Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees

These colorful brochures and maps were handed out to lake-goers in the late 1940s. This huge lake — 1,300 miles of shoreline — provides recreation and hydroelectric power for the region. Flirtatious bathers look out while playing in the water. The inside of the brochure are packed with ads for lake services and tourist stops. [...]

Coast to coast host

Most everyone can remember the magnificent signs that signaled a Holiday Inn. These signs are extinct now. But postcards, brochures and matchbooks carried the symbol for decades. This postcard, from the early 1960s, is from the Holiday Inn in Clinton, Okla. The motel was located along U.S. 66 and offered all the amenities found in [...]

Matchless 66

Matchbooks were an easy and cheap way to advertise a business. For very little expense, a motel or cafe could  buy thousands of these little billboards, which doubled as useful souvenirs for smokers and everyone else.  Here are a couple from the Mother Road. McLean, Texas is still a great stop on U.S. 66. This [...]

Dine at this sign

Produced by the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, this brochure advertised all the tasty cafes and diners around the Sooner State. This particular example was given away by the Rainbow Cafe, located on U.S. 66, near the heart of My-am-uh, Okla. Also in or near Miami, hungry travelers could find Doc’s Bar-B-Que and the newly opened Glass [...]

A modern Oklahoma highway

The four-lane, 88-mile Turner Turnpike was built at a cost of $38 million. It opened to traffic in May 1953. This new road saved travelers almost one hour driving time between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The turnpike diverted motorists from U.S. 66, which parallels the turnpike. As a result, many towns along this stretch of [...]

For an enjoyable trip … go 60!

What a beauty of a brochure produced by the National Highway 60 Association. This transcontinental highway stretched from Virginia Beach to Los Angeles. Check out this 1954 map and guide, which not only displayed many fine establishments along U.S. 60, but also was an invitation for everyone to attend the upcoming Highway 60 convention in [...]