When Tom Teague wrote his first article about Route 66 in 1985, he thought of it as just another story. “As a writer, you’re always looking for ideas,” Teague explains. “So one day I was driving on 66 north of Springfield where I live, and noticed the way the road dipped and curved in rhythm with the land. It seemed so much more a part of the environment than the interstate, so I decided to do a story about it.”
Little did he know that the mythic American highway would soon take over his life. Teague’s first article was limited to Illinois sites of interest along Route 66. The next year, he decided to document the entire highway, setting off in a 1982 Accord from downtown Chicago and winding up four months later at the end of the road in Santa Monica, Calif.
The resulting book, “Searching for 66,” made Teague an authority. He now lectures 50 times a year, conducts tours, is head of the Route 66 Hall of Fame in Springfield, and runs the Illinois Route 66 Society.
During his 1986 journey, Teague came across such oddities as the Riviera Roadhouse in Gardner, Ill. “The guy who ran it had enough money to buy the plot of land, but not enough to build anything on it,” Teague says. “So he bought a church, and bought a coal company office, and had the two buildings hauled by trailer to the land and placed on a new foundation.”
The composite structure became popular in the ’40s and ’50s as a roadside resort. “It was more than a restaurant. There was a zoo, camping grounds and even a watering hole. Can you imagine a rest stop today on the interstate inviting people to take a dip in the river? The insurance would be prohibitive.”
Teague says the highway’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to convey both epic scale and individualistic detail. “Route 66 is so approachable,” he says. “It’s always been a mom and pop kind of highway. You could start a restaurant or a motel along its path for a song. But what people like most of all is the idea that here’s this road, 2,400 miles long, and you can travel as far and as fast as you could get away. One woman I talked to called it `the paving of Manifest Destiny.’ “
When the more efficient interstate highway system was launched in 1958, it was only a matter of time before Route 66 was relegated to secondary status. Says Teague: “One of the great ironies about Route 66 is that it grew from nothing in 1926, quickly became the world’s most famous road, and in a matter of decades was eclipsed by the interstates. That says something about progress, about how fast things change in the United States.”
Teague will talk about his adventures on Route 66 at the Arlington Heights Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights at 7:30 p.m. April 6. Admission is free. Call 708-506-2613.
– Pauly Shore appears Friday at Zanie’s, 230 Hawthorne Village Commons, Vernon Hills. The Los Angeles comedian first gained a following on MTV and has starred in three movies, including “Encino Man,” as well as his own HBO special. Shore performs two shows, at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $17.50. Call 708-549-6030.
– Max Morath, ragtime pianist and raconteur, returns for his sixth engagement at Woodstock Opera House, 121 Van Buren St., Woodstock, on Saturday. Morath specializes in the music and culture of turn-of-the-century America. Tickets are $15. Call 815-338-5300.
– Cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of the syndicated comic strip “Dilbert,” presents a lecture and answers questions Tuesday at Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Rd., Palatine. Adams bases much of his humor on the frustrations experienced by office workers; he continues to work at a California telephone company. Adams will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Building M. Tickets are $7. Call 809-925-6100.
– Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performs Saturday at Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Ct., Schaumburg. The 10-member troupe incorporates traditional Chinese dance forms along with poetry, sculpture and calligraphy in its choregoraphy. Nai-Ni Chen, the ensemble’s director, was born in Taiwan and began training in classical Chinese dance when she was 4. The performance begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18, or $16 for senior citizens and students. Call 708-894-3600.
