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(cheerful piano music)

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♪

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(narrator) 
Since its inception in 1926,

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Route 66 has been an icon 
of the American West

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and a defining element 
of the American experience.

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♪

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From Chicago to Los Angeles,

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the Mother Road 
takes us on a journey

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from the East 
to the American West,

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with its wide-open skies

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and a mix of different cultures.

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(Mary) 
Route 66 has opened the gateway

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to a lot of opportunities.

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(woman) 
You can still drive it?

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I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, 
how cool is that?"

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(woman) 
Where y'all from?

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(man) 
Germany.

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(narrator) 
International visitors 
come by the tens of thousands,

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hungry for 
an American experience.

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(mellow music)

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(indistinct remarks)

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♪

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(woman) 
But the most famous 
person of all?

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-Who? 
-Me.

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-Yay! 
-They grew up

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watching American television.

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Route 66 with George Maharis, 
Martin Milner.

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And they're all here 
to see America of yesterday.

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(narrator) 
Beloved television shows, 
like the Route 66 TV show,

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and films like Easy Rider, 
have celebrated the road

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from a male perspective, 
in which women

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are seldom in the driver's seat.

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♪

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(woman) 
We forgot that women 
were on those journeys.

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We forgot that women 
were working all along the way

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in those businesses.

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(narrator) 
Despite its moniker, 
the Mother Road,

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little attention has been paid 
to diverse women's experiences

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across many different cultures

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and almost 100 years of history.

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(woman) 
When I first got the motel

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and they were 
having a convention,

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and they said, "Well, no-- 
a woman doesn't come.

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There's no women."

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And so, 
they put this man beside me.

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I don't know who he is,

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but they just said, 
"Well, no, you just--

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just has to be a man with you."

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It's a mirror 
held up to the nation.

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A road that can be really 
a living classroom.

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(woman) 
She was entrepreneurial,

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she was very business oriented,

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and she allowed us

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to live a very comfortable life.

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(narrator) 
From archaeologists 
to politicians

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and countless entrepreneurs,

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women overcame segregation 
and gender discrimination

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to build fulfilling lives 
for themselves

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and generations to come

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on America's most beloved road.

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This is their story.

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(vehicles whirring past)

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Along the Mother Road,

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women had spent 
almost two decades

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slowly building communities 
along Route 66,

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when World War II 
launched the country

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into a new era.

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The first and fundamental fact 
is that what started

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as a European war

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has (inaudible) 
as the Nazis always intended

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it should develop

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into a war for world domination.

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(explosions)

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(newsreel announcer) 
Overnight, we were at war,

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a war we not prepared to fight.

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Still fresh and bitter

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are the memories of those days.

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(jazz music)

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(Heidi) 
In the 1940s, 
there's a dramatic shift,

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because Route 66

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is an important 
transportation corridor

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for both war materiel 
and for war personnel.

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You have soldiers 
coming through,

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you have equipment 
coming through.

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(narrator) 
The war opened up 
new opportunities

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in the workplace for women.

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Jobs that had previously 
only been open to men

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and required technical training 
and expertise

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were suddenly recruiting women.

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(John) 
Flagstaff at that time

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was a small mountain, 
tourist, lumber town.

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♪

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They decided 
this would be one of the 16

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new ordnance depots

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that they would build 
in the West.

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Route 66 served 
as a major conduit.

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Workers from all around 
could come into Flagstaff,

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they would go over 
the Arizona Divide,

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they would just 
drop down into Belmont,

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and work was guaranteed.

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The project manager out here,

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a man named Captain Myrick,

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knew that labor would be 
at a premium.

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He knew that Flagstaff 
could not supply

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anywhere close to 
the 8,000 construction workers

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that were needed.

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So, Captain Myrick said, 
"We have got to go out

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on the Indian reservations, 
and we've got to recruit

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Navajos and Hopis."

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Well, they approached 
the Navajo and Hopi leaders

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and said, "Listen, okay now,

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what if we built 
an Indian village

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on the Army base?"

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And both the Navajo 
and Hopi leaders,

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they thought that over 
for a few seconds,

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they said, 
"That would be wonderful."

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So, for the first time 
in American history,

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a large group 
of Native Americans

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moved onto 
a U.S. Army base gladly.

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(indistinct remarks)

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I work at Camp Navajo

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as an ordnance inspector.

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That's my title.

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I've been there at Camp Navajo 
for 27 years.

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I felt like I had a calling 
to the military,

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and I think it came from 
when I was a child.

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Here is my grandfather.

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He was actually 
the chairman of the tribe.

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To me, I've always 
looked up to my grandfather.

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He also served 
in the Army as well.

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I have always felt a connection 
at Camp Navajo,

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because my people 
have been there.

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(John) 
During the war, 
there would be probably around

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3,500 Navajo and Hopi families

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that lived in something called 
Indian Village.

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So, the women came along 
to help with the children,

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but they really 
weren't considered

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for employment at that time.

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When all 
the construction workers left

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in 1943,

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they had to get women out there 
for the permanent force.

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You see women adjusting 
the thin lock nut

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on 500-pound bombs.

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They did a lot of the, uh-- 
on the assembly line,

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they did work with munitions.

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Well, all of the information 
that had to be stenciled

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onto the green artillery shells

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was done by Navajo 
and Hopi women,

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also Anglo women, 
and they would take fuses down,

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and they would 
drop test the fuse

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to see if it would explode 
or not.

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1.3 million tons of munitions

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came in and out 
of Navajo Ordnance Depot,

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but the mission 
was to store it here

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until it was needed 
in the Pacific,

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and then they would 
ship it to Los Angeles

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or to San Francisco.

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They were always 
short of people,

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and consequently, 
there was considerable pressure

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on Flagstaff women

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through the newspaper 
and through the clubs

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saying, "You've got to come out 
to the depot to work,

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and we have 
a good-paying job for you."

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(narrator) 
While the jobs at the depot 
were civilian jobs,

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to make them 
more attractive to women,

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a uniform was designed 
that conveyed the importance

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of their work and position.

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(John) 
Hundreds and hundreds 
of young Hispanic women,

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they went out to the depot 
and got a good-paying job

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at a very good wage

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for the first time 
in their lives.

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(melancholic music)

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(narrator) 
The dangerous work at the depot,

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handling all kinds 
of ammunition

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from 50-pound bombs 
all the way down to artillery,

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took its toll.

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One of the most hazardous tasks 
at the depot

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was digging explosives 
out of a shell

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-using a wooden tool. 
-So that gunpowder

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could be saved 
and used in other shells.

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(narrator) 
Women were frequently involved 
in serious accidents

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that required hospitalization,

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and they had to juggle work 
with their role

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as wives and mothers 
in a way that the men of the era

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did not have to do.

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♪

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(Joe) 
You know, Molly, 
I've been thinking.

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(Molly) 
Yes, Joe?

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(Joe) 
Maybe some of those women 
and girls coming into the plant,

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well, maybe they have 
home responsibilities, too.

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(Molly) 
Could be.

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(Joe) 
Maybe--maybe they really do 
need time off.

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(narrator) 
Over 19 million women 
worked during World War II.

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What made 
the Navajo Ordnance Depot unique

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was the high percentage 
of Native American women

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who were integral 
to its success.

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(Mary) 
Here, the reason why 
I put them there like that,

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to me, it's like 
me as a Native American,

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and me as a--an Army person.

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In the Navajo way, 
they have a saying

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about changing woman.

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Changing woman, she had to adapt

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through certain things, 
you know.

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She had to change,

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and you know,

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as a girl, you change 
to become a woman.

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These photos right here,

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I was very sad when I left,

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and this was 
my first deployment,

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and at that time,

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you know, my children 
were crying after me,

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um, my son wouldn't let me go 
in this photo,

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and we had a lot of casualties

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in the first deployment.

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I put this up here because...

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(uplifting music)

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...I greet the morning 
every morning

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when I get to work,

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and there is the chapel 
at Camp Navajo.

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I've always felt blessed

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that I'm able to stay 
near the reservation,

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even though I'm away from home,

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and every time 
I look at the sacred mountain,

224
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which we call Dok'o'ooslid,

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I've always 
remembered my prayers,

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and, um,

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and always had that connection 
that I am home.

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Route 66 has opened the gateway 
to a lot of opportunities,

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especially to 
the Navajo reservation.

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♪

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(narrator) 
World War II 
invigorated the railroads,

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which were 
of paramount importance

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to the war effort,

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and run parallel to Route 66 
in the Southwest.

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This created additional 
job opportunities for women

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from many different backgrounds.

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(Stephen) 
You have 
an enormous number of troops

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that are going through 
the Southwest,

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so the restaurants, which are

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these very high-level 
restaurants,

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where everything's 
supposed to be perfect,

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and the tables have white linen 
and really nice china

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and all this kind of stuff,

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they basically 
take the restaurants apart,

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put long boards 
over all the tables,

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and they turn them 
into dorm eating

247
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for as many people 
as they could fit in there,

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and then everybody 
they can't fit in

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they serve through 
the windows of the cars.

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It was run more like 
a culinary army

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than a restaurant chain.

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00:11:27,533 --> 00:11:31,033
(Katherine) 
I was a Harvey Girl

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00:11:31,133 --> 00:11:35,233
at El Navajo 
in Gallup, New Mexico.

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00:11:35,333 --> 00:11:37,933
A girl from Acoma and I

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00:11:38,033 --> 00:11:41,766
were making these sandwiches 
for the troop trains.

256
00:11:41,866 --> 00:11:45,233
(honky-tonk piano music)

257
00:11:45,333 --> 00:11:47,833
So, the next year I went back,

258
00:11:47,933 --> 00:11:53,333
and I actually got a job 
in the coffee shop.

259
00:11:53,433 --> 00:11:55,933
(narrator) 
The Harvey Girls, who were part 
of the civilian workforce

260
00:11:56,033 --> 00:11:59,300
during World War II, 
wore an immaculate white uniform

261
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,433
that commanded respect.

262
00:12:01,533 --> 00:12:04,666
(Rose) 
And then, they had 
a little black bow

263
00:12:04,766 --> 00:12:07,400
and they had their number 
on it in silver,

264
00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,233
and my mother's number was four.

265
00:12:10,333 --> 00:12:14,100
My mother's father 
came from Japan,

266
00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,200
and her mother came from Mexico.

267
00:12:18,300 --> 00:12:21,966
(Virginia) 
I remember working 
with Mary Montoya in the '40s.

268
00:12:22,066 --> 00:12:24,900
Her Japanese name was Toki.

269
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,766
And we've been friends 
since before we started there.

270
00:12:28,866 --> 00:12:31,933
I started making beds,

271
00:12:32,033 --> 00:12:34,233
and the-- 
then the second morning,

272
00:12:34,333 --> 00:12:37,200
the bedrooms were upstairs,

273
00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:39,033
and I was making up the bed,

274
00:12:39,133 --> 00:12:41,966
and I guess I have 
a lot of electricity in my body,

275
00:12:42,066 --> 00:12:43,500
and it shocked me, 
and it threw me

276
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,000
clear across the room, 
and I almost

277
00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:47,300
went out the window.

278
00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,333
So, that frightened me 
and I ran downstairs,

279
00:12:50,433 --> 00:12:52,733
and I told them, 
"I'm through, I quit."

