Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
June 4, 2009
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.
Tags:giant quarter, Lincoln Highway, PA, Road trip, roadside giant, roadside landmarks
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, travel | 1 Comment »
June 2, 2009
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.
Tags:giant sign, highway history, Kearney NE, Lincoln Highway, Nebraska, vintage motel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, roadside, signs, travel | 1 Comment »
June 1, 2009
Hobo Day 2009 was held May 23 along the Lincoln Highway in Bucyrus, Ohio, at the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad station. The Crawford County Post reported that hundreds attended the annual event at the Victorian station, which is being restoredHere is a photo of the station and event by Doug Foreman from the paper’s story:
Train equipment on display included offbeat equipment such as a velocipede, pocket watches, and the bell from president Lincoln’s funeral train. Antique vehicles included a 1916 Maxwell truck and 1930 Ford Model A coupe.
Tags:annual festival, Bucyrus OH, Hobo Day, Lincoln Highway, Model A, Ohio, train station restoration
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 29, 2009
A new custom Visa Platinum® Rewards Card offers scenes from the Lincoln Highway and benefits the national Lincoln Highway Association. Five different scenes representing the coast-to-coast road are available.
Some of the specs:
• $50 donation to LHA by the bank when you first use the card, plus ongoing contributions.
• 0% Introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months.
• Earn points and bonus points at online and neighborhood retailers.
• Redeem points for merchandise, tickets, gift cards or travel rewards.
• No annual fee and no additional cost to you.
Get more information at www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/.
Tags:highway scenes, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Visa helps an old road
Posted in highways, Lincoln Highway, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 28, 2009
Paving the Way: The National Park-to-Park Highway is 2-part program airing on PBS that recalls the journey of 12 motorists who followed the 5,000+ mile circular highway in 1920. The Park-to-Park Highway connected all 12 of the national parks at the time; the 1920 trip took 76 days. Leading the tour was famous AAA trails “pathfinder” Anton Westgard. Check local listings to see when it will air in your area.
ABOVE: Route map provided by Terry Coolidge, Wellspring Digital Studio.
ABOVE: Photo by A.G. Lucier, provided by John T. Hinckley Library, Northwest College, Powell, Wyoming.
Producer/director Brandon Wade told me that the video was inspired by Lee and Jane Whiteley, who wrote about the highway and the famous tour in their 2003 book, The Playground Trail: The National Park-to-Park Highway. Lee and Jane are known to Lincoln Highway fans for their pioneering work researching the LH route through Colorado, including a small but info-packed book, The Lincoln Highway in Colorado. To learn more about the film, visit pavingtheway.tv where you can also purchase the DVD for $24.95.
Tags:1920 auto trip, AAA pathfinder, COlorado, Lincoln Highway, National Park to Park Highway, National Parks, park highway, PBS, Westgard
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »
May 27, 2009
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.
Tags:Greensburg PA, highway history, highway sculpture, history, Lincoln Highway, PA, Road trip, roadside giants, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 22, 2009
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.
Tags:big game steakhouse, centennial, highway town, Lincoln Highway, Nebraska, Paxton NE, rural America, steakhouse, US 30
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 19, 2009
Libraries in five Ohio counties along the Lincoln Highway now have the new PBS DVD, dedicated in memory of a Mid-Ohio Lincoln Highway League member and advocate of the road’s history.
Wayne (Wooster), Ashland, Richland (Mansfield), Crawford (Bucyrus) and Wyandot (Upper Sandusky) libraries were given a copy of the national PBS documentary A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway produced by Rick Sebak and WQED Pittsburgh.
The show’s final segment features Esther McNaull Oyster Queneau, an Ashland native and founder of Ohio’s Lincoln Highway League in 1993.
In its statewide meeting held in Massillon on May 2, the Ohio League voted to provide the DVDs to honor the late Howard Donbar, a long-time member of the Mid-Ohio chapter. The five counties receiving the gifts are in the Mid-Ohio membership area.
Anyone interested in joining the advocacy group can contact President Mike McNaull at (419) 281-3064. The DVD is available for purchase at www.lhtp.com/.
Tags:DVD, historic highway, libraries, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, travel
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 18, 2009
I asked Jan Morrison, owners of the Lincoln Motel in Austin, Nevada, how travel and business are this spring along the Lincoln Highway — here aka US 50 and “the Loneliest Road in America.”
Yes, things are slow, but the Lincoln Motel is open and will stay open. We are taking advantage of the slower times to paint each room and do repairs.
Actually, things are beginning to look up in Austin. It seems we slid into the recession early, and are ready to climb out of it sooner. Traffic on the highway has definitely increased.
I think people are returning to the country and driving. The price of gas certainly helps. But with these difficult times, I think people need to re-connect with the basics in life, and small towns along Highway 50 offer them a calming trip to “Mayberry.” Whether they actually grew up in a small town, or did so through TV, rural America is comfort food for the recession-weary!
For more info on the motel and town, see www.goaustinnevada.com/.
Tags:Austin NV, calming travel, Lincoln Highway, Mayberry, Nevada, Road trip, rural America, small towns, travel, vintage motel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, Road trip, roadside, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 15, 2009
LHA president Bob Dieterich reports that Clarksville Day was a huge success with between 2000 and 3000 attending the celebration. The ghost town along the Lincoln Highway in California is set to be redeveloped.
They had horse drawn wagons to transport people from one end of the highway through town to the other end as shown in a couple of the pictures. There was the Pony Express, Mormon Battalion, antique cars, a band playing bluegrass music all day, and the Mormons had a huge cannon they fired every half hour.
There won’t be any work on development there for two or three years, so we should be able to work in one or two more of these. The developer has promised to save the Lincoln Highway as a walking path through there.
Tags:Clarksville CA, ghost town celebration, Lincoln Highway, old roads, Pony Express reenactment, town to be redeveloped
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
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