The blog 42N Observations comments about life near the 42N Latitude, particularly around Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This post from a while back has four photos of Lincoln Highway segments and monuments in Linn County. Click HERE to visit, and click the photos there to see them larger.
How many of you got to visit at least part of the Lincoln Highway Buy-Way event this past weekend? Write and tell us about it!! Mike Hocker, executive director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway and director of that state’s Buy-Way event, sent the following article that shows the struggle over routing the LH. Nancy Everly actually found the article in the The Crestline Advocate, July 10, 1919, while researching her forthcoming book on Leesville, and Nancy Hocker transcribed it.
WOULD CHANGE THE HIGHWAY
Residents of the Western Part of the County are Scrapping Over the Much Talked of Lincoln Highway
From Bucyrus west to Oceola and Nevada the residents of the county are having much ado about the route of the Lincoln Highway. The original route of the Highway was to go from Bucyrus to Upper Sandusky through Nevada but the Crawford county improvement has gone by was of Oceola, which seems to be a straighter road.
As a national advertisement the Lincoln Highway is considerable institution but in reality it cannot be considered seriously. As it is laid out at present it will never be a monument to good road building. For instance, Wayne County is now closing the gap by improving the Highway from the present end of the brick road five miles west of Wooster to the Ashland county line. In order to do this the Highway leaves the main east and west road about six miles west of Wooster and takes a crooked and circuitous route over through Ashland and then back to Mansfield. No one will ever be able to give a good reason for such a route when the Highway could be laid out over the straight road from Wooster to Mansfield, a safer, prettier and shorter route.’ Coming into Mansfield on Fourth street the Highway takes a snake like course through that city and thence by way of a longer and more dangerous route through Richland and Crawford counties and another snake-like route through the city of Bucyrus. If the Highway is really supposed to be the most direct route from coast to coast it would leave Mansfield on Fourth street, the same street on which it enters, proceed right west to Bucyrus on a straight line and enter the latter city on the same street by which it leaves, Mansfield street. An improved road from coast to coast by the shortest and most direct route through the country would stand forever as a monument to the cause of good roads – an incentive for all time to active construction and maintenance of better roads. But the Lincoln Highway does not fulfill this mission and it will never be the great institution which good roads enthusiasts from coast to coast hoped it would be.
The Bucyrus Forum makes the following remarks concerning the changing of the courses of the Highway we of Bucyrus:
The Lincoln Highway board in Nevada has received notice from the Lincoln Highway Association to put up markers and detour signs along the old Nevada road from Bucyrus to Nevada. The signs are being put up.
In the word which was sent to the Nevada board, it was stated that the signs would be necessary to accommodate the United States government motor transport corps which is scheduled to come through over the Lincoln Highway. The motor transport corps left Washington and is scheduled to stop over in Bucyrus, making this a night stop about the 16th or 17th of this month.
While there has been some contention over the routing of the Lincoln Highway from Bucyrus to Nevada, this is the first evidence of any official action upon the part of the Lincoln Highway Association in selecting the road. Nevada men feel that this indicates that it is the intention of the war department engineers to use the original route through Nevada. Quoting from a letter recently received by Dr. S. S. Barrett, as chairman of the board at Nevada from H. C. Osterman, Nevada men feel confident of their case. The letter says in part:
“After full investigation by the army engineers and the Lincoln Highway Association,” Osterman says: “The official Lincoln Highway route from Upper Sandusky to Bucyrus is by the way of Nevada, almost parallel with the Pennsylvania railroad, and will not be changed.”
As the route was originally laid out over the Nevada-Bucyrus and not the Oceola-Bucyrus road, this letter is taken to indicate that there is no question that it will be the official route. The change was asked for by parties desiring it to go over the Oceola road, it was stated.
A. F. Bennett, vice president of the Lincoln Highway Association, in a letter to the Nevada board, says: “It is distinctly against the policy of the association to make a change in the route of the Lincoln Highway. The army engineers in connection with the routing of the trans-continental motor convoy through Ohio requested that the route of the Lincoln Highway be removed from Forest, Dunkirk, Ada and Lima, to the route following directly west from Upper Sandusky through Williamstown and Beaver Dam and West Cairo to a junction with the Lincoln Highway west of Gomer. The directors of the Lincoln Highway Association have authorized this change.
