history | Lincoln Highway News

Archive for the ‘history’ Category

Fisher Lincoln Highway monument in Utah update

November 7, 2008

Rollin Southwell sent an update on the monument he’s spearheading for Carl Fisher, father of the Lincoln Highway. It is planned for the top of Johnson/Fisher Pass on UT 199 between Clover and Terra, Utah. Architect Steve Ehninger recently announced construction and the dedication dates.

ut_rollin_fisher

After a decade of planning, they are working on permits and approvals with hopes to be finalized by January 14, 2009. Construction could start April 9 and be completed by July 8. This includes a rock surround, asphalt paving, signage, and a beacon. Dedication is planned for August 12, 2009.

ut_johnsonpasslincolnhwy

Read more at a site about the Fisher Pass monument or Rollin’s blog for more info on Fisher.

Tags:Carl Fisher, Fisher Pass, highway monument, memorial, Utah
Posted in highways, history, signs, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »

Senseless demo on Indiana's Lincoln Highway

November 6, 2008

Mitch Harper wrote on his Fort Wayne Observed blog about a beautiful house that will soon be demolished along the Lincoln Highway (IN 930) just east of Fort Wayne in New Haven, Indiana:

Its demolition will mean a little bit more of the historic record of the Lincoln Highway will be lost. In recent years, the demolition of the old Hoosier Courts motel and the Jefferson Consolidated School means that the structures which were familiar sights – and sites – to motorists traveling the Lincoln Highway are gone forever.

Above is a photo from Mitch’s blog – click to see it large. While the elegant appointments inside are set to be auctioned this Sunday, locals are outraged that such a demolition could occur. Here are some of the comments:

• WHY ARE WE TEARING THIS HOUSE DOWN?! I looked at the stuff up for auction – the interior of that house is drop dead gorgeous.

• You can’t build something like this today. I am so, so sad. Someone — please save this place!

• I can’t believe demolition is the only option for this house.

Angie Quinn, Executive Director of ARCH, Inc., answered questions about designating it a historic landmark:

The Dr. Cowan House is eligible for the National Register [plus] … Municipalities and counties in Indiana can adopt a Historic Preservation Ordinance, which places some protections on landmarks like this…. Both Allen County and the City of New Haven have the information about adopting a Historic Preservation Ordinance, and ARCH and others have pushed for this for several years. Unfortunately, neither has adopted an ordinance at this time.

Tags:Fort Wayne, highway history, historic preservation, house demolition, Lincoln Highway, New Haven IN
Posted in highways, history, roadside | 3 Comments »

Top 10 must-see stops on a Lincoln Highway trip

October 31, 2008

What are the must-see places along the Lincoln Highway? It’s impossible to answer, as everyone has their favorite things. Some like natural scenery, or good eats, or wacky attractions, or shopping, or water towers. I veer towards vintage roadside attractions like the Shoe House, seen below being repainted.

Rick Sebak, producer of A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, commented last time I brought this up, “Isn’t every stop different depending on weather, time of day, people you meet, your mood and the temperament of everybody else in the car?” Yep, that’s why the well-known attractions might not even be on your list of favorites.

Nonetheless, I charge ahead with my top 10 places from East-to-West that will make you feel like a Lincoln Highway regular:

1 Shoe House/Dunkle’s Gulf/Coffee Pot/Lincoln Motor Court, PA

2 Balyeat’s Restaurant, Van Wert OH

3 Ideal Section, IN-IL border

4 LHA Headquarters, Franklin Grove IL

5 LH concrete bridge, Tama IA (image above)

6 Scout’s Rest Ranch, N Platte NE

7 Virginian Hotel, Medicine Bow WY

8 Salt Lake Desert route, UT (image below)

9 Carroll Summit road, west of Austin NV

10 Donner Summit, west of Truckee CA

That’s 10 if you don’t mind my PA quad pick (and that’s leaving out the fabulous Poquessing Creek Bridge and Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum).

So what must-see sites did I leave out?? I already can think of more places that I can’t believe didn’t make the list. But the ones above would be a great start to a lifetime of Lincoln Highway touring.

Tags:fun travel, highway, old concrete bridge, Road trip, Shoe House, Top 10 stops
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »

Outtakes & extras from Lincoln Highway program

October 28, 2008

Rick Sebak and his crew filmed dozens of hours but only had room for about 15 stories in A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway. Five stories that were finished but couldn’t fit in the hour-long program will be on the DVD as extras. And starting today — not only are they available online but so are 21 more outtakes from the show.

The five feature stories are on Woodine Iowa’s Brick Street Station, a bookstore in North Platte NE, a garage-turned-tavern in Lyman WY, a woman in Morrison IL with a yard full of lawn ornaments, and a farmer’s market in Belle Plaine IA.

The 21 outtakes cover a wide range of people and places, from Bernie Queneau recalling his Boy Scout life-saving demonstrations on the famed 1928 safety tour to Michael Wallis describing the genesis of Radiator Springs for the movie Cars and how it represents towns not only on Route 66 but along any old 2-lane. You’ll also see familiar faces from the LHA as well as folks from along the road who you’ll meet in the program.

Tags:Boy Scout history, Cars movie, DVD extras, highway history, Lincoln Highway, Michael Wallis, PBS special, Radiator Springs, Rick Sebak PBS, Route 66, TV, US map, video extras
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, travel | 2 Comments »

PBS Lincoln Highway DVD available for pre-order

October 27, 2008

It won’t ship till after the show airs nationally, but A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway DVD is available for pre-order from PBS.

