Rob Musson Featured at Wednesday Night Speaker Series

There’s an old joke in the schools in West Virginia that the three R’s are readin’, ritin’ and Route 21. Back when rubber was king in Akron, U.S. Route 21 was the means by which West Virginia workers migrated to Ohio to find jobs in the huge rubber factories.

Now, the former federal highway is a scenic thoroughfare that can take a traveler from the quaint shores of Lake Erie, over the heights of the Appalachian Mountains, and to the beautiful South Carolina coast. Local author and physician Rob Musson captured this fascinating and picturesque slice of America in his book, Readin’, Writin’ and Route 21, and will present its history and landscape as part of a speaker series at Stow Presbyterian Church.

U.S. Route 21 was established in 1926 as part of the new federal highway system. By the 1950s, it spanned more than 800 miles, from Cleveland’s Public Square to Hunting Island, South Carolina. Ultimately, its status as a federal highway was displaced by Interstate 77. However, it still offers a little taste of everything for the scenic traveler.

“There are over 500 pictures and postcards in the book that tell the story of Route 21,” Dr. Musson said. “Whether you’re traveling the road’s entire length or just out for an afternoon drive, it’s really fun to connect a landmark or patch of scenery with a bit of American history.”

Musson said his interest in Route 21 began with a childhood vacation, which led to a lifelong interest in the road, its people and its history.

“We took a long section of it during a family vacation in 1969, when I was about 6 years old,” he said in an interview with The Marietta Times. “Traveling through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia was such a different experience ... it was at night and you could see the lights of the little towns below. There was something special about it that really struck me.”

Musson said he often took Route 21 instead of the interstate for the benefit of the scenery. After accumulating a slew of photos, he decided to compile them into a pictorial history of the road. His research led to a few fascinating stories, including the crash of the USS Shenandoah near Ava, Ohio, which came down in two parts and straddled Route 21.

However, Musson said the most interesting thing about writing the book was the feedback he received from people who lived along the highway.

“When you find yourself interested in something like this, you have no idea if you’re the only one who feels that way,” he told the Times. “In Wytheville, Virginia, which has a population of about 5,000, people were sending me letters and almost everyone threw in a note about their personal memories of Route 21. It seemed to really spark some nostalgia.”

Musson drove the entire length of Route 21 once, just after he graduated from college, and still treasures some of his favorite spots.

“I love to stop in Marietta and watch the barges go by,” he said. “And there’s an observation tower at Big Walker Lookout in Virginia, the highest point in the route, where the view is just incredible.”

However, one of his most exciting “views” along Route 21 is in his imagination.

“For workers in West Virginia, this was a commuter route to Akron,” he explained. “They lived in Ohio during the week and went home on the weekend. So, on Sunday nights the road would just be clogged with traffic as they all headed back to the factories. Picturing what that must have looked like 50 years ago is kind of wild.”