State Route 66 Association Creates Endowment at NAU

The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona created a fifty-thousand-dollar endowment at Northern Arizona University (NAU) for the preservation and promotion of Arizona Route 66 history.  The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona’s mission is to preserve, promote, and protect Route 66 in Arizona, so it was a natural fit for the Association to create an endowment at NAU’s Cline Library to help preserve Route 66 history.

Working together with archivists from the Cline Library, the Association donated their historical records to be archived in 2017. As the first Route 66 Association in the country, they wanted the documents, photos, posters, and records saved for everyone to research, access, and enjoy. In addition, the Delgadillo family contributed Angel’s personal collection to the Cline Library to archive. Angel Delgadillo played a strategic role in forming the Association and continues to contribute to its success 32 years later. The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona Endowment will generate interest after the first year. The Cline Library will work off a portion of the endowment’s interest. This size gift will ensure the collections will be taken care of for many years

The first goal will be to catalog the 12 Route 66 collections the library has stored. Some items in the collection will be digitized and available on the library’s website. All the items will be available for research at NAU’s Cline Library in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Association’s board of directors toured the facility last winter and they were able to view some of the library’s most prized possessions which are stored in a climate and light controlled environment. In addition to cataloging the collection, the endowment will enable the Cline Library team to create exhibits for the public to enjoy the collection.

The Historic Route 66 Association is excited to partner with Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library to advance our shared goals of preserving and promoting the history of Route 66 in the State of Arizona. For those interested in supporting our goals, donations can be made to the endowment here or by mail. Please include the endowment name as well as the fund number on your donation.

Pictured left to right: Sean Evans NAU Cline Library, Angel Delgadillo Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona President, Cynthia Ann Childrey Dean and University Librarian, Peter Runge Head of Special Collections and Archives NAU

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Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona Endowment - ​Fund: #1894
Gifts should be made payable to the NAU Foundation. 
Online @ https://alumni.nau.edu/giving.aspx. 
Mail to NAU Foundation,  PO Box 4094  Flagstaff, AZ  86011-4094