The Chambersburg Public Opinionreports that the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor will hold an open house in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to present ideas and discussions for marketing and preserving the Lincoln Highway. The open house will be from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in the Disabled American Veterans building, 2705 Lincoln Way West.
Representatives will discuss projects such as Franklin County’s Roadside Giant (an old fruit truck at Shatzer’s Orchard on Lincoln Way West, seen above), restoration of a 1930s diner, the MVPA 2009 Transcontinental Motor Convoy, and information about the Lincoln Highway beyond Franklin County. For information, call (724) 238-9030.
The Boulder Daily Camerahas a nice story on the Circle Motel in Lafayette, just north of Denver on the Lincoln Highway’s Colorado Loop. Like many mid-century motels, it wavers between identies of classic architecture (it was once the Lafayette Cabin Camp) and a modern trouble spot. Preservationists want to preserve it as a symbol of city’s early highway history while critics consider it blight.
Kenneth Foote, a member of Lafayette’s Historic Preservation Board, said the motel on the edge of Old Town is the last building left that’s associated with the city’s early highway history….
“This building has outlasted its life span,” said owner Mike Macinko. “It should be scrapped. There’s infinitely more bad history here than good.”
The motel, one of the few options for those who don’t have the money for a down payment and don’t want a long-term lease, has long had a reputation for attracting drug dealers, sex offenders and others living on the edges of society….
Count former owner Phyllis McGlathery as a preservation proponent…. She became interested in the property’s history after receiving a letter from the National Park Service about the Circle Motel’s connection to the Lincoln Highway. A historic survey commissioned by Lafayette in 2008 described the Circle Motel as the “best example of properties related to the 1920s-1930s rise of the auto-related retail and service economy” in the city. According to the survey, the property represents the prominent economic role of the Denver Loop of the Lincoln Highway….
Macinko, the owner, said he’s not interested in applying for local landmark designation…. His plans include razing all the buildings and replacing them with small, energy-efficient apartments. In a nod to the motel’s lengthy history, he said, he would try to incorporate the look and feel of the place in a new design and keep the original cottage….
The article includes a history of the property and long list of criminal problems there in the past 5 years.
Join the fun tomorrow, October 3, when plaques will be dedicated in Indiana at both ends of the Lincoln Highway’s Ideal Section, an early study of modern highway construction. The west sign will be in front of the First Midwest Bank in Dyer. The east sign will be in front of the Home Town Motel in Schererville.
Above is the original Ideal Section monument; below is a great old photo in Dyer from Kathy Powers, Dyer Historical Society.
Reception at 1:00 p.m. CDT, Dyer Historical Society
• Greet Art Schweitzer, local LH advocate and preservationist
• Browse the museum and see a newly donated 1928 LH post
• Meet LH authors Cynthia Ogorek and Jan Shupert-Arick.
• Enjoy refreshments provided by the Dyer Historical Society
Program at 1:30 p.m. CDT
• Presentations by LHA and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
Plaque Dedications at 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Depart museum and go to the west end of the Ideal Section to dedicate a new plaque
• Then go to the east end to dedicate the second plaque in Schererville
Kathy offers some history behind the new markers:
Art Schweitzer, Schererville Historical Society, began this project several years ago. Because of state mandates there were many delays. When I approached our town manager, Joe Neeb, he picked up the ball and began working on the project. He arranged a meeting with the Schererville town manager, Bob Volkman, Schererville Town Council member, Tom Schmidt, Art Schweitzer, Cynthia Ogorek, author of “Lincoln Highway around Chicago,” Dennis Hawrot, Betty Jonas, and myself. Plans and ideas were discussed. Bob Volkman contacted Décor Iron Works who built posts for the signs and each town’s public works men installed the signs. Our sign is on a state poured concrete pad on a break-away post in front of First Midwest Bank. The sign itself was paid in large part by monies received from Bank Calumet thanks to Cal Bellamy. The Dyer Historical Society also contributed money.
A Flickr user named Bill posts photos of road trips taken on his the Honda ST1100 named “SilverSTreak.” He recently documented his wonderful cross-country journey along much of the 1913 alignment of the Lincoln Highway at www.flickr.com/photos/silverstreakst/3915870529/.
A monument for Lincoln Highway “father and founder” Carl Fisher will be dedicated this Saturday, October 3, 2009, at Fisher Pass in central Utah. Family member Jerry Fisher, who wrote The Pacesetter biography of Carl, will sign books afterwards. The site of the monument is at a crest on UT route 199 between Clover and Terra, Utah.
Guiding force Rollin Southwell writes:
Its been a long haul and we have lost a few of our committee members that gave their time and first $1000.00 for this project. They are the late Thomas A See and the late Norma Berns. But with the help,support and donations we are ready. A great big thank you goes to Stephen Ehninger of EFT Architects, Jerry Timmins, Jack Mason, Kenn Gillette with UDOT-Region 2, American Road Magazine, National Lincoln Highway Assoc. and State Chapters.