280
00:12:52,833 --> 00:12:55,266
And so, the manager, he said,

281
00:12:55,366 --> 00:12:57,866
"Would you like 
to work in the kitchen?"

282
00:12:57,966 --> 00:12:59,133
I said, "Sure."

283
00:12:59,233 --> 00:13:02,033
So, I started making salads,

284
00:13:02,133 --> 00:13:05,700
and then one of the girls

285
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,433
didn't show up,

286
00:13:07,533 --> 00:13:09,133
and we were short,

287
00:13:09,233 --> 00:13:11,966
so he put me out front,

288
00:13:12,066 --> 00:13:15,433
and that's where 
I started my career,

289
00:13:15,533 --> 00:13:18,533
working as a Harvey Girl.

290
00:13:18,633 --> 00:13:20,766
I worked a lot 
of troop trains, yes.

291
00:13:20,866 --> 00:13:22,633
(mellow music)

292
00:13:22,733 --> 00:13:26,233
A lot of 'em, they came 
one right after another.

293
00:13:26,333 --> 00:13:28,366
And we had to have the-- 
the tables all set

294
00:13:28,466 --> 00:13:30,400
when they came in.

295
00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:33,033
When we were a Harvey Girl,

296
00:13:33,133 --> 00:13:36,666
we had recognition 
from a lot of people,

297
00:13:36,766 --> 00:13:40,566
because all the troop trains, 
you know, that come,

298
00:13:40,666 --> 00:13:42,033
I got a lot of mail from them.

299
00:13:42,133 --> 00:13:44,933
(Rose) 
They had everything ready to go.

300
00:13:45,033 --> 00:13:46,800
They honored 'em so much.

301
00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:50,000
Well, with the train, 
they--they just saw everybody.

302
00:13:50,100 --> 00:13:51,633
♪

303
00:13:51,733 --> 00:13:53,700
These guys knew these were 
probably the last women

304
00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,500
they were gonna see 
before they went off to war,

305
00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,366
so they were always 
sneaking them notes,

306
00:13:58,466 --> 00:14:00,366
and asking 
if they could write them,

307
00:14:00,466 --> 00:14:03,033
and you know, the women 
were overwhelmed by this,

308
00:14:03,133 --> 00:14:05,633
because it's just like, 
you know, it's like 50 guys

309
00:14:05,733 --> 00:14:07,500
ask you to be 
the last person they're with

310
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,466
before they go, 
a day.

311
00:14:09,566 --> 00:14:11,200
They also served prisoners.

312
00:14:11,300 --> 00:14:12,866
I mean, Japanese prisoners

313
00:14:12,966 --> 00:14:15,100
being taken to 
prisoner-of-war camps

314
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,300
came through these towns 
and had to be served

315
00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,166
by the trains.

316
00:14:20,266 --> 00:14:21,866
At that time, 
it was pretty rough

317
00:14:21,966 --> 00:14:24,233
for the Japanese people.

318
00:14:24,333 --> 00:14:27,133
When we were in grade school,

319
00:14:27,233 --> 00:14:29,033
my sister and I--

320
00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:32,066
and they--they knew that,

321
00:14:32,166 --> 00:14:33,933
you know, 
my grandfather is Japanese,

322
00:14:34,033 --> 00:14:36,033
so we were taunted a lot.

323
00:14:36,133 --> 00:14:38,066
But, believe you me, 
my sister stood up

324
00:14:38,166 --> 00:14:39,833
and she fought.

325
00:14:39,933 --> 00:14:41,900
(narrator) 
Farther west, prejudice and fear

326
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,833
resulted in Japanese Americans 
being incarcerated

327
00:14:44,933 --> 00:14:46,633
for much of World War II

328
00:14:46,733 --> 00:14:49,400
in what were called 
internment camps.

329
00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:52,533
(Rose) 
Our American citizens 
were put in camps.

330
00:14:52,633 --> 00:14:55,000
(contemplative music)

331
00:14:55,100 --> 00:14:59,000
Anybody that was 
half Japanese on

332
00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:02,200
would be placed into a camp.

333
00:15:02,300 --> 00:15:06,900
♪

334
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:13,400
It was around 1942 
that the FBI,

335
00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:15,866
via the Monrovia 
Police Department,

336
00:15:15,966 --> 00:15:17,766
knocked on the door one evening

337
00:15:17,866 --> 00:15:21,000
and took my grandfather 
to be interrogated

338
00:15:21,100 --> 00:15:25,533
to the camp in New Mexico 
in Santa Fe,

339
00:15:25,633 --> 00:15:26,900
where he was interrogated there.

340
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,333
They took mostly the--

341
00:15:30,433 --> 00:15:33,133
the leaders 
of the Japanese community,

342
00:15:33,233 --> 00:15:34,566
or businessmen.

343
00:15:34,666 --> 00:15:38,300
There were posters 
that were plastered

344
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,766
on telephone poles that, 
"If you are Japanese

345
00:15:41,866 --> 00:15:45,466
that live from this street 
to this area,

346
00:15:45,566 --> 00:15:47,933
you will report to Santa Anita

347
00:15:48,033 --> 00:15:50,700
with just what you could 
carry by hand,"

348
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,566
your suitcase, 
one suitcase, that's it.

349
00:15:53,666 --> 00:15:55,700
(newsreel announcer) 
Santa Anita Racetrack, 
for example,

350
00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,433
suddenly became a community 
of about 17,000 persons.

351
00:15:59,533 --> 00:16:01,400
The Army provided housing

352
00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:04,066
and plenty of healthful, 
nourishing food for all.

353
00:16:04,166 --> 00:16:06,133
(quirky music)

354
00:16:06,233 --> 00:16:09,400
(Keiko) 
My cousin Bacon 
was there in Santa Anita,

355
00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:11,133
and he remembers 
the horse stalls

356
00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:12,933
that some of them 
had to be housed in

357
00:16:13,033 --> 00:16:16,533
before the barracks came, 
and the smell was just horrible.

358
00:16:16,633 --> 00:16:19,033
When my mother 
and my grandmother

359
00:16:19,133 --> 00:16:21,566
went past Santa Anita,

360
00:16:21,666 --> 00:16:25,266
and they noticed barbed wire,

361
00:16:25,366 --> 00:16:27,300
the guards facing in,

362
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,166
and all of these Japanese.

363
00:16:30,266 --> 00:16:32,166
(somber music)

364
00:16:32,266 --> 00:16:34,400
♪

365
00:16:34,500 --> 00:16:36,666
For my mother 
and my grandmother,

366
00:16:36,766 --> 00:16:40,866
when they went to 
the Pomona Fairgrounds,

367
00:16:40,966 --> 00:16:45,100
waiting to be processed,

368
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,933
my mother remembers 
how humiliating it was.

369
00:16:49,033 --> 00:16:51,800
At that time, 
she was about 18, 19,

370
00:16:51,900 --> 00:16:55,233
had just started 
at Pasadena City College,

371
00:16:55,333 --> 00:16:57,866
and my mother-- 
they had a ceremony,

372
00:16:57,966 --> 00:17:00,466
"Goodbye to the Japanese."

373
00:17:00,566 --> 00:17:04,033
(narrator) 
In Route 66 communities 
across Southern California,

374
00:17:04,133 --> 00:17:06,033
many Japanese-American families

375
00:17:06,133 --> 00:17:09,300
lost what they had 
worked so hard to build.

376
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,966
♪

377
00:17:12,066 --> 00:17:15,900
(Keiko) 
My grandfather had a gas pump 
on the property,

378
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,533
and Mr. Good 
was a representative

379
00:17:18,633 --> 00:17:19,966
for Standard Oil,

380
00:17:20,066 --> 00:17:22,300
but he was just a lovely man,

381
00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,133
and my grandfather and Mr. Good 
just really hit it off

382
00:17:26,233 --> 00:17:27,666
and became very good friends.

383
00:17:27,766 --> 00:17:33,633
And when the executive order 
that Roosevelt had issued,

384
00:17:33,733 --> 00:17:37,600
because of the Japanese 
being a threat,

385
00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:41,433
he most likely 
contacted Mr. Good,

386
00:17:41,533 --> 00:17:43,366
and gave him power of attorney.

387
00:17:43,466 --> 00:17:46,000
Mr. Good rented out 
the property,

388
00:17:46,100 --> 00:17:49,300
and during the time 
that my mother

389
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:56,100
and my grandparents 
were in the concentration camps,

390
00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,633
he sent them the monthly checks.

391
00:18:00,733 --> 00:18:03,733
But many families 
lost everything.

392
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,366
(somber music)

393
00:18:09,466 --> 00:18:11,200
(narrator) 
Wartime work 
on the domestic front

394
00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:13,033
was dangerous.

395
00:18:13,133 --> 00:18:16,233
Between 1941 and 1945,

396
00:18:16,333 --> 00:18:17,933
in the Air Force alone,

397
00:18:18,033 --> 00:18:20,333
there were almost 
14,000 fatalities

398
00:18:20,433 --> 00:18:23,933
within the continental U.S.,

399
00:18:24,033 --> 00:18:25,566
often leaving women bereft

400
00:18:25,666 --> 00:18:28,466
and with the responsibility 
of mourning the dead.

401
00:18:28,566 --> 00:18:30,166
♪

402
00:18:30,266 --> 00:18:33,700
Miami is right here 
where we are.

403
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,733
World War II, in many ways, 
has become a romantic era.

404
00:18:37,833 --> 00:18:41,833
We look back on it 
as a golden age of ethics,

405
00:18:41,933 --> 00:18:43,633
a golden age of sacrifice.

406
00:18:43,733 --> 00:18:46,100
The war is also 
a pressure cooker for romance

407
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,733
in the sense that 
you have relationships

408
00:18:48,833 --> 00:18:51,700
between individuals 
who may not

409
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:53,433
see each other again.

410
00:18:53,533 --> 00:18:55,933
Well, a little slice 
of Britain right here.

411
00:18:56,033 --> 00:18:57,833
-Mhm. 
-Yeah.

412
00:18:57,933 --> 00:19:00,333
(Andrew) 
For all intents and purposes, 
this is British soil.

413
00:19:00,433 --> 00:19:02,433
(Nancy) 
The British were here to train

414
00:19:02,533 --> 00:19:05,266
because the skies 
were so dangerous there.

415
00:19:05,366 --> 00:19:08,566
There were so many fatalities.

416
00:19:08,666 --> 00:19:10,733
They--they're-- 
while they were training,

417
00:19:10,833 --> 00:19:13,400
they would get, 
you know, shot down,

418
00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:15,300
and they were losing 
so many cadets

419
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,533
before they could ever 
get 'em trained.

420
00:19:17,633 --> 00:19:20,766
So, the United Kingdom 
made arrangements

421
00:19:20,866 --> 00:19:24,633
with the United States 
to place training facilities

422
00:19:24,733 --> 00:19:26,666
here in the States 
for their boys.

423
00:19:26,766 --> 00:19:29,000
The most intriguing part of this

424
00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:32,766
is the--the way 
the city of Miami

425
00:19:32,866 --> 00:19:35,533
just reached out 
to these cadets

426
00:19:35,633 --> 00:19:38,500
and embraced them 
with open arms,

427
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:39,900
and welcomed them,

428
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,966
and welcomed them 
into their homes,

429
00:19:42,066 --> 00:19:44,300
and, you know, 
took 'em to church,

430
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,833
and had Sunday dinners 
with them.

