Archive for July, 2010
July 30, 2010
The Tracy Press reports that more reproduction LHA “Control Station” signs are being posted along the original Lincoln Highway route in western California: “A sign tacked on the front of the Tracy Inn provides another identification of 11th Street as a route of the historic Lincoln Highway, the first highway network to span the nation in 1915. The new sign identifies the Inn as a ‘Control Station,’ where motorists using mileage listed on the Lincoln Highway map can exactly gauge their location. Similar signs are being posted in Stockton, French Camp, and Livermore.”
This updates a story posted here last year about the signing the route here. Great work by Mike Kaelin and the California LH supporters!
Tags:2-lane travel, California, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, signing an old road
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, signs, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »
July 29, 2010
Mike Hocker, Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, writes, “I drove by Palmantier’s Motel near Minerva yesterday and saw a sign for an auction Aug 11th. I guess there is nothing else we can do.” The beautiful 9-unit motel is within sight of the famous stretch of Baywood Road paved in red bricks (bottom center of photo).
Palmantier’s Motel, opened 1947, was purchased five years ago by Scott Segeti, “lured to these parts by the beauty of nearby farm fields, grazing cattle, grassy meadows, chirping birds, fresh air and an opportunity to be his own boss.” By last year, slow business forced him to put the motel, swimming pool, two houses, and 3.25 acres for sale at $425,000.
Tags:2-lane trouble, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, motel for sale, Ohio
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, road surface, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
July 28, 2010
Photographers Eric Mencher and his wife Kass have been photographing the Lincoln Highway since 1997. I reported on their trip last year HERE as they drove Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Now they’re at it again! Visit lincolnhighwayseen.blogspot.com to see some interesting takes on familiar (and some not-so-familiar) landmarks.
Eric, a former Philadelphia Inquirer photographer, and Kass are spending 10 weeks driving from San Francisco to Philadelphia and back on the LH. He says, “I’m trying to blog two photos a day (one from each of us), but as the trip goes on that may be cut to 3-4 times a week. The pictures are more esoteric than most people shoot, but that’s how we see! I also have a gallery on my website at: www.ericmencher.com/.”
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel
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July 27, 2010
The News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports that one of the 15 remaining Lincoln Highway concrete markers in the state has a new home in front of New Haven City Hall, 815 Lincoln Highway E., just a few feet from the road’s original route.
“Our board felt that one of the markers should be on the eastern side of the state,” said Jan Shupert-Arick, president of the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association. “Mayor Terry McDonald has been active in our association, and the city did an extraordinary job of restoring the marker. This is a treasured resource.”
That didn’t keep the marker from falling into disrepair and near-oblivion in recent years, however. Believed to have been one of two markers that once stood near what is now the Harrison Street Bridge just north of downtown Fort Wayne, the heavy post was eventually donated to the Lincoln Museum, which never displayed the damaged marker before closing in 2008.
The museum gave the more-intact marker it did display to the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, but the Lincoln Highway Association was only too happy to accept the post that has been restored by New Haven employees and local stone carver Timothy Doyle, whose expertise allowed city workers to blend old and new concrete seamlessly.
The exhibit includes a bronze plaque donated by the association and the city.
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Indiana, Lincoln Highway, New Haven IN, restoration, road marker
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, signs, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 26, 2010
Don’t forget to follow along as John and Joyce Jackson of Delaware, Ohio, follow the Lincoln Highway westward. Actually, they’ve already reached the Pacific and are taking Route 66 back eastward but their adventures are preserved online. Follow along at blog.jacksonlhtour.com/.
Tags:2-lane travel, California, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, San Francisco CA, western terminus
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 23, 2010
Shelton, Nebraska, will celebrate its 13th-annual Lincoln Highway Festival and car show this Sunday. The Kearney Hub reports that the car show starts at 10 a.m. with trophy presentations from 2:30-3 p.m. The Shelton Historical Society will serve lunch at the American Legion Hall, and the Lincoln Highway Visitor’s Center will be open all day.
The Grand Island Independent reports that more than 60 cars are expected. Also as a part of the festivities, a kids tractor pull starts at 2 p.m. on C Street and kids can get fire truck rides at the fire station from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Contact Bev Thomas at (308) 647-6617 or Bob Stubblefield at (308) 647-6554. To register for the car show, call Cindy Ryan at (308) 390-4123: fee is $10 in advance or $15 the day of the show.
