Archive for the ‘Lincoln Highway’ Category
November 6, 2009
Scott Berka (city clerk of Colo, Iowa) wrote to say Niland’s Cafe at the Reed/Niland Corner in Colo, Iowa, will host a man walking the Jefferson Highway from Winnipeg to New Orleans. The Colo Development Group invites all to attend on Monday, November 9, at 9:00 a.m. The one-stop gathering of classic roadside businesses is at the intersection of the E–W Lincoln Highway and the N–S Jefferson.
ABOVE: Standing on the Lincoln Highway and “above” the Jefferson Highway at Reed/Niland Corner. BELOW, Berka at the cafe counter.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports that Mike Conlin from New Orleans and Gary Augustine from Prince George, B.C., have already departed Winnipeg, the northern terminus of the Jefferson Highway.
“People are right into this stuff and, with the baby boomers all ready to retire, and into that age where you’re more into history, I’ve got a feeling that that highway is going to come back,” said Conlin.
The Jefferson Highway, established in 1919, was the first north-south transcontinental road to span the North American continent, named for the third U.S. president of the United States. It runs through Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, ending in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tags:Colo Iowa, cool cafe, Iowa, Jefferson Highway, Lincoln Highway, New Orleans, walking the continent, Winnipeg
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November 4, 2009
I reported on September 2 about David McLane crossing the U.S. to document life in small towns along four major highways in the U.S. As he says on ohmynews.com, “It is NOT a survey but an attempt to come a fuller understanding of the land and the people which comprise significant parts of America but are typically un-represented by main-stream media. This is the third section and reports on traveling from San Francisco to New York City on the Lincoln Highway.”
ABOVE: Sueko and Dave, 49th Street & Seventh Avenue, New York City.
The final installment finds Dave and Sueko trying to make their way through New Jersey to New York City. Their transmission has other thoughts, but a friendly repair shop owners gets them on their way after a few days’ delay. Read all about it and see Dave’s beautiful photos HERE.
Tags:cross-country trip, driving America, Lincoln Highway, NYC, Road trip, Times Square trailer, trailer travel
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November 2, 2009
A ceremony was recently held in Rochelle, Illinois, to celebrate a new Lincoln Highway gazebo at the Rochelle Railroad Park off of Ninth Street. The gazebo is one of 16 along the Lincoln Highway in Illinois between Fulton in the west and Park Forest in the east. Stories appeared here and here.
Bonnie Heimbach, ILHC Project Director and Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Tourism Development Office, says they are an effort to interpret the stories of the highway: “These 16 gazebos represent our organization’s first ‘bricks and mortar’ project and we’re very proud of the outcome. This project will give travelers an opportunity to learn more about the Lincoln Highway as well as the community they are visiting.”
For more information on the Lincoln Highway through Illinois, including places to see, things to do, and stories of the highway’s significance and history, visit www.drivelincolnhighway.com/.
Tags:gazebo for road, highway history, history project, Interpretive Gazebo, Lincoln Highway
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, signs, transportation | 2 Comments »
October 30, 2009
The Lincoln Highway will soon have a vintage bookmobile following the coast-to-coast road to promote and talk about books. “Behind the Wheel of the Bookmobile” is a multimedia and film project by Tom Corwin that follows the bookmobile on back roads with acclaimed authors taking turns at the wheel. At each stop the bookmobile will invite the public to take their choice of digital and analog titles in exchange for interviews about books that have changed their lives.
ABOVE: On June 16, 2009, Tom Corwin celebrated when he picked up the bookmobile in Gurnee, Illinois, and met those who had cared for her.
Behind the Wheel of the Bookmobile will begin its inaugural drive in spring 2010 by following the Lincoln Highway. Authors will take turns behind the wheel, stopping in small towns and conducting interviews on the books that have changed their lives in a meaningful way.
The vehicle was built by the last manufacturer in America producing bookmobiles from the ground up. The Maroney BF-240 holds 3,200 volumes on Appalachian kiln-dried oak shelves. It was recently decommissioned by the Warren-Newport Library after 15 years and 70,000 miles of service in suburban Chicago.
