 The route was first organized in 1910 by Joe Long, a newspaper man from Osceola started to publicize the road's new moniker.Long organized the first committee meeting of residents along the route who were interested in promoting their highway and in good roads in general.In official trips along the route, the Iowa Blue Grass Road Association spoke to at least 10,000 people about the goals of the group and collected $40,000 (equivalent to $ in dollars) for the purpose of improving the road.