T.
V. SHOW: 'Oklahoma Expeditions' begins on April 27, 2008. Cox Media moved the show back to a more sutable time slot to avoid any preimption by base ball. The program starts on Sunday at 7:00 pm CST. Together you'll travel, discover and explore Oklahoma's history and discover Oklahoma as never before as we bring you special reports and full features from around the state.
TRAVEL
GUIDE: Mount Scott near Lawton Oklahoma offers vistas
of nearby Fort Seal and the vast Wichita Wildlife Mountain range which
spans most of the south west corner of Oklahoma.
Route
66 - Alive and Well in Oklahoma By L. A. Lamphere
Monday February 25, 2008
When
we decided to do a story on Route 66, we
went where most people do not dare to tread.
Instead of loading up and taking a road
trip to the local mall in search of lit
up neon garnished pictures of the likes
of James Dean, Elvis Presley and Marilyn
Monroe , we loaded up cameras, laptop computers
and film and headed towards the farm country
of western Oklahoma. And just as we suspected
we would, we found the original Route 66
pavement just sitting there waiting for
us. So what's the big
deal about Route 66 in the first place?
Everywhere you turn you find what seems
to be hyped up, overexploited ideas about
this run down road from the past. They call
it historic, but if you venture out into
Oklahoma looking for the heritage of Route
66, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
That is unless you're actually looking for
the history and what remains of the pavement
that changed the face of America. If you're
looking for that, then you're in luck. Route
66 is still out there but you have to know
where to look...
Lets face
it. Route 66 has not been what you would
call a growing concern since the invention
of the by-pass and the Interstate highway
system. In fact, since the inception of
the National
System of Interstate and Defense Highways,
enacted by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower, and the creation of the
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the idea
of the nostalgic notions and memories of
Route 66 have slowly gone the way of the
Do-Do bird. And no place serves as a better
example of the death of Route 66, and the
communities that it served, than in western
Oklahoma.
The
fact is that Route 66 has been over-popularized,
over-canibalized and over-glamorized by
intertwining fiction and nostalgia by unscrupulous
profiteers and counterfeiters. Honestly
we don't know what is worst, fiction or
fictionalized nostalgia. But images of Elvis,
James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart
and Jane Mansfield draped across the hood
of a 55 Chevy at a lit up neon roadside
eatery with the words Route 66 plastered
above their heads is flat out false advertising
and worst- false history.
Route 66's heyday was before and shortly
after the Great
Depression. The 50's and 60's only saw
a small portion of the Route 66 action as
the Interstate Highway System was moving
America forward with a network of roads
that was well thought-out and fully functional-
at least to a degree. So functional in fact
that by the end of the mid seventies Route
66 was a thing of the past- vanquished to
a narrow strip of bumpy road following the
lay of the land westward passing near farm
houses and homesteads.
The emblazoned beauty that offered hope
to thousands of Americans looking to escape
the hardships of the dust bowl and the great
depression had been reduced to nothing more
than small stretches of road used only by
wheat combines and farm pickup trucks. Route
66 had become a silent observer of history
and american progress as she witnessed the
installment of I-40 which bypassed her small
communities and abandoned her usefulness
to speed and convenience. But lets face
it, progress is what it is. And the death
of a single road that had outlived its usefulness
can not be looked upon as a national set
back. America needed to make way for progress
and Route 66 was to be the sacrificial lamb.
And so on June 27, 1985 Route 66 was officially
removed from the United States Highway System
after it was decided the route was no longer
relevant and had been successfully replaced
by the Interstate Highway System. But Route
66's story didn't stop there. In fact, it
was only the beginning.
U.S. Route 66 has
been known by many nicknames. Shortly after
Route 66 was commissioned, it was given
the name of The Great Diagonal Way because
the section of highway from Chicago to Oklahoma
ran diagonally. This was an oddity because
most highways of the time ran in semi or
straight paths. In the John Steinbeck novel
The
Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 is known as
The Mother Road. And in 1952 Route 66 was
unofficially named The Will
Rogers Highway by the U.S. Highway 66
Association. A plaque dedicating the highway
to the humorist is located in Santa Monica,
California.
