love to stop into. And I was thrilled to see it's right on Route 66.

[00:07:00]>> He's just one of many visitors the Sly Fox sees, courtesy of historic Route 66.

[00:07:06]>> About half of them are from other countries. eager to see a slice of small town America, no doubt, which is what George likes most.

[00:07:12]>> Interacting with all the people that come in here.

[00:07:17]>> Coming up next, Kent Airhart takes us through the Show Me State here. How the Mother Road got its name and the new special song that's part of Route 66 will soon be singing.

[00:07:39]>> [music] >> 100 Years of the Mother Road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.

[00:08:00]100 Years of the Mother Road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.

[00:08:07]If you haven't heard, Route 66 is turning 100. There's been a lot of history over the past century, and it turns out Missouri is at the center of a lot of it. This path from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, almost didn't have the same kick to it. But a telegram sent more than 200 miles from St. Louis changed everything. Springfield is where Emily Pritchard picks up the history.

[00:08:34]>> The symbol iconic, the name catchy.

[00:08:37]>> A lot of mischants >> is how Route 66 came to be.

[00:08:41]>> This is the telegram. Bureau of Public Roads.

[00:08:44]>> This telegram is what transformed the text >> regarding Chicago Los Angeles Road. We prefer 66. The 2,448 miles was set to be named Route 60.

[00:08:57]>> The highways that ended in zero were considered to be the most important.

[00:09:02]>> John Sers with the History Museum on the Square shares Kucky's governor said not so fast and argued what would become Route 66 didn't cross the entire country.

[00:09:12]>> I've got a highway that starts in Virginia that'll go across the whole United States. If you'll award it the zero, I think we should be 60.

[00:09:20]>> Kentucky got it. And the Bureau of Public Roads gave the Chicago to California path 62.

[00:09:27]>> Oh, that did not sit well at all. Number two, second best. I don't think so.

[00:09:33]>> That was a roadblock for the masterminds of the main street of America. This included Oklahoma Highway Commission Chairman Cyrus Avery, Missouri State Highway Commission Chief Engineer Age Pipe Meyer, and Springfield businessman John T. Woodruff. In April 1926, a multi-state Rotary Club meeting just happened to bring the mall to Springfield, Missouri. They met at Woodruff's Colonial Hotel.

[00:09:59]>> Realized that the number 66 was available and they realized how catchy it was, how great it looked out as a logo.

[00:10:06]>> So even more than a hundred years ago, they were thinking about marketing.

[00:10:10]>> Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it immediately caught on. They sent a telegram from the uh postal telegraph office which was in the basement of the colonial hotel.

[00:10:20]>> The telegram came from right here, the corner of Jefferson and St. Louis where the Colonial Hotel used to sit. You can see a marker back behind me shows what it used to look like after it was demolished nearly 30 years ago. These columns used to be out front of the hotel. They now stand in Phelps Grove Park about 2 miles from where they originated. The mother road is known to take people to new horizons.

[00:10:46]>> They could have just as easily said, "Well, forget this. I'm going home." But they didn't. They continued to to to grind away at it and find it find a way to success, find a way to to accomplish what their what their vision was.

[00:11:01]>> With about a century in the rear view mirror, I'd say we prefer 66 as well.

[00:11:07]>> Do you think they made the right decision 100 years later?

[00:11:09]>> Absolutely. It's definitely the winner.

[00:11:13]We stay in Springfield where you'll be humming a tune all day after this next story. Emily Pritchard takes us down the new Route 66 musical road.

[00:11:27]>> Everybody smiles. It's a smile machine.

[00:11:30]That's what we've invented here.

[00:11:32]>> There it goes.

[00:11:33]>> Chris Hill and Pete Thompson are the conductors behind this new Route 66 musical road. We are literally taking your car, turning it into this the tone arm of like a record player. Your tire becomes the needle and the road is the record.

