The Tribune-Democrat and Tribune-Review report that Pennsylvania state police have arrested Edgar Clinton Wiltrout, 55, of Ligonier, and charged him with arson in a February 23 fire that destroyed The Hollow Tavern along the Lincoln Highway in Unity Township, Westmoreland County. He also was charged with multiple felony counts of burglary, causing or risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment. Damage was estimated at approximately $450,000 with no injuries reported. Wiltrout is in Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $1 million bail.
Above: A vintage Sleepy Hollow matchbook, courtesy Cyrus Hosmer.
Sleepy Hollow was a popular stop since being built 1939-1940, but suffered after the westbound lanes of Lincoln Highway/US 30 were moved across Loyalhanna Creek.
As we continue sorting things while packing to move, here’s another interesting artifact. When I have a mystery photo or postcard, I usually know the answer as to what or where is it. This time I’m not so sure. I’ve been told this oval brass map showing the Lincoln Highway could have been on a radiator or a gas pump. I know others are out there, but what is it really from?
Texaco ran a publicity campaign in 1929 promoting famous trails across the U.S., most notably the Lincoln Highway. They ran ads in their own corporate magazine, published little strip maps (though a bit inaccurate – see them on my web site), and took 2-page spreads like this one in the Saturday Evening Post. Click the image below to see it larger.
Youngville Cafe along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa is teaming with the Benton County Amateur Radio Club, KØKBX, (K0KBX@fmtcs.com) to put an amateur radio station on the air for 2 days to celebrate “95 Years on the Lincoln Highway. The dates, June 14-15, will coincide with the 16th annual Lincoln Highway Association National Conference in Evanston, Wyoming.
Above: Youngville Station, a beautiful restoration effort on the Lincoln Highway west of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Photo courtesy of G. Januska.
Amateur operators will be at Youngville that weekend, and special certificates will be available for amateurs throughout the country who contact the Special Event station. Times, short wave frequencies, and more information are available from the American Radio Relay League website www.arrl.org (then click on “operating events”) or from Dave Lucas, 4264 Hwy 13, Central City, IA 52214, (319) 438-1763. This event is sanctioned and supported by the ARRL and the Iowa LHA.
Thanks to Van & Bev Becker (and Russell Rein) for the info.
In the just-puublished Spring 2008 Lincoln Highway Forum, long-time editor Gregory Franzwa pays me the compliment that the blog you’re reading might make the magazine’s news column obsolete. Thanks for the kind words GF but there’s lots more news to read in the print version, let alone throughout the rest of the 46 packed pages. Below is the cover – can you name the building and photo location? Answer at the end of this post.
The new issue is filled with rich color images. LHA Past President Randy Wagner shares his photos of Wyoming in preparation for the 2008 national conference in June. You also find color images highlighting the Victory Highway, California happenings, vintage postcards, and even the Lincoln Highway Trading Post (sales benefit the LHA). Click here to learn more about joining the Lincoln Highway Association and getting the quarterly magazine.
Answer to the cover question – that’s the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. It’s named for the novel by Owen Wister, The Virginian, which he wrote in town (before the hotel was built). You can still grab a meal or drink, or stay the night.
The Mid-Week newspaper of DeKalb County, Illinois, reports that a major retail and housing area will be built along the Lincoln Highway at a busy but still rural intersection on the east end of DeKalb. The mixed-use development at the SE corner of IL 38 and Peace Road (an exit off I-88) will feature two hotels, a full-scale restaurant, four fast foods, four retail buildings, a gas station, and 585 houses (each on 1/16 acre). Only one of the four corners currently is occupied – a greenhouse on the NW. Click the image below to see a panorama of the SE corner from Google Street Views.
This combined view is looking east along the Lincoln Highway/IL 38. The development will replace the trees at right; the I-88 interchange is down Peace Road at far right.
John Putch sent along the web site for his next film, Route 30, which features this cool poster. A couple of the taglines are “Three Stories, One Highway” and “The Road of Dreams is a Two Lane Highway.” As John says, filming and the plot itself are centered around the Lincoln Highway, “the corridor of my childhood.” All images reproduced with permission.
Here are some shots from the production – click them to see larger images:
Above: Dana Delany plays Amish Martha, a depressed old maid who smokes, drinks, swears and longs to shave her legs again. She reportedly enjoyed Mister Ed’s Elephant museum. Who doesn’t??
Above: David DeLuise at Mister Ed’s.
Above: Mister Ed at his store with Curtis Armstrong as Ned.
Above: Production crew member Kate Murphy in Caledonia State Park.
Be sure to check out the movie podcasts by clicking the screen shot below. They’re informative, visually rich, and remind us that films don’t have to be elaborate productions. They’re pretty funny too!
A new independent film, Route 30, is being shot in central Pennsylvania. The title, and locations like Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum, might lead you to think it’s a road trip movie along the Lincoln Highway, but this 2-minute clip from Fox 43 News visits writer, director, and producer John Putch filming scenes in the forests of Caledonia State Park between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. He says it was “actually written for the area geographically, and written about the people that meant something to me.” Putch goes on to mention some of the characters, including an eccentric Amish woman and Bigfoot. See my next post for photos from the movie.
As we prepare to move, I spend lots of time sorting and packing. I’ve been looking through my photos lately and am amazed at how much things have changed along the Lincoln Highway in the 20 years since I began photographing it. Here are a couple views from February 1992 of the Star Motel in Minerva, Ohio (22071 US Route 30/E Lincoln Way). The row of rooms remains but was converted years ago into apartments. I believe the sign survives too but repainted and maybe stripped of its neon.
The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor headquartered in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, is cataloging its holdings, and recently came upon this postcard that they could not identify as to location or even if it was in PA.
I mention it in my Lincoln Highway: PA Traveler’s Guide but show a different view (a postcard from Russell Rein, in the book’s first edition, page 297). The cabin camp was 30 miles west of Pittsburgh near Clinton, on the rerouted Lincoln Highway that runs through Chester, West Virginia. A building similar to the one at left survives on the north side, and a cabin is in an adjacent residential back yard.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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Another fun book! The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway recalls the greatest roadside attraction along the coast-to-coast road.
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