Moose Crossing: Portland to Portland on the Theodore Roosevelt International HighwayMax J.SkidmoreHamilton Books, 2007

Max Skidmore, professor of political science and former dean at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, has written a fascinating account of the 4,000-plus mile journey from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon on the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway (TRIH). But this is much more than a “road book.” The title stems from a road sign in New Hampshire along the TRIH warning motorists to be aware of moose crossings on the highway. And it reminds us of Roosevelt's unsuccessful bid to reclaim the presidency in his “Bull Moose campaign” under the banner of the Progressive Party in 1912. The TRIH was not a new single highway, but a connected system of primarily two lane roads running across twelve states in largely rural areas. Its origins began in 1919 with a group of motoring enthusiasts in Duluth, Minnesota, who planned the route. The international component consists of a Canadian link from Niagara, Ontario, on to Hamilton, and then back into the U.S. at Detroit. Regrettably, there are few markers along the route today that indicate its significance. Skidmore is to be congratulated for Moose Crossing for several reasons. First, he seized the welcome opportunity to write on a topic that is seemingly unrelated to his own scholarly focus. Most academics I know harbor ambitions to be more creative in planning a new venture that is dear to them, to craft a jargon-free book on a new subject of popular rather than parochial interest. Second, Skidmore continually portrays an interesting and rich history of the generally small towns that adjoin the TRIH. He notes the local culture, economic development, political landscape, and significant, but often lost, events from the past that help to define areas. Third, Skidmore's history of the TRIH and what one encounters along its coast-to-coast path includes the coming of age of the automobile in the 20th century. Fourth, the chapters, done state by state, are steeped in local lore (ghosts in some historic mansions) and specific details (location of the world's largest maple candy factory) such that one can decide where to stay that evening or what restaurant to avoid if replicating the journey. This is a scaled down version of the Alaska Milepost. Fifth, Skidmore reminds us on every page of the importance of local libraries, small town newspaper archives, county museums, and old timers who have stories to tell about life thirty-fifty-eighty years earlier. The author talked with what seems to be a treasure trove of individuals in the various towns and burgs where he stopped along the route in his borrowed pickup truck. More often than not the locals know little about the significance of their highway that is part of the TRIH. Not surprisingly, one finds an interesting history stemming from the 1920s when opinions about civil rights, women's rights, worker's rights, and the plight of the common person were argued in town halls, bars, and other public venues. Some of the debate is quite progressive; and then there are the remarks of some that make one wonder if the popular vote should have been extended to everyone. Small town America, like its urban counterparts, is a mélange of different views and customs. Skidmore travels on some of the roads noted in William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. Skidmore's narrative is much more satisfying. Moose Crossing is also reminiscent of Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. Again, Skidmore's exploration into the past makes this a much richer and more substantive account. A short appendix is included that summarizes Theodore Roosevelt's personal and public life. For most of us who know of him only through paragraphs in American political science and history textbooks, this is a welcome refresher course about a truly impressive national leader. Skidmore calls for Congress to rededicate the TRIH as a tribute to Roosevelt's accomplishments, much in the manner that the interstate system carries President Eisenhower's name. The one criticism I have of Moose Crossing is directed at the publisher, not the author. There is an annoying one-page map that jams the route of the TRIH through the states and Ontario into an unreadable mess that made it almost impossible to pinpoint the places Skidmore describes on his journey. How nice it would have been to be able to easily refer to a two-page, face-to-face map done with clarity. That aside, this book should appeal to a wide audience.

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