The DVD includes 5 extra segments as listed on the back cover below plus we’ll have more information about them later this week. Above is a screen shot from the end of the program; note the cover has changed slightly since the program was finished, as seen in these images provided by producer Rick Sebak.

Tags:automotive history, DVD of historic highway program, fun video, highway history, PBS show, US history
Posted in food, highways, history, lodging, Road trip, roadside, signs, souvenirs, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »

Reviews starting for PBS Lincoln Highway show

October 22, 2008

Reviews are starting for Rick Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, airing next week. I’ll tell you more about what’s in it in the coming days, but here’s a review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Rob Owen that went out on the Scripps wire. An excerpt: “Fans of Sebak’s love letters to Americana won’t be disappointed as he visits both ends of the highway – at Times Square in New York City and next to a bus stop in San Francisco – and many locations in between…. Unlike past Sebak productions, ‘Lincoln Highway’ offers more of a historical focus with less emphasis on oddball Americans (or maybe Lincoln Highway enthusiasts just aren’t prone to saying wacky things).”

Tags:highway history video, Lincoln Highway, PBS special
Posted in highways, history, roadside, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »

PBS Lincoln Highway video premier: stars & cars

October 20, 2008

Saturday night saw the official premier of the new PBS program A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway. Attending were soundtrack musician Buddy Nutt, the Altizer family (owners of Lincoln Motor Court near Bedford, Pa.), and the often unsung stars—the crew who helped film and edit the production.

The screening was at the Sewickley Car Store, where guests got to snack and mingle with beautiful automobiles thanks to owner Joe Scarfone, above with Producer Rick Sebak. The video was shown on a big screen in HD and elicited some laughs and aww’s, especially for LH couple Esther and Bernie Queneau, who is seen driving around Ohio at 96!

Sebak advised everyone to watch the final two scenes after the video ends. First is a promo for the DVD that’s a funny interaction with cows in Wyoming. Then the credits roll and we hear Buddy Nutt singing “Goin’ All the Way on the Lincoln Highway.” Then came the roar of applause.

Here’s Rick in back along with his brother-in-law Bill Scott, sister Nisey Sebak, and mom Sebak. Up front are good friends Dave and Mary Beth Miller, and Sarah and Brian Butko (that’s me).

Above is On-Line Editor Matt Conrad with his girlfriend Bridget, cameraman Bob Lubomski, musician Buddy Nutt, and Liz “Ukulizzy” Hammond.

The Altizers, owners of Lincoln Motor Court, include Debbie, Bob, Rachel and her husband (who in the video make a quick appearance outside a cabin), Rick Sebak, and Carissa who has some great scenes in the show.

We can’t forget the stunning cars, all new except for this classic 1-cylinder, 12-hp, mid-1950s BMW Isetta microcar.

Everyone got a bag filled with cool stuff including DVDs of the show, each signed by Sebak. You can also read a fun blog post by jomama about the evening HERE.

A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway premiers at 8pm on your local PBS station on October 29, and repeats at 10 pm October 31.

Tags:BMW car showroom, highway video, Lincoln Highway, PBS video, Sewickley PA, video premier
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway | 4 Comments »

North Platte video features Buffalo Bill's ranch

October 17, 2008

This video about things to see in North Platte, Nebraska, includes the world’s largest railroad classification yard, its famous WWII Canteen, construction of the 9-story-tall Golden Spike tower, and Buffalo Bill’s Scout’s Rest Ranch, long a Lincoln Highway attraction.

Tags:Buffalo Bill, North Platte Nebraska, railroad yard, WWII Canteen
Posted in highways, history, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »

Great Race US-only event to launch Saturday

October 16, 2008

Following up on my posts of February 17, 2008 and July 8, 2008, the delayed commemorative re-run of the 1908 New York-to-Paris “Great Race” will come to life later this week. Since the race was delayed in May (now set to start April 25, 2009), Luke Rizzuto and other fans have organized a US-only event called The Longest Auto Race Centennial. Riding with Luke will be Jeff Mahl, great-grandson of George Schuster, winner of the grueling 1908 race. Here is a great video of Luke Rizzuto and his 1918 Chevy:

The 3,700-mile cross-country event will start in New York City on October 18, 2008, and finish in San Francisco on November 8. Much of the 21-day route will follow the Lincoln Highway from coast to coast — click HERE for a full itinerary. All are invited to log onto their website and join the tour for even one day with no fees or rigid regulations.

Luke’s wife Joan-E Rizzuto wrote me, “The excitement and momentum are building significantly, considering we only took over the organizational part of it six weeks ago. Who knew? It must be that this race is NOT about money or glory, but was born out of people’s desire to authentically and respectfully honor those early-day automotive pioneers. Those participants had no roads, AAA service, gas stations or auto parts stores to make their journey less challenging. If you read the accounts of what George Schuster encountered, it is truly humbling.”

Tags:1918 Chevrolet, coast-to-coast drive, Great Race re-run, New York-to-San Francisco
Posted in highways, history, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »

New book coming for Lincoln Highway in Indiana

October 14, 2008

LHA Past President Jan Shupert-Arick is working on a book, The Lincoln Highway Across Indiana, to be released by Arcadia Publishing in Spring 2009. She says some of the historical images will also be packaged as postcards, with both arriving in time for next summer’s LHA conference in South Bend. Here are two images from the book – above is the Log Cabin Camp at Benton (currently for sale); below is New Carlisle’s Main Street, now a National Register Historic District.