5600 Bell St.

Route 66

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A N A N D D KICKING KICKING ! !

The High Plains region across the Texas Panhandle and into eastern New Mexico was settled primarily because of the railroad. Of more than 135 current and former cities and communities in the Panhandle

formed without the presence or promise of a railroad. Yet in spite of this legacy, it is not the railroad that is celebrated across this region for its historic

Route 66, the Mother Road, and Route 66 was born on November 11, 1926, by virtue of federal law creating the US Highway system, and thus all numbered national routes. At that time, there were already thousands of miles of roads criss-crossing America, many of which were parts of early named auto trails. Tulsa businessman Cyrus Avery envisioned a road that linked Chicago to Los Angeles, and originally campaigned for US 60 as the name. The Governor of Kentucky at the time held more political capital, and won out, with 60 being assigned to a transcontinental road from Los Angeles to Virginia Beach which—wait for it —completely traversed Kentucky. Politics are funny like that. Interestingly, both 60 and 66 intersected in Amarillo.

Shamrock, TX U-Drop Inn

By cobbling together bits and pieces of the old Pontiac Trail in Illinois, the Wire Road in Missouri, the Ozark Trail across Oklahoma, Texas, and eastern New Mexico, and the National Old Trails Road the rest of the way, Route 66 made it possible to drive from Chicago to LA. No new roadway had to be built at the time, although steady improvements began the next year along the roughly 2,400 miles.

BORGER means business, from the familiar mom and pop to the industrial international, and the buzz isn’t fading.

Investment incentives program Borger Inc. has recently helped 13 small businesses grow while others are starting or expanding on their own.

“Lots of new blood, fresh ideas on Main Street,” said Katie Lingor, Executive Director of Borger Inc. “About seven or eight properties changed hands all in about the same time frame where we’re working with other businesses.”

But it’s hard to miss the giants that dip into the reliable production of oil and natural gas in the area. Since the 1920s, Borger has been fueled by petroleum products brought up by people living in tent cities during the early oil exploration and production to the plastics and fertilizer production today.

BIG oil and gas mean big business. Phillips 66 is just finishing a $70 million project.

“What it’s going to do is it’ll make about 10,000 more barrels of diesel a day,” said Darrel Hail, manager of the refinery. “A barrel is 42 gallons so it’s a lot of diesel… It makes a little bit less gasoline, but say we look into the future, diesel is going to be the product that has more demand.”

There’s also Solvay (based in Belgium) and Tokai Carbon CB (based in Tokyo) turning oil into products that manufacturers use to create consumer products. And Nutrien is one of the largest providers of agricultural products in the world, with fertilizer plant expansion just completed and more set for the future.

“We’ve got a lot of expansion projects on the books for the next two, four and six years,” said Brian Triplett, general manager. “Our ability to sustain and grow good jobs for the area is probably the thing I’m most proud of.”

Investment incentives program Borger Inc. has recently helped 13 small businesses grow while others are starting or expanding on their own

War II.

DALHART S t r o n g