Since 1999 Eddie Lang has been on a one-man campaign to get travelers to trek the nearly forgotten historic U.S. Highway 40. The crusader has been hosting tours that wrap riders in a blanket of history while they learn of the area's first settlers along the corridor.

"It's so sad to see this important highway go unnoticed," Lang says. "If people would just realize that this is how the towns and cities along Interstate 80 got started and what the people who established this area did to make a life for themselves, they would appreciate living here much more."

Highway 40 was once a vital artery - necessary to anyone who needed to get from San Francisco to Tahoe - but when I-80 opened in 1960, it became all but obscure. Lang's goal is to recreate interest in the highway - and the towns along its route.

"Increased traffic means increased commerce," he says. "If we bring the highway back to life, it will help bring people, tourists, to shop in the towns along the way."

In an attempt to make history repeat itself, Lang founded the Historic U.S. 40 Association and recently persuaded state legislature to declare portions of the highway a historic state route. To get the highway noticed and to fund the association Lang sold black-and-white Highway 40 markers to individuals, cities or groups. Those who paid the $55 for a sign were also given an opportunity to make them memorials. Peggy Welsh of Rocklin and her siblings sponsored one in memory of their dad Elmer "Ed" Owen.

"He was one of the first Little League baseball coaches in Rocklin and everyone called him Mr. Baseball, so the sign mentions that," she says. "It's placed right downtown as you enter Rocklin on Pacific Street on Highway 40. We rode to so many baseball games on that route."

Lang also developed a way for history buffs or residents new to the area to get a glimpse of the past through Historic Highway 40 Dream Tour bus trips. A tourist may climb aboard a chartered bus and take a seat next to famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain - actors portraying the icons. Bob Webb as Mark Twain and his wife Violet, who also dresses the part of Twain's wife, are frequent guests on the tours. Webb says the trips are fun and a pleasant way for people to get to know each other.

Doris Viera of the Placer County Historical Society admits she enjoyed her tour of a portion of Highway 40 from Auburn to Truckee.

"It was interesting to hear Eddie point out the history of the county as related to Highway 40," she says. "I think a lot of people along the way have bypassed the route. But it was such a lovely trip."

During the mid-1950s, a time historians dubbed the golden age of the automobile, Highway 40 spanned 3,220 miles of America - from Atlantic City to San Francisco - hosting more traffic than any other transcontinental highway. As the interstate highway system was built most western sections of Highway40 were disregarded.

Lang says he can't rejuvenate all of Highway 40, but he has added the Feather River Canyon to the Dream Tour.

"Cities in the Bay Area are buying the Route 40 marker signs outright," he says. "Caltrans is helping me put together a set of maps. It's amazing how interested these city governments are. Some of the younger residents weren't even aware of the route."

Mayors of cities along the retired route have endorsed the Historic U.S. 40 Association, even presenting resolutions that declare support for Lang's efforts to revitalize the old route.

Assemblyman Tim Leslie is among the list of dignitaries, which includes county supervisors, historical societies, chambers of commerce and service clubs that have endorsed Lang's efforts.

Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's office is among Lang's supporters.

During the winter months Lang has established short tours that will transport people to the Grass Valley Cornish Christmas, Auburn Light Parade and old town Sacramento's old fashioned Christmas. Snow prevents buses from going over Donner Summit and up Hwy 40, but the buses will roll again in the spring.

Lang says the tours are more than sightseeing excursions - they are reeducation tools.

"People need to reconnect with the past," he says. "It's important for the future."

For information about tours or maps call Lang at 372-4424.