Archive for the ‘highways’ Category

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Early Ford V-8s to travel the Lincoln Highway

June 25, 2008

Two friends are set to drive their antique autos across this summer, and like an increasing tide, will follow the Lincoln Highway and let us all follow along on their blog. SoCal Early Ford V-8 Club members George Garrett and Tom Shields will leave Times Square on July 6 and pass through all 13 LH states (with a short detour to the EFV8 Grand National in Dearborn). George has a 1939 Ford Coupe; Tom’s is a ’37 convertible. Both are quite similar to two of my favorite cars, the 1937 and ’39 Lincoln Zephyr.

They’ll be posting daily updates online; so far, they’ve documented getting their cars to the east coast. George says, “I’ve been talking about this for 5 years and it’s finally going to happen…. I’ve downloaded the route to a GPS and it, along with some maps, is going to show us the way. The whole trip should take about a month.” Thanks to new LHA President Bob Dieterich for the tip.

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Some Sebak Scenes from Wyoming tour east

June 24, 2008

Rick Sebak has been traveling the Lincoln Highway with his PBS crew mates Bob and Glenn for a must-see production that will air this October. Last week he caught up with the LHA national conference buses heading east. He sent shots from the trip:

CLICK the above view to enjoy it large.

Todd Thibadeau tells tour-goers about Church Buttes.

No coaches — school buses only on those dusty Wyoming trails!

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Everyone is driving the Lincoln Highway

June 23, 2008

While seemingly everyone is driving the Lincoln Highway this June, including those now returning from the LHA conference, I’m unfortunately typing not driving. Worse, I’m having trouble downloading photos from Sebak. So for now, just a quick update.

Rick Sebak and crewmates Bob and Glenn were in Woodbine, Iowa, this morning filming at Brick Street Station. Hard to believe that 3 days ago they were at the LHA conference in Evanston, and tomorrow night they’ll be back in Pittsburgh. Then a different kind of challenge ensues – choosing just a few of the stories and moments from the hundred of hours that they’ve filmed along the Lincoln.

They hooked up a couple times with our Piaggio scooter friends, Buddy and Bob — read the blogs from PBS and Piaggio.

Another road trip just completed along the LH in Wyoming was a 3-day memorial ride by friends of Scott Griemann; it can be followed on the Wide Open Wyoming blog.

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2008 LHA conference in Evanston – days 2 & 3

June 20, 2008

Day 2 of the Lincoln Highway Association conference featured a tour westward into Utah. Here are some scenes from LHA President Jan Shupert-Arick:


Gas station at Echo.


Summit Mercantile and Furniture Company, Coalville.


Studebaker Champion in jumkyard at Castle Rock.


Wayne Pump (manufactured in Fort Wayne, IN) next to Pony Express Service Station/junkyard at Castle Rock.

Cross-country cyclists Buddy Rosenbaum and Bob Chase met up with the conference; here, Jan and Diane Rossiter (Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition) try out the Piaggio MP3s.

Day 3 featured speakers such as Mindy Crawford (above) discussing preservation issues plus:
• Todd Thibodeaux on Ezra Emery and Wyoming Good Roads;
• Chavawn Kelley on the LHA’s Austin Bement;
• John Waggener on the Medicine Bow Route;
• Heyward Schrock on Highway Architecture;
• John Clark on Automotive History in Utah;
• and Robert Rampton on the 1908 New York to Paris Automobile Race.

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PBS's Sebak: "We could do this forever"

June 19, 2008

PBS producer Rick Sebak has called the past few days reporting that like any good road trip, there’s just too many places to explore when you’re trying to keep to a schedule: “There’s so much to see, we could do this forever.”

They’re on their second cross-country trip fiming for A Look Along the Lincoln Highway, premiering this October. Amazingly, this afternoon Rick and Bob and Glenn are driving east and will be pulling into the Lincoln Highway conference in Evanston, Wyoming. Amazing because they passed by just a few days ago heading west into Utah where they interviewed former LHA president Jess Peterson, headed down Johnson Pass (above, though Gatofeo wrote to say this is actually Dugway Pass), crossed the Great Salt Desert, got a flat tire, interviewed Jay Banta and toured with him, crossed Nevada, filmed in the Sierras and Placerville, reached the terminus, and are blazing back eastward. Amazing too are the photos and videos they’re capturing for their blog. Here are some extra beauties from Rick – CLICK on them for larger views. Makes you want to hit the road, doesn’t it?


• Horses along Pony Express Road, a LH bypass around Dugway, Utah.


• Pony Express Road meets the LH east of Fish Springs, Utah.