[00:11:52]>> You can hum along as your tires belt out America the Beautiful in honor of America's 250th anniversary celebration and a century of the Mother Road. It's located just down the street from Springfield's new Queensgate 66. You can't miss it. A symbol of the Queen City, the crown or sunburst highlights the city's significance in Route 66 history. Once you snap your picks right next to the iconic Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven, keep heading west on St. Louis Street, where your tires will hit the rhythm of the rumble strips. To make this really work, you must go a certain mile.

[00:12:32]>> This road is tuned to 30 mph. To hear the best sound, keep your windows rolled up and hit your cruise control.

[00:12:39]>> There are exactly 239 strips. It covers 855 ft. And if you drive at the intended 30 mph, it will take you 19.45 seconds to complete the tune.

[00:12:52]>> And if I sing out loud, will it frown at me at the end by hearing the tune of my voice?

[00:12:56]>> No, it will help it. Only enhancements.

[00:12:59]The best thing is to experience it.

[00:13:00]>> Don't let me keep stringing you along.

[00:13:02]It's time to buckle up for my first spin.

[00:13:05]>> Hit the cruise control and here we go.

[00:13:14][music] [singing] Shining sea. I was off tune at the end, but that is awesome.

[00:13:26]>> So, it works simply by understanding that all sound is vibration. If we vibrate something fast, it'll be a high note. If we vibrate something slowly, it'll be a lower note.

[00:13:34]>> As cars from different eras glide by during the Route 66 Centennial kickoff parade, the verse can take us back.

[00:13:42]>> Route 66 is about the people you meet.

[00:13:44]It's about the stories you tell. It's about the the experiences you have.

[00:13:47]>> Now, your next American road trip has a built-in playlist from sea to shining sea.

[00:13:57]>> It's a long way to Santa Monica, so you'll definitely need some shutye. But if you make a stop in Springfield, there's a place where we bet you can't help falling in love with. Emily Pritchard checks us in to a Route 66 retreat fit for the king.

[00:14:13]>> The split rail fence points you to rest along Route 66.

[00:14:17]>> I just love it.

[00:14:18]>> Travelers have been falling in love with the charm of the Best Western Route 66 rail haven in Springfield since 1938.

[00:14:26]When a certain king came to town, he ended up checking in.

[00:14:31]>> [music] >> Room 409. This is the exact room Elvis Presley stayed in in 1956. There's even a pink Cadillac. Elvis was performing at the Shrine Mosque in town.

[00:14:44]>> So, he got in an argument with his bandmates and his mom was staying here, so he came to stay with her.

[00:14:49]>> Now, it embodies the king of rock and roll, complete with a jacuzzi, memorabilia, and the pink Cadillac bench seat, which the owners of the motel designed. It's one of a kind like the king.

[00:15:01]>> People call and specifically asks for the Elvis room all the time.

[00:15:05]>> Oh yeah. All the time.

[00:15:06]>> There's no heartbreak at this hotel because if you'd like to kick up your boots instead of your blue suede shoes, this room is a saloon for you.

[00:15:15]>> For a while Bill Hickok because of the shootout on 66. It's got memorabilia, a beautiful mural, um copper soaking tub, and it just is like stepping back like in a saloon. More than 20 years after the king made his pit stop at the rail haven, Elvis returned to Springfield almost 2 months to the day before his death. Rocking out inside a packed Hammond Student Center on June 17th, 1977, the rail haven is still the rock of this iconic corner where historic Route 66 turns west. Now go Cat Go.

[00:15:48]>> What's the interest been this year with the 100th anniversary of Route 66?

[00:15:52]>> Through the roof.

[00:15:54]You ain't >> One of the best parts about any road trip is all the food. There's plenty of sweet treats and snacks to be had. We take a look at some of the most historic options in the metro when we come back.

[00:16:14][music] [music] 100 Years of the Mother Road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.

[00:16:44][music] 100 Years of the Mother Road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.

