Colorado Day and 100 Years Along the Road
Roadhouses, farms, cowboys, ranchers in arms—take the road east and west along what used to be the Midland Trail. From the Kansas border a quarter mile to the town of Holly, Colorado, and on the way to Lamar, a dust devil reminds the traveler of the Dust Bowl. Rather than building a brand-new path from scratch, Colorado overlaid the new "50" designation directly onto pre-existing paths, such as the old Midland Trail to the Santa Fe and Goodnight Trails. When the road opened on November 11, 1926, the Colorado path across mountain passes and following the Arkansas River was dirt, mud, gravel and clay. From the git-go, folk art, quilts, auto-camps and farm-stands served the motorists heading east and west along Highway 50 who were pioneers of the "great American Road Trip." These days, antique stores and community art centers have remnants of street and highway markers, cafes and roadhouses.
Lots of Company on the Loneliest Highway
From its opening in 1926, the road was deemed "The Loneliest Highway," "The Backbone," and a place where the hobo, the laborer, the miner, the railroad worker, the transient, the artist, the author, the journalist and the traveling preacher would find their place in communities of farmers, ranchers and shop owners. County fairs, festivals, arts and crafts fairs, and music festivals welcome tourism. Through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and the migration of Southern African Americans to the Midland and Northeast, Highway 50 was a melting pot of arts and culture, which is reflected at the art centers on or adjacent to Highway 50. The Rocky Mountain Collector, a newspaper that gives a clear guide to antique stores in Colorado, is a good place to find memorabilia, postcards, menus and sheet music that are reflected along the highway. Railroad and freight train schedules, old newspapers and radio air schedules, records and reel-to-reel tapes, and posters from rodeos and vaudeville shows are the clues that bring us a glimpse of what it was like to set out or settle in along the Road.
Sound Century and Highway 50
A community of art centers, performing art centers and museums, along with galleries, music and art associations, and retail stores that sell antiques and musical instruments, and local public libraries, are places we utilize, perform and speak at to give folks a feel of what it was like to set out on the early roads of America and Colorado. From Colorado Day to November 11, 2026, Sound Century will be documenting, recording and curating the stories, songs, art, smells and tastes, as well as the fabric and broadcasts of the Sound Century as it relates to US Highway 50. Richard Beattie will be touring that stretch of highway and interviewing folks along the way, sharing his music, art and recordings on his podcasts and radio shows. If you would like to be part of the series, or know someone who does, please email soundcenturyoriginals@gmail.com.
