Time to hit the road and visit stands along the Lincoln Highway selling fruit, jams, gourds, and pumpkins. Here’s Bingham’s Orchard, 9823 Lincoln Way West, St. Thomas, Pennsylvania.
Fall is prime time to visit a roadside stand
October 15, 2008New book coming for Lincoln Highway in Indiana
October 14, 2008
LHA Past President Jan Shupert-Arick is working on a book, The Lincoln Highway Across Indiana, to be released by Arcadia Publishing in Spring 2009. She says some of the historical images will also be packaged as postcards, with both arriving in time for next summer’s LHA conference in South Bend. Here are two images from the book – above is the Log Cabin Camp at Benton (currently for sale); below is New Carlisle’s Main Street, now a National Register Historic District.
Video of Ligonier Beach a Lincoln Highway teaser
October 13, 2008With Rick Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway awaiting its national premier on October 29, LH fans can get a taste for it in other Sebak videos, which often feature LH locations. Here’s a segment from Things That Are Still Here about Ligonier Beach, a 1920 swimming hole just east of Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The cement pool is fed by an artesian well and offers a short sandy beach.
Cross-country runner hitting Lincoln in November
October 10, 2008Denny Gibson wrote to say that Phil Rosenstein is running across the US on a path that will cover part of the Lincoln Highway. “He’s currently running eastbound on Route 66. His schedule is here but he’s well ahead of it and has just entered Missouri. Although he doesn’t mention it (and may not realize it) it looks like he’ll be following the LH from Indiana through Pennsylvania.”
Indeed, Phil told me, “Route 30 is the one part of my run that I’ve no pre-knowledge about. I don’t think I’ve ever been on it.” Of concern is whether the road has shoulders and reasonable speed limits.
On his website, Phil writes that he is “running the entire Route 66 from Santa Monica, CA to Chicago, IL and then continuing on to Atlantic City, NJ to complete the transcontinental run. I will be alone and I am prepared to do it on my own every step of the way. But, this run will go much easier with a little help from a few people along the way.” Help could come in the form of lodging, publicity, and his ultimate goal, raising attention and money for The Mario Lemieux Foundation (www.mariolemieux.org).
Here’s a photo Phil at the statue of Andy Payne in Foyil, Oklahoma.
Payne won the 1928 “Bunion Derby” transcontinental footrace along the newly created Route 66. He was born and raised in Foyil, which is on 66.
Here are Phil’s Lincoln Highway check points:
November 8, 2008
Plymouth IN
Columbia City IN
November 8, 2008
Fort Wayne IN
November 9, 2008
Van Wert OH
Upper Sandusky OH
Bucyrus OH
November 12, 2008
Mansfield OH
Massillon OH
Minerva OH
November 15, 2008
East Liverpool OH
November 16, 2008
Pittsburgh PA
Latrobe PA
Reels Corners PA
Breezewood PA
Gettysburg PA
November 22, 2008
York PA
Lancaster PA
Coatesville PA
Debt clock, diner hours – signs of the times
October 9, 2008
Along with major stories of financial woes, including the national debt clock running out of digits in New York City’s Times Square — the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway — comes news that the Eat’n Park chain of restaurants has greatly reduced the hours of its Park Classic Diner along the Lincoln Highway in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.
Located at the busy corner of US 30 and Lowry Ave. in what is locally known as Lincoln Heights, the building was an original 1960s car-hop location that the chain converted to a 1940s/50s-style diner in 1999. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “The diner remains open for breakfast and lunch, but now closes at 4 p.m. because of the lack of business during the dinner hours, said Kevin O’Connell, a spokesman for Eat ‘N Park.”
Reducing hours has become common for diners in recent decades, as including dinner means adding a new shift of workers and stocking many more foods for larger meals. However, it’s surprising that a chain that already manages a large staff and can supply most such items as standard with other locations finds the need to cut back.
More from California leg of Walking America
October 8, 2008
Dennis Crowley continues his story as journeys across California:
California traffic presented some concerns, like that is hard to believe. I had to always be on the alert that someone wasn’t pulling on to the shoulder. Thankfully I had the foresight to install mirrors on the rig which I constantly monitored as well as installing a caution flag. The only time I had any real concern was along the stretch through James Canyon. For anyone not familiar with this stretch it is a slithery, windy, narrow, death trap with narrow and in some places no shoulders. Common sense told me to grab a fanny pack and leave the trailer behind which is precisely what I did. By the time I reached the eastern end of the “gauntlet” the traffic was bumper to bumper and I was doing what I now affectionately call “The Manly Shuffle” meaning that I was walking sideways. Thanks to Paul Gilger’s knowledge of the area I avoided jail time by crossing over the interstate on the railroad tracks west of Cordelia when faced with the onramp to the freeway.
