The ongoing thread started Today, 09:33 AM by ColophonHow long have main roads been paved? is very tempting to hijack, so here’s a place to branch out with related topics in the same general area.
I have thrown away boxes of old folding road maps that I got for free at filling stations since back in the 50’s. Every gas station had its own version and publisher of the states and regions of the country near the state where the station was located and you could grab as many as you wanted.
I can remember main roads (examples in this area are US 31, US70, US64 and the like) before the interstates (50’s and 60’s) became completed and accessible.
I can also remember unpaved county roads and even some streets in smaller towns.
But those of us old enough to remember those days might enjoy swapping stories that would be off-topic in the linked thread.
We once counted 10 copies of our home state in our van- none of which were particularly legible due to spills, folding, and wear from being under the seats. We kept many to use as “sun shades” which were attached by cramming them under the window jam or foam sealant.
The most useful ones were always the ones with the radio station lists. Gave us something to do- seeing which stations broadcast the furthest, etc.
Than main connection between this thread and the “paved roads” thread is that if we had some of those old maps, perhaps we could zoom in on a year, at least a period, when there are fewer blue roads than red ones, or those with dotted lines.
Other than Rand McNally and Gousha, how many of the mapmakers on this list have you seen road maps by? Bonus for which oil companies they produced maps for.
To this day, whenever I’m driving into a new state I make it a point to stop at a public rest stop (even better, a “hospitality center”) and pick up one of their official Department of Transportation maps.
The ones in Alabama, Tennessee and Florida are roughly the same size as the old “gas maps” I’m familiar with. You used to be able to gauge someone’s dexterity, if not their native intelligence, by how long it took them to refold one of those maps.
Having more than one map of the same area was a lot like having two watches: you just couldn’t be sure! That much hasn’t changed what with road construction, landslides, floods and whatnot.
I purged a lot of old ones so I’m down to about 10 states right now. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kunilou prefers GPS, so I’m not as diligent about keeping my collection up to date as I used to be.
I also like aeronautical charts. The Sectionals are a good balance between area and detail.
Some of you may be interested in the Road Map Collectors Association. Our website includes keys to the date codes, canonical lists, and the like. There’s a swap meet every September. And we have a listserv where we discuss the subject. Or check out Jon Roma’s website of cover art.
I have to say, the hospitality centers in Missouri are very nice indeed. Sparkling clean restrooms, nice grounds, and helpful people. And I don’t even LIKE Missouri (personal issues).
I’m a little too young to remember seeing oil company maps “in the wild”, but when we did a Route 66 trip a few years ago, I brought a big box of them my folks had lying around. They were from the late-50’s through mid-80’s, so you could really see the progression as the Interstates gobbled up old US-66.
I remember as a little kid seeing all the metal soda caps pressed into the asphalt of the parking lot. And how a guy came out and wiped your windshield while he filled up your tank. I thought the little change belt they wore was the coolest thing ever. Even cooler than the machine used to make an imprint of your credit card.
I don’t remember when the maps were free at service stations, but they were usually cheap. And there would be one taped to a window, glass door, or glass countertop, where it could be consulted for free.
That is to say, the gas stations actually encouraged you to chat up their attendants, asking for directions, free maps, and travel advice. While you were seeing the USA in your Chevrolet.
By weird coincidence I was looking for a good link to William Least Heat-Moon’s wonderful travel book Blue Highways when the search led to Heat-Moon spotlighted at historical dinner.
What are the odds?
The book is worth finding and reading if your nostalgia for the pre-Interstate era is strong.
Living in Maine, before we’d travel to Disney, or Pittsburgh, or wherever, my mother would get us a Trip-Tik from AAA. It was a series of maps with your route highlighted and all put in a flip over spiral bound notebook. It was cool setting off knowing you had 17 pages to get through, and getting to flip each page as you got closer to your destination.
Wow, apparently they still offer them, wonder how often they are used anymore?
