Museum of Route 66 Lincoln Daily News June/July 2026 Page 5 essentially doing for Atlanta what he had done for Pontiac, another small community, which, by the way, was merely Route 66 adjacent. McCoy had played a vital role in turning Pontiac into a “must stop” even if you had to actually leave the Mother Road, and now he was doing the same for Atlanta, with the advantage that the small community in Logan County was on the original route. If McCoy could develop Route 66 tourism in Pontiac and Atlanta, why couldn’t he do the same thing for Lincoln? Welch had spoken with McCoy years prior to the actions that were taken in 2025, and McCoy was more than receptive. In an interview with McCoy in June of 2025 LDN reported: “McCoy is excited about becoming a part of the newly designated Lincoln Tourism Department and has accepted the position of Department Director. As such he already has visions for the future of Lincoln as a Route 66 destination. “McCoy said that Lincoln has long been on his personal radar. He said that over the years he has spoken to various groups across the country about Route 66 and tourism, and he has used two communities as shining examples of towns that have missed the boat on Route 66, with Lincoln being one of those two. He said that it seemed like a big opportunity missed. He noted that there was really no reason for it to be that way. If Pontiac can draw tourists more than a mile off of 66 to their town, then why shouldn’t Lincoln, who has Route 66 traveling right into the heart of the city, be even more successful at drawing tourists?”
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