Prior to us loading up and heading out in
search of Route 66 in Oklahoma,
we had agreed that despite the
research we had already completed on
Route 66 in other states in the southwest,
that our intentions should, and would, be
focused on the portions of Route 66 found
in Oklahoma. Without a doubt Route 66's
geographical importance was paramount to
other nearby states, but Oklahoma's section
of road played an even more important role.
Of course, our position is a bias one- we'll
admit that openly. But it's bias because
of the history of, and by which, the people
most effected by Route 66 impacted their
lives. Especially during the late 1920's
and early 1930's.
Dorothea
Lange's Migrant Mother depicts destitute
pea pickers in California, centering
on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother
of seven children, age 32, in Nipomo,
California, March 1936.
Description:
Dust storm approaching Stratford,
Texas. Dust bowl surveying in Texas
Image ID: theb1365, Historic C&GS
Collection Location: Stratford, Texas
Photo Date: April 18, 1935 Credit:
NOAA George E. Marsh Album
During the Great
Dust Bowl Route 66 saved many a Kansas,
Oklahoma and Texan family from starvation
and homelessness. And for that we will be
gracious to 'The Mother Road' and her memory.
What we didn't expect to find was the ghost
of the past sneaking up on us as we went
in search of Route 66.
This story and program currently in production.
It will be in the first installment of Oklahoma
Expeditions seen on Cox Cable Channel 7
and here online for free. Please check back
to this page frequently to check the status
of the programs air time and release date.
Do you know why the capital was moved in 1910? Follow
Janine Handler on tour with a family as they discover
Oklahoma as never before.
101
Ranch Oklahoma
G.W. Miller created the most fantastic ranch in American history and
we take time to remember the legendary 101. (Learn
more)
Spirit
Stalkers
Journey with the Oklahoma Paranormal Investigation & Research
Team across Oklahoma in search of haunted locations. (Learn
more)
Route
66
It's the greatest stretch of highway in the U.S.and it's making a
come back. Nostalgia rules once again. (Read
More)
Nature
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, OK is the ultimate
getaway to relieve the stresses of everyday life. (Read
More)
Real
Nature
Depew, OK has a 'not so dirty' little secret where folks are getting
back to nature and having a blast doing it. Fun in the sun for all!
(Read
More)
Get
your own Oklahoma Expeditions Summer Golf shirt
for only $21.99 plus shipping & handling. Our golf-style,
collared t-shirt is a comfortable, lightweight way to play 18-holes
and beat the heat. Features, stylish wood-tone buttons, yet
it feels like wearing your favorite t-shirt. Dress it up or
down. Throw a blazer over later for country club mingling. Great
for layering. This shirt will be in limited availability.
T.
V. SHOW:
TRAVEL
GUIDE:
When
we decided to do a story on Route 66, we
went where most people do not dare to tread.
Instead of loading up and taking a road
trip to the local mall in search of lit
up neon garnished pictures of the likes
of James Dean, Elvis Presley and Marilyn
Monroe , we loaded up cameras, laptop computers
and film and headed towards the farm country
of western Oklahoma. And just as we suspected
we would, we found the original Route 66
pavement just sitting there waiting for
us. 
The
fact is that Route 66 has been over-popularized,
over-canibalized and over-glamorized by
intertwining fiction and nostalgia by unscrupulous
profiteers and counterfeiters. Honestly
we don't know what is worst, fiction or
fictionalized nostalgia. But images of Elvis,
James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart
and Jane Mansfield draped across the hood
of a 55 Chevy at a lit up neon roadside
eatery with the words Route 66 plastered
above their heads is flat out false advertising
and worst- false history. 
Route 66's heyday was before and shortly
after the 
The emblazoned beauty that offered hope
to thousands of Americans looking to escape
the hardships of the dust bowl and the great
depression had been reduced to nothing more
than small stretches of road used only by
wheat combines and farm pickup trucks. Route
66 had become a silent observer of history
and american progress as she witnessed the
installment of I-40 which bypassed her small
communities and abandoned her usefulness
to speed and convenience. But lets face
it, progress is what it is. And the death
of a single road that had outlived its usefulness
can not be looked upon as a national set
back. America needed to make way for progress
and Route 66 was to be the sacrificial lamb.
And so on June 27, 1985 Route 66 was officially
removed from the United States Highway System
after it was decided the route was no longer
relevant and had been successfully replaced
by the Interstate Highway System. But Route
66's story didn't stop there. In fact, it
was only the beginning.
