Category: Region 4

June 2021 Newsletter

From the President
Michael F Ballard

As we enter the summer season, vaccinations are increasing, and the pandemic seems to be subsiding, it is getting time to start working on getting out there more. We will be reaching out to more businesses, historical societies, and car clubs for events and presentations. We have been slowly building this Association and getting everything ready for a time when things are more open. That time is quickly approaching and we are ready to go! I look forward to meeting Highway 99 enthusiasts from all over and really putting this Association on the map.

We would also like to welcome our new At-Large board member, Chris Myers, from San Diego, California. Chris has a big interest in old highways, is looking forward to working on promoting Highway 99, and has helped us get our first article in newspaper in Calexico.

We do still need some help in designing things like hats, t-shirts, and brochures. We also need help at a local level in various parts of the state to help in our outreach programs as well as be our local ambassador.

Are you interested in writing an article for our newsletter? Contact us! We’d love to hear from you.

Advocacy / Projects

In May, we launched a new feature on our website we are calling “Highway 99 Adventures“. The highway passed through the heart of California and is still one of the primary roads to adventure. Our pages will show off some of the highlights along the route, such as the Old Ridge Route, the Cabazon Dinosaurs, and Shasta River Canyon. Learn about some of the now-famous restaurants that started right on Highway 99, such as In-n-Out Burger and A&W Root Beer. Visit places alive with geological wonders such as the Salton Sea, Mt Shasta, and the Sutter Buttes. Highway 99 is not only a Historic Route, but is a road to adventure. Take a trip over to our pages and discover some of what is waiting out there! Make sure to to tell them the Historic Highway 99 Association sent you!

Highway 99 Adventures

Events

On June 1 (Tonight!) at 6 pm PT, we will be hosting a Zoom presentation on the Lake Shasta area showing what the highway was like before the dam was built, what it took to move the roadway and railroad, and what remains of the highway when the lake gets low enough. Join us and learn!

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItduuuqDkoGtYW7kV9Mcxa3QI4FOGQLFCR

Things are also opening up and we are working on getting more involved. In August, we are planning to attend the Pomona Swap Meet where we will sell t-shirts and other items to help raise funds, and increase awareness of Historic Highway 99. We are looking forward to meeting you there! It will be a good opportunity to meet some of the people that keep this organization going.

Other events are coming as well. We are looking at hosting an antique car show and possibly hosting some tours of sections of US 99 in Southern California. If you’d like to get involved, let us know!

Fundraising

As of May 31, we have raised $480 since our sign purchase in March. We have reached one of our primary short-term goals but there is a lot more work to do. We do still need your support. As we now have our 501(c)3, your donations may be tax-deductible. Any amount is welcome and helpful.

Are you a member of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California? You should be! Members-only events, such as presentations on the history of Highway 99 and benefits will be coming in the future. Joining the Historic Highway 99 Association of California is a great way to not only show your support for the roadway and its history, but to get involved and help our organization grow.

Membership

Featured Photo

Looking east toward Redlands along US 99 in 1958

This month’s Featured Photo comes to us from Caltrans. What became known as the “Crossroads Interchange” started off as a small junction which eventually grew to be the massive I-10 / I-215 Interchange. In 1958, when this photo was taken, things were a little different. No Interstate routes had been signed yet. US 70, US 91, US 99, US 395, and State 18 all met here and went their different ways. US 99 would be removed in 1964 and the last US highway here, US 395, in 1969.

New Website Feature

We’ve been working on adding more to our site to help spark interest in Historic Highway 99. Our newest addition “Highway 99 Adventures” is getting its start with Southern California as the first region to be covered. If you have a point of interest along the highway you’d like to see added, let us know.

Highway 99 Adventures
Region 4 – Southern California

US 99 In the News

The first of two articles just came out regarding our Calexico project. We were interviewed by two papers, the Calexico Chronicle and the Desert Review. Today, the article for the Desert Review came out in their print and e-edition. It is pretty cool to get some press for our work. It was a small project but still significant for us. We will post the second article once it comes out.

Desert Review – E-Edition of April 13, 2021 – Page A2 (second page)

Historic Highway 99 Association installs new signs, seeks to promote economic development

April 2021 Newsletter

A word from our Secretary

What a great start for the Historic Highway 99 Association! Hello everyone, my name is Vicki Farmwald and I am the new Secretary for the Association. It’s amazing to see how much can be accomplished even during these unprecedented times. People coming together for a single purpose, acknowledging the importance of this historic highway and its preservation. So on March 24, 2021, our first project saw the installation of two replacement Historic Route 99 signs in Calexico, CA. These new signs are located at the corners of 1st St at Heffernan Ave and 2nd St at Imperial Ave. We are onto a great start and it’s just the beginning! Thank you for being a part of the Association and helping preserve our history.

Advocacy / Projects

At the new BEGIN sign in Calexico, CA

On March 24, 2021, we successfully completed our first project, the replacement of two faded Historic Route signs in Calexico, California. This project, done in cooperation with the City of Calexico, is rather fitting as our first. The southern terminus of US 99 was in Calexico, so no better place to start than the beginning.

