WITH A FOCUS ON CUBA …
With the focus on Cuba Fest in Cuba, Missouri, the proposed venue for the debut of the Route 66 encyclopedia, next October, I have begun laying the ground work for what could be a very exciting year for us as well as the Route 66 community. In addition to Cuba Fest, it looks as though the Red Carpet Tour in in Illinois is shaping up to be a major event as is the New Mexico Motor Tour in June. Then there is the Route 66 in Mohave County exhibit being developed for the Powerhouse Visitor Center in Kingman.
But it is the tour that centers on Cuba which is garnering a great deal of my attention. This little project has morphed from a promotional tour for the book into an opportunity to provide publicity for the people and businesses along the highway, to promote and raise funds for museums and historic societies on Route 66, and now, to promote the importance of history to students at schools.
Initially, in an effort to derive media attention for the book, I envisioned driving the highway from end to end in a Model A Ford. This evolved to making the trip in a Nash, Studebaker, or Hudson manufactured between 1939 and 1953. Now, the focus has narrowed.
As one facet of the trip will be to speak at schools and encourage students to see history as something more than a dry, dusty subject that is as exciting as a three day insurance seminar, there can be only one vehicle suitable for this endeavor – a Hudson Hornet. The immediate association with the animated film Cars will instantly ensure interest from students.
So, the quest is on for a suitable vehicle that we can transform into the award winning Marshall Teague racer of the 1950s with “Fabulous Hudson Hornet 6” emblazoned on the doors. The quest is also on for suitable corporate sponsors to underwrite the endeavor, sponsors who will derive international publicity as a result of their support.
This is all still a pipe dream, a rough hewn plan, a little something to encourage people to see vintage cars as more than a trailer queen, an investment, or potential street rod project, and Route 66 as the ideal highway for using these vehicles as time machines. Still, eight books were once pipe dreams so …
So, mark your calendars for October and make your plans for a trip to Cuba. You miight want to make reservations at the Wagon Wheel Motel in advance, as I know at least one room has already been reserved.