The photo below (courtesy Jim Kearns, Manager, University of Wyoming Media Relations) shows sculptor Robert Russin and assistants working on the bust of Abraham Lincoln that they built in 1959 to honor Lincoln’s 150th birthday. Its location in eastern Wyoming also marked the highest point on the Lincoln Highway: 8,835 feet.
According to the Laramie Area Chamber and Albany County Tourism Board, Russin spent 11 months building the 4,500 lb. sculpture. The head’s 30 pieces were cast in Mexico City so that they could work in a constant favorable climate, then the bronze pieces were sent by rail back to Wyoming to be bolted together. The 13.5-foot-tall bust was then set atop a 35-foot-tall cut-granite base built by local crews. The inside is hollow to hold ladders and lightning rods. In 1969, the monument was moved (during a snowstorm!) about a half mile to a rest stop when I-80 opened between Cheyenne and Laramie. It’s now at the highest point along I-80: 8,640 feet.
The visitors center (above) has an informational panel about the monument and the Lincoln Highway. In 2001, the Henry B. Joy monument with four Lincoln Highway concrete posts was moved there from the Continental Divide interchange about a hundred miles to the west. Russin’s fascination with the president went beyond the monument: he named his second son Lincoln.
The University of Wyoming reports that retired art professor Robert I. Russin has died at 93. His best-known sculpture, at least to Lincoln Highway fans, is the blocky bust of Lincoln atop Sherman Summit along the LH/I-80 in eastern Wyoming. It was created in 1959 to honor the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.
The monument originally sat along the Lincoln Highway. When I-80 was completed over the rise in 1969, the monument was moved almost a half-mile east to the Summit Rest Area at the Happy Jack Road interchange, exit 323. Russin used 10 tons of clay and 11 months to complete the 12.5-foot-tall bronze base and bust.
Details of Russin’s life and work can be found in an LA Timesobituary story.
As reported here previously, Idlewild Park along the Lincoln Highway in Ligonier, Pennsylvaia, will be sold as part of Kennywood Entertainment to Parques Reunidos of Spain, the third-largest European operator of amusement parks. The company only entered the U.S. market two months ago by purchasing 33 water parks. A British private equity firm acquired the company in January 2007 for $1.22 billion—such corporate entanglements worry fans of Idlewild and the other old-fashioned parks currently owned by parent park and company Kennywood.
Here are some vintage postcards showing how Idlewild’s entrance changed over time (the first is from Cy Hosmer). The same round building can be seen in the first two views. This area still serves as an exit but the entrance was moved to the east years ago so that waiting cars would not back up onto the LH/US 30.
In our review of Traveling the … Historic Three by John and Lenore Weiss (which follows the Lincoln and Dixie Highways and Route 66), I mentioned Elaine E. Egdorf. Not only does she manage the Drivin’ the Dixie website, but as chairman of the Village of Homewood Heritage Committee, she got a Dixie Highway marker for Homewood, south of Chicago. The committee and the Homewood Historical Society (she was founding president) paid for the marker, which was dedicated in 2003 with a large ceremony. It was re-dedicated in 2005 as part of the kick-off for Illinois State Historical Society Markers week. The Dixie Highway communities also were recognized with a Superior Achievement Award from the ISHS for the unique way they pulled together towns, historical societies, and chambers of commerce to promote Illinois history.
The Dixie Highway was another idea of Lincoln Highway founder Carl Fisher. His north-south path was said to have been created so his wealthy auto-industry pals could more easily travel south to Fisher’s Miami Beach land developments. The Dixie was not as direct as the Lincoln, but rather a braid of roads from Sou. Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Miami, Florida. The route is now identified throughout Illinois (except Chicago) with red, white, and blue metal street signs, street pole banners, and state markers. One of at least six intersections of the Lincoln and Dixie Highways is at Chicago Heights: the roads run together for almost two miles there and their meeting is commemorated by the Arche Memorial Fountain.
Above: Redd Griffin, Oak Park; Elaine Egdorf, Homewood; Arthur Martin, Chicago, at the rededication in 2005. All are on the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Historical Society.