• Jay Banta shows the crew around Kearney Ranch, Callao, Utah.


• Crossing Nevada.


• Bob and Glenn set up a late-day shot at Berkeley Pier on the San Francisco Bay.


• Sebak reaches the Western Terminus in San Francisco for time #2.

Remember to CLICK on them for larger views – and you’ll soon be planning your own trip.

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Sleepy Hollow to be rebuilt as original log inn

June 18, 2008

The Tribune-Review reports that Sleepy Hollow Tavern, along the Lincoln Highway near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and destroyed by suspected arson in February, will be rebuilt to its original look by a building contractor who once lived in the area. On June 23, Fred Haeflein will begin selectively demolishing the building; equipment is already arriving, as seen in the screen shot below:

Haeflein plans to lead a seven-member crew in rebuilding the structure to its original log cabin inn appearance. The entire second floor and roof could not be salvaged but the first floor will be incorporated into the new structure, and 6 of the 18 framed dormers over windows on the front and back portions of the roof will be reused. Haeflein plans to base his reconstruction on the view in a vintage postcard, seen below, before the later additions of a stone front and solarium in back.

Sleepy Hollow started as a typical roadside stand; the inn was built 1939-1940 but suffered after the westbound lanes of Lincoln Highway/US 30 were moved across Loyalhanna Creek. A small causeway was added, but the place declined in recent decades, surviving mostly as a tavern.

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Posted in food, highways, history, lodging, roadside | 2 Comments »

2008 LHA conference in Evanston – day 1

June 18, 2008

Lincoln Highway fans were in Evanston, Wyoming, on Monday to kick off the 2008 National Lincoln Highway Association Conference. Tours were given of the roundhouse and railyard, then a get-together was held for first-time conference attendees followed by a welcome reception in the railroad machine shop, and capped by a buffet dinner with keynote speaker Mark Foster, University of Colorado professor and author of Castles in the Sand: The Life and Times of Carl Graham Fisher.

Above photos show a family from Colorado with one of the cast-iron state line markers, Bill Arick with Mindy and Rodney Crawford, and art show entries including a painting from a student and a photo detail of the Fisher Mausoleum by Jan Shupert-Arick.

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Posted in highways, history, museum, transportation, travel | 3 Comments »

Cyclists’ daily LH blog offers maps, info, images

June 18, 2008

As reported earlier, 71-year-old Dr. Bernard “Buddy” Rosenbaum is driving the Lincoln Highway coast-to-coast with long-time cycling friend, 72-year-old Bob Chase. They started in San Francisco June 13 and will end in New York City’s Times Square on July 14. The pair is riding three-wheeled Piaggio MP3 scooters, getting some 55 miles per gallon.

Read more about the trip at their blog www.noagelimitpiaggio.us/. There are tons of pictures, virtual Google maps, and info on restaurants and roadside stops. The pair are about to enter Wyoming.

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2008 LHA conference in Evanston – early arrivals

June 17, 2008

Lincoln Highway Association President Jan Shupert-Arick reports that a number of attendees arrived early for the 16th Annual National LHA Conference in Evanston, Wyoming.

Above, several of the attendees from Utah, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan gathered for Mexican food on Front Street.

Next door at an old gas station, an original LH sign took them by surprise as no one in the group had ever seen this rare treasure.

Following dinner the group explored Evanston on foot. The city is all dressed up for the conference, having hung over 100 LH banners. The group stopped by the Machine Shop (a main conference location) and peered into the windows to see rare LH artifacts from the early years of the road.

It was a full moon on a beautiful evening in Evanston. Near the the depot and round house, train whistles in the distance made it a perfect first day.

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Henry Joy monument site gets historical marker

June 16, 2008

Historian, trails authority, and former LHA president Randy Wagner reports that the State of Wyoming will install a new historic site sign commemorating Henry B. Joy and the Lincoln Highway today, Monday, June 16. Those headed to the LHA conference in Evanston, Wyoming, from the east can look for it just south of the I-80 Continental Divide Exit (184) about 30 miles west of Rawlins, at the original site of the Joy Monument.

Above: The Henry B. Joy monument at its current location, I-80 exit 323.

Joy, one of the leading players in the original LHA, had camped at this site in 1915 and the stunning sunset led him to declare his desire to be buried here. He was not, but a monument was erected in 1939 that included 8 of the 1928 concrete markers. The site is very isolated but vandals nonetheless took a toll until the stone tablet and 4 of the posts were relocated to the Summit Rest Area (I-80 exit 323) east of Laramie in 2001 (as seen above).

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Posted in highways, history, transportation, travel | 3 Comments »

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