Photo of Bob Stubblefield in Visitors Center by Dave McLane.
Tags:car show, festival, highway, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Nebraska, Shelton NE
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 20, 2010
Kirk Dougal, Editor-in-Chief of the Times Bulletin in Van Wert, Ohio, sent photos of one of the 12 Lincoln Highway plaques that were placed at every corner of the downtown Streetscape project. Below, from left: Van Wert Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming; Connie Swander of Swan Memorials, makers of the plaques; and Van Wert Mayor Louis Ehmer.
Photos courtesy Van Wert Times Bulletin.
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, marking an old highway, Ohio, Road trip, Streetscape project, Van Wert OH
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, souvenirs, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 19, 2010
The Town of Nevada, Iowa, will celebrate its 27th annual Lincoln Highway Days August 27–29, 2010. The theme this year is “Sharing and Caring on the Lincoln Highway!” but the event always includes standard amusements from carnival rides to rodeo tricks, a parade to baby contest. Learn more at www.lincolnhighwaydays.com/.
Tags:carnival, highway history, historic highway, Iowa, Lincoln Highway, Nevada IA, summer celebration
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, souvenirs, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 16, 2010
Last year, motorcyclist Chris Hutter took the Lincoln Highway from Pittsburgh to the east edge of Grand Island, Nebraska. This year he’s hitting the LH in Omaha after a visit to the Surf Ball Room in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Buddy Holly played his last concert. From Nebraska he’ll stay on the Lincoln to its Western Terminus in San Francisco. Follow along at hutmo.blogspot.com/. Note that his map gives a LIVE GPS location! Refresh, zoom in, and see how far he’s gone in a half minute!
Above is a stop in Indiana from last year’s trip. Here’s the 2010 itinerary:
Day 1 Pittsburgh to Chicago
Day 2 Chicago to Ames, IA (via Dyersville and Clear Lake)
Day 3 Ames to North Platte, NE 426
Day 4 North Platte to Rawlins, WY 384
Day 5 Rawlins to Salt Lake City, UT 300
Day 6 Salt Lake to Ely, NV 300
Day 7 Ely to Reno, NV 320
Day 8 Reno to San Fran, CA 300
Tags:2-lane adventure, historic highway, Indiana, Lincoln Highway, motorcycle trip, Nebraska, Road trip, roadside, travel, vacation
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | Leave a Comment »
July 13, 2010
Van & Bev Becker send word from Iowa that the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine is set to reopen in September. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported today that Gzim “Jimmy” Limani, owner of the likewise famous King’s Tower Café (also along the Lincoln Highway in nearby Tama) is working to rehab the shuttered cafe. When it opens in September, Limani promises home-style cooking every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“My customers from Belle Plaine told me I should buy it, so I did,” Limani, who’s originally from Albania, said. “It’s a historical building and the people in town are really excited about it. They have been very supportive.”
The previous owner of the Lincoln Café, Curtis Bailey, of Marengo, was murdered in his home last summer and the café closed….
Limani, his son Arijan, 14, and another worker have almost gutted the inside of the building…. “The place is old and needs cleaning and we’ve ripped it down to the bones, to the bricks. It’s down to the bricks in the kitchen….”
Limani said almost everything like the floors, ceiling and lights will be replaced or repaired and there will be new tables and booths. The outside of the café will also get updated with the help of KB Construction in Belle Plaine.
“I want to keep the original sign and it will stay the Lincoln Café,” Limani said smiling. “I don’t want to change that.”
Tags:Belle Plaine IA, cafe, highway history, historic highway, Iowa, Lincoln Highway, restaurant, restoration
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, travel | 3 Comments »
The Tracy Press reports that more reproduction LHA “Control Station” signs are being posted along the original Lincoln Highway route in western California: “A sign tacked on the front of the Tracy Inn provides another identification of 11th Street as a route of the historic Lincoln Highway, the first highway network to span the nation in 1915. The new sign identifies the Inn as a ‘Control Station,’ where motorists using mileage listed on the Lincoln Highway map can exactly gauge their location. Similar signs are being posted in Stockton, French Camp, and Livermore.”
Lincoln Highway News 