Fisher Pass was part of a plan by the Lincoln Highway Association to shorten the route across the Great Salt Desert. Using what was then calledJohnson Pass and building a road across the great Salt Flat (Goodyear Cutoff) would shorten the distance between Salt Lake City, Ut and Ely, NV by some 50 miles. Though the Cutoff was never compleed, Fisher Pass was finished. The State of Utah received Fisher money with interest, but the agreement was never completed as it was to include a monument to Fisher. The RG Southwell Foundation has led the charge in recent years to finally complete the task. Learn more at fisherpass.com/.
The Chambersburg Public Opinion reports that Pennnsylvania’s Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor appears to be one of the casualties of Pennsylvania’s budget battle.
Funding for the historical organization currently isn’t on any recent version of the Commonwealth’s budget, according to Kristin Poerschke, office manager for the Heritage Corridor in Ligioner. Should the organization not be funded with state dollars it would leave them looking at fundraising as its primary source of income potentially.
The Heritage Corridor was started in April 1995 and is one of 12 special “Heritage Areas” in the state devoted to promoting Pennsylvania’s Heritage. The corridor is composed of about 200 miles of U.S. 30, starting in Adams County and traveling west to Westmoreland County….
In previous years, Heritage Areas were funded through the state, with $1.95 million being divided among the dozen organizations. Should the budget pass without funding for the Heritage Areas, the Heritage Corridor will find itself in unfamiliar territory….
The organization will look to raise funding by holding events rather than soliciting donations, she said. The corridor will host an “An Affair with Lincoln” in Ligonier in December that will include arts, crafts, music and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator.
Visit the heritage corridor HQ at 215 East Main St, Ligonier, PA, or go to www.lhhc.org/.
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition’s first Interpretive Gazebo was dedicated on Sunday, September 20, in Creston, Illinois. Diane Rossiter, director of the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, says 15 more gazebos are being constructed across the state in the Illinois Lincoln Highway Corridor: “With the approval of an FHWA Implementation Grant and a Transportation Enhancement Grant, the gazebos are being developed in cooperation with the City of Dixon, Wendler Engineering of Dixon, Horizon Displays of DeKalb, Sebastian Construction of Brookfield and – last, but not least – with the continued support of our community partners.”
The project is expected to be completed by the end of October, perfect time to take a cruise through Illinois. For more information, visit www.drivelincolnhighway.com/.
An avalanche of work has made me fall way behind posting updates, but here’s something you’ll enjoy on YouTube – a clip of “Fording the Lincoln Highway,” the silent film made by Ford Motor Company about the 10-millionth Model T’s promotional tour from New York to San Francisco on the Lincoln Highway in 1924:
The September newsletter arrived from the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) with a report on the completion of the first of 16 Interpretive Gazebos to be constructed along the Illinois Lincoln Highway corridor. There’s also a report on the National Scenic Byways Conference that was held in Denver, and lots else too. Ask to have them emailed to you too at www.drivelincolnhighway.com/.
The Carroll, Iowa, Chamber of Commerce blog reports on three upcoming events that, while not directly Lincoln Highway related, nonetheless have the coast-to-coast road as a focus.
A lecture on Sept. 24 is for business leaders who want to hear how byways can have a positive impact on a community from an identity perspective as well as economically. The free lecture at Santa Maria starts at 7:00 pm, meal at 6:00 pm (reservations required).
Bus tours on Sept. 29 and 30 are also for leaders and business owners who want to see what the tourists see between Grand Junction and Westside: “Seen from the eyes of a New York traveler who knows nothing of Iowa, our history and land is new to them and not boring. With some interpretation sites to point out, we can attract tourists just as Route 66 does in the south.”
Walking Across America is “supporting education with a virtual walk from San Francisco to New York City” by following the Lincoln Highway. Check out the blog at lincolnhighway.wordpress.com starting with today’s “departure” from the Western Terminus marker.
The blogger, Kyla, is a copy editor from California’s Central Valley:
For a few months, I’ve been watching several of my friends and co-workers go out into the world, making a difference and having adventures at the same time. I’d love to join them, but at the moment I can’t afford any adventures. So I decided to make my own!
I’ve always wanted to walk across the United States, and with the Lincoln Highway going from San Francisco through my hometown, Galt, all the way to New York City, that seemed like the perfect route to start with. I’m not really going to be able to walk it, but I thought a “virtual” road trip would be almost as fun and just as educational!
What I’m going to do:
1. Walk at least seven miles a week (that’s a mile a day) and hopefully more (and maybe get a little fitter in the process).
2. Write a little about each “stop” on the highway as I reach it, and, if I can find people to help me out with this step, post photos.
3. Raise money to help kids in low-income schools learn about American history, geography and literature.
If you live along the route and want to send one or two photos of your town or the highway itself, I’d love to post them here (with credit, of course!). Just send them to kyla(dot)cathey(at)gmail.com.
And if you can find it in your heart to donate a few dollars to help buy books and supplies for low-income schools, I’ve started a challenge on DonorsChoose.org/.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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