January 24, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
For the past few years, the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition has been producing a series of Interpretive Murals and Gazebos along the Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway and its 179-mile corridor in northern Illinois. Each mural depicts the history, heritage and events of the highway and its impact on the communities. For the gazebos, four panels tell the story of the highway’s history and culture, including one dedicated to the community and its connection to the highway.
Above, the mural at Fulton depicts the bridge that crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa.
Now a list of both murals and gazebos — along with images of each location — are online for viewing or making a check-off list for your next road trip:
www.drivelincolnhighway.com/murals.html
www.drivelincolnhighway.com/gazebos.html
- Need more LH info? Order Lincoln Highway Companion from Amazon – click HERE
Tags: Fulton IL, highway history, historic highway, Illinois, interpretive murals, Lincoln Highway
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January 9, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Stuck inside with no road trips till Spring? Click on over to mylincolnhighway.com for a fun look at some LH travels in Ohio. Jamie calls her blog “A somewhat baised guide to the greatest road across the USA.”
Her trips so far are mostly in east-central Ohio but she’s also traveled a few times to Grand View Point near Bedford, Pennsylvania, and even visited the new Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum past Chambersburg. Below, she is at Grand View Point (which was renamed Mt. Ararat a couple decades ago when the Ship Hotel was ark-ified). The view of the gas station across the road. Note the pillar on the right is missing, spelling certain doom for the roof. Also note the graffiti artist reminding us of their trip in “20010”!
Tags: highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, PA, Road trip, roadside attraction, travel, US 30
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, travel | 5 Comments »
January 2, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The El Cerrito [Calif.] Patch ran an article by Rich Bartke, president of the El Cerrito Historical Society, about the Lincoln Highway. The story concentrates on the San Pablo Avenue, the main artery through El Cerrito, about 10 miles north of Oakland. Early local history is recounted along with Lincoln Highway milestones. The historical society is considering the purchase of two or four new Lincoln Highway signs to identify San Pablo Avenue as a portion of The Lincoln Highway. In 1926, Bartke’s father drove the entire cross-country route in a Model T and snapped the photo below.
Tags: California, El Cerrito CA, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Model T, Oakland CA, Road trip, travel
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December 16, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor has a new home along the Lincoln Highway between Greensburg and Ligonier. LHHC has purchased the 1815 stone Johnston House across from the Kingston Dam. The site will eventually be home to the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum, which will include the restored Serro’s Diner that sat along the LH in Irwin.
LHHC is holding a Grand Opening of its gift shop today, Friday, December 16, 2011, from 3 to 7 p.m. Hot cider and gingerbread will be served. In addition to Lincoln Highway memorabilia and books, you’ll find many fine crafts from the Handmade Along the Highway program.
Contact LHHC at 3435 Route 30 East, Latrobe, PA 15650. New phone: 724-879-4241. www.lhhc.org/.
Tags: highway history, historic highway, LHHC, Ligonier PA, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel, US 30
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December 15, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Mike Kaelin of Tracy, Calif., sends word that Francis (Frank) H. Duarte, 96, passed away on Nov. 22, 2011. He was the last business owner of the iconic Duarte’s Lincoln Highway Garage in Livermore. Frank was born in 1915, the year of the Pan-Pacific International Expo in San Francisco, a prime destination that year for Lincoln Highway travelers. Coincidently, the California LHA Chapter is planning its Winter meeting at Duarte’s Garage on Jan. 7, 2012.
Frank had bought and managed Duarte’s Garage after his discharge from the Army Air Corps in 1945. he had already worked there for his father, Frank, since 1934, then enlisted as an aircraft mechanic in 1939. He is survived by two nieces. Services on Dec. 14 were private, and Frank was interred at St.Michael Cemetery in Livermore. Donations in his name may be made to the Duarte Garage Museum, now operated by the Livermore Heritage Guild. Learn more about the garage and museum at www.livermorehistory.com/.
Tags: California, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Livermore CA, vintage gas station
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December 14, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition has installed the next in the series of Interpretive Murals along the 179-mile Illinois byway corridor. The mural on a township building at 11008 West Lincoln Highway/US 30 in Frankfort, Illinois, depicts the actual Eagle Scouts and Scout leaders who made a Nationwide Safety Tour along the Lincoln Highway in 1928.
The tour was a promotion of the Lincoln Highway and the Scouts’ plan to place concrete markers along the route. The story of their adventure giving safety daily demonstrations, “good road turns,” and helping out wherever needed is told in the mural. Specifically named is Eagle Scout Bernie Queneau, now age 99 and still one of the Lincoln Highway’s leading supporters.
For information on the Lincoln Highway in Illinois, including places to see, stories of the highway’s significance, or to download an Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide, visit drivelincolnhighway.com/.