Anyone can participate in the Buy-A-Mile-Campaign for a minimum donation of $35. To donate or learn more visit www.bookmobiletravels.com/.
Tags:author tour, book promotion, bookmobile, documentary on books, Lincoln Highway, vintage bookmobile crossing US
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October 28, 2009
The Pilot News of Marshall County, Indiana, reports that Plymouth, a town along the Lincoln Highway in central Indiana, has opened a new transportation museum that includes the famed coast-to-coast road:
A ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday marked the culmination of the efforts of many individuals, businesses, and organizations that contributed to the expansion of the Marshall County Historical Society and Museum. Welcoming the guests for the occasion was the president of the Historical Society, Dr. Ronald Liechty. Dr. Liechty explained that the process started full steam upon receiving an INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) grant in 2005 to open a transportation museum….
Local resident Kurt Garner was among those in the audience with deep affection for the completed project. Garner was one of several who were instrumental in formulating the original concept of the Transportation Museum highlighting the crossroads of the Dixie Highway: 1915, Yellowstone Trail: 1912-1930, Grand Army of the Republic (U.S. 6): 1931-present, Lincoln Highway: 1913-1950s, and Michigan Road: 1826-1900.
Garner said, “It is a great asset to the county. The museum will be a huge draw across the state for those interested in discovering historic routes.”
The museum is located in the Lauer Building at 123 North Michigan St., Plymouth, (574) 936-2306 or visit www.mchistoricalsociety.org/. The above map of the town is from the LHA’s DeLorme road atlas package; click here to purchase your own — the 2007 version is on sale for $12.50, nearly 70% off while the 2010 edition is prepared.
Tags:highway history, Lincoln Highway, old highways, Plymouth IN, transportation museum, travel, vacation on 2-lanes
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, museum, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
October 27, 2009
Just in time for Halloween, The Oakland Tribune ran a feature on the Banta Inn, a saloon along the Lincoln Highway in the small town of Banta, near Tracy, California.
Here’s one story:
“One morning about 1:30 a.m. I saw what looked like a young woman float across the hallway from one wall into another,” said Banta Inn owner Dave Colli. “Other people have seen a little blond-haired girl, about 8 or 9, peeking in the dining room window. Even our cook has had a few encounters. One night he opened the oven and the pan came flying out at him.”…
“Something is definitely here,” Colli said. “We have had recurring dark shadows appear and then disappear. Most sightings have taken place in the evening to early-morning hours. Not only have the employees been witness to this, but we’ve also had reports from our guests.”
Stop by Saturday 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. for a Halloween party at the saloon or learn more at www.bantainn.net/.
Tags:Banta CA, California haunting, Halloween story, haunted inn, Lincoln Highway, saloon history
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | 1 Comment »
October 26, 2009
The Columbus Telegram reported that Nebraska has a new historical marker honoring the Lincoln Highway. The marker is near the Prairie Creek Bridge at 115th Street and 355th Avenue NW of Duncan. The 1.2-mile Gardiner Station section of the Lincoln Highway and the pony-truss bridge spanning Prairie Creek were used from 1913 to 1928, before the LH was rerouted south of the Union Pacific tracks.
The story begins with Bob and Karen Edmison, who in 2005 began the process of getting the Gardiner Station section of the Lincoln Highway listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Bob is a life-long resident of Platte County near Prairie Creek west of Duncan. He knew that the section of 115th Street, on the south side of his property along with the railroad station known as Gardiner Station, was part of the Lincoln Highway.
“Late in 2005 I contacted the Nebraska State Historical Society to ask how to get a bridge and roadway nominated for the National Historic Register,” Karen Edmison said. “I worked with the National Register Coordinator Stacy Stupka-Burda and the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office and learned the basics of how to prepare a National Register of Historic Places nomination.”
Edmison said she submitted a rough draft of the nomination to the Nebraska State Historical Society in the spring of 2006. She said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer L. Robert Puschendorf then took over the work using her rough draft nomination….