Consul Pontius of Upper Sandusky has removed the signs to the new route as instructed.
The Nevada board plans to place the signs as requested to enter Nevada over the old route of the Lincoln Highway.
Anyone who has driven the Lincoln Highway near Lancaster, Pa. — especially east of the city on US 30 — knows that traffic congestion makes it near impossible to enjoy the road’s heritage. Now the Lancaster County Planning Commission has released an enhancement plan to address traffic, signage, and accessibility. You can view the PDF HERE.
The report states:
This project is the first step in implementing the Lancaster County Strategic Tourism Development Plan, adopted by the County Commissioners in 2005….
The Lincoln Highway is a high priority because:
• It’s a highly visible gateway into the city and surrounding countryside
• It’s an important part of the county’s economy
• It plays a key role in the county’s tourism “mix”
The publication lists the many problems and potential solutions. One challenge is that the area is known for rural and Amish attractions, but the crush of tourists and modern businesses has pushed out many farms and even the mid-century fabricated attractions.
In the 1990s, local officials cited tourist complaints that there was nothing to do after dark, when Amish-themed attractions closed. The response led to outlet malls, which have spawed more chain stores and wide highways, resulting in the disappearance of almost all vintage businesses and buildings. Accessing any of it is frustrating for tourists and commuters, not to mention horse-drawn buggies. It will be interesting to see if such growth can now be reined in.
LHA director Mike Buettner sent info and images from a Mid-Ohio Chapter/Lincoln Highway Association work day a few weeks ago. The original brick pillar that is one mile east of Oceola (Crawford County) was in dire need of repair. Saturday, led by Richard Taylor, members of the chapter did those repairs.
According to my road guide research, this pillar “was set in 1921 to commemorate the completion of the bricking of this part of the highway, and is the only survivor of what may have been eight pillars in Crawford County west of Bucyrus. Past-president Esther Oyster has determined that these brick pillars were set at one-mile intervals, in a span of seven miles from Bucyrus to the Wyandot County Line, and has thus far been able to verify the construction of six of these pillars.”
Perhaps the most fun, colorful blog ever to follow a Lincoln Highway road trip is being posted by Bill and Karen McKibbon. They set out from Ontario, Canada, and joined the LH at Joliet, Illinois. They’re following the old road west to the Pacific (at which time they continue northward), taking tons of photos like above: their car at Preston’s in Blelle Plaine. Bill told me they’re using my Greetings from the LH and LH Companion (buy ’em on Amazon!) and noted how quickly things change: “Some places no longer exist that you wrote about, some things that deserve a marker or plaque don’t, but we are finding the old road as best we can.”
That’s Bill at the Seeding Mile in Grand Island and Karen (they LOVE finding great desserts) in Cheyenne. Don’t pick on her Route 66 shirt — LHA HQ was out of shirts!
LH boosters also should note that almost every cafe they stopped at was CLOSED! In early JULY!!
Bill makes some other interesting observations. This is from Kensinger’s cool deco station in Grand Island, Nebraska, which was featured (along with owner Dick Grudzinski in the PBS special about the LH):
Dick pointed the way to the original early 1900’s concrete behind his gas station. It is very overgrown with weeds and long abandoned. What really surprised me is that there is no sign or plaque acknowledging what this concrete represents. The Lincoln Highway is not promoted like Route 66 is. What a shame.
Or this:
We loaded up the car and drove to Shelton NE where we wanted to visit the The Lincoln Highway Visitors Center. 10 AM on a Saturday morning and this place is locked up tight. There was a notice in the door with a phone number to call and someone would come over. We peaked in the door and the windows and there wasn’t anything in there that we felt was worth disturbing someone. I am sure they had something important to do or they would be here greeting Lincoln Highway travellers. There were no t-shirts to purchase, no postcards, basically it appeared to be an empty room, with a few things hung on the wall.
Or this
We mentioned to the lady at the [Sod House] Museum that we were driving on the Lincoln Highway and she said, “oh you will want to head North then to get on Highway 30” We said no, that we were driving the original Lincoln before there ever was a Highway 30. She thought Highway 30 was the Lincoln. This poor highway, no one seems to care much or know much about it. Here we are from Ontario Canada, and we know more than the locals.