Tags: highway history, historic highway, Illinois, interpretive mural, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, US 30
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December 13, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Recent blog posts from “Endless streams and forests” have visited a number of Lincoln Highway locales. The writer, Jenny, lives in Asheville, North Carolina, but has traveled far and wide; many of her posts are about the outdoors and “landscape viewed through the filter of history, literature, art, or philosophy.”
Lincoln Highway travels so far have been mostly across Pennsylvania, such as a visit (above) to Williams Deluxe Cabins in Exton.
Tags: Exton PA, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, motel, PA, roadside
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November 23, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran an update about the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor’s plan to open an interpretive center in Pennsylvania. Included was news of the former Serro’s Diner being restored. That diner — which I led the effort to rescue in 1992 for the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (my employer, then and now) — will once again serve travelers, at least with pie and coffee.
The LHHC plans to open the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum in Unity (between Latrobe and Ligonier) near the Kingston Bridge (as of 2012, the museum has opened). The diner is being restored by Travis Smeltzer and his crew from Travis Smeltzer Construction of Apollo, in consultation with preservationists. Smeltzer hopes to have the diner back to its original glory by this spring. The diner was originally bought by the Serro family from the Jerry O’Mahony Diner Co. in New Jersey. There was table seating for 16 patrons and 16 stools at the counter.
The 1938 O’Mahony diner, originally along Lincoln Highway/US 30 in Irwin, was moved to south of Greensburg in 1958 when the Serro family purchased a stainelss steeel-clad diner. John and Lillian Rolka operated it as the Willow Diner until 1992, when it was sold to HSWP, which donated it to the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor in 2003.
From the article:
“We never know what we are going to find,” said Smeltzer as he emptied a bag of muddy silverware found behind the cooking counters of the 1938 diner that first operated on Route 30 in Irwin. All of the items — along with an apron, condiment bottles, bread baskets, ashtrays, old newspapers and receipts — have been cataloged.
“With any project you peel away layers,” said Olga Herbert, executive director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. “You never know what’s there until you remove the layers.”
Crews discovered stained glass windows under several coats of paint. Beneath a linoleum floor, they found maple floors. The biggest surprise was a solid mahogany refrigerator, with glass-door insets, buried underneath stainless steel framing.
The Unity site includes a stone, Colonial-style home and former tavern built by Alexander Johnston in 1815. The historic landmark, once called the Kingston House and later known as the Johnston House, will house thousands of Lincoln Highway artifacts including signs, vintage postcards and photographs, and other highway memorabilia.
Read more at
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_768642.html
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, museum, Road trip, roadside, travel | 5 Comments »
November 21, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Christopher Noel Plummer, a past president of the Lincoln Highway Association, died November 15, 2011, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Christopher was born December 19, 1950 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 28 at 11:00 am at the Bridger Valley Baptist Church.
Christopher worked for Tata Chemical in Green River, Wyoming. He enjoyed collecting cars and watching races. He is survived by his wife, Carol Graeber Plummer; son Aaron (Kristen) Plummer of Kennewick, Washington; step-sons Bill (Dawn) Morgan of Overland Park, Kansas, John (Anya) Morgan of Littleton, Colorado, Jeff (Kristin) Morgan of Parker, Colorado; step-daughters Cristel Morgan of Glenrock, Wyoming, and Jennifer Morgan of Ontario, California; 11 grandchildren and a brother Mark Plummer.
Thanks to Kelly Hughes, curator at Bridger Valley Heritage Museum, and Russell Rein for the information. For more, see Crandall Funeral Home.
Tags: historic highway, Lincoln Highway, travel, Wyoming
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November 18, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
WTCA-AM serving Plymouth and north-central Indiana reports that the dedication of a stone Lincoln Highway Kiosk in the 200 block of East Jefferson Street in Plymouth is set for Saturday, November 19, at 1:00 p.m.
The paper (which published the photo above) reported:
The designation came after more than four years of planning by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association which culminated in a presentation to state officials in April 2010. Plymouth resident Kurt Garner assisted the INLHA (Indiana Lincoln Highway Association) with survey work of the route….
Establishing the route of the highway was mixed with factors such as population centers, grade and land formations, and by influence of politicians. “These factors all played a role in Indiana where a unique situation developed creating a later southern alignment through Plymouth in 1928,” Garner said.
Garner believes the project completion will lead to marketing opportunities for Marshall County. He said, “The Lincoln Highway is already marked across most of Indiana. The INLHA has developed a byway committee that will begin making marketing plans for communities along the route.”
Tags: highway history, historic highway, historical kiosk, Indiana, Lincoln Highway, Plymouth IN, Road trip, roadside
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Lincoln Highway News 