431
00:19:46,933 --> 00:19:48,966
(Andrew) 
Here we are 
on Route 66 behind us.

432
00:19:49,066 --> 00:19:52,000
You had a--RAF soldiers

433
00:19:52,100 --> 00:19:54,700
living here 
amongst this small town,

434
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,066
and the small town took to them, 
like, it was unbelievable.

435
00:19:58,166 --> 00:20:00,733
In fact, one of the stories is, 
the boys were busy

436
00:20:00,833 --> 00:20:04,266
every night of the week 
with constant invites.

437
00:20:04,366 --> 00:20:07,033
In fact, if you look through, 
there's a nice advertisement

438
00:20:07,133 --> 00:20:11,300
for "The Coleman Theater 
welcomes the RAF pilots."

439
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,833
(narrator) 
Some of the young Brits 
who traveled to Miami, Oklahoma,

440
00:20:14,933 --> 00:20:16,866
were confused 
when they got there,

441
00:20:16,966 --> 00:20:20,266
having thought they were 
on their way to Miami, Florida.

442
00:20:20,366 --> 00:20:22,266
(engine whirring)

443
00:20:22,366 --> 00:20:24,133
♪

444
00:20:24,233 --> 00:20:28,266
Frances Hill's story actually 
is fairly well known to Miami.

445
00:20:28,366 --> 00:20:31,766
(Nancy) 
Her daughter fell in love 
with one of the British cadets.

446
00:20:31,866 --> 00:20:35,033
-Wow. 
-And he finished his training,

447
00:20:35,133 --> 00:20:37,666
got his wings, and then, um,

448
00:20:37,766 --> 00:20:40,733
from that point, you know, 
he left and went on to war,

449
00:20:40,833 --> 00:20:43,566
and it wasn't but just 
a very short time after that

450
00:20:43,666 --> 00:20:45,400
he actually died.

451
00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:47,366
-His plane crashed. 
-In the English Channel,

452
00:20:47,466 --> 00:20:48,933
-correct? 
-Yeah.

453
00:20:49,033 --> 00:20:51,966
So, it devastated her daughter,

454
00:20:52,066 --> 00:20:54,266
and she also, in the meantime,

455
00:20:54,366 --> 00:20:58,133
had grown such a fondness 
to all the British kids,

456
00:20:58,233 --> 00:21:01,300
you know, British cadets, 
because they--

457
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,600
she would welcome them 
into her home,

458
00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:07,433
and gave them 
that little piece of home life

459
00:21:07,533 --> 00:21:10,633
that they missed 
from being over here.

460
00:21:10,733 --> 00:21:14,033
(Andrew) 
Most of the deaths, 
obviously, are accidents.

461
00:21:14,133 --> 00:21:15,733
I think I read 
some of them were at night,

462
00:21:15,833 --> 00:21:18,266
but do you-- 
is there an overarching...

463
00:21:18,366 --> 00:21:19,800
(man) 
We've had some at night.

464
00:21:19,900 --> 00:21:23,466
We had two planes 
actually crash into each other.

465
00:21:23,566 --> 00:21:25,900
(Nancy) 
Mhm, and killed all four.

466
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,766
Whenever they, 
you know, would pass,

467
00:21:27,866 --> 00:21:30,433
she would always go 
to their funerals.

468
00:21:30,533 --> 00:21:32,966
She would walk 
the railroad tracks

469
00:21:33,066 --> 00:21:36,333
that run along through here 
from her house,

470
00:21:36,433 --> 00:21:39,666
and carry flowers 
from her garden,

471
00:21:39,766 --> 00:21:42,533
and come out 
and decorate these graves.

472
00:21:42,633 --> 00:21:44,200
(mellow jazz music)

473
00:21:44,300 --> 00:21:46,166
(man) 
She tended it--them 
up to her death.

474
00:21:46,266 --> 00:21:48,500
She was awarded, uh, a medal.

475
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,533
-The King's Medal 
-King's Medal

476
00:21:50,633 --> 00:21:52,733
from King George VI

477
00:21:52,833 --> 00:21:55,100
for basically 
taking care of these boys

478
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:56,866
for 40 years.

479
00:21:56,966 --> 00:21:59,000
(Andrew) 
"Frances May Hill of Miami--

480
00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:01,366
Miami, buried alongside 
voluntarily tended

481
00:22:01,466 --> 00:22:03,966
these 15 
British airmen's graves,

482
00:22:04,066 --> 00:22:07,600
and helped their loved ones 
from 1941 to 1981."

483
00:22:07,700 --> 00:22:11,066
(Nancy) 
I believe they called it 
a selfless human action.

484
00:22:11,166 --> 00:22:14,466
♪

485
00:22:14,566 --> 00:22:16,233
(narrator) 
Even after paying 
the highest price

486
00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:18,233
for one's country, however,

487
00:22:18,333 --> 00:22:21,433
soldiers were not guaranteed 
equal treatment.

488
00:22:21,533 --> 00:22:25,700
(Judith) 
The ultimate sacrifice 
was, of course, the death of--

489
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,066
of Juvenal,

490
00:22:28,166 --> 00:22:29,800
uh, in the Second World War.

491
00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:32,366
(Ruth) 
I remember 
I was in a dead sleep,

492
00:22:32,466 --> 00:22:35,466
and all of a sudden 
I heard my mother screaming

493
00:22:35,566 --> 00:22:37,366
and hollering and crying,

494
00:22:37,466 --> 00:22:39,866
and I got up, and, uh,

495
00:22:39,966 --> 00:22:43,066
it was a phone call 
letting my mother know

496
00:22:43,166 --> 00:22:48,066
of the, uh, 
death of my brother, Juvenal,

497
00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:51,033
and I remember jumping up 
and going up there,

498
00:22:51,133 --> 00:22:53,600
and my dad was there 
with my mother,

499
00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:55,600
and they were both crying,

500
00:22:55,700 --> 00:22:57,400
and I didn't know 
what was going on.

501
00:22:57,500 --> 00:22:59,633
He was a cadet 
in Des Moines, Iowa,

502
00:22:59,733 --> 00:23:04,333
in the Air Force, and he died 
in a boating accident.

503
00:23:04,433 --> 00:23:09,433
When his body was brought home 
to San Bernardino, California,

504
00:23:09,533 --> 00:23:13,266
and arrangements 
were being made for his burial,

505
00:23:13,366 --> 00:23:16,200
my father went 
and made the arrangements

506
00:23:16,300 --> 00:23:17,833
for the funeral.

507
00:23:17,933 --> 00:23:20,466
My father was fair-skinned, 
so they thought

508
00:23:20,566 --> 00:23:23,533
he was maybe something else 
that he wasn't.

509
00:23:23,633 --> 00:23:25,066
My mother comes

510
00:23:25,166 --> 00:23:27,200
to make the final selection 
of the coffin.

511
00:23:27,300 --> 00:23:29,700
My mother's a bit darker.

512
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:31,966
And according to my mother,

513
00:23:32,066 --> 00:23:35,366
they asked me, "What are you, 
are you Mexican?"

514
00:23:35,466 --> 00:23:37,633
And she said, "Si."

515
00:23:37,733 --> 00:23:39,800
And they said, "Oh, we're sorry,

516
00:23:39,900 --> 00:23:42,300
Mexicans cannot be buried here."

517
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,033
There's another section 
for Mexicans,

518
00:23:44,133 --> 00:23:45,466
which was behind the fence.

519
00:23:45,566 --> 00:23:46,766
So, my father,

520
00:23:46,866 --> 00:23:49,600
he was strong-willed person,

521
00:23:49,700 --> 00:23:53,900
principled man, 
fought for what is right,

522
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,400
and he said, "If my son 
can't be buried here,

523
00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:58,066
we're not burying him,"

524
00:23:58,166 --> 00:24:02,466
and we took 
my brother's body home.

525
00:24:02,566 --> 00:24:04,600
I remember he was 
in our living room.

526
00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:06,833
-Oh, yes. 
-It was just, kind of you go by,

527
00:24:06,933 --> 00:24:08,133
and there's, you know, 
your brother

528
00:24:08,233 --> 00:24:10,466
sitting in a coffin, 
open coffin.

529
00:24:10,566 --> 00:24:12,866
Um, it seemed forever,

530
00:24:12,966 --> 00:24:14,766
but I guess it was 
maybe a week or so.

531
00:24:14,866 --> 00:24:17,700
It was just unusual,

532
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,200
but then I also understood 
at that young age

533
00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:23,433
the courage that my father had, 
because my mother

534
00:24:23,533 --> 00:24:26,100
wanted him buried 
at a certain spot,

535
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,100
and he was not allowed 
because he was Mexican,

536
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,933
and he had to be 
in another part of the cemetery.

537
00:24:33,033 --> 00:24:35,700
So, I--I was really proud 
of my parents

538
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,133
taking that position.

539
00:24:37,233 --> 00:24:39,766
And then, Mike, you remember, 
he contacted Harry Sheppard,

540
00:24:39,866 --> 00:24:41,133
our congressman,

541
00:24:41,233 --> 00:24:42,900
so then Harry Sheppard said, 
"Okay, we'll take him

542
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,200
to Arlington," right?

543
00:24:45,300 --> 00:24:47,100
Arlington in Washington.

544
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:48,600
My mother was devastated.

545
00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:51,200
She says, "No, no, no, 
I want my son buried here

546
00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:53,066
in his hometown."

547
00:24:53,166 --> 00:24:56,933
So, he was not buried, 
he--he didn't go to Arlington,

548
00:24:57,033 --> 00:25:00,600
and ultimately 
he integrated the cemetery.

549
00:25:00,700 --> 00:25:03,100
And the parents 
who lost a son in the war

550
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:04,833
received a Gold Star.

551
00:25:04,933 --> 00:25:07,666
So, my mother 
was a Gold Star Mother,

552
00:25:07,766 --> 00:25:09,500
and this is the letter 
that she received

553
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,566
from Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

554
00:25:11,666 --> 00:25:14,100
who was the president 
at the time.

555
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,033
"Freedom lives, 
and through it, he lives

556
00:25:17,133 --> 00:25:19,700
in a way that humbles

557
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,500
the undertakings of most men."

558
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,733
Signed President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

559
00:25:25,833 --> 00:25:27,800
My mother treasured this.

560
00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:30,766
(Ruth) 
I was so stricken.

561
00:25:30,866 --> 00:25:33,966
I do remember 
saving my--my money,

562
00:25:34,066 --> 00:25:37,633
and, uh, wanting to do 
something very special

563
00:25:37,733 --> 00:25:39,866
for our veterans.

564
00:25:39,966 --> 00:25:41,933
(ghost of a soldier) 
The value of these things 
can't be measured

565
00:25:42,033 --> 00:25:43,700
in ordinary ways,

566
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,533
but must be paid for 
in dollars and cents,

567
00:25:47,633 --> 00:25:50,500
and sometimes in lives.

568
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,433
Freedom comes high.

569
00:25:52,533 --> 00:25:55,966
(Ruth) 
And so, when I had enough money, 
I remember asking,

570
00:25:56,066 --> 00:25:57,866
"Do I not have enough 
for a bond?"

571
00:25:57,966 --> 00:26:01,333
And, uh, I remember being told, 
"Yes, you do."