This group’s Triangle Tour has actually evolved into Drivin’ the Dixie, a moving car show and tour from Blue Island to Momence. A passport listing events in towns along the route can be stamped at historic sites; each town donates two prizes, and for each stamp, participants get a free raffle ticket. Last year about 200 cars total participated, mostly vintage cars. It’s nice to see such support for a road that played such a big role in early auto history.
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) recently received $443,000 in federal grants for its National Scenic Byway program, a designation the Lincoln Highway through Illinois received in 2000. The funds will be used over the next 3 years to produce interpretive murals in 40 communities along the 179-mile route through the state. Each mural will interpret the history and heritage of the highway and its impact on the communities, and a companion brochure will summarize their locations and messages.
Diane Rossiter, Associate Director of ILHC, says, “We are excited to begin this new project! This money, plus the $40,000 we just received from the state and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism will make it all happen. Our hope is that visitors will be compelled to travel Illinois Lincoln Highway and discover all that it has to offer.”
Three murals are already complete: Creston was unveiled in May 2006, DeKalb in October ’06, and Rochelle in May ’07 (see photo and closeup above, courtesy ILHC). Some of the communities slated to receive a mural are Ashton, Byron, Cortland, Dixon, Genoa, Oregon, Rock Falls, Sterling, and Sycamore, not all of which are directly along the LH, but are considered withing the “corridor.” That can generate broader interest and awareness but may lead to some confusion.
ILHC will start work on 20 interpretive gazebos in the Spring in such communities as DeKalb, Dixon, Oregon, and Rochelle. Rossiter says,
“Our intent is to place a historical mural in each community that lines the highway and those along the corridor also. The communities will be charged with finding a building location and researching possible story ideas. Each mural will be painted on substrate material and will be mounted to the side of the building. This works much better than painting on the building itself, because it can be taken down for upkeep or if the building needs repairs. When all are completed, a brochure will be created detailing each mural and its location along with the location of the interpretive gazebos. There are no gazebos completed as of yet, but our hope is to begin construction in the spring.”
Visit www.drivelincolnhighway.com or phone (815) 547-3854 for more information on the Lincoln Highway through Illinois.
Idlewild & Soakzone, a family-style amusement and water park along the Lincoln Highway in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, is set to be sold to Parques Reunidos, a Spanish company that manages 61 parks in Europe and America. Starting as a picnic grove for the Ligonier Valley Railroad in 1878, rides were added in 1931, and Story Book Forest fairy tale park in 1956 (a rare survivor of that era). It also includes an official Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Of Make Believe trolley ride and a Lincoln Highway-themed photo-op created by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor (as seen below in their photo):
Idlewild has been operated since 1983 by Kennywood Entertainment, a family-owned company that also operates two vintage parks in New England and two properties not far from the Lincoln Highway near Pittsburgh: a water park and Kennywood Park in West Mifflin. Kennywood Park itself is an institution; starting as a trolley park in 1896, it was purchased in 1906 by F.W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan, whose familes have owned and operated it since. It’s also within walking distance of where I’ve lived my entire life, so friends are quite impassioned about the surprise announcement. Both parks are full of vintage rides such as Kennywood’s Auto Ride at left.
Commentors to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are overwhelmingly concerned about the changes a large corporation might bring, and that the cherished American sites will be owned by an overseas firm. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review likewise reports that people in the Ligonier Valley have mixed emotions, hoping that promises to maintain Idlewild’s atmosphere will prevail over corporate cost-cutting. Kennywood’s current owners assure the public that the new company is committed to maintaining everything that people love about the parks.
Another Trib article says that half the new owner’s parks (in fact, the 33 US locations) were just bought in October:
Parques Reunidos has grown quickly since its acquisition in January by the London-based Candover private equity investment fund for $1.22 billion. Kennywood said the Spanish company approached its owners with an offer as part of a plan to expand its ownership of family entertainment venues worldwide.
