EDMOND — A long winding thread of Americana crosses half the nation as State Highway 66. Historic Route 66 Highway represents the history of once bustling or still flourishing communities. It is an avenue for which stories are told from Chicago to California.

Many people may not realize that many improvements to the linking series of roads were made as the paving process progressed. Sharp curves were removed as the highway sometimes took a different route around a hill.

“It relates very directly to Arcadia,” said Jim Ross. “The road right in front of my house was the initial pathway.

The road, Old Highway 66, is about 1 mile east of town and curves south for a mile around a hill before reconnecting to Route 66. It has been in Oklahoma County’s jurisdiction since 1952.

“It’s a lot of fun for me,” Ross said. “Being an advocate and an enthusiast and a promoter of the highway and the tourism on the highway, I know people all over the United States,” Ross said.

A granite marker on the east entrance of Old Highway 66 is part of the Edmond Centennial Commision’s plans, said Pete Pettry, U.S. Route 66 project chairman. The commision wants Edmond businesses to invest in the markers. Other projects across the city are planned to help celebrate the state’s centennial on Nov. 16, 2007.

“If we increase tourism through Arcadia and other areas leading to Edmond, that will increase tourism for Edmond because people will stop and shop,” Pettry said.

Ross works out of his home as a writer having published a map series on Route 66 and a guide book about the highway in Oklahoma. He writes book reviews for American Road Magazine, and is on the design committee for the new Route 66 Interpretive Center restoration project that is planned for Chandler.

In 1997, Ross purchased property on Old Route 66 and built a home with a front exterior design resembling an old filling station on the highway. Several new houses have been built on the mile stretch of road during the last two years, he said.

Route 66 traces back to 1926 with a starting point in Chicago and ending in Santa Monica, Calif. A new system of federal highways was developed in the United States to accommodate burgeoning traffic flow.

County roads had linked the Midwest to the Pacific before Route 66 was developed, Ross succeeded in having the road placed on the National Register of Historic places in 1999.

“Some of them were early state highways,” he said. “Some of them were farm to market roads. Some of them took the place of existing bridges, even if it meant going up half a mile this way, then coming back.”

Eleven years was needed to pave the highway, said Ross, who is on the advisory council for the Route 66 Corridor Act program administered by the National Park Service. Highways closest to cities were paved first. Each state was in charge of its own paving by using federal and state funds.

Passersby are Europeans checking out the flavor of America. Tourists from other states and motorcycle groups are common, Ross said.

“People today are looking for that romance of the road,” he said. “They’re looking for the less-congested traffic corridors.

During the 1950s, bumper-to-to bumper traffic on Route 66 was reaching a peak.

“Although we glorify the era of two-lane highways,” Ross said, “in reality, the interstates came into existence in large part because of congestion. We had to have them.”

Ross’ across-the-street neighbor, Lana Ortwein, is a member of the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society.

She and her husband, Steve, moved three years ago from Tulsa. Steve is an operations manager for a construction company.

“It’s particularly special to me because I’m on my family’s land,” Ortwein said.

Her great-great-grandmother and her great-grandfather, John Henan Keely, migrated from Kansas to Arcadia in 1898.

Her family had to sell part of the land in 1958 to make room for the straightening of the highway.

“Growing up, I didn’t know this part of the road was part of Route 66,” Ortwein said. “It just didn’t phase me.”

She became more nostalgic during the past decade and learned about her heritage.

Her grandmother, Vivian Keely, had told her that then-Gov. Roy Turner, who served from 1947-51, had a family member injured in a collision on the curving road.

Because of that, Ortwein said, Turner declared the portion of the highway too dangerous. He ordered a commission to study straightening the highway.

The chirps of mockingbird, wildlife and woodland still provide a tranquil setting on the old road. And Arcadia has maintained its country town charm.

“Get out and experience the highway,” Ross said. “You’ll be surprised what you will discover if you just do a little exploring.”

(Features editor James Coburn may be reached via e-mail at jcoburn@edmondsun.com.)