Imperial Valley press., 1930-11-29
COAST ROUTE PROPOSED BY IMPERIAL HIGHWAY AS
FINE PROGRAM
ARRANGED FOR
ROAD MEETING
Imperial Highway Repre-
sentatives To Hold Con-
ference Here Tonight.

Splendid speakers have been OBJ
tanned for the meeting Of the I'm.
perial Highway association TO b.
held in FL Centre tonight, accord.
ing to r. B. Whitelaw. president o.
the FL Centre Chamber OF Com
mcrce. The main speaker OF the
evening will be j. Wilson Mcken-
ney, writer Of authority on his
torical matters who has recently
made study of historical rails
of America, including the Old But
terfield Stage Route, which may &c
the route followed by the proposed
Imperial highway McKenney will
tell Of incidents of the early his
tory Of California when the Butter
field route was the main entrance
to the state used by the gold seek
ers, touching on the romance Of the
early west before the lays Of I'M
perial Valley. when this territory
was known merely as "Salton Sink ="
Another speaker of interes. will
be Reverdy Harris, now secretary
of the San Jacinto Chamber of
Commerce, who hauled freight ov-
er the Butterfield route in 1890 ana
who will tell first hand experiences
of those times when the pioneers
were blazing the trail for those who
were later to develop Americas
Winter Garden" Local speakers
will include Mayor H. w Fawcett,
who will welcome the visitors to
Ell Centre, and A. J. Mercier. presi-
dent of the Associated chambers of
commerce of the county.
A large number Of reservations
from parties coming from the coast
and inland cities on the new high
way have been received at the
chamber Of commerce and present
indications are that this will be one
of the largest meetings the associ-
alton has yet held Special over
night rates have been arranged by |
G. G. Capen. manager OF the Hotel |
aBrbara Worth, who has sent spec |
1al invitations to all members OF |
the Imperial Highway Association i
to visit FL Centre.
Dinner will be served at $50 Sat- |
urday night and the business meet |
ing will follow the dinner. after |
which dancing viii be enjoyed in |
the silver room. Sunday morning
at eight O'Clock the. visitors will be |
the guests of the q Centre Cham
Der and following that gathering |
they will be escorted on a sight see /
ing trip Of the valley. Reservations |
for the dinner should be made at |
the FL Centro chamber headquar-
tiers in order that seating arrange
ments may be made and X. B.
Whitelaw, president of the cham
Der, urges that there be a large
representation of loyal residents to
greet the visitors.
Many to Attend
The meeting promises TO be one
OF the most important gatherings
here in recent years. II will be at
tended by representatives from all
along the proposed Imperial High
way and by distinguished visitors
from San Diego and surrounding
area. New impetus has been Civ
en- the Imperial Highway by the
recent spectacle of the Imperial
Pageant wherein early history of
Imperial Valley was featured. es-
the operation Of the But
terfield Stages and the Pony Ex-
press. Aside from the fact that the
Imperial Highway promises II be-
come one of California's most valu-
able roads and the shortest. easiest
and most direct route from El Cen
tro TO Los Angeles, the fact that it
is the route Of the old Butterfield
Stages will be an important reason !
why the new highway will be con-
Structed via this alignment.
There is a concerted movement
TO preserve and mark the old land
marks Of early California. One of
the most important Of these is the
Old Butterfield Stage route and this
fact has made many friends for
the Imperial Highway.
Marion A. Speer, in a recently
published and widely reprinted ar
ticle, has this to say Of the su.tab.l-
ity Of the Butterfield Stage route
for a great new, modern highway.
There are several reasons just why
the Imperial Highway should fol-
low the ruts Of the Buttcrfield
stages. First: historically speaking /
there is only one route in Southern /
California that exceeds this in in
terest and that is El Canine Real.
Up through these same hills came