Last but not least there are always concerns with injuries. Given the ground I cover (anywhere from 10-20 miles a day) they do happen and at times in the most inconvenient places. I was pushing so hard to get across the Mojave Desert on old Route 66 a few years ago that by the time I reached Victorville I sprained both ankles. I spent a month off my feet which was still not even enough for full recovery. I had events to attend in Southern California so I picked back up and limped my way to the Santa Monica Pier. In case you are feeling sorry for me hold on to that feeling because it gets worse. Outside San Bernardino a bee stung me in the corner of my eye. He died “an untimely death” but it didn’t make me feeler any better or look any better. The left side of my face swelled up and I looked like the Elephant Man. Looking back maybe I should have made that little stroll down Rodeo Drive. Thankfully I escaped any injuries on my first leg of the Lincoln Highway as well as any “encounters.”
As you can expect everyone I encountered was curious about what I was doing. They were also kind and encouraging and displayed their support of me with everything from a “God bless you” to cold water bottles. All in all I don’t think I could have asked for a better time.
Now I turn my thoughts to May 2009. I will take what I have learned on this leg and prepare over the next seven months to make the trek from West Sacramento to the Reno over the infamous Donner Pass. I pray it will be as much of a success as this journey was.
A complete description of this first leg will be appearing on Dennis’ journal page of his website over the next few weeks at www.walkingamessage.com/.
Top: Lincoln Highway sign in Dixon, California. Above: Pony Express Station at Rockville Rd in Cordelia, and two views of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Pathway in Davis.
Lincoln Highway theme of church program/dinner
October 7, 2008Bridge of Hope Lancaster and Chester Counties celebrates its 20th year helping homeless families with “Exploring the Lincoln Highway: Driving for Hope” on Saturday, November 1, 2008, 5–8 p.m., at Ridgeview Mennonite Church, 3723 Ridge Rd, Gordonville, Pennsylvania. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-11.
Regional Lincoln Highway food favorites from their “farmer’s market” will include:
Carmel Popcorn (Times Square – vendor style)
Philly Cheese Steaks (an eastern PA favorite)
Potato Pirogues (Coatesville, birthplace of Bridge of Hope)
Chicken Corn Soup (Can we say Lancaster?)
Apple Salad (Adams County famous!)
Root Beer and Lemonade (Favorites at roadsides across the country)
Premier Desserts and Gourmet Coffees will be available from a replica of the famous Coffee Pot in Bedford, Pa. Festivities will include a mime and barbershop quartet; for kids there will be storytelling, games, crafts, free treats, and a simulated road rally with activities and clues pertaining to the Lincoln Highway.
For more information, visit Bridge of Hope (which promotes “ending and preventing homelessness — one church and one family at a time with the help of trained mentoring groups within congregations”) or download the event brochure here.
First leg of “Walking America The Lincoln Way”
October 6, 2008A mentioned in my post of 9/3/08, Dennis Crowley is walking across America on the Lincoln Highway, breaking the trip into manageable segments. He’s completed leg one from San Francisco to Sacramento and sent a round-up for our enjoyment. Now back in Arizona, he writes that “It seems like only yesterday that I first conceived of the idea to walk across America on the Lincoln Highway. Tired muscles, a collection of photos, and a pile of credit card receipts are telling me that the first leg of my walk on the Lincoln Highway is over.” Here’s part one of his note, with more to follow later this week:
After completing a walk across America on Route 66 in 2005 doing another walk was the furthest thing from my mind. Getting back to living a “normal” life was the only thing on my mind and that is precisely what I did, but it would only be short lived. In the spring of 2006 I received a phone call asking me to meet someone who was walking across America. When this man, also named Dennis, arrived at my home he was pulling a wheel barrow with his gear in it. It was quite a novelty to be sure, but it got me thinking. What he had was crude, but he had a good idea and I knew I could improve on it. As I watched him leave in the middle of the night the wheels on his “rig” were not the only ones turning.
