Archive for the ‘souvenirs’ Category

1928 Lincoln Highway concrete post for sale

December 10, 2009

Anyone hoping to own – or donate – a 1928 Lincoln Highway marker has another one to choose from, oddly the second rare LH artifact offered for sale this week. Such concrete directional posts once lined the highway but have mostly disappeared. The national Lincoln Highway Association urges that any found or for sale are not merely kept as souvenirs but donated for historical displays or even put back along the coast-to-coast road for others to enjoy.

The 8-foot-long post, presently in Potter, Nebraska, can be had for $1,200. You’ll find it on Denver’s Craigslist.

Ohio Lincoln Highway abutment for sale on eBay

December 7, 2009

Those wishing to decorate their yards, or preserve a piece of history for a local historical society, can bid on an abutment that was not only used on the Lincoln Highway but retains the porcelain plaque to prove it.

Up for auction on eBay through Wednesday is the concrete bridge abutment and marker, located in a front yard in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The starting price of $800 has no bids yet. Here’s the description:

Lincoln Highway Concrete Bridge Abutment. It has the original Ceramic Lincoln Highway logo. It weighs approximately 800 pounds. It was removed off the last bridge on route 30 in Hancock county, Ohio in the early 1980’s. It is 33 inches in height, 13.5 inches wide and 21 inches from front to back. The ceramic logo does have several cracks in it. The cement abutment does have some cement missing from the bottom portian. The winner of the auction will have to arrange for pick up and delievery of the item.

Let’s hope it ends up somewhere not only cared-for but accessible for public enjoyment.

Lincoln Highway/Route 30 Christmas ornament

December 2, 2009

Glenn Wells of Roadsidefans.com alerts us to a Lincoln Highway/US 30 Christmas ornament. Glenn says he and his wife got it from Ornaments To Remember: www.ornaments2remember.com

Glenn writes, “They have other route numbers available too, including Route 66 and US 1, but Susan rejected them because ‘Everybody does Route 66’ and the US 1 sign said ‘Historic’ instead of replicating the actual sign.

Glenn adds that the proceeds from Ornaments To Remember fund a non-profit:

The Learning Community is an Oregon-based organization offering free resources to help parents and families. www.thelearningcommunity.us/. We have no connection to either: we were merely a paying customer, and the ornament is really cool! I wouldn’t recommend an inferior item just to help a non-profit, nor recommend an item that helps a for-profit business, but this one is win-win.

PA gets new Lincoln Highway board game

October 14, 2009

Students at 61 elementary/middle schools along the historic Lincoln Highway just received copies of The Lincoln Highway Road Trip Board Game, courtesy of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Using pewter-like game pieces (vintage gas tank, suitcase, compass, tourist cabin, postcard, and antique auto) players move along the highway beginning in Irwin. The goal is to be the first to travel 200 miles along the historic highway to Abbottstown.

PA_LHHC board game

A sampling of a few of the 200 question cards (answers at the end):

1) “What Lincoln Highway community had 5 trolley car companies in one town?”  A. Gettysburg; B. Irwin; C. Breezewood; or D. New Oxford.”

2) “Bill’s Place once boasted to have the country’s smallest _________, which tourists often used before leaving the attraction.”  A. Gift Shop; B. Bowling Alley; C. Post Office; or D. Bathroom.

3) “Name the town along the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor that you would most likely see bison roam.”  A. Fayetteville. B. Schellsburg; C. Harrisonville; or D. Tatonkaville.”

LHHC summer intern Alex Gra, developed the game, which meets/exceeds PA Academic Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology, Reading, Speaking and Listening, and History.  In addition to the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, funding support was through The Sprout Fund/Pittsburgh 250/Community Connections in Pittsburgh.

A limited number of the games are available for purchase through the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor website at http://www.LHHC.org — click on Gift Shop, then Collectibles; or call the office at 724-238-9030. (Answers: B, C, B)

Buy-Way Scvenger Hunt winners get cool prizes

September 15, 2009

Mike Hocker, Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, has announced the winners of the 2009 BUY-WAY Yard Sale Scavenger Hunt.

OH_09 BuyWay winners

Mike reports:

First place winner was the team of Chuck and Sue Peck and Sandy Smith of Helena, Ohio, near Fremont. They will receive “Fun Things to Do for a Year” along the Lincoln Highway, including an overnight stay at the exclusive Spread Eagle Tavern in Hanoverton, and the Rodeway Inn of Wooster. Marathon gas cards, tickets to the Canton Classic Car Museum, Ohio State Reformatory, a signed Lincoln Highway book by notable author Brian Butko, a DVD of the history of the road, free dinners at the Oak Park Tavern (an original Lincoln Highway one-stop of the 1930s) and the Das Dutch Kitchen, gift certificates for Lehman’s Hardware, J&M Trading Post, a subscription to AMERICAN ROAD Magazine, along with other items to round out the winning cache.

“We had so much fun,” said Sandy, reflecting on how everyone was so helpful with helping them find the items. “We were having a tough time finding an ice scraper, so a shopper grabbed one out of his truck and sold it to us!” “But the toughest item to find was a bow tie'” Sue’s husband, Chuck, said. We finally found one as we were about to give up the hunt. Now we are glad we held out for it.”

Second and third place winners receiving similar prize packets were Denise Laughery of Galion earning second place, and Sonia Childs of Mansfield; third place.

The idea was to find a dozen common place items on the official scavenger hunt list at yard sales across Ohio, document where they were bought, photograph them and email or mail the photo as an entry. Three winners were drawn from the qualified entries.

