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ANGOLA — Members of a Michigan car club stopped in Angola Tuesday as a part of what may become an annual drive up Old U.S. 27.
The Michigan Old U.S. 27 Motor Tour group has been touring the historic highway for several years, going from Coldwater, Mich. to Cheboygan, Mich., stopping along the way in 12 cities on the six-day trip.
Organizer Craig Parrish said he received a call earlier this year from officials in Auburn and Angola about adding a day at the start of the trip in Indiana, where Old U.S. 27 is recognized as a historic highway. Parrish said a similar effort was ongoing in Michigan.
“This has the potential to be something really special between Indiana and Michigan in the coming years,” Parrish said. “There’s a lot of potential marketing and tourism here.”
Parrish said he believes there’s real potential for the route, which, before the development of the interstate system, took drivers all the way from Michigan to Miami.
Parrish said it could be the “The next Route 66 for travel and tourism.”
About three dozen car enthusiasts arrived in Angola just after noon on Tuesday, parking their classic vehicles and roadsters in the north parking lot at the Steuben County Community Center.
City Councilman Dave Olson, state Rep. Dick Dodge, R-Pleasant Lake, and Angola Area Chamber of Commerce president Jennifer Rumsey greeted the motorists, inviting them to spend time in the city before they headed out to Coldwater. Parrish said the group would also be touring Pokagon State Park.
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