Arizona Route 66 Museum: The Arizona Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Ariz. has a very nice display of Angel Delgadillo and his work with Historic Route 66 and Arizona Tourism. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Angel: Angel Delgadillo discusses the 10 long years between the opening of I-40 in 1978 and the designation of Historic Route 66 in 1988 when he felt like Seligman had been forgotten. Once the Historic Route 66 was established many tourist and tour buses returned to Route 66, which brought the town back to life. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos

We all need the help of a guardian angel at times in our journey through life, but have you ever considered that a highway in the U.S. also needed a guardian angel.

In 1956 President Dwight Eisenhower signed into legislation funding for the Interstate Highway System which would change the way Americans travel forever. The Interstate Highways have made it easier and faster to travel by vehicle across our nation at speeds only dreamed of before the Interstate System was built.

The downside of the new Interstate highways is they were designed to bypass small towns which depended on the old two lane highways which led travelers through many small towns. This traffic generated a way of life and an economy for these small towns for many years. Once the Interstate opened and bypassed these small towns many began to struggle to stay alive and many later became ghost towns.

Life in Seligman, Ariz. was great and busy before being bypassed by Interstate 40 when it opened. Life was good as several thousand cars passed through the small community located about 75 miles west of Flagstaff bringing travelers who stopped and fueled their vehicles, ate meals at restaurants and perhaps spent the night in one of the local motels.

Then on Sept. 22, 1978, at 2:30 p.m. Interstate 40 was officially opened in the area and travelers fled to the new highway and forgot about the small town of Seligman and others along Route 66 in western Arizona. When that highway opened, traffic in Seligman ceased and the town became quiet. Very quiet.

Residents struggled as businesses began to suffer and fail but what could the people of this tiny community do to change their town? By 1985, the Interstate System was complete along Route 66 and the government decommissioned Route 66. It was done.

Over the quiet years in Seligman, an angel of Route 66 became a spokesperson for the community. Angel Delgadillo was born and raised in Seligman and began to attempt to get locals involved in making changes to help the community. For years he spoke of a renewed interest in the old highway but that is about as far as he went until be began to reach out to others in towns along the route in western Arizona. 

Angel Delgadillo told the story over and over about how it felt to just be forgotten when the new highway opened and how it was destroying businesses and the town. It was a sad time.

Finally, after much letter writing and work with leaders in other communities, Angel Delgadillo called for a meeting in Seligman on February 18,1987. Letters and notices were distributed through several communities and when the day arrived 15 people showed up for the meeting.

Not a large number but those present were as enthusiastic as Angel Delgadillo and the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona was formed. Delgadillo was elected President and Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer were elected from the group and the wheels began to turn.

The first order of business was to talk to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Talks moved slowly but no one in the association would give up. Their persistence paid off and finally in November 1987 ADOT agreed to make a portion of old Route 66 Historic Route.  A section of old Route 66 beginning 17 miles east of Seligman to Kingman and then from Kingman to the California border would be designated as Historic Route 66; a total of 159 continuous miles of highway. This is still the longest continuous stretch of old route on Historic Route 66.

The association led by Angel Delgadillo began to organize events to celebrate the newly designated historic highway. The Historic Route 66 Fun Run was organized for April, 1988. This was not a foot race but instead a parade of classic cars which had been a part of the Route 66 during the glory years. 153 cars took place and the drivers started at the California border and traveled Historic Route 66 to Seligman. The event took place over two days with a big celebration in Seligman.

The Route 66 Fun Run has taken place every year since 1988. The 2026 Fun Run attracted over 800 entries and thousands of spectators.

Following the Fun Run phones started ringing that week as the great success of the Historic Association and the very successful Fun Run piqued the interest of others in each of the seven other states along Route 66. The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona began to assist other groups to organize and begin events in each state.

That is the 25 cent version of how Historic Route 66 was born. Now as we celebrate 100 years of Route 66, we have to thank Angel Delgadillo and his vision as well as the work of the Arizona association as well as hundreds of others who have now stepped up to keep the drive alive. Historic Route 66 is as popular today as ever.

Thousands from around the world drive the historic route every year. There are Route 66 associations in several European countries as well as Japan ad other countries in Asia.

Now, the rest of the story about the Angel of Historic Route 66, Angel Delgadillo. Angel Delgadillo was born April 19, 1927, less than a year after Route 66 was born (November 1926). Angel was born at the family home in Seligman, Ariz. which was located on Route 66. Angel Delgadillo just celebrated his 99th birthday in April and continues to be active in Route 66 community activities.

Angel has lived in Seligman his entire life except for the time he spent in barbering school in California and his first job barbering in Williams, Ariz. Angel’s dad was a barber at one time and Angel used the chair his dad purchased in 1926 for $194. That chair still sits in the corner barber shop at Angel & Vilma’s Route 66 Gift Shop and celebrates 100 years along with Route 66.

Through his work with the Historic Route 66 association, Angel Delgadillo has become a well known expert on Route 66 in Arizona. He has been interviewed hundreds of times and has appeared on TV segments about Route 66 worldwide. Pixar consulted with Angel on many details included in the movie “Cars” which came out in 2006 and introduced Route 66 to a new generation.

Along with the recognition, Angel has received many honors and awards over the years. However, in 2023, Angel Degadillo received the President’s Award for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The award ceremony was scheduled for November 8, 2023. Initially, Angel said the trip would be too much and too difficult to make but his family members thought otherwise.

In November, Angel, Vilma, two daughters, and a son-in-law boarded a private jet and flew to Washington D.C. for the event. Another son flew in from San Diego. The ceremony was a packed house and following a video about Angel’s life and story, he was called on stage to receive the award. When he walked to the stage from their nearby seat, the place erupted in a standing ovation.

Following the award ceremony a luncheon in Angel’s honor was held. The private luncheon was attended by family members. National Trust for Historical Preservation President Jay Clemens and other officials.

During the Washington D.C. visit, Angel and the family got a private visitation at the Smithsonian Museum to view the permanent display which features the Delgadillo family. The exhibit called “America On the Move” features a section called “The People’s Highway” which tells how Route 66 affected the lives of families along Route 66 in the 1930s and 1940s.

Angel Delgaddillo is truly the Angel of Route 66. Angel considers himself the happiest man alive (and it shows). He has said that he would like to meet a man happier than he is. He is the Angel of Route 66. 

Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.

Angel in Gift Shop: Angel Delgadillo poses with his dog inside of Angel and Vilma’s Route 66 Gift Shop. The revitalized town now prospers more than ever with a new generation of visitors discovering Route 66. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Telling His Story: Angel Delgadillo loves to visit people in the gift shop as time allows. His age and activities limit how much time he spends in the shop these days. Angel turned 99 years old in April 2026. He was born just months after Route 66 was established in 1926. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

The Author and Angel: We have visited Seligman many times and on one occasion we were fortunate to spend time with this beautiful person and listen to his stories. Through his work with Historic Route 66 Angel Delgadillo has received many honors and awards. It was a pleasure to spend time with Angel. Courtesy photo