LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran an update about the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor’s plan to open an interpretive center in Pennsylvania. Included was news of the former Serro’s Diner being restored. That diner — which I led the effort to rescue in 1992 for the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (my employer, then and now) — will once again serve travelers, at least with pie and coffee.
The LHHC plans to open the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum in Unity (between Latrobe and Ligonier) near the Kingston Bridge (as of 2012, the museum has opened). The diner is being restored by Travis Smeltzer and his crew from Travis Smeltzer Construction of Apollo, in consultation with preservationists. Smeltzer hopes to have the diner back to its original glory by this spring. The diner was originally bought by the Serro family from the Jerry O’Mahony Diner Co. in New Jersey. There was table seating for 16 patrons and 16 stools at the counter.
The 1938 O’Mahony diner, originally along Lincoln Highway/US 30 in Irwin, was moved to south of Greensburg in 1958 when the Serro family purchased a stainelss steeel-clad diner. John and Lillian Rolka operated it as the Willow Diner until 1992, when it was sold to HSWP, which donated it to the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor in 2003.
From the article:
“We never know what we are going to find,” said Smeltzer as he emptied a bag of muddy silverware found behind the cooking counters of the 1938 diner that first operated on Route 30 in Irwin. All of the items — along with an apron, condiment bottles, bread baskets, ashtrays, old newspapers and receipts — have been cataloged.
“With any project you peel away layers,” said Olga Herbert, executive director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. “You never know what’s there until you remove the layers.”
Crews discovered stained glass windows under several coats of paint. Beneath a linoleum floor, they found maple floors. The biggest surprise was a solid mahogany refrigerator, with glass-door insets, buried underneath stainless steel framing.
The Unity site includes a stone, Colonial-style home and former tavern built by Alexander Johnston in 1815. The historic landmark, once called the Kingston House and later known as the Johnston House, will house thousands of Lincoln Highway artifacts including signs, vintage postcards and photographs, and other highway memorabilia.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
I’ve been following a fantastic blog for a couple weeks. Grover Cleveland — his real name — writes “Camera and Pencil in the Mountains” that details his travels in the Sierra Nevada range. Last year he bought a 1919 Model T Ford roadster and converted it into a pickup truck. He’s hoping to follow a good portion for the Lincoln Highway centennial in 2013.
He told me, “I just completed a 1,500-mile trip in Nevada and western Utah. I covered as much of the 1913 alignment as could be found from Verdi, Nevada to Tooele, Utah.” He writes online that he wants to help fellow travelers: “To provide travel notes, recommendations, and some serious safety information. I got in trouble because I didn’t heed some professional advice — you shouldn’t have to.”
For this trip, he loaded his dog Beasley into a 1989 Tiger van: “A conversion on an Astrovan chassis, nicely equipped with kitchen, bathroom, a pop-top, and oodles of radio gear (I’m a ham radio operator – K7TP).”
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
If you have a reliable car from pre-1979, 4 weeks to spare in July 2013, and a sense of adventure, you qualify for the LH 2013 Centennial Tour!
Our goal is to gather 100 participants who will ship their historic vehicles to the U.S from overseas and spend 4 weeks crossing the American Continent on the Lincoln Highway. This will help raise public awareness and renew interest in the Lincoln Highway during its centennial celebration. U.S residents are also encouraged to join the tour making it as grand and diverse as possible. The tour will conclude at the Lincoln Highway’s western terminus; the Lincoln Park in San Francisco on July 26th, 2013, having covered an approximate 3,389 miles and journeyed through 13 states.
In June 2006, 17 antique American cars from Norway traveled Route 66 on its 80th anniversary. The trip was a private initiative by Harry & Henning Kjensli accompanied by friends and like minded Norwegian enthusiasts. The response received from participants and the public inspired them to launch the 2013 Lincoln Highway Centennial Tour. Check the web site for more info, including a schedule of each day’s travels.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Ohio chapters of the national Lincoln Highway Association, along with the official Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, are planning to bring over 200 visitors to the McKinley Grand Hotel in June 2012 for a week of lectures, seminars, day-long road trips, and banquets all with the theme of “Pathways & Presidents” and celebrating the Lincoln Highway.
The 2012 Lincoln Highway Association conference begins Monday, June 18, with a welcome reception open to anyone wishing to have answers about the historic road. Later in the week will be a special Marmon automobile exhibit.
In addition to official East and West tours, organizer Jim Cassler says there will be additional trips focusing on Ohio’s Amish Country, a train ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway, and a trip to the Packard Museum in Warren honoring Lincoln Highway co-founder Henry Joy, then President of Packard Motors. Presidential activities will include Canton’s McKinley and the First Ladies Museum, while a trip to Marion will highlight Warren Harding’s involvement in the early highway.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is once again staging a Lincoln Highway Road Rally this weekend, October 8 and 9. This year’s rally will start in Jennerstown and end at Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum in Orrtanna, 12 miles west of Gettysburg, and includes a mystery! Although registration has ended, you can see the group along the way with its many antique car participants.
This year’s rally starts 9:30 a.m. with breakfast at the Coal Miner’s Cafe in Jennerstown, then visit the Bicycle Built for Two Roadside Giant, the new Flight 93 Memorial and the former site of the Grandview Ship Hotel. Lunch at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, then a quilt show and Civil War exhibit at the Bedford County Historical Society. The day will end with a visit to a second Roadside Giant, a giant quarter in Everett.