Remember those great gift shops and souvenir stands with all kinds of wacky stuff to buy? And how little (if anything) your parents let you get?? Well you’re grown up — you can stop now and stock up. BUT WAIT! Where’d they all go? Yes, very few survive, so when you do see one, it’s even more important you stop — to satisfy your souvenir craving and to help keep the place in business.
Thankfully in the 20 years I’ve been stopping at Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum, it’s only gotten BETTER. Ed Gotwalt received his first elephant as a wedding gift in 1967 and began collecting anything related to the animal. When his collection outgrew the house, he opened a general store to display them. The current location has old-fashioned candy, wacky new candy creations, elephant-themed gifts, and of course, roasted peanuts. The museum holds more than 6,000 elephant collectibles. (Miss Ellie, the talking elephant outisde, says 4,000 in the video below, but I think they forget to tell her the most recent figure.)
Mister Ed’s is located at 6019 Chambersburg Road (between old and new Lincoln Highway routes) between Gettysburg and Chambersburg. It’s open daily 10 am – 5 pm, and admission is FREE.
Try out this video — my first on YouTube! — taken in October with my still digital camera’s video option. It’s only 20 seconds long but you’ll hear the fiberglass Miss Ellie Phant talk a bit about the place.
Another interesting shot from John and Lenore Weiss is this distinctive but abandoned gas station located somewhere in the middle of the US – that’s all I’ll say to start since RoadDog guessed the last one pretty quickly! Know where it’s at? Please leave your guesses by clicking Comments below the picture.
Here’s a relaxing ride on the Lincoln Highway/US 40 starting just west of Donner Summit in California.
The motorcycles (one following another) head east, top the summit, cross the Rainbow Bridge (site of the recent bear rescue), and pull over for a view of Donner Lake below. Then it’s back of the road among the pine trees and gentle curves as the highway descends the mountain. Much smoother than most videos shot form a moving vehicle. Note that the bridge is a later alignment – the original Lincoln Highway curved under the tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad, to the right of the bridge, and can still be walked.
Video by Mellowmike43, added August 2007, with music by Arlo Guthrie.
Above: Youngville Station, a beautiful restoration effort on the Lincoln Highway west of Cedar Rapids. When it’s open, visitors will find great pie and a historical display. The photos here show places NOT in the radio tour. Photo courtesy of G. Januska.
Gianofer Fields of Chicago Public Radio has completed her Lincoln Highway tour, but after 5 entries (plus a launch segment), she stopped along the Lincoln only 1 of those 6 days. As she admitted on the third day, ” I’m starting to rethink my whole Lincoln Highway plan. Maybe I should forget my linear route and think of the highway as a springboard.” Here are her topics:
Launch: Burlington’s Crookedest Street
1: Eldon’s American Gothic house
2: Missouri Valley’s Welcome Center and Museum of Religious Arts
3: Elkhorn’s Danish Windmill
4: Amana Colonies
5: Le Claire’s Buffalo Bill Museum
All very interesting, but only #2 is along the Lincoln Highway. What did she miss?
Trying to think of a list as quickly as possible, I came up with:
• Smith Brothers General Store in Clinton
• Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and Grant Wood Studio
• Youngville Station (top photo)
• Lincoln Cafe and Preston’s station in Belle Plaine
• King Tower Cafe (above) and LH bridge in Tama
• Shady Oaks Tree House east of Marshalltown
• Niland’s Cafe in Colo
• Three concrete bridges on the old road near Grand Junction
• Lincoln statue and carillon tower in Jefferson
• Moss markers with Lincoln busts north of Scranton (below)
• Spanish-deco Park Motel in Dennison
• Woodbine’s brick streets and Brick Street Station
• Loess Hills winding road across from Omaha
There’s lots more, from great old signs and garages to wonderful people in the diners and coffee shops along the way. What is your favorite?
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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In our review of Traveling the … Historic Three by 
Idlewild & Soakzone
It’s also within walking distance of where I’ve lived my entire life, so friends are quite impassioned about the surprise announcement. Both parks are full of vintage rides such as Kennywood’s Auto Ride at left.
Lincoln Highway News 