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General Information
Route 66 - Everybody has surely already heard this name. Most people connect it with freedom, the "American Way Of Live" of with Harley Davidson. But this is not necessarily true; people were forced to move to the West; life in the East was difficult and hard. The wave of bikers came much later. It was called the "Mother Road", which gave people hope and encouraged them to go on, go on to reach the Golden West, a land, easier to live, a land where there were supposed to be many fewer problems. But not everybody was able to reach California. Those who were able to make it had to accept many unfavorable conditions. Life in California was not as easy as it seemed to be. Many went from one sad situation to another. Highway 66 was also used for business and to transport goods. It was an important backbone for traders. Today, Route 66 is explored by many tourists. It is famous for getting vacationers to their intended destination; especially when travelling from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. It is impressive to see what is left of a legend that gave so many people so much hope. It is sad that today only few people know how the first travelers suffered. Business along Route 66 grew rapidly with the increase of traffic. However, once a freeway replaced the old Route 66 in the late fifties, business dwindeled to where few entrepreneurs could survive. This WebSite shows a chronology where the former Route 66 was located. It illustrates how everything started - and why it started. Further it will focus on the business along the famous Route 66. John Steinbeck wrote in his novel "Grapes of Wrath": "Sixty-six is the path of the people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from a thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership. ... They come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. Sixty-six is the mother road, the road fo flight." |