[00:16:59]There are a lot of delicious detours to take along Route 66. As the Mother Road celebrates 100 years, Steve Harris is finding some sweet stories like this one in Hamill, Illinois. Let's take a look at one stop that has plenty of options for hungry travelers.

[00:17:20]I passed it two weeks ago driving the historic highway through Hamill. So I went back to check out the Route 66 crearyy. It was built in 1906 as a train station, but now it's famous for its food.

[00:17:33]>> Smashburgers to wraps and everything in between along with our ice cream, soft serve, and hard dip >> and its location.

[00:17:39]>> It's right on the main drag here.

[00:17:41]>> Josh Brow has owned it since last December. He says the main street of America really brings the travelers.

[00:17:47]emails and phone calls from biker groups that are coming down here in June. We've gotten phone calls from people over in England that are coming down here to make a track from Chicago all the way to Santa Monica, California, and they're going to stop in here.

[00:17:57]>> But the locals love it, too.

[00:17:58]Four-year-old Jos's favorite >> humbles.

[00:18:01]>> And that goes double for her grandpa.

[00:18:03]>> They're double cheeseburgers.

[00:18:05]>> Man, that's making me hungry.

[00:18:06]>> Would you like me to make you a burger?

[00:18:08][laughter] >> She doesn't know me very well. Ah, burger and fries in a basket. History on the walls. Talk about having ice cream burgers in Route 66.

[00:18:17]>> I would talk about it, but my mouth's full.

[00:18:19]>> No, that's a good burger.

[00:18:20]>> And Jos's pick for dessert.

[00:18:22]>> A sprinkle of gummy worms and just vanilla.

[00:18:25]>> A sprinkle of gummy worms and just vanilla. That's a fabulous feast for a four-year-old.

[00:18:31]But my more mature palette craves something more refined.

[00:18:34]>> The chocolate chip cookie dough explosion.

[00:18:37]>> That's what I'm talking about. [music] In fact, I ate the whole thing in less than 5 minutes, which brought on a bad bout of brain freeze.

[00:18:50]>> A small price to pay to experience another satisfying stop along historic Route 66.

[00:18:56]>> Route 66. I mean, it it's about as American as you can be.

[00:19:01]>> And for our last stop, St. Louis has no shortage of icons. The Arch, the Cardinals, Emos, but few are as classic as Ted Drews. Along Old Route 66 on Chipoa, they've served frozen custard in those yellow cups for generations. Steve Harris gets a head start on summer.

[00:19:22]>> It's the sweet spot on the mother road.

[00:19:25]Ted Drews on Chipawa. Ted Senior and Mildred, Mrs. Drews, built the the custard stand in 1941 right here on Route 66. Famous for homemade root beer and of course frozen custard.

[00:19:38]>> We live in Kansas City now.

[00:19:40]>> I used [laughter] to live here. I live right down there.

[00:19:42]>> But you come when you get a chance. You >> every time I come here, >> it's been a popular stop along America's main street for decades.

[00:19:50]>> Being on Route 66 is such an honor.

[00:19:53]We're part of history.

[00:19:54]>> A quick stop to the gift shop next door proves his point.

[00:19:58]>> This was the first car hop uniform. Old photos of early days, familiar faces and fixtures, and a map showing all the places the visitors come from.

[00:20:07]>> We have bus loads of people that come by as tours. We have people traveling from all over, even from Europe, just to see what the Americana is like.

[00:20:17]>> Let's do a small concrete with blueberry.

[00:20:19]>> And this is where they can taste what Americana is like.

[00:20:23]>> What'd you get?

[00:20:24]>> A hot fudge sunda.

[00:20:25]>> Oh, yeah. That's good stuff, huh?

[00:20:27]>> Delicious. and I get to hear the stories. I get to tell them stories and and they love it. It's it's something that you want to keep at the front of our minds because [music] the young younger generation, they need to know about how great Route 66 is.

[00:20:46]>> 100 years of the mother road presented by Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau.