Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 137

133

The Theodore Roosevelt Highway

PLACES, AND HARDY COMPANIONS,
HAZARDOUS ADVENTURE AND THE ZEST OF
BATTLE. WHEREVER HE WENT, HE CARRIED HIS
OWN RACK; AND IN THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF
THE EARTH, HE KEPT HIS CONSCIENCE FOR HIS
GUIDE.
HAGEDORN
Groundbreaking for the statue took place in August of 1922, and its
dedication was in November. The Daughters of the American Revolution re
dedicated it in October, 1969. Recently, after years of relative neglect, it underwent
a complete renovation.
It would be especially appropriate if Congress were to recognize and
identify the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway just as it has recognized
the Eisenhower Interstate System. Such recognition would be a fitting tribute to
one of our most dynamic presidents and to a great American. After all, it now has
been a century since Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration as the youngest person
ever to hold the office of President of the United States.
University of Missouri-Kansas City

Max J. Skidmore

Notes
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My topic is so unusual as to warrant this first-person treatment. I wish to thank the
University o f Missouri-Kansas City for a Faculty Research Grant that assisted in making
the project possible.
From Rochester, the earliest route went through Holley, Albion, Medina and Lockport,
and Niagara Falls— today’s N ew York 31; later, it followed the shore o f Lake Ontario
on what today is N ew York 18.
Until the summer o f 1997, it was possible to follow Queen’s Highway 2 and approximate
the TR route. Then, unfortunately, localities began renumbering segments o f the road
so that there now is a confusing array o f numbers from one jurisdiction to another. A
modem expressway parallels the route so it is possible to avoid the confusion and to
drive across the province quic