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.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
LHA headquarters in Franklin Grove, Illinois, received a call that Ron Preston passed away last week. He was the son of George Preston, whose sign-covered gas station in Belle Plaine, Iowa, is a shrine for Lincoln Highway fans. George bought the station in 1923 for $100 and became famous for his endless tales of LH lore, which I got to enjoy on a visit there in 1991. After George’s death in 1993, Ron cared for the it and adjacent garage full of petroliana. LHA’ers saw Ron at almost every annual conference.
Kass and Eric Mencher, who are documenting the Lincoln Highway and publishing their images in an e-book, captured the station and Ron last year. Visit their blog page below by clicking on the image.
George’s most famous moment came on March 21, 1990, when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The interview starts around 2:30.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO The Evening Sun of York, Pa., reports that a pair of classic railroad cars that greeted Lincoln Highway travelers to nearby New Oxford have been demolished and sold for scrap.
The article explains that Stephen Hieber had the two passenger train coaches next to his business on Lincolnway West in New Oxford. His company, PWI Inc. (which specializes in petroleum dispensing products), acquired the two blue-gray Baltimore & Ohio Railroad coaches at auction in 1999. The company has rented out the 80-foot coaches to various small businesses but for the past three years, no one was willing to take on the expense of renting the coaches. With restoration too expensive, Hieber decided to sell them for scrap.
The two B&O coaches came to rest in New Oxford in 1972 thanks to business owner and railroad enthusiast Paul Wagner, who purchased the discarded cars and had them delivered and carefully placed in a V shape next to the tracks on the south side of Lincolnway West. Wagner used the coaches as home for his Paul’s Model Railroad Shop….
“There is no way a small business can afford the heating and cooling costs,” Hieber said. “There is no insulation. They are literally steel cans.”…
The coaches, built in 1930 by the Pullman Company and rebuilt in 1948 in the B&O shops, were used for service between St. Louis and Washington, according to a 1972 Hanover Sun story….
“If somebody had come along I would have been happy to sell them,” he said. “It doesn’t make me any happier than anybody else.”
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Join the first annual Lincoln Highway Adventure along Indiana’s historic Lincoln Highway, August 5 and 6, 2011. The fun event will coincide with the Buy-Way Yard Sale stretching across several states. Kick off the Adventure at Downtown South Bend’s First Friday Cruise-In, then the next day pilot your crew through New Carlisle, LaPorte, Valparaiso, Dyer, and back to Plymouth for the Adventure’s Closing Picnic.
Each registered vehicle will receive an Adventure Bag with a dash plaque, discount coupons, an Adventure Passport and a booklet containing turn-by-turn directions and information about sites, great stops and communities along the way. Compete in the Lincoln Highway Scavenger Hunt, a geo-cache hunt and check in via FourSquare, or stay connected through your other favorite social media. Families, Car Clubs and Caravans welcome! Find reservation and pricing at: www.lincolnhighwayadventure11.eventbrite.com For more information or questions contact: Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office at north@indianalandmarks.org or (574) 232-4534.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition has completed another of its impressive Interpretive Murals that line the 179-mile Illinois byway corridor. The detailed painting at 208 East Main Street in Morrison, Illinois, depicts the 1921 Whiteside County Fair.
The hand-painted scene shows that the newly paved Lincoln Highway gave motorists the opportunity for ease in traveling out of town for entertainment and special events like the fair. Participating communities are asked to designate representatives to secure a building site for the mural, research stories and images linking their community to Lincoln Highway, and agree to provide maintenance and preservation of the mural. Here are details of the arrangement:
As the designated Scenic Byway management agency overseeing the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway, the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) continues to seek ways to recognize the significance of the highway and ways to make the stories come alive. After receiving a National Scenic Byway Grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, Attraction Development (TAP) Grant, ILHC worked with our vendor, Jay Allen of ShawCraft Signs, to make this project come to life.
Visit drivelincolnhighway.com for more information on the Illinois Lincoln Highway, places to see and things to do, a mobile app, and to download the new Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide (read more here about this soon).
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
An important link in the Lincoln Highway is examined in an article in the PhillyBurbs.com that also includes this vintage photo (note the Lincoln Highway sign at left).
The first bridge across the Delaware River between Trenton NJ and Morrisville PA opened 150 years ago on July 1, 1861. When the wooden “City Bridge” burned, an iron bridge was built in 60 days by 83 workmen. It opened October 20, 1884, as the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge but was made toll-free on Nov. 14, 1928. It is now run by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which was formed in 1934 and operates seven toll bridges and 13 toll-supported bridges. A $7.2 million rehabilitation project in 2010 included improvements to the rails and sidewalks, new lighting, blast cleaning, and painting. A vintage iron marker noting the Lincoln Highway state border crossing remains on its downstream side near the Pennsylvania abutment.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Make sure you keep following Denny Gibson’s blog after the first day he hits the Lincoln Highway (his Day 9). Click HERE to continue with Day 10. Highlights include encountering snow at Donner Summit (note the LH “Subway” beneath the railroad overpass just left of center) and an adventurous ride along the sometimes perilous Kings Canyon Road (on a tour led by Nevada LHA director Jim Bonar).
.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
We’re once again lucky to have Denny Gibson traveling and documenting part of the Lincoln Highway, this time some of the roads to and from the 2011 LHA conference in Lake Tahoe. You can follow his adventures beginning at www.dennygibson.com/lhfest11/day09/index.htm when he visits bits of the Lincoln in Utah. He starts with the beautiful little Lambs Canyon bridge (below). Then it’s across the Utah desert (below #2) and into Nevada.
At the conference, participants rode the old road at Clarksville, Cal., in Model A Fords (below). We’ll save more for our next blog entry….
Plans are underway in Tama, Iowa, for the 32nd Annual Lincoln Highway Bridge Festival. It starts Friday, May 20, 2011 @ 10 am and runs through Saturday, May 21 @ 11 pm. The celebration honors the concrete bridge renowned for having “Lincoln Highway” sculpted into its side rails.
Friday opens with the carnival and food vendors to the Tama Civic Center area. The Tama Citizen of the Year award will be presented by the Tama Firefighters at 7 pm. Saturday May 21 will again feature carnival and food vendors. The day begins with a pancake breakfast from 7 to 9:30 am followed by the annual parade at 10 am. Free entertainment will run through out the day in front of the Tama Civic Center. Turtle Races will be held in front of the library from 1-4 pm. Preparations are underway, with the Chief of Police and Sergeant searching the area for turtles whose speed will qualify them as race material. Visit www.tamatoledo.com for a full schedule.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Starting May 11, Caltrans will close U.S. 50/Lincoln Highway at Echo Summit for approximately two weeks to replace a rock wall with a barrier that meets current safety standards while preserving the natural beauty. According to Way2Tahoe.com, traffic will be one-way on May 9–10 in preparation for the closure, and for approximately six weeks Monday through noon on Fridays following the full closure. (The highway will be open Memorial Day Weekend.) Highway 50 remains open to Placerville visitors and all other locations as far east as Sierra at Tahoe Resort. Click on the map to see it larger.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
Like this blog? You'll LOVE my books!Lincoln Highway Companion features detailed maps and places to eat and stay. Click the book to buy it on Amazon.
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.
And for those who LOVE diners, click the book below to purchase our completely updated guide to the history, geography, and food of Pennsylvania's Diners!
Lincoln Highway News 