Windy City Road Warrior, InSites To Go, and Route66Chicago.com present host David Clark in a "virtual" presentation: Myths on 66: Misinformation on the Mother Road

Get your kicks as we expose the lies, tall tales, exagerations and to be found along Route 66

Six Degrees of Route 66--on the 6th!

Date: January 6th, 2022

Time: 7:06 PM CDT ...or 66 Minutes after Six :)

["Doors" open at 6:56 PM]

PLUS - Join LIVE or WATCH Later!

Video available to ticket holders through January 27th!

In this episode of "Six Degrees of Route 66" on January 6th, we take a look as some of the misinformation that has spread about the Mother Road. Sometimes it is exaggeration or embellishment of a story that is partially true; other times it is a complete mis-statement of facts. We will look into some of the more interesting fabrications and take a peek into how some of these stories and falsehoods came to be.

Some falsehoods come to us from authorities who should know better. The view above from Google Streetview shows a Historic Route 66 sign north of Springfield, Illinois, instructing travelers to turn right on Tainter Road in order to follow the 1926-1930 alignment of the highway. Carl Johnson, the late "road scholar" and researcher, uncovered evidence proving this "alignment" to be completely untrue. He informed the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) of the error more than fifteen years ago. They have yet to correct it, so people continue to take this wrong turn.

Some myths are a stew of true facts and over-simplifications, served up with a heaping helping of distortions. Above left we see a snapshot in time: January 17th, 1977, when IDOT workers in Chicago's Grant Park were captured by a Chicago Sun-Times photographer as they pulled down the last Route 66 sign in Illinois. This leads to the current misconception that 1977 was the "last official year" of the highway in the Prairie State. In fact, US 66 was decertified in Illinois and Missouri as of the end of 1976. And the signs above right point travelers to the left, onto a road that ceased to be official Route 66 sometime in the 1960s--long before decertification.

Nolan Stolz, a classical music composer and Professor of Music is working on a symphony, Route 66 Suite. In his travels and research, he has learned that many places along the highway we call "Ghost Towns" are not really ghost towns at all, while many true ghost towns have been largely forgotten.

These stories and more in Myths on 66: Misinformation on the Mother Road

David Clark is an award-winning author of three books and dozens of magazine and journal articles focusing on local Chicago and Illinois history. His book Route 66 in Chicago won an award for Best Non-Fiction Book from the Illinois Women’s Press Association. He also does live and zoom presentations as well as walking and driving tours. His website is WindyCityRoadWarrior.com

Tours available at Route66Chicago.com

Route 66--on the 6th!

Date: January 6th, 2022

Time: 7:06 PM CDT ...or 66 Minutes after Six :)

["Doors" open at 6:56 PM]

PLUS - Join LIVE or WATCH Later!

Video available to ticket holders through January 27th!

Books - Postcards - Tour Gift Certificates

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• Color Postcard Set - 7 Views:

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Zoom Presentation Begins Sixty-Six Minutes after Six! (i.e. 7:06 PM Central Time)

LIVE Date: January 6th, 2022

Video available: January 7-27, 2022

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Questions? 312-432-1284 OR email: dave@windycityroadwarrior.com