572
00:26:01,433 --> 00:26:04,733
And so, I was in school 
at that point,

573
00:26:04,833 --> 00:26:08,666
and I remember these reporters 
coming to the school,

574
00:26:08,766 --> 00:26:13,133
and they had me put my-- 
my piggy bank there,

575
00:26:13,233 --> 00:26:15,700
and they wanted 
to take pictures.

576
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,700
And so, as a result,

577
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,833
there I am, there,

578
00:26:19,933 --> 00:26:22,366
ready to, uh, 
break my piggy bank,

579
00:26:22,466 --> 00:26:23,933
which is that one,

580
00:26:24,033 --> 00:26:29,333
to get this special bond for-- 
to help our veterans.

581
00:26:29,433 --> 00:26:31,433
(narrator) 
The end of the war 
challenged the advances

582
00:26:31,533 --> 00:26:35,166
women had made in the workplace 
along Route 66.

583
00:26:35,266 --> 00:26:36,966
(mellow rock music)

584
00:26:37,066 --> 00:26:38,900
(announcer) 
Each trip upstairs 
is the equivalent

585
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,100
of lifting 
her own weight 12 feet.

586
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,466
And at the rate 
of 20 trips a day,

587
00:26:44,566 --> 00:26:47,733
that's lifting 
about 12 tons of weight.

588
00:26:47,833 --> 00:26:50,200
Who said "weaker sex"?

589
00:26:50,300 --> 00:26:53,566
(narrator) 
Women were expected to resume 
being full-time homemakers

590
00:26:53,666 --> 00:26:55,300
so that men 
could take back the jobs

591
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,400
they had previously enjoyed.

592
00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:59,433
♪

593
00:26:59,533 --> 00:27:03,233
(Lyndia) 
My uncle joined 
the United States Army

594
00:27:03,333 --> 00:27:06,266
just before Pearl Harbor.

595
00:27:06,366 --> 00:27:08,933
My mother, she ran the business

596
00:27:09,033 --> 00:27:12,466
until the end of World War II, 
alone.

597
00:27:12,566 --> 00:27:15,600
She was chronically exhausted.

598
00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:17,733
It was such hard work.

599
00:27:17,833 --> 00:27:21,966
She was in the store 
seven days a week.

600
00:27:22,066 --> 00:27:26,633
She had to take trips 
to New York periodically

601
00:27:26,733 --> 00:27:30,133
to get merchandise.

602
00:27:30,233 --> 00:27:32,966
She was dealing with people

603
00:27:33,066 --> 00:27:35,933
who didn't have very much money,

604
00:27:36,033 --> 00:27:39,066
so that was layaway.

605
00:27:39,166 --> 00:27:41,233
During the summer,

606
00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:44,700
she would store fur coats

607
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,733
in a separate building 
that was cold storage,

608
00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:51,666
and it was the Dust Bowl,

609
00:27:51,766 --> 00:27:56,000
so she had to clean 
the shop every day,

610
00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:58,300
clean the dust off the windows,

611
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,266
which was a lot,

612
00:28:00,366 --> 00:28:06,066
and then manage her household 
when she came home from work.

613
00:28:06,166 --> 00:28:11,800
Her brother, he met a woman 
in New York City

614
00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:15,300
as soon as he came back 
from the war,

615
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:20,200
so he returned to Amarillo

616
00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:27,033
in 1945 
with a wife.

617
00:28:27,133 --> 00:28:31,500
Now...during the time 
he had been gone,

618
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:33,533
my mother,

619
00:28:33,633 --> 00:28:37,333
even though she was 
running the business,

620
00:28:37,433 --> 00:28:40,300
really didn't have access

621
00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,966
to credit in her own name.

622
00:28:44,066 --> 00:28:48,366
She was doing everything 
on behalf of her brother.

623
00:28:48,466 --> 00:28:52,466
As soon as he came home 
with a wife,

624
00:28:52,566 --> 00:28:54,866
he looked over the books,

625
00:28:54,966 --> 00:28:57,833
and said, "Thank you 
for taking care of the business

626
00:28:57,933 --> 00:28:59,600
while I've been gone.

627
00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:02,966
I'm going to take over now."

628
00:29:03,066 --> 00:29:06,066
He decided how much

629
00:29:06,166 --> 00:29:11,033
her half of the business 
was worth,

630
00:29:11,133 --> 00:29:13,600
he wrote her a check,

631
00:29:13,700 --> 00:29:17,400
and he gave her 
a one-way bus ticket

632
00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:20,566
to her father in Los Angeles.

633
00:29:20,666 --> 00:29:22,900
(honky-tonk piano music)

634
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,800
My mother was not really happy

635
00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:30,200
about the way her brother 
had negotiated

636
00:29:30,300 --> 00:29:34,400
the "sale" 
of her share of the business.

637
00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:38,100
In spite of being 
a decorated war veteran,

638
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,333
my Uncle Saul could not join

639
00:29:42,433 --> 00:29:46,133
the various 
veterans' organizations.

640
00:29:46,233 --> 00:29:49,966
He was excluded from 
the chamber of commerce.

641
00:29:50,066 --> 00:29:53,833
There was major anti-Semitism 
in Texas.

642
00:29:53,933 --> 00:29:59,866
There were some stories 
about loans

643
00:29:59,966 --> 00:30:04,066
either not being available 
to maintain the business,

644
00:30:04,166 --> 00:30:07,100
or his interest rate

645
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,733
being higher 
than it would've been

646
00:30:09,833 --> 00:30:13,733
if he had been 
a church-going man.

647
00:30:13,833 --> 00:30:18,066
And that was similar 
to what would've happened

648
00:30:18,166 --> 00:30:20,466
if he had been 
Hispanic or Black.

649
00:30:20,566 --> 00:30:24,700
(newsreel announcer) 
All this can't keep a fellow 
from putting down his ideas.

650
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,100
Something is going 
to add up here.

651
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:28,900
(gunshot)

652
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,433
His own air conditioned castle 
with a deep freeze,

653
00:30:32,533 --> 00:30:34,266
cooler for beer.

654
00:30:34,366 --> 00:30:36,100
(narrator) 
While the Nazis 
had been defeated,

655
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:37,933
anti-Semitism had not.

656
00:30:38,033 --> 00:30:39,500
Despite this obstacle,

657
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,566
along the Mother Road 
in Albuquerque,

658
00:30:41,666 --> 00:30:44,033
there was a well-established 
Jewish community,

659
00:30:44,133 --> 00:30:45,533
in which women entrepreneurs

660
00:30:45,633 --> 00:30:48,233
played a prominent role 
in business.

661
00:30:48,333 --> 00:30:51,566
(Helen) 
I was born 
and spent my first 18 years

662
00:30:51,666 --> 00:30:54,600
in Albuquerque, 
and I lived very close

663
00:30:54,700 --> 00:30:58,433
to the Downtown, 
which was my, uh, hangout.

664
00:30:58,533 --> 00:31:00,800
(mellow piano music)

665
00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:03,466
(Ann) 
We moved here in 1940,

666
00:31:03,566 --> 00:31:07,800
and had a store 
Downtown Albuquerque.

667
00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:10,900
(Sharon) 
This became 
an important spot for you.

668
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,466
-Now, why is that? 
-Well,

669
00:31:12,566 --> 00:31:14,066
this was Everitt Jewelers.

670
00:31:14,166 --> 00:31:18,400
(Ann) 
We bought it from 
the original Mr. Everitt.

671
00:31:18,500 --> 00:31:20,333
We sold jewelry.

672
00:31:20,433 --> 00:31:22,800
We still had 
a dollar-down,

673
00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:25,166
dollar-a-week type thing.

674
00:31:25,266 --> 00:31:27,933
So, you got to know 
your customers pretty well.

675
00:31:28,033 --> 00:31:31,566
Oh, I washed the glass windows 
in the morning

676
00:31:31,666 --> 00:31:34,566
and swept the floor 
and kept the books

677
00:31:34,666 --> 00:31:38,366
and waited on customers.

678
00:31:38,466 --> 00:31:40,266
Did a little of everything.

679
00:31:40,366 --> 00:31:43,266
(Helen) 
Well, my parents moved 
to Albuquerque in 1933.

680
00:31:43,366 --> 00:31:44,866
It was the height 
of the Depression,

681
00:31:44,966 --> 00:31:47,900
and my father went to work 
for Maisel's,

682
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,233
and he worked for Maisel's 
for several years.

683
00:31:51,333 --> 00:31:55,200
(Sharon) 
This building 
was created in 1939,

684
00:31:55,300 --> 00:31:58,633
and it was in its time 
the largest trading post

685
00:31:58,733 --> 00:32:01,533
on the route, and it is 
particularly distinguished

686
00:32:01,633 --> 00:32:05,333
on the exterior for the murals 
that were painted

687
00:32:05,433 --> 00:32:08,566
by the young students 
at the time

688
00:32:08,666 --> 00:32:11,633
of the IAIA,

689
00:32:11,733 --> 00:32:14,166
the Indian art school 
in Santa Fe,

690
00:32:14,266 --> 00:32:18,700
and many of the best-known 
Indian artists,

691
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,433
people who went on to become 
groundbreaking Indian artists,

692
00:32:23,533 --> 00:32:25,733
actually painted these murals.

693
00:32:25,833 --> 00:32:28,600
This is the only building 
on the Mother Road

694
00:32:28,700 --> 00:32:31,200
decorated by Native Americans,

695
00:32:31,300 --> 00:32:34,100
and among the murals 
that are here

696
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,900
is one by Pablita Velarde,

697
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,033
who became the matriarch

698
00:32:39,133 --> 00:32:42,900
of a very, very well-known 
Indian artist family.

699
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,766
(mellow music)

700
00:32:44,866 --> 00:32:48,200
(Helen) 
My father turned out to be 
a wonderful salesman,

701
00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:51,566
and with a real knack 
for Indian jewelry,

702
00:32:51,666 --> 00:32:55,433
and he opened his own store 
about a block away,

703
00:32:55,533 --> 00:32:57,300
across from the KiMo Theater,

704
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,533
called the Navajo Indian Store.

705
00:32:59,633 --> 00:33:00,966
There were several 
Jewish merchants

706
00:33:01,066 --> 00:33:03,133
in Downtown Albuquerque.

707
00:33:03,233 --> 00:33:05,966
One of them was a woman, 
Mary Cohen,

708
00:33:06,066 --> 00:33:09,800
and, uh, they had a wonderful 
women's dress shop

709
00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:12,900
in Downtown Albuquerque 
called Jordan's,

710
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,700
and that was the main store 
where I did my shopping,

711
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,100
and bringing things home 
on approval.

712
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,133
And then, there was a woman 
named Jean Marcus,

713
00:33:23,233 --> 00:33:25,633
and she and her husband 
had moved to Albuquerque

714
00:33:25,733 --> 00:33:27,100
from New York,

715
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,166
and she had a store 
on Central Avenue

716
00:33:30,266 --> 00:33:32,466
called Accessories by Jean,

717
00:33:32,566 --> 00:33:35,833
and it was all costume jewelry

718
00:33:35,933 --> 00:33:38,733
and handbags and accessories.

719
00:33:38,833 --> 00:33:41,800
And she was a woman 
of great style,

720
00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:44,000
and the fact 
that she was from New York

721
00:33:44,100 --> 00:33:47,433
was very impressive to me.

