Welcome to the Old Trails Museum's e-newsletter! Sign up here to receive these free quarterly updates directly to your inbox. | |
WHS Annual Meeting on November 1
The Winslow Historical Society will host its 2026 Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 1, from 2 to 4 pm at the Winslow Visitors Center. The free event will begin at 2 pm with refreshments and a performance of "road" songs by local musician Ray Tutaj, seen here performing at the famous Standin' on the Corner Park intersection. Attendees can buy the 2027 calendar, Winslow Goes to Work, and win prizes donated by the OTM Store, La Posada Hotel, and others. The meeting will include the election of new board members and reports on museum activities. We hope to see you there! Read More
| |
Last Route 66 History Highlight on November 7
OTM offers its final, free History Highlight of Route 66’s Centennial year at the Winslow Visitors Center at 5 pm on Saturday, November 7, just prior to the 100th anniversary of the route’s designation on November 11, 1926. OTM Director Ann-Mary Lutzick will give a companion talk to the museum’s latest exhibit, 100 Years of Route 66 in Winslow, which highlights the iconic highway both yesterday and today. The talk will focus on some of the businesses and their owners--including George and Koula Cheros, above--in more detail than was possible in the exhibit, which is on display at the Visitors Center and on the OTM Website throughout 2026 and beyond. Both the exhibit and 2026 historical calendar (story below) were funded by a grant from the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. Read More
|
Route 66 History Highlight in June
OTM hosted the Summer Route 66 History Highlight on June 6, when Lowell Observatory Historian Kevin Schindler presented (Mother) Road to the Stars: Route 66 and its Space Heritage. The 20 attendees enjoyed his tour of Route 66’s extraordinary space heritage, including the birthplaces of space pioneers, centers of space exploration, training grounds for Moon-bound astronauts, and the best-preserved asteroid impact site in the world right near Winslow, Meteor Crater Natural Landmark. The Summer History Highlight was made possible in part by Arizona Humanities.
| | OTM Exhibits & Publications | |
OTM Adds to Women of Winslow
The Spring edition of OTM eNEWS reported on the museum’s celebration of Women's History Month in March by inviting readers to explore the Women of Winslow exhibit and to suggest family members for additional panels. Brandee Leary, City Librarian at the Winslow Public Library, answered the call by providing information on her grandmother, Georgia Metzger. Georgia, seen at right at a civic event in 1992, served as Winslow’s first female mayor from 1982 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 1994. Explore her new panel and other accomplished Women of Winslow on the OTM Website's Exhibits page.
| |
The OTM Oral History Collection
In April, OTM Director Ann-Mary Lutzick conducted an oral history with Winslow resident Mel Bradshaw, seen above performing at an OTM event in 2008. Mel has had a long and successful career as an artist of the American West. Three of his paintings are in the OTM Collections, and his interview is now in the OTM Oral History Collection. These interviews allow Winslow residents to preserve their family stories and OTM to share more detail and authenticity in its publications, exhibits, and videos. The interviews are available upon request, and the museum is working towards making them available online. OTM invites any current or former Winslow residents to contact the museum and set up an interview.
| |
OTM's 2026 Volunteer Celebration
On June 7, the Board of the Winslow Historical Society hosted the OTM Volunteer Thank-You Party for 17 attendees at the home of WHS President Christa Knox, daughter and OTM Collections Volunteer Trinity Knox, and Aly the dog (above). Board members provided the delicious food, and member Erna Snukis did a wonderful job decorating this year's gift, Route 66 mugs and key chains donated by member Bob Hall and the Winslow Chamber of Commerce. OTM is still in need of volunteers to host visitors, so if you or someone you know loves history, please consider volunteering and joining the fun!
| |
Route 66 Centennial Calendar Now $6
The price of OTM’s 2026 historical calendar, 100 Years of Route 66 in Winslow, has been reduced from $12 to $6. Supplies are low, so get your copy before they’re all gone! The calendar is available at the museum, Arizona 66 Trading Company, La Posada Hotel, On the Corner Gifts, the Winslow Visitors Center, and through the OTM Online Store ($3 for shipping). The 2026 edition provides an overview of OTM's exhibit of the same name, both of which highlight the people, businesses, and sites along the city’s stretch of the iconic highway. Seen above is the Sughrues' Walgreen Agency Drugs on the southwest corner of Third and Kinsley Avenue around 1960.
| | Donate or become a member to support our mission: Founded in 1997, the Winslow Historical Society receives, preserves, and interprets information and artifacts representing the history and cultures of the Winslow area, in order to engage and enlighten all visitors to the Old Trails Museum’s exhibits and programs. | | | | |