Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center

06/24/2026

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Podcast Project “Everything is a Primary Source” to Stop in Litchfield on Tuesday, June 30th from 10 to 2 as Part of America at 250 Journey

LITCHFIELD, IL — As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the national podcast Everything is a Primary Source will make a featured stop in Litchfield on Tuesday, June 30th as part of a multi-state road trip exploring the people, places, and stories that define the American experience.

Hosted by New Hampshire educator and historian Eric Salmonsen, the project highlights local histories as vital pieces of the national narrative. Litchfield, located along the historic Route 66, offers a unique lens into America’s past through its rich community heritage and enduring connection to one of the country’s most iconic roadways.

Eric will collaborate with The Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center, to record podcast content based on visitors’ selected pop culture topics, and showcase Litchfield’s historical significance to a national audience.

“This project is built on the idea that not only is everything a primary source, but everyone has a story to tell,” said Eric. “Litchfield and its community’s stories are essential part of our national mosaic. What better time to step back and appreciate it than the 250th?”

The Everything is a Primary Source America 250 road trip will span multiple states, with each stop contributing to a growing collection of stories that bring history to life through firsthand voices and experiences.

For more information, to schedule interviews, or to follow the journey, please contact:
[email protected]
603-337-5634
everything-history.com
Instagram: everything_is_a_primary_source

An inquiry-driven public history initiative translating artifacts, archives, and pop culture into civic learning through podcasting, live events, open-source projects, and educational partnerships.

06/24/2026

Join us at the museum on Tuesday, June 30th! Jim Marcacci will be in the house from 10 to 2 signing his new book!!! See you there!

06/24/2026

Join us on August 8th! Should be a great day!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 15, 2026
John Butte, Author, and vehicle owner
Historic vehicle with Litchfield ties to be at museum Saturday, August 8
The 1926 Ford Model T “Silver Streak”, a true piece of Americana, will be on
display at the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Visitors Center on August 8,
2026. Car owner and author John Butte will present the story of the travels of an
intrepid group of single young girls known as the Bradford Model T Girls (aka the
Gypsy Coeds). August 8th is not the first visit to Litchfield for the Silver Streak. In
1940 the Model T Girls and their Silver Streak not only passed through Litchfield
on Route 66 headed to California, but they spent a night and a day here visiting
friends of one of the coeds, Ruth Gustafson who was a teacher at Litchfield High
School. Ruth was excited for her friends in Litchfield to see the Silver Streak.
“Silver Streak” is integral to the inspiring story of the antics and fearless
adventures of the group of gutsy single girls who traveled the roads and
highways of America during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Darlene Dorgan, a “twenty
something” beautician from Bradford owned the car and began organizing
summer vacations in an era when young single women usually didn’t venture out
far from the kitchen. Their travels would become legendary as they crisscrossed
the continent from New York to California and Mexico to Canada searching for
adventure and seemingly finding it at every turn. Their Depression era travels
included sleeping in country schoolyards, churchyards, and jails by night, and by
day meeting celebrities, movie stars, and even Henry Ford…twice!
The story of the Bradford Model T Girls had all but slipped into obscurity by
2011, when the author began an emotional search for the car. The passing of his
mother, who was one of these young women who traveled in the Silver Streak,
stirred a fervent desire in the author to know what had happened to the car,
sometimes referred to as a “fugitive from a junk yard!” The trail had gone cold.
The car had not been seen around Bradford Illinois since the 1980’s. Not only
would John find the car and buy it in 2012, but over the next three years he
would research and knit together the wonderful story of the 9 consecutive historic
summer trips from 1934 through 1942, and the sisterhood of girls who went on
those trips. In 2015, he published the book, “Darlene’s Silver Streak and The
Bradford Model T Girls”
Ruth Gustafson’s photographs and diary from the 1940 trip helped to tell the
remarkable story of traveling to California and back, (almost 7 weeks) in a Model
T. A major engine problem would have had them looking for a train ride home
from California if not for the generosity of Henry Ford himself.
The Silver Streak will be on display in front of the museum from 10:00 until
4:00. It has never been restored and looks like it did when it came off the road
after the 1942 trip and still runs. Copies of John’s book will be on sale with a
portion of the proceeds going to the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Visitors
Center. For more information about the Gypsy Coeds, their travels, and the
Silver Streak, visit www.gypsycoeds.c

06/22/2026

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06/20/2026

What a day at the Litchfield museum! 157 tractors left the museum at 9:30 this morning. The event was expertly organized and the participants and volunteers were a joy to meet . Thank you for including us! We loved it!!

(Photos by Linda Stoecker)

06/19/2026

Saturday, June 20th will be an exciting day at the Museum. The Route 66 Tractor Drive will leave from the Museum at 9:30. Litchfield native Cheri Eichar Jett will be signing her new book Aprons Away. Come visit with Cheri from 11 to 1 and from 2 to 4.

06/15/2026

This will really be something to see!!!

06/15/2026

DON’T FORGET!!! Author and former Litchfield resident Cheryl Eichar Jett will be at the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center on Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. for a book signing! Can’t wait! Hope to see you there!!!

https://www.thejournal-news.net/stories/local-author-announces-new-route-66-book,231864?

Author and former Litchfield resident Cheryl Eichar Jett is pleased to announce a book signing event for her latest release, Aprons Away: Women's Work on Route 66 , at the Litchfield Museum and Route …

06/14/2026