Route 66 launches centennial celebration in Springfield, Mo.

Dateline: Springfield, Mo. With a ton of fanfare, NBC’s “TODAY” show recently kicked off the 100-year anniversary observance associated with America’s “Mother Road” – Route 66.

Broadcasting live for a one-hour segment on April 30 were “TODAY” regulars Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Laura Jarrett. We learned that Springfield, Mo., with a population of about 171,325, is regarded as the “Birthplace of Route 66.”

 

That’s a bold claim, considering that the route begins and ends in Chicago and Los Angeles. While Springfield is not the start of the physical highway, it is where the name was finalized in 1926. Here’s how that came to be:

As initially planned, the 2,448-mile federal highway connecting Chicago and Los Angeles was going to be assigned the number “Route 60.”

Kentucky Gov. William J. Fields objected, however. He asserted that a transcontinental highway that was also on the books, intended to connect Virginia Beach, Va., and Los Angeles (a few hundred miles longer), should receive the Route 60 designation instead.

(In those days, the ending numeral “0” was identified with major “east-west highways” in the system, while the primary “north-south routes” ended in “1” or “5.”)

The Bureau of Public Roads essentially agreed with Gov. Fields, and the Chicago-Los Angeles highway was changed to “Route 62.”

That didn’t sit well with John Woodruff (shown above), a Springfield attorney, and Cyrus Avery (shown below), Oklahoma’s highway czar. 

They convened a meeting of a group of state highway planners in April 1926 in Springfield to discuss the matter.

Intent on making “lemonade” out of a bad situation, Woodruff and Avery, opted for a more catchy name, and “Route 66” was available. They telegraphed Bureau officials on April 30, 1926, requesting that number.

They got their confirmation on Nov. 11, 1926, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture William Marion Jardine, serving under President Calvin Coolidge, approved the Route 66 designation. 

Hence, Nov. 11, 1926, is observed as the official birth date of “U.S. Highway 66.”

The U.S. Highway 66 Association was founded in 1927 to promote the highway. Woodruff was named the first president. The association advertised that Route 66 was “the shortest, best and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles.” The road became popular with interstate travelers.

 

Route 66 was completely paved in Missouri in 1931, and the entire route was hard surfaced by 1938. As the highway improved, it began attracting businesses to formerly isolated communities. The need for fuel, lodging and food along the highway gave birth to many small businesses.

 

Red’s Giant Hamburg was established in 1947 by Sheldon “Red” Chaney on Route 66 in Springfield. It was America’s first “drive-thru, fast food restaurant.”

A red and white 1955 Buick Special with shiny chrome bumpers and spinner hubcaps, is parked outside as a nostalgic tribute to Route 66. (The vehicle was strategically placed in front of the restaurant’s sign to prevent motorists from accidently backing into the structure.)

 

The “TODAY” show crew also wanted viewers to know that Springfield is the “Queen City of the Ozarks,” but the city has also been tagged as the “Buckle of the Bible Belt,” due to its association with “evangelical Christianity.”

Springfield also is home to Missouri State University; the main campus has an enrollment of about 25,250 students.

MO State’s athletic teams are nicknamed the Bears, and the “TODAY” show cameras zoomed in to film the antics of the mascot, “Boomer the Bear,” and the moves exhibited by the “Sugar Bears” dance team.

It’s an exciting time for Bears’ football fans, as MO State has just recently “toughened up its schedule” as a new member of Conference USA.