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Posts Tagged ‘Dixie Highway’

From Netherlands to tour the Lincoln Highway

August 30, 2011

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Harold de Bock, who lives in Holland (but studied at IU Bloomington Indiana in the 1970s) is about to depart on a Lincoln Highway trip across the Midwest. He’ll pick up his motorcycle — a 1980 Yamaha XS850 Midnight Special — on Wednesday Aug 31 to test ride the bike after 2 years of idle, then on September 6 he will start his LH adventure in Fort Wayne at Cindy’s Diner. He’s meeting a guy who has the same type vintage motorcycle and will travel that afternoon to about Valparaiso. He continues:

September 7 I hope to have coffee in the morning with the LHA’s Jeffrey Blair. And then later in the day I will meet another person at Rochelle who also has the same motorcycle as I do and he will ride Lincoln Highway with me. So, as opposed to R66 and Dixie Highway which I did solo, this will be a ride-for-two. I will ride US 6 (Grand Army of the Republic Highway) back. I need to be back in Bloomington for the centennial celebration of the School of Journalism at Indiana University, my alma mater 1971-1974.

I have copied the detailed maps from your Lincoln Highway Companion book on A4’s which I will have in a plastic folder on top of my fuel tank – so you will be my guide.

Look for his first entry at:
www.yamaha-triples.org/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=15202&posts=5

For English language ride reports visit his site www.harolddebock.nl/?page_id=16 (they appeared originally in the Ride Report Forum on http://yamaha-triples.org/ – the site also contains two extensive Pictorial Sagas of those trips).
Twitter @harolddebock

Tags:Cindy's Diner, Dixie Highway, Fort Wayne IN, highway history, historic highway, Indiana, Lincoln Highway, Netherlands traveler
Posted in highways, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | 2 Comments »

Highway authors, artists wanted for conference

May 14, 2009

Attendees to the 2009 LHA conference in South Bend, Indiana, are looking forward to meeting authors and artists on June 18th. If your work focuses on the Lincoln Highway or Dixie Highway, please contact Jan Shupert-Arick at (260) 452-8140 and ask to be part of the authors and artists celebration. There is no charge to participate — bring your books/artwork and a table covering. The public is also invited to meet the authors and artists.
butko_lincolnhighwaypa

Tags:Dixie Highway, highway history, historic highway conference, Lincoln Highway, old maps and brochures, South Bend IN
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation | Leave a Comment »

Lincoln and Dixie Highways share ties in Illinois

December 14, 2007

Dixie H banner 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.

IL_Dix_MkrReded05

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.

10 x 10 white square

Dixie H map

10 x 10 white square

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.

IL_Dixie car show