722
00:33:47,533 --> 00:33:50,700
(narrator) 
Success and business on Route 66 
did now, however, translate

723
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:53,566
into being able to buy 
the house of your dreams.

724
00:33:53,666 --> 00:33:55,733
Discrimination by banks 
against women,

725
00:33:55,833 --> 00:33:58,000
and anyone who wasn't 
considered white,

726
00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:00,833
-was commonplace. 
-Then, in 1953,

727
00:34:00,933 --> 00:34:03,700
Second Street became 
Eastbound Route 66,

728
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:05,533
and just to the north of that,

729
00:34:05,633 --> 00:34:09,733
Third Street 
became Westbound Route 66.

730
00:34:09,833 --> 00:34:12,433
Historically, Winslow did have

731
00:34:12,533 --> 00:34:16,833
a degree of 
de facto segregation in housing.

732
00:34:16,933 --> 00:34:19,733
Banks would only make loans 
to people of color

733
00:34:19,833 --> 00:34:21,366
to live in 
certain parts of town.

734
00:34:21,466 --> 00:34:23,033
(Spencer) 
A realtor wouldn't sell 
the property to my dad

735
00:34:23,133 --> 00:34:25,466
unless we went around 
to all the neighbors

736
00:34:25,566 --> 00:34:27,866
in about a three- 
or four-block radius,

737
00:34:27,966 --> 00:34:29,633
and asked if it was okay 
for a Chinese family

738
00:34:29,733 --> 00:34:31,300
to move into the neighborhood.

739
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,133
At that point, though, 
I think there were

740
00:34:33,233 --> 00:34:36,500
probably about 14 or 15 
Chinese families in Winslow.

741
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:38,866
My mother Linda 
moved to Winslow,

742
00:34:38,966 --> 00:34:41,933
uh, with my father 
shortly after they were married,

743
00:34:42,033 --> 00:34:43,366
right after World War II.

744
00:34:43,466 --> 00:34:46,866
It was an arranged marriage, 
and so they came over on a ship

745
00:34:46,966 --> 00:34:48,966
in, uh, 1947,

746
00:34:49,066 --> 00:34:51,333
I was born in 1948.

747
00:34:51,433 --> 00:34:54,800
Route 66 was a source 
of livelihood for the city.

748
00:34:54,900 --> 00:34:56,966
Brought in all the tourism.

749
00:34:57,066 --> 00:34:58,733
The railroads 
had a big maintenance yard

750
00:34:58,833 --> 00:35:00,300
in Winslow.

751
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:03,566
So we grew up, 
um, in a grocery store

752
00:35:03,666 --> 00:35:05,066
that was on First Street,

753
00:35:05,166 --> 00:35:07,800
which was right across 
some railroad tracks.

754
00:35:07,900 --> 00:35:09,666
My dad was already 
a naturalized citizen

755
00:35:09,766 --> 00:35:11,500
through his service in the Army,

756
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,566
and so I remember 
coming home one day,

757
00:35:13,666 --> 00:35:15,400
and my dad said, "Okay,

758
00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:17,300
your mother's 
gotta speak English.

759
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,333
No more Chinese at home."

760
00:35:19,433 --> 00:35:22,100
♪

761
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,166
So, one of the first things 
that they did was the--

762
00:35:25,266 --> 00:35:27,900
uh, they enrolled her in school.

763
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:31,266
My mother's sitting 
in a 6th grade class,

764
00:35:31,366 --> 00:35:33,866
learning English, 
and so she learned English

765
00:35:33,966 --> 00:35:35,933
for about-- 
I think she stayed there

766
00:35:36,033 --> 00:35:37,266
for about a year.

767
00:35:37,366 --> 00:35:39,733
She passed citizenship test, 
naturalization test,

768
00:35:39,833 --> 00:35:42,900
with flying colors, and, uh,

769
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,233
she would sometimes help out 
in the grocery store.

770
00:35:47,766 --> 00:35:49,533
My parents were determined 
that all four of us kids

771
00:35:49,633 --> 00:35:50,866
were gonna go off to college.

772
00:35:50,966 --> 00:35:53,600
My dad realized that 
working in a grocery store

773
00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:55,066
wasn't gonna cut it,

774
00:35:55,166 --> 00:35:57,500
so he took a gamble,

775
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,300
bought some property 
and built a drive-in restaurant,

776
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:02,900
a hamburger stand, 
Freddie's Drive-In.

777
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,733
And so, he said, "Okay, 
I'm gonna work at the store,

778
00:36:05,833 --> 00:36:08,400
and Mom is going 
to run the restaurant.

779
00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:10,066
Next thing I know 
my mom was trying to figure out

780
00:36:10,166 --> 00:36:11,933
how to cook hamburgers,

781
00:36:12,033 --> 00:36:15,166
how to cook tacos, 
how to make French fries,

782
00:36:15,266 --> 00:36:16,766
uh, you know, 
this whole thing, and then--

783
00:36:16,866 --> 00:36:18,233
and how to manage people.

784
00:36:18,333 --> 00:36:20,966
Remember still seeing the ads.

785
00:36:21,066 --> 00:36:22,966
"Three for a dollar."

786
00:36:23,066 --> 00:36:25,533
And you can buy that 
and a 16-ounce drink

787
00:36:25,633 --> 00:36:27,133
for 15 cents.

788
00:36:28,300 --> 00:36:30,600
She actually made 
a really good go of it,

789
00:36:30,700 --> 00:36:32,366
and, uh, to this day, 
she invented

790
00:36:32,466 --> 00:36:34,400
something called 
Freddie's tacos,

791
00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:36,566
which is considered a classic.

792
00:36:36,666 --> 00:36:38,966
So, that helped fund 
my college education,

793
00:36:39,066 --> 00:36:40,733
helped fund my brother's 
and my sister's,

794
00:36:40,833 --> 00:36:42,166
and then--but my dad said, 
"You know,

795
00:36:42,266 --> 00:36:43,700
we're still a little short."

796
00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,266
So, then he--right next to it 
he built a laundromat,

797
00:36:47,366 --> 00:36:49,333
and so my mother 
would sort of watch out

798
00:36:49,433 --> 00:36:51,400
with the laundromat, 
and the, uh--

799
00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:53,833
and the--and the restaurant 
and do the cooking there.

800
00:36:53,933 --> 00:36:55,700
Their--their businesses 
got a lot of traffic,

801
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,966
got a lot of tourism 
along Route 66.

802
00:36:59,066 --> 00:37:01,366
(traffic whirring)

803
00:37:01,466 --> 00:37:04,666
(narrator) 
Despite increased mobility 
after World War II,

804
00:37:04,766 --> 00:37:07,800
segregation was still 
very much part of the landscape

805
00:37:07,900 --> 00:37:09,433
on Route 66.

806
00:37:09,533 --> 00:37:12,400
(soft guitar music)

807
00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:17,700
(Larry) 
The Spicer family 
arrived in Monrovia in 1947.

808
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:20,500
My dad came here on Route 66.

809
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,866
My dad was able 
to send for my mom.

810
00:37:22,966 --> 00:37:25,666
(engine whirring)

811
00:37:25,766 --> 00:37:30,600
From Walnut Street 
to the railroad tracks,

812
00:37:30,700 --> 00:37:32,366
on the north and south side,

813
00:37:32,466 --> 00:37:37,533
and from Myrtle 
to Mountain,

814
00:37:37,633 --> 00:37:39,333
that's where 
all the African Americans

815
00:37:39,433 --> 00:37:42,366
were located in Monrovia.

816
00:37:42,466 --> 00:37:44,366
♪

817
00:37:44,466 --> 00:37:49,633
We started traveling back 
to Mississippi in '65.

818
00:37:49,733 --> 00:37:53,566
Traveling on Route 66, 
prior to us leaving,

819
00:37:53,666 --> 00:37:58,166
they would put this 
burlap sack bag in the front,

820
00:37:58,266 --> 00:38:00,433
because back in those days, 
you know, the cars

821
00:38:00,533 --> 00:38:02,600
weren't as good as they are now,

822
00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:04,800
so that you needed 
to carry some water,

823
00:38:04,900 --> 00:38:07,466
and they would hook it 
on the front of the car,

824
00:38:07,566 --> 00:38:10,633
so if the car ran hot, 
you had your water.

825
00:38:10,733 --> 00:38:13,166
And so, we would ask my dad 
about that all the time.

826
00:38:13,266 --> 00:38:15,333
You know, we were very curious 
about the things

827
00:38:15,433 --> 00:38:17,566
that he was doing, 
and he would tell--

828
00:38:17,666 --> 00:38:19,600
he would call my mom-- 
her name was Geneva--

829
00:38:19,700 --> 00:38:22,400
"Geneva, come get these kids, 
I'm trying to load up the car

830
00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:23,800
and stuff," you know.

831
00:38:23,900 --> 00:38:25,633
We was--we were excited.

832
00:38:25,733 --> 00:38:27,933
My mom prepped all the food,

833
00:38:28,033 --> 00:38:29,600
you know, the clothing.

834
00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:32,733
She took care of everything.

835
00:38:32,833 --> 00:38:34,300
My mom would drive,

836
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:38,266
but my mom, man, 
she had a heavy foot.

837
00:38:38,366 --> 00:38:41,733
She drove too fast, 
my dad didn't like that.

838
00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:43,433
My mom would 
get on down the road,

839
00:38:43,533 --> 00:38:45,600
so he would drive the most.

840
00:38:45,700 --> 00:38:48,500
We always traveled 
with another family,

841
00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:51,500
the Barneses, 
so it was two families

842
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,533
driving behind one another 
on Route 66 the whole time.

843
00:38:55,633 --> 00:38:59,033
On convoy, we would get to 
these gas stations.

844
00:38:59,133 --> 00:39:01,633
My dad would take my sisters,

845
00:39:01,733 --> 00:39:03,433
you know, so they-- 
'cause he didn't want them

846
00:39:03,533 --> 00:39:05,966
going out in the bushes like us,

847
00:39:06,066 --> 00:39:09,033
and, um, he would go 
and stand out there,

848
00:39:09,133 --> 00:39:11,366
you know, him and my mom,

849
00:39:11,466 --> 00:39:15,133
but he made sure 
that he would gas up the car,

850
00:39:15,233 --> 00:39:17,633
and then he would park the car 
over by the bathroom

851
00:39:17,733 --> 00:39:19,466
so he can see us.

852
00:39:19,566 --> 00:39:21,433
You know, he didn't wanna 
leave us alone.

853
00:39:21,533 --> 00:39:23,733
A couple of times, you know, 
the people were

854
00:39:23,833 --> 00:39:27,300
using the N-word 
just over and over.

855
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,433
My dad was just polite, 
keep his head up,

856
00:39:30,533 --> 00:39:33,000
got in the car, 
and then he would talk to us

857
00:39:33,100 --> 00:39:36,733
while he's driving, you know, 
about how bad people can be,

858
00:39:36,833 --> 00:39:39,766
but you have to overlook it 
because there's better people

859
00:39:39,866 --> 00:39:41,666
in the world.

860
00:39:41,766 --> 00:39:45,100
(narrator) 
It was a new era, 
and the American family,

861
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,600
united after years 
of Depression and separation,

862
00:39:48,700 --> 00:39:51,566
were eager to explore the West.

863
00:39:51,666 --> 00:39:54,200
They took Route 66 to do it.

