10/05/2024
In September of 2017, the Military Vehicle Preservation Association hosted a Route 66 Convoy and we were included in their tour route.
This year the MVPA is retracing the 1918 alignment of the Jefferson Highway and once again we will be included! The trip will take them across 2,500 miles over 30 days traveling around 35-40 miles per hour.
The Jefferson Highway was known as the Pine to Palm Highway and was a north/south route from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to New Orleans, Louisiana.
This year the convoy will be in the local area Monday, October 14th to Wednesday, October 16th, before heading into Oklahoma.
Public viewings of the 40 plus vehicles will be held at multiple area locations.
On Monday, October 14th at 11:00 a.m. at Miners Hall Museum, Franklin and 3:00 p.m. at Crawford County Historical Museum, Pittsburg.
On Tuesday, October 15th convoy participants will explore the area on their own that morning. At 2:00 p.m., they have a rally point at the north end of Pittsburg, and they will "parade" down old Jefferson Highway/Broadway as they leave the community.
Their next stop is at Big Brutus near West Mineral, where they will have another public viewing starting at approximately 3:00 p.m.
NOTE: There is FREE ADMISSION to Big Brutus that day from 3:00 p.m. until close.
On Wednesday, October 16th they will visit the old Joplin airport terminal on Missouri Highway 171 and Dennis Weaver Drive, which will serve as a breakfast stop for the travelers. They are scheduled there from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Additionally at the airport, CFI’s “True to the Troops” wrapped truck and trailer, operated by professional driver and U.S. Army veteran Remy Braun, will be on display and The Freedom of Flight Museum inside the Old Terminal will be open with assistance from members of American Legion Post #13, which meets at the airport terminal.
When the convoy leaves Joplin from the old terminal, it will travel south on Main Street to Zora, turning west to Schifferdecker then south to 7th Street. From there it will head west into Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs. Continuing onto Vinita and then Muskogee, Oklahoma for the night.
On the 16th we can expect them to be arriving in Galena at approximately 10:30 a.m. This is as close of a timeframe I have at this time. Will update when I have more details.
Please plan to join us in welcoming this amazing convoy as they travel through the area, it was phenomenal in 2017, I can’t imagine it will be anything short of that again.
You can follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MVPAConvoy
Mary
Share in the excitement of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association historic convoy events featuring hundreds of vintage military vehicles. Check out the LIVE Convoy Tracker at https://aprs.fi/ #!call=a%2FK3ARL-11&timerange=3600&tail=3600
The Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum, functioning under the Baxter Springs Historical Society