“We thank our supporting businesses who have donated these fun prizes. This not only gives a lucky winner lots of things to do for free, but helps bring more travel and tourism–and more knowledge of our road, the first coast-to-coast paved highway in the U.S.” Mike Hocker, OLHHC executive director said.”

The 2009 BUY-WAY had over 1,000 sales in Ohio alone. Photos of this year’s event can be seen online at www.historicbyway.com/. Next year’s yard sale dates are August 5, 6 and 7.

ABOVE: Sue Peck, friend Sandy Smith, and Chuck Peck were excited to tell fun stories about their Lincoln Highway BUY-WAY yard sale adventures, while collecting the scavenger hunt items, which earned them first place winners.

Summer Festival at 1866 Austin NV church

July 23, 2009

“Soup, Sin, & Salvation” — a Celebration of Restoration, is the theme for the annual dinner and auction to be held this Saturday, July 25, 2009 in St. Augustine’s former church in Austin, Nevada. St. Augustine’s is the state’s oldest Catholic church building (1866) and a popular stop for tourist along the Lincoln Highway/US 50. The church was sold to a private party who formed a nonprofit organization to restore and renovate the structure.

NV_AustinCh2.jpg

The event will feature:
Homemade bread and rolls
Homemade soup in a commemorative cup
Depression-era food such as Spam
Grilled steak kabobs
Rich and delicious homemade ice cream

1 pm: Mella Harmon presents:
“How Soup & Sin Saved Nevada” — Nevada during the Great Depression

2-5 pm: “Artists in Austin”
Visit area artists at fun locations around town

6 pm: Dinner and Auction in the old church!
For the first time in decades, this historic building will echo the happy sounds of people gathering!

Tickets are $39. Get more info at www.goaustinnevada.com or contact Jan Morrison (775) 964 – 1100.

Pearl China store closing after 82 years

July 13, 2009

An 82-year-old Ohio business will close at the end of summer. The Review of East Liverpool, Ohio, reports that Pearl China, located on Dresden Avenue, a bypass of the Lincoln Highway, is closing due to the owners’ retirement. The photo below shows its location along Dresden/old US 30, with 4-lane US 30 behind it — from the paper, by David M. Grimes.

OH_PearlChina

After some 82 years of being part of the East Liverpool community … owners Patti and Terry Peterson of Calcutta will turn to the next chapter after their lives with the pottery and gift outlet store. Patti has been part of the store some 45 years when she began helping her mother in the early 60s while Terry will say goodbye some 35 years later when he first began his employment at the highway location. Pearl China Gifts is running a 15-percent off sale for the remaining selection of their inventory. The property is being advertised through Howard Hanna Real Estate Service and, according to their records, the nearly 10,000-foot building, with 2.8 acres of land is being sold for approximately $150,000.

A follow-up feature profiled Patti Peterson and her family’s involvement “with the ‘Pearl’ of the Lincoln Highway.”

Peterson’s bond with the store started with her father when he performed duties as a young boy in the early 1930s. Just several years after George and Dennis Singer opened up the pottery store, Peterson’s father, Shirl Vincent, would stop by the shop in the morning on his way to school, set up items, clean and sweep the rooms before continuing onto the schoolhouse.

In 1960, the last pottery production site of Pearl China was closed by Peterson’s father [Shirl] and the business switched to a retail outlet.

But in 1976, the Singer brothers retired and the young boy that once swept the floors became the official owner of the shop after he and his wife bought the store. They reached out to Peterson and her husband and once again the family was back together working under the roof of Pearl China….

In 1983, just seven years after purchasing the store, Peterson’s father unexpectantly passed away and her mother began to lose interest in the business. In 1986, Peterson and her husband bought the store and continued the establishment….

ABC News follows Route 66 west

May 11, 2009

abc_12_090508_ssvI managed to catch pink eye – ouch – so can’t type much but thought Lincoln Highway fans might be interested in seeing how ABC News weekend anchors are traveling Route 66 west (unexplainedly skipping Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas). Kate Snow and her sister drive the first two segments in a 1958 Ford Fairlane hardtop convertible (seen here at the former U-Drop Inn Cafe, Shamrock, Texas). Read the story HERE.

NOTE: ABC has disabled embedding. Below is the first segment from another source.

Here are the ABC links, including the second video: ONE and TWO.

The final two segments will feature the two male anchors heading further west.

Vintage pillow gift a Lincoln Highway collectible

February 3, 2009

One of the people I’ll always associate with the Lincoln Highway is Kevin Kutz, an artist from Bedford, Pa., who has been painting plein air scenes for decades. Along with Dunkle’s Gulf and the Coffee Pot right in Bedford, he had the Grand View Ship Hotel just west of town, which is what brought us to corresponding recently. (I’m racing to finish my book on the Ship Hotel.) Kevin has painted many scenes of the Ship, but as he says, he was never just looking for nostalgic scenes.
butko_lh-pillow
And so a big box arrived in yesterday’s mail. Among all his Ship notes and imagery is this pillow. He scribbled a great note to the effect that it had been laying around his cabin, and before it deteriorates more or his wife tosses it out, he thought he’d send it to me. What can you say about such a cool, generous gift? Especially a 90-year-old one that was still being used?!

Look for the book Kevin Kutz’ Lincoln Highway, available on Amazon.

kutz_lincoln-highway-book

Still time for SS Grand View Ship Hotel stories

January 16, 2009

My Lincoln Highway Companion book is still being proofed for release later this Spring, but already the deadline is here for my next book, due out in 2010: The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway.

shiplogo

One part will feature stories from those who visited or worked there. If you have a recollection or photo you’d like to share, please write.

butko_pa_niteship_blog

I also have some Ship info and images on my website at www.brianbutko.com/lh.ship.html