864
00:39:54,300 --> 00:39:55,833
(Cynnie) 
Yeah, I haven't seen 
these pictures for a while.

865
00:39:55,933 --> 00:39:57,266
(Jamie) 
Well, my favorite thing 
are the little socks.

866
00:39:57,366 --> 00:39:59,200
(Cynnie) 
Little socks--they were 
loafers probably, right?

867
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:01,133
-Yeah. 
-My thinking is,

868
00:40:01,233 --> 00:40:02,966
they wanted 
to come to California,

869
00:40:03,066 --> 00:40:05,766
and it was February, 
so it's cold.

870
00:40:05,866 --> 00:40:08,233
-Right. 
-Um, and Route 66

871
00:40:08,333 --> 00:40:10,633
was the way 
you get to California.

872
00:40:10,733 --> 00:40:14,366
My mother was a debutante 
in society of Philadelphia.

873
00:40:14,466 --> 00:40:16,300
This Embassy Club 
in Philadelphia,

874
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,766
they hired her 
as the debutante of the dance.

875
00:40:18,866 --> 00:40:20,633
She wasn't a trained dancer.

876
00:40:20,733 --> 00:40:23,533
My dad at the time 
was at The Mask and Wig Club,

877
00:40:23,633 --> 00:40:26,100
and he wrote songs 
and danced and sang

878
00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:27,700
and all that stuff at the club.

879
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:29,800
He's at the Embassy and he wants 
to ask her to dance,

880
00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:31,300
because she's, 
you know, the star,

881
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:33,666
and he walks over 
and asked her to dance,

882
00:40:33,766 --> 00:40:35,466
and she looked at him 
and she went, "No."

883
00:40:35,566 --> 00:40:36,933
And then he left, 
and someone said,

884
00:40:37,033 --> 00:40:38,400
"Come on, do you know 
that that's Bobby Troup,

885
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:39,633
he's starring in The Mask."

886
00:40:39,733 --> 00:40:41,066
"Oh," and she marches 
over to him and says,

887
00:40:41,166 --> 00:40:42,833
"Okay, let's dance."

888
00:40:42,933 --> 00:40:44,300
That's the kind of guts she had.

889
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,000
No, I--I never called, uh,

890
00:40:47,100 --> 00:40:49,100
my granddad "Grandpa" 
or anything.

891
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:50,400
He was Bobby Troup.

892
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:52,400
And then my grandma, 
I call her Namok.

893
00:40:52,500 --> 00:40:54,333
The classic Route 66 story 
that I know

894
00:40:54,433 --> 00:40:56,433
was that Bobby Troup 
and Namok were driving,

895
00:40:56,533 --> 00:40:57,733
you know, they're in the car, 
they're ready to come

896
00:40:57,833 --> 00:41:00,100
to California, 
and they have a map,

897
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:02,666
and Bobby Troup is gonna--

898
00:41:02,766 --> 00:41:04,100
you know, he's thinking 
of songwriting,

899
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,800
you know, he's got that 
in his mind, so he's gonna write

900
00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:07,500
about--a song about Route 40,

901
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:09,166
and she's like, 
"No, that's not a good idea,

902
00:41:09,266 --> 00:41:10,966
'cause, like, 
it's only this long," right?

903
00:41:11,066 --> 00:41:13,900
So, she suggests, "You should 
write about Route 66."

904
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,200
And then, she leans over 
and says,

905
00:41:17,300 --> 00:41:18,866
"Get your kicks on Route 66,"

906
00:41:18,966 --> 00:41:20,600
and he's like, "Ah"-- 
like, that's how I imagine,

907
00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:22,266
so you know, in my mind, 
as a kid, like,

908
00:41:22,366 --> 00:41:23,900
he had a lightbulb, 
and she's there.

909
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:25,700
You know, it's like 
this perfect little partnership.

910
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:28,766
And here's the book she wrote.

911
00:41:28,866 --> 00:41:31,100
Once I Was a Debutante.

912
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,066
Cynthia Hare, 
she uses her maiden name.

913
00:41:34,166 --> 00:41:36,966
"Driving across country, 
I studied the road map

914
00:41:37,066 --> 00:41:38,800
while Bobby drove the car.

915
00:41:38,900 --> 00:41:41,833
We followed Route 40 
for a long time.

916
00:41:41,933 --> 00:41:44,800
I said, 'Why don't you 
write a song about Route 40?'

917
00:41:44,900 --> 00:41:47,466
'That's silly,' he said, 
'we'll be on Route 66

918
00:41:47,566 --> 00:41:49,866
most of the way to California.'

919
00:41:49,966 --> 00:41:52,866
Silently I tried 
to rhyme words with 'six.'

920
00:41:52,966 --> 00:41:55,633
Six, mix, picks, kicks.

921
00:41:55,733 --> 00:41:57,933
A lyric writer I'm not,

922
00:41:58,033 --> 00:42:00,433
but I came up with 
'Get your kicks

923
00:42:00,533 --> 00:42:02,200
on Route 66.'"

924
00:42:02,300 --> 00:42:04,433
And of course he used that line, 
and she always thought

925
00:42:04,533 --> 00:42:07,433
she should've been on 
the, um, sheet music,

926
00:42:07,533 --> 00:42:09,666
that she--songwriting credit, 
but she didn't.

927
00:42:09,766 --> 00:42:11,233
Yeah, Jamie, 
you--you've seen this map,

928
00:42:11,333 --> 00:42:13,500
and one of the fun things 
I--I love about this,

929
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,766
and it kinda describes 
their personality.

930
00:42:15,866 --> 00:42:18,533
If--you know--you know, 
well, she's so not artistic,

931
00:42:18,633 --> 00:42:21,200
-me either. 
-But she clearly is.

932
00:42:21,300 --> 00:42:23,333
(Cynnie) 
She is not, I mean, pasted-- 
no, I mean, come on.

933
00:42:23,433 --> 00:42:25,433
(Jamie) 
Look, she--she marked 
where they started.

934
00:42:25,533 --> 00:42:26,466
(Cynnie) 
Well, no, where the-- 
where the lyrics are...

935
00:42:26,566 --> 00:42:27,800
(Jamie) 
Oh.

936
00:42:27,900 --> 00:42:29,733
(Cynnie) 
Yep. "Oklahoma City 
looks mighty pretty..."

937
00:42:29,833 --> 00:42:32,333
I mean, these are the-- 
you know, they're 10 cities.

938
00:42:32,433 --> 00:42:34,300
The map is called 
"the song map."

939
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:37,000
She obviously made it 
from a road map,

940
00:42:37,100 --> 00:42:38,533
must've just cut the bottom out,

941
00:42:38,633 --> 00:42:42,033
and where Route 66 was, 
traced it with a crayon.

942
00:42:42,133 --> 00:42:43,833
(Jamie) 
She's pointing, I think, 
just to California.

943
00:42:43,933 --> 00:42:45,200
-Oh, sure. 
-I wonder where that sign is.

944
00:42:45,300 --> 00:42:46,966
(Cynnie) 
It must be 
where you come in the state.

945
00:42:47,066 --> 00:42:48,766
(Jamie) 
Well, it's the state line, 
yeah, so that's exciting.

946
00:42:48,866 --> 00:42:51,166
(Cynnie) 
They're here, they made it.

947
00:42:51,266 --> 00:42:53,300
When they got here, 
and he'd written some of it--

948
00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:54,833
-Mhm. 
-And then,

949
00:42:54,933 --> 00:42:56,533
they got to meet Nat King Cole,

950
00:42:56,633 --> 00:42:58,700
and they went down 
to Music City,

951
00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:00,866
and went into, like, 
a record booth thing.

952
00:43:00,966 --> 00:43:03,800
Route 66, lots of significance.

953
00:43:03,900 --> 00:43:06,700
What it did for the family, 
for money and support,

954
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:09,233
it, from what I understand,

955
00:43:09,333 --> 00:43:11,100
is my mom always said 
it bought the house

956
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,266
that we grew up in, 
and I've reframed the map now,

957
00:43:14,366 --> 00:43:16,600
showing the back of it 
where she wrote,

958
00:43:16,700 --> 00:43:17,933
you know, 
that it bought the house,

959
00:43:18,033 --> 00:43:21,333
and how much the house cost, 
and what the taxes were.

960
00:43:21,433 --> 00:43:23,233
(peppy piano music)

961
00:43:23,333 --> 00:43:25,366
She didn't want the divorce, 
she was only 35.

962
00:43:25,466 --> 00:43:27,533
She dated some, 
but nobody ever--

963
00:43:27,633 --> 00:43:29,366
you know, he was 
the man in her life,

964
00:43:29,466 --> 00:43:31,100
I mean, until the day she died.

965
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,200
♪

966
00:43:33,300 --> 00:43:34,933
You have the end of rationing,

967
00:43:35,033 --> 00:43:36,733
you have the end of--

968
00:43:36,833 --> 00:43:39,566
of men being posted 
away from their homes

969
00:43:39,666 --> 00:43:41,933
who wanna spend time 
with families.

970
00:43:42,033 --> 00:43:44,500
And they have 
improved automobiles,

971
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:46,633
and--and everything else, 
so they pack up

972
00:43:46,733 --> 00:43:48,533
and they go on trips.

973
00:43:48,633 --> 00:43:52,000
People wanna go vacation and see 
the great national parks,

974
00:43:52,100 --> 00:43:55,000
pop in the car, 
and take Susie and Johnny,

975
00:43:55,100 --> 00:43:58,866
and go for those long day trips 
out in the desert,

976
00:43:58,966 --> 00:44:00,966
and a lot of times 
you had to drive at night,

977
00:44:01,066 --> 00:44:03,266
'cause nobody had 
air conditioning back then.

978
00:44:03,366 --> 00:44:07,566
(Betty) 
Traveling in August, 
the hottest month of the year,

979
00:44:07,666 --> 00:44:11,400
my father always wanted to leave 
at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning,

980
00:44:11,500 --> 00:44:15,833
so he could--the--we could 
pass the desert early morning,

981
00:44:15,933 --> 00:44:17,633
but it never 
worked out that way.

982
00:44:17,733 --> 00:44:20,633
We would leave maybe 6:00, 7:00.

983
00:44:20,733 --> 00:44:24,000
But, getting ready, 
my mother did all the wash,

984
00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:26,200
the ironing, the packing,

985
00:44:26,300 --> 00:44:30,333
she would fry chicken 
so we'd have something to eat,

986
00:44:30,433 --> 00:44:32,133
and we'd be on the road.

987
00:44:32,233 --> 00:44:35,566
It was six kids 
plus my parents

988
00:44:35,666 --> 00:44:38,866
in my dad's 1956 Chevy.

989
00:44:38,966 --> 00:44:42,533
(Hilda) 
This is my oldest daughter, 
her name is Diana,

990
00:44:42,633 --> 00:44:45,666
and this is Anna, 
the youngest one,

991
00:44:45,766 --> 00:44:49,533
and this is, um, uh, Betty.

992
00:44:49,633 --> 00:44:53,066
We used to go to New Mexico 
every year, too,

993
00:44:53,166 --> 00:44:55,433
and we would take Route 66.

994
00:44:55,533 --> 00:44:57,200
It was a two-way.

995
00:44:57,300 --> 00:44:59,400
One this way, one that way.

