Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Willy Cyber Traveled to Chicago - 1926


Willy thanks Sherry, Mind of a Mom, and Sandee of Comedy Plus for playing his silly game of "Where in America is Willy".

This Week Willy was in Chicago as which was indicated by the "el Train" statement.

Yes the year was 1926 not because that was the year the L train was begun or that there are 33 stops.


Clue "Twice - 33" stands for 66.

Yes, the famous Route 66.

This is considered the Mother Road of America. Route 66 was begun in Chicago in 1926 to link the east to the west. However, shortly after it was started hard times set in and it was not until 1933 that it resurfaced as a major project.
Read More about the History of Route 66 below or go to the website to chase its history. ----------

The often romanticized Mother Road inspires in many of us a nostalgic bone which niggles at something buried deep within us. While some may see Route 66 as a link to our parents and grandparents, others perhaps feel the sense of freedom that the road provided to those early travelers. And then, for those of us that live continuously in the nostalgic past, the Mother Road is, but yet, the next adventure beyond the Santa Fe Trail. Whatever the reason, the Mother Road is an experience, a feeling, a perception, a taste of sight and sound, and a mystery that can only be resolved by driving the pavement itself.

The “super-highway,” as it was thought of in 1926, represented unprecedented freedom to travel across the American West. Spawned by the rapidly changing demands of America, entrepreneurs, Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma and John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri conceived of the grand idea of linking Chicago to Los Angeles and began lobbying efforts to promote the new highway. While other East/West highways existed at the time, most followed a linear course, leaving out the rural communities, dependent upon transportation for farm products and other goods.


No doubt a daunting task for the pair, the federal government finally pledged to link small town U.S.A. with metropolitan capitals in the summer of 1926 and designated the road as 66. Unfortunately, shortly after work began on the Mother Road came the depression, halting progress on the new “Super-Highway.


However, in 1933, thousands of unemployed men were put back to work and road gangs paved the final stretches of the road. By 1938 the 2,300 mile highway was continuously paved from Chicago to Los Angeles.


3 comments:

Sandee said...

This one was a really hard one. I'll try to do better next time.

Have a terrific day. :)

Unknown said...

I agree with Sandee. This was a hard one. But it's fun to play -- and quite a challenge.

Da Old Man said...

Wasn't Rt 66 also called the Lincoln Highway?