Back in 1961 David Knudson had just graduated from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. He was looking for a job in California and took Route 66 all the way there.
“It was an absolutely fascinating experience, a 2,400-mile carnival,” he says. “But I had hardly any money at all. And me and a friend I drove with couldn’t afford to stop at any of the tourist traps and hot dog stands.”
Knudson got to Los Angeles and formed an ad agency with a couple of other friends. As the years passed, he couldn’t shake the memories of his voyage to the west coast. In 1993 he talked his wife, Mary Lou, into taking a ride on Route 66 from Chicago back to L.A. By then parts of the route were crumbling away or had been completely replaced by cornfields. None of the current highway maps listed Route 66 either, Knudson says, which meant following it required major detective work. The Knudsons parked at the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean to ask what happened to Route 66. They were told about a special set of maps that detailed the Mother Road.
They bought the map and drove on, deciding to photograph and document their trip. They figured the entire journey would take about a week, but it took more than a month. By the time they reached L.A., Knudson knew he had to save Route 66.
He sold his shares in the ad agency and in 1994 formed the National Historic Route 66 Federation, based in Lake Arrowhead, California. Today, he’s the executive director, and the organization boasts 3,000 dues-paying members. It also has a $10 million grant from Congress to fund Route 66 preservation efforts.
“The grant is spread over ten years,” he says. “But contrary to what most people think, you have to go to Congress every year to get them to reallocate it. We’ve never gotten the full amount yet–$1 million a year. Just several hundred thousand.” Knudson says so far the federation has doled out about $1 million for 20 to 25 different projects. It also sponsors an “Adopt a Hundred” program to pay for various undertakings along 100-mile stretches of the old road. The federation has a special interest in rescuing the route’s unique roadside architecture.
Knudson will be in Springfield to present the John Steinbeck Award, a trophy that honors the year’s best Route 66 preservationist. The John Steinbeck Foundation collaborates with the federation to choose the winner, which is selected among several nominees. The federation usually holds the award ceremony at a different city each year, says Knudson. Springfield is the only city to have hosted the award ceremony two times. Next year, the event will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In addition to the award presentation, the federation also sponsors the Route 66 Authors & Artists Expo on Adams between Fifth and Sixth streets and the Route 66 Collectibles Exhibition.
The John Steinbeck Awards ceremony and dinner begins at 6 p.m. at the Hilton
Springfield, Seventh and Adams. Reservations are required. For tickets and more
information, call the National Historic Route 66 Federation at 800-339-0794.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2003.