996
00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:01,600
It was--there was a lot

997
00:45:01,700 --> 00:45:04,733
of crosses on the street

998
00:45:04,833 --> 00:45:07,933
that accidents had happened 
and people had died.

999
00:45:08,033 --> 00:45:09,766
(Betty) 
One of the games 
we used to play in the car

1000
00:45:09,866 --> 00:45:12,066
is "counting the crosses,"

1001
00:45:12,166 --> 00:45:14,833
'cause there was 
crosses on the road.

1002
00:45:14,933 --> 00:45:19,666
My father, 
he drove nonstop practically,

1003
00:45:19,766 --> 00:45:22,666
so when he would say, 
"I'm getting tired,"

1004
00:45:22,766 --> 00:45:24,733
he would say, 
"Betty, you be my eyes,"

1005
00:45:24,833 --> 00:45:28,800
and I always sat behind him, 
standing up,

1006
00:45:28,900 --> 00:45:31,400
you know, and the wind 
in my face.

1007
00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:35,400
And especially at night, 
it was so dark on Route 66,

1008
00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:37,433
and everybody was asleep.

1009
00:45:37,533 --> 00:45:40,033
He would say, "Talk to me."

1010
00:45:40,133 --> 00:45:44,000
I had this relationship 
with my father on the road.

1011
00:45:44,100 --> 00:45:45,833
Of course I was exhausted 
in the morning,

1012
00:45:45,933 --> 00:45:48,966
but I stayed awake 
with him all night.

1013
00:45:49,066 --> 00:45:51,833
(Hilda) 
We weren't 
a very religious people either,

1014
00:45:51,933 --> 00:45:54,966
but, um, 
what I remember in my mind

1015
00:45:55,066 --> 00:45:58,700
I would say 
for the Lord to guide us safely

1016
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:00,866
to our destination,

1017
00:46:00,966 --> 00:46:04,233
and we did for years 
and years and years.

1018
00:46:04,333 --> 00:46:07,833
(narrator) 
Even though Route 66 
was known as "bloody 66"

1019
00:46:07,933 --> 00:46:10,300
in more dangerous parts,

1020
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,400
there were always women 
forging new paths

1021
00:46:12,500 --> 00:46:13,766
for themselves,

1022
00:46:13,866 --> 00:46:16,666
unwilling or unable 
to stay home.

1023
00:46:16,766 --> 00:46:19,766
(JoLynn) 
I met Joy when I was working 
for the Hobart Tribune

1024
00:46:19,866 --> 00:46:21,733
as a reporter,

1025
00:46:21,833 --> 00:46:24,933
and she was a transplant 
from Rhode Island.

1026
00:46:25,033 --> 00:46:27,433
In the '40s, she had polio,

1027
00:46:27,533 --> 00:46:29,166
and she came out here 
for her health.

1028
00:46:29,266 --> 00:46:31,500
They had a friend 
that had a ranch

1029
00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:33,866
over in the Heber area,

1030
00:46:33,966 --> 00:46:37,600
and, uh, she was getting better,

1031
00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:41,966
and that's when she started 
her Stockmen's Supply company

1032
00:46:42,066 --> 00:46:46,200
in an old shaggy van truck, 
and it was, like, 1951, I think,

1033
00:46:46,300 --> 00:46:49,666
um, and she went 
all over Arizona with her truck.

1034
00:46:49,766 --> 00:46:51,766
There was lots of ranches 
that are not there now.

1035
00:46:51,866 --> 00:46:53,666
She was an exceptional person.

1036
00:46:53,766 --> 00:46:55,500
She was from Rhode Island, 
she went to

1037
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:59,033
the Gloria Vanderbilt School, 
or something to that effect,

1038
00:46:59,133 --> 00:47:00,900
but she said 
they didn't finish her off.

1039
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:03,900
She had to come to the West 
to get finished.

1040
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,800
I would say probably 
late '50 into maybe '60,

1041
00:47:06,900 --> 00:47:08,666
whenever Dee was born, you know.

1042
00:47:08,766 --> 00:47:10,200
I don't know how old Dee is.

1043
00:47:10,300 --> 00:47:13,800
But, um, anyway, 
she had married Dotch.

1044
00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:16,133
He had a ranch 
out at Dead River,

1045
00:47:16,233 --> 00:47:19,066
which is adjacent 
to the Petrified Forest.

1046
00:47:19,166 --> 00:47:21,133
Today part of that 
is Navajo land,

1047
00:47:21,233 --> 00:47:23,366
but anyway, 
they had a ranch out there,

1048
00:47:23,466 --> 00:47:27,133
and, uh, a trading post 
up on 66,

1049
00:47:27,233 --> 00:47:29,433
and that's where 
some of her experiences

1050
00:47:29,533 --> 00:47:33,100
with tourists on 66 
came into play.

1051
00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:37,200
Of course they sold gasoline, 
and cold ice, beer,

1052
00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:39,000
soda pop, snacks,

1053
00:47:39,100 --> 00:47:41,866
uh, curios, you know, 
Route 66 flags,

1054
00:47:41,966 --> 00:47:45,333
or lots of 
kitschy little stuff back then.

1055
00:47:45,433 --> 00:47:47,866
She figured out that 
that plane was flying low

1056
00:47:47,966 --> 00:47:50,866
'cause he was, you know, 
signaling or whatever,

1057
00:47:50,966 --> 00:47:54,333
and so she sent somebody 
to stop traffic at the one end,

1058
00:47:54,433 --> 00:47:56,833
and he landed going west,

1059
00:47:56,933 --> 00:47:58,833
and just short 
of the river bridge,

1060
00:47:58,933 --> 00:48:01,433
Dead River Bridge, 
right past her place,

1061
00:48:01,533 --> 00:48:04,433
and they filled him up 
and he took off.

1062
00:48:04,533 --> 00:48:06,233
She picked up on stuff 
that other people

1063
00:48:06,333 --> 00:48:09,433
wouldn't pick up on anyway.

1064
00:48:09,533 --> 00:48:12,566
I see a pattern arise 
when you look

1065
00:48:12,666 --> 00:48:14,000
at the different women.

1066
00:48:14,100 --> 00:48:17,100
These women contributed 
to the financial success

1067
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:18,400
of their families.

1068
00:48:18,500 --> 00:48:20,000
They were able 
to put a Christmas present

1069
00:48:20,100 --> 00:48:23,233
under the tree that 
might not be there otherwise.

1070
00:48:23,333 --> 00:48:25,466
(mellow music)

1071
00:48:25,566 --> 00:48:28,933
(Marshall) 
Today we're in, um, my hometown, 
Ash Fork, Arizona,

1072
00:48:29,033 --> 00:48:30,500
right here on Route 66.

1073
00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:35,600
And when we moved up here 
in October of 1947,

1074
00:48:35,700 --> 00:48:37,200
I was eight years old,

1075
00:48:37,300 --> 00:48:41,000
and, um, my dad 
was new to the railroad,

1076
00:48:41,100 --> 00:48:43,566
so he was not--he was 
unemployed most of the time.

1077
00:48:43,666 --> 00:48:46,200
Dad was gonna have to 
provide food,

1078
00:48:46,300 --> 00:48:49,866
and we didn't have enough money 
for, uh--for meat,

1079
00:48:49,966 --> 00:48:51,966
so Dad wanted a hunting rifle,

1080
00:48:52,066 --> 00:48:54,100
and Mom, 
she decided to get a job.

1081
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:56,933
She was a farm girl, 
so she had never worked,

1082
00:48:57,033 --> 00:48:58,533
always been a housewife.

1083
00:48:58,633 --> 00:49:00,466
She had three boisterous boys.

1084
00:49:00,566 --> 00:49:03,933
She was in a family way 
when she was 16.

1085
00:49:04,033 --> 00:49:05,733
So, by the time 
she's about 22, I think,

1086
00:49:05,833 --> 00:49:07,900
she had had four children.

1087
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:09,966
And all of a sudden now 
she's working in a restaurant

1088
00:49:10,066 --> 00:49:12,033
and had a job, 
and it was really neat,

1089
00:49:12,133 --> 00:49:13,433
'cause she put on 
a lot of makeup,

1090
00:49:13,533 --> 00:49:15,333
and she really looked great.

1091
00:49:15,433 --> 00:49:18,200
And she wore 
this fancy waitress dress.

1092
00:49:18,300 --> 00:49:21,333
If you'd left L.A. 
and had gone through

1093
00:49:21,433 --> 00:49:23,400
Barstow and Needles

1094
00:49:23,500 --> 00:49:25,566
and Kingman and Seligman,

1095
00:49:25,666 --> 00:49:27,633
by the time you got to Ash Fork 
to eat,

1096
00:49:27,733 --> 00:49:29,533
you're ready to kill somebody,

1097
00:49:29,633 --> 00:49:32,500
and they didn't leave much-- 
much for tips.

1098
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:34,833
She always had in her-- 
in her apron pocket,

1099
00:49:34,933 --> 00:49:37,133
was--it was always 
full of change,

1100
00:49:37,233 --> 00:49:39,466
and me, a nickel 
was a lot of money,

1101
00:49:39,566 --> 00:49:42,533
and I'd come in and bum 
a nickel or a dime off of her.

1102
00:49:42,633 --> 00:49:44,800
The Depression 
was still kinda going on,

1103
00:49:44,900 --> 00:49:47,000
and after--after the war,

1104
00:49:47,100 --> 00:49:48,800
uh, at least for us.

1105
00:49:48,900 --> 00:49:51,200
When you walked downtown, 
you saw businesses,

1106
00:49:51,300 --> 00:49:54,466
there was a post office, 
um, a movie theater

1107
00:49:54,566 --> 00:49:56,600
that had films 
four nights a week,

1108
00:49:56,700 --> 00:49:59,700
and, um, let's see, 
then there was a barber shop,

1109
00:49:59,800 --> 00:50:02,333
and a drugstore, and, uh,

1110
00:50:02,433 --> 00:50:04,300
after the drug store 
was the old opera house,

1111
00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:07,833
which was now a cafe 
where my mother was a waitress,

1112
00:50:07,933 --> 00:50:10,266
and one of her waitress gigs 
was there.

1113
00:50:10,366 --> 00:50:11,900
Then, there was 
a little alleyway,

1114
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:13,333
and then there was another cafe,

1115
00:50:13,433 --> 00:50:15,233
and that was 
the Dewdrop Inn Cafe.

1116
00:50:15,333 --> 00:50:16,666
The other hospitality place

1117
00:50:16,766 --> 00:50:18,966
was--was down by 
the railroad tracks,

1118
00:50:19,066 --> 00:50:21,933
and that's where, um-- 
that's where the, um,

1119
00:50:22,033 --> 00:50:23,466
the--let's just call it

1120
00:50:23,566 --> 00:50:26,166
hospitality 
for single girls.

1121
00:50:26,266 --> 00:50:28,766
I delivered papers there, too.

1122
00:50:28,866 --> 00:50:31,833
I had no idea, 
I was only 11 or 12 at the time.

1123
00:50:31,933 --> 00:50:34,133
That was one of my other jobs, 
I was a paperboy.

1124
00:50:34,233 --> 00:50:36,800
(paperboy) 
Football scores! 
Morning paper!

1125
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:38,333
Morning Star!

1126
00:50:38,433 --> 00:50:40,033
Paper, mister?