Over the course of the next two years I worked with a graphic designer developing a logo, pestered custom bicycle builders for ideas on how to build a lightweight trailer, befriended some folks with the Lincoln Highway Association, planned, strategized, and tossed and turned at night. Before I knew it I was at Lincoln Park in San Francisco strapping myself into the harness of my trailer.
No crowds gathered and no bands played. It was just a quiet beginning, but an encouraging one. Kent Laak and Carlos Toste with the Mountain Hardwear Company showed up to wish me well. They presented me with tent compliments of their company and an acknowledgement of their support. And as representatives of the athletic shoe company Montrail they informed me that they would be providing all the shoes I needed. It would prove to be the sign of how things on this first leg would go.
I am not saying that everything went perfectly, but given the type of undertaking this is I certainly can’t complain. I do wish though that I would have been more attentive with my maps. Thankfully I learned that lesson early on. As I told people along the way, “It’s one thing to have to back track when you are driving and quite another when you are walking.” Soon after leaving the Presidio over looking the Golden Gate Bridge I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. I quickly got on my cell phone and called my niece in Oregon to have her check a map. Sure enough, I was ten blocks south of where I was supposed to be. I turned myself around and made my own contribution to global warming with the continual utterance, “I can’t believe I did that!”
There was also one other “learning experience” as I would prefer to call it that I also have to share. Someone at one point recommended that I install brakes on my trailer. I didn’t think that would ever be necessary. Was I ever wrong! I can’t even begin to tell you how difficult it is to walk down the steepest streets in the world pulling a trailer behind you. My friend Paul Gilger nearly fell out of his chair laughing when I told him about it, but I am feeling much better now. (Grin)
Looking back I wish I had a camcorder mounted to myself as I walked. The attention the trailer got was unbelievable and at times even hysterical. Heads turned, people stared, and some people even pulled over just to ask about it. Of all the comments that were made my favorite was from a man in Berkley who said, “Now that’s manpower!” Because the Lincoln Highway coincides with parts of the Pony Express Trail I affectionately deemed my rig, “The “Manly Express.”
The full story of this first leg will appear on his journal over the next few weeks at www.walkingamessage.com, or visit it to learn more about “Walking America The Lincoln Way.”
Above photos are at Dixon and Fairfield, California.
Route 30 film a success at Gettysburg premier
October 3, 2008Route 30, a fictional film shot along the Lincoln Highway in central Pennsylvania this summer, premiered in at the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg last Saturday. The Gettysburg Times reported, “The 88-minute movie, created on a $50,000 budget, had crowd members laughing, area residents pointing out places they knew and showed a glimpse of what growing up in south central Pennsylvania was like for [producer/director John] Putch.” His parents are actress Jean Stapleton and William Putch, former artistic director of the Totem Pole Playhouse just west on the Lincoln. A portion of the proceeds from the premier benefit the playhouse and Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.
Olga Herbert, LHHC director, sent these photos and reports, “Route 30 – 3 stories, 1 Highway was a hoot and brought the sellout crowd at Gettysburg’s Majestic Theater to their feet more than once. I’ve already made arrangements with the director to show it in smaller theaters (not the mall cinemas) up and down LH/Route 30 in PA. He’s working on the logistics. I was glad our LH road signs made it to the big screen twice and the script included a reference to LH. You’ll get a bang out of it, and Mister Ed and his Elephant Museum have a pivotal role in the plot.” Judging by the bottom photo, we’ll have to line up to get Mister Ed’s autograph from now on!
And here’s a trailer for the film:
Couple to run Lincoln Highway across Ohio
October 2, 2008Eric Ebbinger writes that he and his wife Misty are combining their love of history, running, and the spirit to run across Ohio next February. To honor of the legacy of President Lincoln, they will begin in February on his 200th birthday and finish the 240-some miles 5 days later on President’s Day: “What better place to focus a birthday celebration of Lincoln than the engineering marvel which bears his name? … It will not be easy, but it will not be impossible. Ok, to be completely honest, most people think we’re crazy. But the road, the towns, the people, and the legacy of Lincoln will be exemplified in every step.”
To help spread the word about the man, the road, and the run, they’ve launched a website thelincolnrun.com. So far, it has only followed the story of Eric’s running but as November and the anniversary of the Gettysburg address approaches, they will “launch a daily celebration of all things Lincoln.” They will also offer a T-shirt for $20 with a portion going to the Lincoln Highway Association.
Lincoln Highway News 