New Jersey couple plans television series detailing Route 66, Carthage

Route 66 has held a special place in Vincent Cricchio’s heart since he watched the television series on CBS in the 1960s.

Now the New Jersey native and his wife, Holly Cricchio, are living out a dream by driving the route for a little more than a month and creating a television series out of the people who live on the route.

The couple were in Carthage on Monday and will be in Joplin and Webb City on Tuesday.

“We began on Aug. 20 and we’re giving eight days to every state except for Texas, which gets four days, and Kansas, which only has 13.2 miles of the road,” Vincent Cricchio said. “Most other shows focused on places, we’re focusing on a place here in Carthage, but we’re really focusing on the people.”

Carthage Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director Wendi Douglas took the Cricchios on a tour of the city, including the Boots Motel and former Boots Drive In and the new Route 66 display in the Jasper County Courthouse.

She also took a turn on the microphone, describing the history of the Boots and the courthouse display while Vincent Cricchio played his camera over the scenes.

Cricchio said they are looking at different places in each town they visit. He said his goal is to give the microphone to a local resident or representative in as many cities as possible.

“You noticed how I gave Wendi the microphone,” Cricchio said. “That’s what we do everywhere we go. I introduce and I say goodbye to the person and sometimes I narrate, but whenever I have the opportunity to give the microphone to someone else, I give it to them, because we want the people who watch it to see the people on the road. They’re the true stars of the road.”

Cricchio said he and his wife plan to create a television series that could last two years on television. He said he doesn’t know where it will air because they haven’t sold it to a television network yet.

“We’re creating a 28-episode, two season, America travels television series,” he said. “It will almost be like something that continues, like in daytime television, where we leave you hanging at the end and waiting for more as we move forward all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica. “Route 66 has been on my mind since I was a kid, as soon as I saw that TV show (“Route 66” on CBS in the 1960s). I’m dating myself, but I was always intrigued by Route 66.”

Route 66 has held a special place in Vincent Cricchio’s heart since he watched the television series on CBS in the 1960s.

Now the New Jersey native and his wife, Holly Cricchio, are living out a dream by driving the route for a little more than a month and creating a television series out of the people who live on the route.

The couple were in Carthage on Monday and will be in Joplin and Webb City on Tuesday.

“We began on Aug. 20 and we’re giving eight days to every state except for Texas, which gets four days, and Kansas, which only has 13.2 miles of the road,” Vincent Cricchio said. “Most other shows focused on places, we’re focusing on a place here in Carthage, but we’re really focusing on the people.”

Carthage Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director Wendi Douglas took the Cricchios on a tour of the city, including the Boots Motel and former Boots Drive In and the new Route 66 display in the Jasper County Courthouse.

She also took a turn on the microphone, describing the history of the Boots and the courthouse display while Vincent Cricchio played his camera over the scenes.

Cricchio said they are looking at different places in each town they visit. He said his goal is to give the microphone to a local resident or representative in as many cities as possible.

“You noticed how I gave Wendi the microphone,” Cricchio said. “That’s what we do everywhere we go. I introduce and I say goodbye to the person and sometimes I narrate, but whenever I have the opportunity to give the microphone to someone else, I give it to them, because we want the people who watch it to see the people on the road. They’re the true stars of the road.”

Cricchio said he and his wife plan to create a television series that could last two years on television. He said he doesn’t know where it will air because they haven’t sold it to a television network yet.

“We’re creating a 28-episode, two season, America travels television series,” he said. “It will almost be like something that continues, like in daytime television, where we leave you hanging at the end and waiting for more as we move forward all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica. “Route 66 has been on my mind since I was a kid, as soon as I saw that TV show (“Route 66” on CBS in the 1960s). I’m dating myself, but I was always intrigued by Route 66.”

Cricchio said he was hoping that his television series can be seen in Europe and Japan, where Route 66 is a popular American icon.
He also hopes it is seen in the U.S.

“We’re hoping this film will also get the interest of your neighbors,” Cricchio said. “We’re hoping the people 20 miles east or 50 miles west will see it and say oh, why don’t we go to Carthage, or you’ll say why don’t we go to Joplin or I didn’t know they had that in Webb City.

Holly Cricchio said the couple hopes the series can benefit the people featured in it.

“We’re just hoping it revitalizes America,” Holly Cricchio said. “We’re from the east coast, we don’t hear about it. Route 66 isn’t being talked about.”