1127
00:50:40,133 --> 00:50:43,700
But, sometimes at night, 
the--the bus came from Flagstaff

1128
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:45,900
that brought the newspapers, 
and they dumped 'em off

1129
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:48,600
at the Arizona Bar, 
and so I'd wait down there

1130
00:50:48,700 --> 00:50:50,666
till the bus came in,

1131
00:50:50,766 --> 00:50:53,500
and if it snowed in Flagstaff, 
boy, on Route 66,

1132
00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:55,066
it was just 
a two-lane road then,

1133
00:50:55,166 --> 00:50:57,466
and I mean, those roads 
were really dangerous.

1134
00:50:57,566 --> 00:50:59,700
They, uh--and these buses 
would be late,

1135
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:01,466
maybe two or three hours late.

1136
00:51:01,566 --> 00:51:04,500
I imagine myself 
trudging through the snow

1137
00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:06,733
on a bicycle 
and delivering papers,

1138
00:51:06,833 --> 00:51:08,566
and the people all saying, 
"Oh, Marshall,

1139
00:51:08,666 --> 00:51:12,066
we were so worried about you, 
we didn't think you'd make it."

1140
00:51:12,166 --> 00:51:15,066
They were asleep 
and didn't care.

1141
00:51:15,166 --> 00:51:17,400
Council buys park!

1142
00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:19,800
Scouts find lost girl!

1143
00:51:19,900 --> 00:51:21,633
Morning Star!

1144
00:51:21,733 --> 00:51:24,566
Except at the--at the little--

1145
00:51:24,666 --> 00:51:26,200
the other hotel,

1146
00:51:26,300 --> 00:51:28,866
and, uh, it was al-- 
the lights were always on,

1147
00:51:28,966 --> 00:51:31,166
and she would bring-- 
madam, the madam

1148
00:51:31,266 --> 00:51:34,133
would bring me in 
and give me chocolate.

1149
00:51:34,233 --> 00:51:37,266
I did not know until 
my mother told me one day,

1150
00:51:37,366 --> 00:51:38,666
we were walking down the street,

1151
00:51:38,766 --> 00:51:41,266
and the madam 
had bright red hair.

1152
00:51:41,366 --> 00:51:45,066
I said, "Hi," and she said, 
"Hi, Marshall, how are you?"

1153
00:51:45,166 --> 00:51:47,333
I think my mom thought I was 
a regular customer there

1154
00:51:47,433 --> 00:51:50,466
or something, I--she said, 
"How do you know her?"

1155
00:51:50,566 --> 00:51:52,633
And I said, "Oh, I was, uh--

1156
00:51:52,733 --> 00:51:55,633
I'm the paperboy, 
I--I deliver papers there."

1157
00:51:55,733 --> 00:51:57,500
(upbeat music)

1158
00:51:57,600 --> 00:51:59,733
'47 and '48 and '49,

1159
00:51:59,833 --> 00:52:02,366
they had some 
of the most brutal winters

1160
00:52:02,466 --> 00:52:04,333
in Arizona history.

1161
00:52:04,433 --> 00:52:07,100
Dad was able to buy 
an Army surplus tent.

1162
00:52:07,200 --> 00:52:09,166
We slept in there 
with just blankets

1163
00:52:09,266 --> 00:52:11,166
and no heating, nothing.

1164
00:52:11,266 --> 00:52:12,766
And the next house 
we lived in here,

1165
00:52:12,866 --> 00:52:16,733
it was the rock house, 
and, um, it--it had plumbing,

1166
00:52:16,833 --> 00:52:18,933
but the bathroom didn't work.

1167
00:52:19,033 --> 00:52:21,600
My mom, she was 
salutatorian of her class,

1168
00:52:21,700 --> 00:52:23,800
and, um, real smart,

1169
00:52:23,900 --> 00:52:25,733
and she had a hard life,

1170
00:52:25,833 --> 00:52:27,566
and she could've had so much.

1171
00:52:27,666 --> 00:52:29,566
(melancholic music)

1172
00:52:29,666 --> 00:52:35,200
♪

1173
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:39,366
People's hopes and dreams 
are not always realized,

1174
00:52:39,466 --> 00:52:43,033
and if the road 
symbolized opportunity

1175
00:52:43,133 --> 00:52:44,533
and mobility and hope,

1176
00:52:44,633 --> 00:52:47,633
sometimes it brought 
disappointment

1177
00:52:47,733 --> 00:52:49,466
and devastation and death.

1178
00:52:49,566 --> 00:52:52,633
There's--there's 
no doubt about that.

1179
00:52:52,733 --> 00:52:54,933
(narrator) 
As more Americans 
took to the road,

1180
00:52:55,033 --> 00:52:57,500
the case for an interstate 
became clear,

1181
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:00,700
prompting changes 
that impacted women's lives.

1182
00:53:00,800 --> 00:53:03,166
(broadcaster) 
Though we have 
the greatest highway system

1183
00:53:03,266 --> 00:53:06,900
in all the world, 
it can't carry...

1184
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:08,900
(dramatic music)

1185
00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:10,633
♪

1186
00:53:10,733 --> 00:53:14,766
(narrator) 
Not all communities' needs 
were considered equal.

1187
00:53:14,866 --> 00:53:17,466
(Mark) 
In the 1950s, 
San Bernardino embarks

1188
00:53:17,566 --> 00:53:20,033
on a freeway-building project.

1189
00:53:20,133 --> 00:53:23,166
Off-ramps are built 
directly exiting

1190
00:53:23,266 --> 00:53:27,700
only into the eastern part 
of San Bernardino into Downtown.

1191
00:53:27,800 --> 00:53:31,333
This directly cut off access 
into the west side

1192
00:53:31,433 --> 00:53:33,933
for motorists traveling along 
the new freeway.

1193
00:53:34,033 --> 00:53:36,333
There's a very willful neglect

1194
00:53:36,433 --> 00:53:41,000
of the Mexican merchant class 
and their livelihood.

1195
00:53:41,100 --> 00:53:43,000
(bright piano music)

1196
00:53:43,100 --> 00:53:46,500
♪

1197
00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:50,300
The freeway was a concern 
of our family,

1198
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:52,733
'cause my mom thought 
that it would

1199
00:53:52,833 --> 00:53:54,566
bring the business down.

1200
00:53:54,666 --> 00:53:58,633
(Lucy) 
In the '50s, '51, we had 
everything on Mount Vernon.

1201
00:53:58,733 --> 00:54:02,733
We had a drugstore, 
we had beer bars,

1202
00:54:02,833 --> 00:54:05,300
grocery store, theater,

1203
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:08,933
a mortuary, a pharmacy,

1204
00:54:09,033 --> 00:54:10,766
two markets.

1205
00:54:10,866 --> 00:54:12,600
It was very lively then.

1206
00:54:12,700 --> 00:54:16,100
Now it's very different, 
very different.

1207
00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:20,333
Today the Mitla Cafe 
is really one of the--

1208
00:54:20,433 --> 00:54:23,966
the only surviving businesses

1209
00:54:24,066 --> 00:54:28,466
that's left 
from this once powerful

1210
00:54:28,566 --> 00:54:31,666
Mexican merchant district.

1211
00:54:31,766 --> 00:54:33,266
(peppy music)

1212
00:54:33,366 --> 00:54:38,233
(Patti) 
I think the secret 
to the success of Mitla Cafe

1213
00:54:38,333 --> 00:54:41,933
is that we try to stay 
as authentic as we can

1214
00:54:42,033 --> 00:54:45,300
to the recipes 
that my grandmother had.

1215
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:50,000
She established 
an atmosphere of family,

1216
00:54:50,100 --> 00:54:52,200
which we try to maintain.

1217
00:54:52,300 --> 00:54:54,333
We know our customers' names, 
you know,

1218
00:54:54,433 --> 00:54:57,000
we know their problems,

1219
00:54:57,100 --> 00:55:00,333
we know their hardships, 
or whatever in life

1220
00:55:00,433 --> 00:55:03,100
that they're going through, 
you know, we know it,

1221
00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:04,966
and we reach out to them.

1222
00:55:05,066 --> 00:55:07,300
And we've employed a lot 
of people in this community.

1223
00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:15,500
♪

1224
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:17,666
(Judith) 
I was recruited 
to run for mayor.

1225
00:55:17,766 --> 00:55:20,766
My argument was

1226
00:55:20,866 --> 00:55:26,733
that we needed to right 
and correct the system

1227
00:55:26,833 --> 00:55:29,166
that we had in San Bernardino,

1228
00:55:29,266 --> 00:55:31,766
which was tantamount 
to freeway apartheid,

1229
00:55:31,866 --> 00:55:32,900
and they say, "Apartheid?"

1230
00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:34,466
Yeah, I said, 
"That's a strong word."

1231
00:55:34,566 --> 00:55:36,566
You say that, 
that gets everybody's attention.

1232
00:55:36,666 --> 00:55:39,233
I said, "Yes, and I need 
the support of all the mayors

1233
00:55:39,333 --> 00:55:42,200
and supervisors there," 
and they all supported it.

1234
00:55:42,300 --> 00:55:44,766
Consequently, we have 
this crosstown freeway now.

1235
00:55:44,866 --> 00:55:46,800
It has the exits,

1236
00:55:46,900 --> 00:55:50,333
and the slow lanes 
go to the left,

1237
00:55:50,433 --> 00:55:53,066
and then the fast lanes 
stay on the right,

1238
00:55:53,166 --> 00:55:55,366
then on the way back, so it-- 
it's the way it should be,

1239
00:55:55,466 --> 00:55:57,366
the way 
it should've been all along,

1240
00:55:57,466 --> 00:55:59,666
and so we won that battle.

1241
00:55:59,766 --> 00:56:02,900
I wasn't conscious of 
I was following the legacy

1242
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:05,233
of my family and my father.

1243
00:56:05,333 --> 00:56:08,766
Uh, it was what was right

1244
00:56:08,866 --> 00:56:11,533
and what was best 
for the community,

1245
00:56:11,633 --> 00:56:15,333
and what we needed to do 
to right the wrongs

1246
00:56:15,433 --> 00:56:17,133
of the past.

1247
00:56:17,233 --> 00:56:21,066
(upbeat music)

1248
00:56:21,166 --> 00:56:25,166
(narrator) 
Almost 100 years 
after her birth in 1926,

1249
00:56:25,266 --> 00:56:28,900
Route 66 is truly 
a living history classroom.

1250
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:31,533
(woman) 
My grandmother's recipe, 
it's got three ingredients:

1251
00:56:31,633 --> 00:56:33,400
butter, flour, and sugar.

1252
00:56:33,500 --> 00:56:37,766
♪

1253
00:56:37,866 --> 00:56:39,600
Then, we went 
to the movie premiere,

1254
00:56:39,700 --> 00:56:42,433
and from the time it started 
I just started crying,

1255
00:56:42,533 --> 00:56:44,800
because never 
in a million thousand years

1256
00:56:44,900 --> 00:56:47,033
did I think they were gonna, 
like, tell my life story

1257
00:56:47,133 --> 00:56:48,733
on a big screen.

1258
00:56:48,833 --> 00:56:50,366
(overlapping remarks)

1259
00:56:50,466 --> 00:56:53,200
-You still get emotional. 
-I do.

1260
00:56:53,300 --> 00:56:55,333
(peppy piano music)

1261
00:56:55,433 --> 00:57:05,466
♪