The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road
Behind the Scenes
The “Mother Road,” as it was coined by John Steinbeck, has struck a chord with Americans and an ever growing international audience since its inception in 1926. Its roughly 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles still represent the ultimate American Experience, and almost 100 years later it still beckons the traveler. However, the narrative of the road, as conveyed by popular culture and historical works, has primarily focused on men and often overlooked the experiences of women and girls.
“Route 66: The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road” began as a web-site and oral history project and then became a documentary film series. Our goal is to create a public history record that sheds light on diverse women’s experiences for nearly a century. The time period covered by Route 66’s history from its inception in 1926 to its demise in 1985 and then to its ongoing rebirth represents a march forward for women in the domestic, political, social and economic spheres of their lives. That said, the American Experience is not homogeneous and a woman’s experience of a particular decade is impacted by factors beyond just the decades in which she lived and her gender. The oral histories identified for this project reflect the diversity of the people who live and work along Route 66 from Chicago to California.
From the Producer
Katrina Parks’ talks about Route 66 on Los Angeles ABC 7
Katrina Parks talks about her women’s history projects during the pandemic, including a podcast called Frontline Women. Introduction by Arizona’s Congressman Stanton.
Credits
Special Thanks to the Following Organizations for their Generous Funding Support: The Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, the Mark and Miwako Drabkin Foundation, Cinefemme and the Road Ahead Partnership. Additional Thanks for Public Program Support: Arizona Humanities, California Humanities, New Mexico Humanities Council, Missouri Humanities and Oklahoma Humanities.
Executive Producers: Katrina and Michael Parks
Producers: Thaddeus Homan, Michelle Kantor, Sharon Niederman, Mark Ocegueda, Heidi Osselaer & Rochelle Vallese
Written, Produced & Edited By: Katrina Parks
Supervising Editor: Thaddeus Homan
Finishing Editor: Larry W. Siroky
Narrator: Lori Hébert
Directors Of Photography: Kimby Caplan, Georg Joutras, and Lara Sievert
Associate Producer: Heather Paxton
Original Artwork: Michelle Kantor and Victor Gutiérrez Pancorbo
Graphics: Thaddeus Homan
Titles: Pablo Gutiérrez
Music: Cartsonic Music, BMI, Peter Wingerd and James Sale
Sound Mixing: DRAX audio SL and Pepe Del Pozo
Colorist: David Carstens
Aerials: Billy Marchese
Assistant Editors & Sound: Crystal Chan, Michelle Patterson, Chloe Shiner, Grace Simonett
Voiceover, Website Design & Graphics: Lori Hebert & Thaddeus Homan
Route 66 Map on Website: Chandler O’Leary
Humanities Advisors: Olivia Charest, Rose Diaz, Sean Evans, Marva Felchlin, Stephen Fried, Joe de Kehoe, Tomas Jaehn, Susie Ling, Ann-Mary Lutzick, Sharon Niederman, Mark Ocegueda, Heidi Osselaer, Virginia Salazar-Halfmoon, Virginia Scharff, Marshall Trimble, Candacy Taylor and Andrew Vassar.
Many Thanks to all of the following people who shared their expertise, locations, insights and archival images for the film series and/or the web-site: Allan Affeldt, Kimberly Alexander, Marla Allison, Katherine Augustine, Anne Marie Baker, Kaisa Barthuli, Ann Blaugrund, Diana Boyd, John Butte, Martha “Mot” Coleman, Luz Delgadillo Moore, Mirna Delgadillo, Jane Dippel, Donatella Davanzo, Sue Ann Dunn, Connie and Rive Echols, Cheryl Eichar Jett, Fran Elgin, Brad Elterman, Joline Enyart, Terri Enyart Conner, Chris Ervin, Barbara Felix, JoAn Fuller, Fayrene Hume, Shellee Graham, Linda D. Fisher, JoLynn Fox, Brenda Hammitt, Joann Harwell, Ruth Cousins Hobbs, Laura Holt, Fran Houser, Helen Horwitz, Amy Inouye, David Knudson, Stephanie Lee Jordan, Jenny Kimball, Lyndia Lowy, Ann-Mary Lutzick, Jerry McClanahan, Dan McGuinness, Marilyn Leistner, Nancy and Kevin Mueller, Caroline Meyer, Rosemary Natseway, Sharon Niederman, Mark Ocegueda, Sue Olsen, Larrilyn Oso, Andrew Parks, Glenda Pike, Mary Lynch Piña, Scott Piotrowski, the Powdrell Family, Melba Rigg, Betty Coleman Rives, Betty Salas Villaseñor, Hilda Velarde Salas, Keiko Sakatani, Spencer Soo-Hoo, Virginia Salazar-Halfmoon, Rosemarie Sandoval, Councilman Larry Spicer, Spencer SooHoo, Mary Tate Engels, Marshall Trimble, Candacy Taylor, Dyanna Taylor,Nick Thanas, Kathryn Thanas, Richard D. Thompson, Ronnie and Cynnie Troup, Judith Valles, Michael Wallis, Suzanne Wallis, Virginia Tellez Wayne, John Westerlund, Michael Tellez, Beverly Thomas, C. David Threatt, Edward Threatt, Nerissa Threat-Berry, Roxann Travis, Diane M. Warhover, Dawn Welch, Becky Willingham Johnson and Adela Windsor.
Special Thanks to the Following Organizations, Locations and Sources For Archival Images: Alamy, The Albuquerque Museum, Angel & Vilma’s Route 66 Gift Shop, Arizona Inn, The Autry, Ash Fork Route 66 Museum, Boots Court Motel, Blue Swallow Inn, CA Route 66 Association, Cars On The Route, The Center for Southwest Research, Clifton’s, Coliseum Ballroom Documentary, Cyrus Stevens Avery Library, DC Public Library, Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket, Devil’s Rope Museum, John Dover, Film Archives, G.A.R. Cemetery, Golden Dawn Gallery, Grand Canyon Museum, History Colorado, The Holbrook Arizona Museum, Hotel Monte Vista, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Kansas State Historical Society, La Posada, La Fonda On The Plaza, Library of Congress, Los Angeles Public Library, Lou Mitchell’s, Missouri State University Library, Mitla Cafe, Mr. Powdrell’s Barbecue, Navajo County Historical Society, The New Mexico Palace of the Governors, Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library, The Octavia Fellin Public Library, Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, Oakland Museum of California, The Old Trails Museum, Organized Chaos Chicago, Overholser Mansion, the Mitla Cafe, The Midpoint Cafe, Mojave Desert Archives, Mohave Historical Society, National Archives, National Historic Route 66 Federation, The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, Old Trails Museum, Pasadena Public Library, Prelinger Archives, Riordan Mansion, The Rock Cafe, Route 66 State Park, The School for Advanced Research, Smithsonian Institute and Taco Bell.