I’ve been spending lots of time writing the Ship Hotel book, due out in 2010. More than 2 months after my request for info, I still get letters and photos daily — it’s getting hard to wrap up! Here’s a nice photo I just color-corrected. As you’ve probably seen in your own family photos, pigments fade from old Kodacolor prints, leaving them pink. I really enjoy working to bring them back to how they should look.
Lincoln Highway Companion is still at least a month away from release but Stackpole Books just added it and my other books to their web site. For LH Companion click HERE; Greetings from the LH can be found HERE.
Companion is already printing so no more changes can be made, but the road is always in flux. Here’s a draft page from Iowa — a popular stretch that includes Preston’s station in Belle Plaine and the bridge at Tama with the highway’s name in its rails. Creating and correcting the maps for this book added many, many months to its production.
The Nevada [Iowa] Journalreports that the town’s Lincoln Highway Days committee has revamped its web site to include more info and images. The long-running annual event will take place this August 28-30.
The updated site was created by Camp Registry, a company in Ames, Iowa, that builds sports camp Web sites around the country. The site, www.LincolnHighwayDays.com, will allow board members to update the site themselves with announcements, board minutes, and photos. Community members can volunteer to help with the celebration or sign up for the parade through the site, and are encouraged to submit their own Lincoln Highway Days photos, information, and announcements. A quick look, however, found some broken and misdirected links for now.
A highlight of the 2009 Lincoln Highway Association conference in South Bend, Indiana, will be the Lincoln Highway Day Parade featuring the Military Vehicle Preservation Association’s 90th anniversary re-enactment of the Military Army Convoy. Best-known of the original participants in 1919 was young Dwight Eisenhower. For the anniversary on June 19, individual vehicles along with antique auto and motorcycle clubs are invited to participate. The LHA has produced 150 dash plaques to commemorate the day:
All entries must be motorized and must pre-register for $10. Click HERE for the PDF form with more information.
On my trip along the Lincoln Highway to Grand View Point near Bedford, Pennsylvania, I snapped a few sites, including the big praying mantis at the Second Time Around Shop, now laying on its side.
Other photos here are the LHHC mural and gas pump in Stoystown, the Washington Furnace Inn closed and for sale, and the rebuilding of the burned Sleepy Hollow tavern and restaurant.
The Rawlins Daily Times reports (via The Seattle Times) that the post trader’s house at Fort Fred Steele Historic Site has been saved from its crumbling state and rehabbed. The fort, along the Lincoln Highway and I-80 about 12 miles east of Rawlins, Wyoming, was built in 1868 to guard against Indian attacks and used through 1886. A Salt Lake City firm stabilized the crumbling concrete of the house with a glasslike liquid that is absorbed and prevents concrete from crumbling. The strengthened walls are joined by a new roof, walls, hardwood floor, windows, and heat. Also known as the Chatterton House, the post trader’s house is being readied as an interpretive center. Fort Steele reopens for the summer May 1. Here are a couple videos about the site, one short but pretty, the other with some locals interviewed.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
In 1892, the graves of the soldiers and their dependents at Fort Steele were moved to Fort McPherson National Cemetery — along the Gothenburg Stairstep portion of the Lincoln Highway near Maxwell, Nebraska.
I met with LHA member Jim Peters today as he makes his way across the country. He’s exploring brochure ideas for the Lincoln Highway Association. Much of his trip, though, will be along Route 66 to browse some of the brochures that have made that road such a success, and such a pleasure to tour. I made sure to show him one of my favorites — the Illinois Historic Route 66 brochure (seen at right), which features a map spread over 11 panels. (Download it HERE.)
In anticipation of the forthcoming LHA conference, pick up one of the new Indiana Lincoln Highway brochures, seen above. They feature a map of the route and info on other Lincoln-related sites in the state. If you’re too far away, you can request one from their website, or view the actual brochure online HERE.
The March/April 2009 issue of Midwest Living has a 5-page article about the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 (though 66 gets the mention on the cover as you can see at right). The title is “Touring Route 66 and Lincoln Highway: Follow the route of the first super roads across the U.S.” The focus is on the midwest, so for the Lincoln that means Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. Click HERE to read the magazine’s online excerpt, though you’ll need to pick up a hard copy to see the photos.
Roadside artists, authors, and photographers are wanted for the 2009 Lincoln Highway Association Conference in South Bend, Indiana, June 15-20, 2009. A reception will offer an easily accessible place for the public and LHA members to meet those who create the works. Imagery and books are especially encouraged that relate to the Lincoln and Dixie highways.
The conference will feature an author and artist public reception on Thursday, June 18, at the South Bend Century Center, where products will be for sale. Authors can reserve a table to display and sell books but there’s limited space to display artwork and photos in the vendor room and reception area at the host hotel Holiday Inn.
The recession has not slowed development east of Lancaster PA, on a strip that has not stopped reinventing itself for a half-century. Lancaster Online reports that among the projects being considered is redevelopment at 2331 Lincoln Highway East, site of a Rodeway Inn. It would mean the demolition of the former Italian Villa East Restaurant whose motto on old postcards was “A touch of Italy in Dutchland.”
According to a follow-up today, the owners plan to demolish the restaurant and build an 83-room hotel to connect to the existing 39-room Rodeway Inn. The 122 rooms would be operated Rodeway Inn and another chain owned by the same company, sharing a breakfast area between them.
The township engineer expressed concerns regarding an access drive, curbing, excess lot coverage, and that the old building might have historic value.
But the developer “said after a search on the Internet and talking with Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, he couldn’t come up with any records that the dwelling would be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The supervisors, however, still recommended the owners look into somehow reusing materials from the dwelling in the new structure to give it a local flavor.”
The site is across from and very close to the former Congress Inn, a vintage motel that’s set to be demolished and replaced by newer accommodations as I reported a half-year ago.
Medicine Bow, along a beautiful stretch of the Lincoln Highway in eastern Wyoming, will celebrate its centennial this summer with a weekend celebration. The town is best known for its Virginian Hotel, named for the Owen Wister novel The Virginian. Wister wrote the western while in town and the hotel/saloon was built shortly after. This video gives a brief taste of the town:
The special events take place June 25-28 during the ”Medicine Bow – 100 years of History” weekend. The kick-off event is a showing of the 1914 silent film The Virginian directed by Cecil B. Demille, accompanied by live music. Other events include a world-class quick draw shooting contest, parade, pancake breakfast, and street dances.
Visitors can stay at The Virginian and even try the Owen Wister Suite. (That’s it above when Rick Sebak and the PBS crew stopped by.) The writer’s log cabin has been relocated to across the street. At the Dip Bar & Diner check out the western art paintings that adorn the ceiling, walls, and the floor, or the bar made from the longest slab of jade in the world.
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!
I met with LHA member Jim Peters today as he makes his way across the country. He’s exploring brochure ideas for the Lincoln Highway Association. Much of his trip, though, will be along Route 66 to browse some of the brochures that have made that road such a success, and such a pleasure to tour. I made sure to show him one of my favorites — the Illinois Historic Route 66 brochure (seen at right), which features a map spread over 11 panels. (Download it 
The March/April 2009 issue of Midwest Living has a 5-page article about the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 (though 66 gets the mention on the cover as you can see at right). The title is “Touring Route 66 and Lincoln Highway: Follow the route of the first super roads across the U.S.” The focus is on the midwest, so for the Lincoln that means Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. Click 
Lincoln Highway News 