Which Seligman barber helped launch Arizona’s Historic Route 66 preservation movement?

Angel Delgadillo helped launch Arizona’s Historic Route 66 preservation movement.

Delgadillo was a barber and small-business owner in Seligman, Arizona. After Interstate 40 bypassed the town, he saw traffic and business decline sharply. He became an active advocate for preserving and promoting the old highway.

On February 18, 1987, Delgadillo organized a meeting of business owners whose establishments stood along former Route 66. That effort contributed to the creation of the Arizona Historic Route 66 Association and the signing of historic-route markers.

Delgadillo is sometimes called the “Guardian Angel of Route 66.” His work focused on keeping the road economically and culturally visible after decommissioning, rather than restoring it as a continuous modern highway.