Calexico Signs Posted!

This project wouldn’t have been possible without the donations we have received and your support. We wish to thank all those that were involved with the project and a special Thank You to Lilliana Falomir, Public Works Manager for the City of Calexico. We do look forward to working with the city in replacing the remaining signs in time.

Fundraising

Currently, we are still in the process of obtaining our 501(c)3 status. Our application is a bit delayed but hopefully we will hear something by late April. Once we obtain the status, we will be able to open a regular bank account, which will help with our fundraising efforts. So far, we have raised funds via PayPal for our projects and memberships. All those that have donated will receive a formal letter for their taxes once our status comes through. We can certainly use your support! Donate and/or become a member.

Donations

Outreach

1932 side of the Piru Creek Bridge in Piru Gorge, Los Angeles County, California

Slowly but surely, we are reaching out to local historical societies, businesses, clubs, and other groups along US 99. So far, the feedback has been positive. We are hosting monthly Zoom meetings, https://historic99.org/meetings/, which will have a presentation on various Highway 99 topics. This month, on April 6, there will be a presentation on the history of the Ridge Route Alternate portion of the highway.

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwlf-6srDIqHdRkYBHsG8jzi8D68Gtys-dF

Membership

We now have memberships available! We are up to 14 members as of March 31, not bad for a first month. Your memberships help us grow and achieve our goals to promote and preservation on of California’s most historic roadways. The next two months we are also running a special on memberships. Use code “SAVE99” on the membership application and save $5 off your first year, regardless of what level membership you are getting.

For our business members, we want to help you! We will list your business on our 99 Businesses page and you will get a chance at ad space in our newsletter. We may also do a feature on one of them on the site and newsletter.

Membership

Featured Book

This comes from one of our recent members who recently published a new book on US 99:

Hello members,

I’m very happy to be a new member of Historic Highway 99 Association of California and look forward to hearing about all the Club news.

I’ve been fascinated with Highway 99…California and Oregon…for decades. This led me to my current collection of hundreds of vintage postcards showing scenes of Highway 99 and its roadside attractions and businesses covering the decades up to the 1960s.

I’m excited to share with you my newly published book: A PICTORIAL HISTORY of HIGHWAY 99~The Scenic Route~From Redding, California to Portland, Oregon. You can see more of it on Amazon.com.  The book has 423 pages and over 600 photos of scenes along Highway 99; all taken from my postcard collection mentioned above.

Respectully submitted,

Carole MacRobert Steele

Photo of the Month

Golden State Avenue looking north from 23rd St / Junction US 466

For April, we are featuring a postcard from the 1950’s showing Golden State Avenue in central Bakersfield looking north from 23rd St. Here, US 99 met US 466 and State 178. Today, US 466 is gone entirely and State 178 has been moved to a freeway near the top of the postcard. The concrete paving, from the 1940’s, is still there as is the Kelly Springfield Tire sign, though covered with a new company. The intersection at the bottom is now Sumner St (relocated in 1987).

Calexico Signs Posted!

Today was a great day and a big day for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. Today we completed our first project, replacing the Historic Route signs at the south end of US 99 in Calexico, California.

We met the sign crew in Calexico at 1st St and Heffernan Ave at 7:45 am on March 24, 2021 to deliver the signs and watch them get placed. It didn’t take long for things to get moving from that point on. As the new signs were a bit larger and the pole was not tall enough, the new signs needed to be drilled. Thankfully, the new hole was in a decent spot and didn’t mess up the flow of the sign.

Ready to post with the new sign finally here.
Taking down the old sign. This took a bit of work as the old bolts were rusted and welded.
Old sign, now removed.
New sign posted with the crew doing the finishing touches.
Finally on its own. Looking really good!

The second sign, at 2nd St and Imperial Ave, was next. This one, while not quite at the end of US 99, was posted that way due to its proximity to the south end of State 111. The sign is quite visible to a lot of travelers and locals heading to Mexicali and the Calexico central business district. As this was in the morning, the sun was not in a favorable direction for photos. We still made it work.

Crew working on removing the old sign. In the process, they also straightened the END and US 99 shield making the whole assembly a lot nicer.
Down goes the old sign.
And up comes the new one! The crew is making sure the sign is upright. The final check was done by us.
Second sign posted!

After the sign crews finished their work, we went to visit Liliana Falomir, Public Works Manager for the City of Calexico. It was very good to meet her in person for the first time and speak a bit more about the project. It was great to have the opportunity to thank her in person for all the work she has done to make this happen. We also delivered a letter relinquishing the sign to the city to make it all official. The City of Calexico will also be sending out a press release in the next few days, so who knows where things might go from there?

At the BEGIN sign later in the day with better sun. Very happy we made this happen.

We want to thank all those that donated to this project and the City of Calexico for helping make this a reality. We could not have done it without all your help and look forward to more projects in the future. This was an amazing day and a new beginning for US 99 and the Historic Highway 99 Association of California.

Official Press Release from the City of Calexico