Dozens of classic cars will proudly parade through Davenport, Walcott and Durant before stopping in Wilton on a U.S. Route 6 cross-Iowa journey known as the River to River Retro Road Trip set for Sept. 19-22.
Following a day of activities in Davenport, including cruising the one-way streets of Second and Third on Thursday, Sept. 19, participants will leave from the Modern Woodman Parking Lot at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20 to travel through Walcott and Durant before making a “pit stop” in Wilton to visit the famous Candy Kitchen Soda Shop in the downtown area as well as the old Rock Island Railroad Depot and Muscatine County Freedom Rock, arriving at about 9:15 a.m.
Local residents are encouraged to come out and greet the participants, from cheering their cars as they pass through town to coming to Wilton to meet the drivers.
Lynn Ochiltree said it’s the third time the organization has designated Wilton as a stop, but notes there are several drivers who stop annually on the road trip.
He plans to provide a tour of the 1910 established Candy Kitchen and museum but said participants are free to wander and shop, dine and explore the community, stretching their legs before moving on. “They like coming to Wilton,” he said, noting the group “spreads their love.”
Following a 10:30 scheduled departure; the road trip takes drivers on a detour to avoid construction in Iowa City, stopping for lunch in the Tiffin/Marengo area before ending the day at the Beaverdale Fall Festival.
The 300-mile trip, which features “mom and pops (no chain restaurants) and two-lane blacktops,” winds up in Council Bluffs on Sunday.
Organizers say any type of vehicle can be used, noting many vintage car owners don’t want to put high miles on their vehicles. “We also feel the main goal of the cruise is to bring people on the highway and off the interstate to show what small town Iowa has to offer,” the club’s Facebook page reads. “I have always said it’s about the drive, not what you drive.” Casey McCallister is president of the organization, which works to preserve history including historic bridges, landmarks and highway signage while promoting commerce.
A $20 registration fee gets participants a dash plaque, event sticker and guidebook.
Dating back to 1910, US Route 6, also posted as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, is the nation’s longest highway, running through Iowa from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. The highway, also known as the “Great White Way,” stretches 3,652 miles across the nation from Providence, Massachusetts to Long Beach, California.
Last year, the organization stopped in West Liberty. Event organizer Casey McCallister of Muscatine said 35 drivers had registered from four different states including Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa for the 15th consecutive tour in 2023, always held on the third weekend in September. There have been up to 80 participants some years.
The group also likes to make a salute to veterans in Menlo at the state’s initial Freedom Rock, something McCallister said was very important and meaningful to the organization. He said there is no designated route to return after reaching Council Bluffs, noting parties will “go their own way.”
McCallister said the group started the excursion in an effort to “spotlight” small communities along Route 6 that were lost to Interstate 80 traffic when the four lane cross-country highway was built in the 1960’s. He said many of their favorite laces did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic economy and have closed their doors.
“There is so much history on this route,” McCallister said. “There are stories of what life was before the interstates.”