Well, I guess there’s something to be said for not being over-commercialized….
They post at billstraveljournal.blogspot but click HERE to start with Day 1 (they’re on Day 11). Enjoy the trip!!
The fifth and final project in the “Roadside Giants of the Lincoln Highway” series is an antique truck celebrating farming heritage. Designed by the Franklin County Career & Technology Center students in Chambersburg, the 1920 Selden Apple Truck replica truck is fully dimensional and features a steering column and bench seat plus wheels that spin. The 11-foot tall, 2-ton antique truck is located at Shatzer’s Fruit Market along U.S. 30 heading east. A dedication was held Tuesday, June 9, 2009.
The hood sign reads “Lincoln Highway Fruit Growers Serving Franklin County Since 1907.”
Read more in the Chambersburg Public Opinion HERE.
And read about other Roadside Giants across the U.S. in Roadside Giants the book, available from Amazon by clicking HERE.
A 20-foot tall, 1,600-pound steel quarter with George Washington’s profile is the newest of five Roadside Giants planned along Pennsylvania’s 200-mile Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. The quarter is located east of Bedford, Pennsylvania, near the Down River Golf Course in Everett. It was dedicated last Wednesday to acknowledge students from Bedford County Technical Center who were involved in its design and creation. The sculpture was created at MDL Manufacturing in Bedford; owners Mari-Pat and Doug Lingsch invited the students into their plant.
The photo below shows Mari-Pat and Doug Lingsch, owners of MDL Manufacturing in Bedford. Leah R. Cominsky, LHHC Marketing/Project Manager, says, “They had a lot to do with the project in terms of allowing the students to work on laser cutting the details of the Giant at their facility, plus they helped the students to order the materials that they would need to complete the Giant. They are such great, kind-hearted people, and Mari-Pat was on the Community Committee for the school to help them along the way with the design of the quarter.”
The Altoona Mirror reported that:
Meetings for the project began in March 2008, said community committee member Karen Bowman. Finishing touches at the site, such as landscaping and stone, will be added in the fall by students….
It took about three days to build the form, one day for it to set and another day to pour concrete….
Assistance on this project was provided by New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., BC Stone, SKE Design and Rockland Manufacturing.
For Wednesday’s dedication, student Chelsea Long of the tech center’s Culinary Arts project created a matching 3-D cake in the shape of the giant quarter with assistance from instructor Pattie Liebfreid.
Fred Hammer wrote to say hello after reading my post on the history of his family’s motel along the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska: “I grew up in that motel — watched it grow from 8 rooms to 35. My dad was one of the founders of the Best Western chain and took pride in that organization…. In the landscaping I donated to the university, I had three brick columns placed in the southwest corner, similar in shape to what was at the motel — and, in one of the columns, there is embedded a plaque which has a miniature imprint of the motel sign” So next time you’re in Kearney, take the time to find the honorary landscaping and plaque on Watson Blvd. at 19th Street.
The third Roadside Giant sculpture along the Lincoln Highway in western Pennsylvania will be unveiled today. The Community Installation Celebration for the Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center’s “Packard Car with Driver” will take place at 1 pm at the entrance to the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and the Mt. Odin Golf Course, on the original Lincoln Highway. Guests will enjoy a “giant” Packard Cake, in the same shape as the giant, but edible! Photos of the installation courtesy Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.
This Sunday, May 24, Paxton, Nebraska, will celebrate the centennial of its incorporation as a village. The celebration will include a community pageant recalling Paxton’s history and a chuck wagon feed. Paxton, on the Lincoln Highway/US 30 west of North Platte, has a population of just 614. and one flashing red traffic warning light.
Russell Rein sent a link to a North Platte Telegraph story that gives details. The pageant —with 48 cast members and 30-voice choir — is at 3 p.m. at the Paxton High School with the chuck wagon feed at 5 p.m. in the high school’s bus barn. Tickets for the pageant and feed are $10 for adults; $5 for children, under 5 free.
Among Paxton’s businesses, there are three that have been serving the village for more than half the town’s existence. Kildare Lumber began serving the town and its rural farming and ranching population even before Paxton’s incorporation. Hehnke’s, a meat market and grocery on Paxton’s main street, has served the village for nearly 90 years. Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge, in business for more than six decades along main street, has long been known throughout the United States.
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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