Puschendorf spent nearly a year completing research for the final nomination which included extensive research of Columbus Telegram archives and then submitted the nomination to the Nebraska State Historic Preservation board…. Approval from the National Park Service came in summer 2007….
Edmison said The Lincoln Highway Association, Nebraska Chapter funded the official plaque at a cost of about $2,600. She and her husband Bob provided the money for the construction of the base of the historical marker and the concrete work around it.
“Bob and Lenore Stubblefield of Shelton are very active in the Lincoln Highway Association, Nebraska Chapter,” Karen Edmison said. “They assisted with getting funding for the plaque part of the marker. The Nebraska State Historical Society and John Lindahl of the Nebraska Historical Marker Program worked with the foundry to get the marker cast.”
Learn more about the Lincoln Highway at www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/.
Tags:Duncan NE, historical marker, Linncoln Highway, Nebraska history, Pony Truss Bridge
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, signs, transportation | 1 Comment »
October 23, 2009
Jim Payne wrote with an update on an airplane that once served as a restaurant along the Lincoln Highway in eastern Pennsylvania. “I passed by Dover [Del.] today and stopped at the Air Museum. I especially wanted to see the Lockheed Constellation that once sat atop the diner in Penndel. I passed by there after the plane had been taken down and saw it sitting in an adjacent lot with the wings off. I assumed it was going to be scrapped. I learned recently that it had been saved and restored.”
Here is one of his photos — it’s amazing to see it back as an aircraft. Thanks Jim!
Tags:airplane restored, Constellation, Lincoln Highway, Penndel PA, restroing an old airplane, Vintage aircraft
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | 4 Comments »
October 22, 2009
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition announces they have 40 murals in the works, with three already being painted – Aurora, Oregon (which was not directly on the LH), and Joliet. You can email diane@drivelincolnhighway.com with questions or visit www.drivelincolnhighway.com/ for more information. Below are the plans for two of the newest.
Tags:highway history, Illinois, interpretive murals, Joliet IL, Lincoln Highway, murals, old highway
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October 21, 2009
Dennis Crowley just returned from walking the Lincoln Highway from Sacramento to Take Tahoe. He sent the summary below plus I’ve included some of the photos he’s posted online: the first shows him on the original 1914 pavement now on private property in Eldorado Hills. The third photo is in the vicinity of Strawberry, Calif.
This leg into the Sierra Nevadas started with urban sprawl but soon turned to speeding traffic on the twisty, narrow, and very steep highway that often had little or no shoulder, all while Dennis pulled his 100 lb. trailer. Of course, the descent towards Nevada had its own challenges!
The words of Brian Butko summarized my last walk on the Lincoln Highway from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe far better than I ever could have: “That’s a long uphill climb!” No truer words were ever spoken for many reasons. For reasons still unknown to me, I managed to sprain both ankles two weeks before taking on my second walk of the Lincoln Highway a few weeks ago. Thanks to taking things slow and a triple-digit heat wave in the Sacramento metro area that kept my muscles heated up when I walked, I soon found myself admiring the majestic beauty of Lake Tahoe. Besides the obvious challenge this journey was to be the first time I would use the trailer, now affectionately called, “The Man-Wagon” by my neice Amber to camp which meant being without any support vehicle for several days and pulling approx. a hundred pound load behind me. So to say, “That’s a long uphill climb” was the perfect ending and perfect summary to a journey that, in the end turned out to be a huge success.
From 1998 through 2005, Crowley walked and worked his way across America from Chicago to California on Route 66. He now calls the effort Cross Roads, “a single purpose and a simple message. By promoting America’s historic highways Cross Roads seeks to call attention to our country’s Christian heritage. The purpose for covering these highways on foot is to make the statement that America needs to return to and walk in her spiritual ‘old paths.’” He walked his first segment of the LH a year ago.
Read more at www.walkingamessage.com/ or search this site for “Crowley” to read of his Lincoln Highway adventures. To request his four email updates written as he was walking, contact Amber at aherrington@walkingamessage.com/.
Tags:Lake Tahoe., Lincoln Highway, old highway, Sacramento CA, walking for God
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