Sunday includes a stop at the 1920 Seldon Truck Roadside Giant and a visit to Chambersburg, tours of the Thaddeus Stevens Blacksmith Shop, and a picnic lunch at Caledonia State Park. The drive will end at Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum about 2:30 p.m.
Participants will be asked to help solve the murder of a former naval officer at the S.S. Grand View Ship Hotel west of Bedford. Clues will be posted along the route to help solve the crime.
To find out more about the rally or other LHHC events, e-mail olga@LHHC.org or call 724-238-9030.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
For 14 years, Eric and Kass Mencher have devoted their photographic passion to visually documenting the landmarks, landscapes, and people of the Lincoln Highway. They’re in the final stages of self-publishing a book that celebrates the road’s upcoming anniversary. To see a still-evolving 200+ page prototype click here to see “Almost Heaven.” Make it Full Screen to see the images large.
Even after a self-financed cross-country trip in both directions in 2010, they have some photographic gaps to fill and so are raising funds for the final work. More than $2,000 has been raised from 21 supporters. If you’d like to help, visit http://spot.us/pitches/970-along-the-lincoln-highway/. For donations of $275 and above, you’ll receive an archival print of your choice from the Lincoln Highway project. For donations of $150-$275, you’ll receive a copy of their prototype book. You can even make a donation without paying for it by clicking on “free credits.”
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Long-distance travelers Bill and Karen post wonderful stories and photos about their 2-lane trips. The Ontario couple last drove the Lincoln Highway in 2009 and have used my books to track down every highlight and report back lots of updates. This year they picked up the LH near Downingtown, Pa., on Day 34 of their trip and traveled west to Plainfield, Illinois, by Day 50. Travel along at billstraveljournal.blogspot.com/.
Bill writes: We concluded our Lincoln Highway road trip at the same spot in Plainfield Illinois where we started the journey on July 7, 2009. It also marks the spot where we concluded our Route 66 road trip in 2008. This spot is where the two roads share the same 3 blocks…. All we need to do now is to drive from Times Square NY to Exton PA and we will have completely driven the Lincoln Highway from beginning to end.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A new brief video by VintonToday features antique cars that participated in last weekend’s Lincoln Highway tour across Iowa, specifically at the restored Youngville Station between Cedar Rapids and Belle Plaine.
The accompanying music — unfortunately uncredited — is Buddy Nutt singing Goin all the Way On the Lincoln Highway, which he wrote for the PBS Lincoln Highway program produced by Rick Sebak.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Harold de Bock, who lives in Holland (but studied at IU Bloomington Indiana in the 1970s) is about to depart on a Lincoln Highway trip across the Midwest. He’ll pick up his motorcycle — a 1980 Yamaha XS850 Midnight Special — on Wednesday Aug 31 to test ride the bike after 2 years of idle, then on September 6 he will start his LH adventure in Fort Wayne at Cindy’s Diner. He’s meeting a guy who has the same type vintage motorcycle and will travel that afternoon to about Valparaiso. He continues:
September 7 I hope to have coffee in the morning with the LHA’s Jeffrey Blair. And then later in the day I will meet another person at Rochelle who also has the same motorcycle as I do and he will ride Lincoln Highway with me. So, as opposed to R66 and Dixie Highway which I did solo, this will be a ride-for-two. I will ride US 6 (Grand Army of the Republic Highway) back. I need to be back in Bloomington for the centennial celebration of the School of Journalism at Indiana University, my alma mater 1971-1974.
I have copied the detailed maps from your Lincoln Highway Companion book on A4’s which I will have in a plastic folder on top of my fuel tank – so you will be my guide.
For English language ride reports visit his site www.harolddebock.nl/?page_id=16 (they appeared originally in the Ride Report Forum on http://yamaha-triples.org/ – the site also contains two extensive Pictorial Sagas of those trips).
Twitter @harolddebock
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Also this weekend is the fabulous cross-state Iowa Lincoln Highway Motor Tour sponsored by the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association. Here are pics from last summer: Youngville Cafe by Jeff & Tammy LaFollette, and the lunch stop at Woodbine by Osberg.
This year’s tour began in Council Bluffs and heads east, ending in Clinton County on Sunday, August 28. The historic route travels nearly 330 miles across Iowa through the communities of Council Bluffs, Denison, Carroll, Jefferson, Boone, Ames, Marshalltown, Tama, Cedar Rapids, and Clinton. More information can be found on the Iowa LHA website, or contact tour director Jeff LaFollette at (563) 349-3047.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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Click the Greetings book below to purchase the ultimate guide to the history and route of the Lincoln Highway!
Another fun book! The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway recalls the greatest roadside attraction along the coast-to-coast road.
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The LHHC plans to open the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum in Unity (between Latrobe and Ligonier) near the Kingston Bridge (as of 2012, the museum has opened). The diner is being restored by Travis Smeltzer and his crew from Travis Smeltzer Construction of Apollo, in consultation with preservationists. Smeltzer hopes to have the diner back to its original glory by this spring. The diner was originally bought by the Serro family from the Jerry O’Mahony Diner Co. in New Jersey. There was table seating for 16 patrons and 16 stools at the counter.
Lincoln Highway News 