Route 66, nicknamed “The Mother Road” is 100 years old this year. Route 66 officially runs from Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in California. In Missouri, it runs from the Mississippi River in St. Louis to the Kansas border just west of Joplin. Celebratory things are happening all the way along the route in Missouri, and I assume that’s true from Chicago to Santa Monica. Even Google celebrated the Mother Road centennial.

Route 66 has a long–and pretty interesting–history, but my favorite part is the way its numerical designation was selected. It was the result of a politically negotiated compromise.

Ted and I have driven Route 66 from Chicago to Albuquerque and I have to admit, it’s an interesting ride. The tourist stops are quirky and fun. Our most recent stop was at Wally’s in Pontiac, IL. Ted and I enjoyed every stop we’ve made along the Route, but these were my favorites: The Blue Whale of Catoosa, OK and the Golden Driller, Artificial Cloud, and Center of the Universe in Tulsa, OK.

The original advocates of the highway were Cyrus Avery of Oklahoma and John Woodruff of Missouri. They lobbied for the prestigious Route 60 designation because they thought a “0” would attract more traffic and attention. That proposal was rejected because government highway planners decided to assign even numbers for east-west highways, odd numbers for north-south highways, and numbers with a “0” for cross-country highways. As an alternative, Avery and Woodruff proposed Route 66. Why? Because they thought it sounded memorable and looked good on a road sign. That sounds reasonable to me–how about you? Springfield, Missouri still claims to be the birthplace of Route 66 because of the business meeting in that city that ended with a telegram designating the highway as Route 66. And that’s the way it is (cf. Walter Cronkite, CBS newscaster).

Here’s my souvenir Blue Whale of Catoosa. In real life, it’s an inch-and-a-half long and a half-inch tall. The gift shop owner paints small stones like this to sell. It’s just another quirky thing you can find when you travel on the Mother Road.