Route 66

One of the most memorial road trips I was ever on happened when I was around 7 or 8 years of age. We went on a trip from Indiana to Texas to visit relatives. Most of the trip was taken down Route 66. This was before the interstate system and Rt. 66 was one of the more heavily traveled highways.

We drove our ’48 Dodge on this trip. This trip occurred around 1954 or ’55. We were never blessed with very new vehicles. We packed water for not only ourselves but also lots of water for the car’s radiator. As I recall, it would frequently overheat when we had to climb too many hills. Our supplies also included bologna and bread to make sandwiches along the way. We never stopped in restaurants. We would always have our lunch at a picnic bench along the highway.

This was all very exciting to me as I had not been on very many long trips.

When it was time to spend the night we searched for a motel along the highway. They were mostly what you would call today, Mom & Pop motels. The majority had long porches along the front of them with metal chairs so you could sit outside. This was pretty important then because they were not air conditioned.

We found our motel to stay for the night. It had a long porch with chairs and a low wall made from cinder block. That was an ideal place for kids to sit. I remember that we sat outside for most of the evening and talked to the other travelers. People were just very friendly and we were all interested in where each family had traveled from.

This motel also had another great feature. It had “Pay TV”. We were very excited about that. Let me explain how it worked. There was a coin slot installed near the power source. It cost 25 cents for a half hour of viewing. A lot of people didn’t have televisions in their homes yet, so this was a real treat.

My mother had heard about Liberace the great piano player. She loved the piano and had heard about the candelabra that he would put on the piano and she loved classy things. His show was going to be on that evening and she wanted to see him. We put the quarter in and gathered around to watch him. I don’t really remember much about the show except that it only lasted 15 minutes. There was another show that followed for 15 minutes but I don’t remember what it was. The television probably only had about a 15” screen. It also was fairly rounded. It didn’t matter though, for it gave us a lot of pleasure.

We did finally make it to Texas and then safely back home. Route 66 was a fond memory in itself. There were small stores along the highway that sold everything imaginable. I am so glad that I got to take that trip. It is something I will always remember.