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| Contact: | Eleanor Sanchez 277-1813 or Carolyn Gonzales 277-5920 |
January 29, 2001
UNM JOINS IN ROUTE 66 CELEBRATION
As New Mexico and the nation prepare to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of historic
Route 66 this summer, the University of New Mexico, a route resident, joins
the festivities with several events designed to showcase the state's flagship
university on the Mother Road.
UNM will have a tent set up near the Bookstore during the celebration July
20-22. Visitors can pick up a "passport" with a map to various campus
locations featuring Route 66 events. Get your passport stamped at all locations
and be eligible to win prizes.
UNM Recreational Services will host a variety of family-oriented activities.
A climbing wall will be available, interactive children's games and family swimming
are some of the events. Others include house tours and volleyball nets set up
for fun competition. The Recreational Services Getaway Adventure Program will
host a Route 66 adventure.
The nation's largest mariachi event, Mariachi Spectacular, is scheduled to
coincide with the Diamond Jubilee. Mariachi performances are scheduled for each
of the three days, both downtown and at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds.
The University's Alumni Homecoming committee has selected Route 66 as its theme
for the 2001 Homecoming celebration. The date for Homecoming is yet to be determined,
but crowd favorite events such as the Parade of Lights, tailgate parties and
a Lobo football game are anticipated events.
The University Art Museum will feature an exhibition of Gus Foster's large-scale
panoramas of Route 66 through Albuquerque. In the downstairs area of the museum,
work from the permanent collection that pays homage to the great east-west road
will be featured.
The UNM General Library will feature a 90-minute video about Route 66 to be
shown in the Willard Reading Room in Zimmerman Library on the three days in
July. It will be shown Friday, July 20 from noon to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday and
Sunday, July 21-22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additionally the Friends of the UNM
Libraries, Inc. will sponsor a lecture on Route 66 on Friday, July 20 at 10:30
a.m. in the Willard Reading Room.
KNME, the Public Broadcasting Station jointly owned and operated by UNM and
the Albuquerque Public Schools, received a grant from Phillips Petroleum to
do a documentary about Route 66. Plans are in the works to have that film shown
on campus during the celebration.
The University Honors program is conducting a seminar, "Route 66 - An
American Road."
Although UNM is still developing many of its plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary
of historic Route 66, UNM has been involved in the life of the road long before
it became known as Route 66. The University was established on site, now on
Central Avenue back in 1889. The name of the road downtown was Railroad Ave.,
but up on the hill, the road didn't have a name.
By 1892, a wagon, drawn by six horses, would bring the students up the dirt
road and Ms. Parsons, who served as both the auditor and home economics teacher
for the early University on the mesa, would collect the five-cent fare from
its passengers.
UNM and Route 66 both share a legacy firmly rooted in history. Both protect
and preserve their histories with an eye on the road leading their travelers
into promising futures.
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Please let us know what you thought of this article. Comments to: paaffair@unm.edu |
The University
of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981