Posts Tagged ‘historic highway’
March 22, 2010
The Salt Lake Tribune ran a feature story (and the photo below) about the retirement of Jay Banta as manager of Fish Springs National Wilflife Refuge, an oasis along the Lincoln Highway in dusty central Utah. Banta, long-time LHA member and membership director, has managed the preserve for the past 19 years. He’s also become an authority on fabled rancher and auto-service provider John Thomas, who pulled motorists from quagmires a century ago.
Jay Banta, known for his long beard, strong opinions and passion for all things wild, is calling it a career this week, exactly to the day he came to the most remote national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states as its manager. How far off the beaten track is Fish Springs? Consider that the only way to reach the refuge is on a dirt road along a path that once served as the route for the Pony Express, the first transcontinental telegraph and the Lincoln Highway. The dirt roads are so bad that Banta always purchased lifetime warranties on tires, shocks and mufflers.
After working at Fish Springs as a seasonal employee in 1981 and 1982, Banta dreamed of coming back to the 17,992-acre oasis in the desert. It was established as a refuge in 1959 to provide habitat for migrating and wintering birds. “I think some people are possessed by this place,” he said. “I was possessed.”…
Banta has built a new house in Torrey where he plans to retire. He has part-time work lined up, including working as a barista to support his coffee habit.
Tags:early motoring, Fish Springs wildelife preserve, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Utah
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
March 16, 2010
With Spring weather arriving, don’t forget that the 2010 Lincoln Highway Driving Maps CDs are now available through the Lincoln Highway Trading Post.
LHA mapping committee director Paul Gilger notes that, although you can view the 2010 map files with earlier versions of DeLorme, it is best to view the new maps with the new 2010 DeLorme program, as DeLorme adjusted a significant number of new vector points. The 2010 CDs and DeLorme program are available through the LH Trading Post, and purchases in part support the LHA:
http://www.lhtp.com/Store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=137
There are many improvements to the maps this year, including the three Chicago Feeder Routes. Paul says, “A big thank you goes to Jan Shupert-Arick and Fred Sachtleben who sent me a full-size scan of a wonderful 1921 Rand McNally Auto Trails Map of the entire Chicago area. The map has 34 auto trails mapped out, and has the LH routes clearly marked.”
Here’s a partial list of some of the map improvements and additions for 2010:
New York: new Eastern Terminus sign at Times Square.
New Jersey: confirmation of 49th Street from JFK East to JFK West.
Pennsylvania: addition of all 70+ Pennsylvania Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor murals, exhibits and roadside giants sculptures.
Washington DC Loop: possible alternate route through Bel Air now shown, Zero Milestone added in White House Ellipse.
Ohio: adjustments made to 1918 alignments through Canton, Mansfield & Lima, new brick monument locations added.
Indiana: adjustments of routes through Ft Wayne, Eastern Feeder Route to Chicago (from Dyer) added.
Illinois: Southern Feeder Route to Chicago (from Chicago Heights), and Western Feeder Route to Chicago (from Geneva) added, Lincoln statue added at Chicago Heights.
Nebraska: new LH historic marker locations added.
Wyoming: Matthew Shepard memorial added at Laramie next to the LH, previously unknown 1913 alignment added east of Evanston.
Utah: nine new map updates due to further research by Jess Petersen, new Fisher Pass Monument added.
Nevada: alignment corrections made through Sparks and Reno.
California: previously unknown 1913 alignment added near Auburn.
U.S.: Locations of businesses and tourist spots featured in the PBS documentary A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway added.
Tags:driving old roads, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, maps of old roads
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | Leave a Comment »
March 8, 2010
Author Lee Whiteley will present “Old Trails of Northern Colorado: From Foot Paths to Interstate” at 7 p.m. tonight, March 8, at the Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland, Colorado. The slide show, sponsored by the Loveland Historical Society, will revisit the Trappers’ Trail, Cherokee Trail, Overland Trail, several auto trails, and the Lincoln Highway’s controversial routing through the state. The program is open to the public; donations are accepted. Call Sharon Danhauer at (970) 290-0169 for details.
Whiteley and his wife Jane are experts on the auto trails through Colorado, including the Llncoln Highway; they wrote the book below to coincide with the LHA conference there in 2007.
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Tags:auto trails, COlorado, emigrant trails, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Loveland CO, pioneer trails
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, museum, signs, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »
March 4, 2010
My editor, Kyle Weaver, has asked a number of times if there are enough haunted places along the Lincoln Highway to fill a book. I know of many rumors but only a couple stories (and ghosts) jump out. How about it — do you know of any good ghost stories from the Lincoln Highway?
PS: Today’s blog title is a reference to a song by Buddy Nutt that I love, “Goin All the Way (on the Lincoln Highway).” To hear an extended demo of the one heard in Rick Sebak’s PBS special about the Lincoln Highway, CLICK HERE.
Tags:ghosts on the highway, haunted highway, historic highway, Lincoln Highway
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation | 3 Comments »
March 1, 2010
Another Lincoln Highway mural was unveiled in Illinios on Friday, February 19. The mural in Joliet tells the story of auto camping and campgrounds such as the one in the city’s Pilcher Park. This mural is the second in a series of 40 that will be installed within the Illinois Lincoln Highway’s corridor by Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition with funds received from a Federal Highway Administration grant. ILHC is the byway management agency for Illinois Lincoln Highway, the only National Scenic Byway in northern Illinois.
Learn more at www.drivelincolnhighway.com/.
Tags:highway mural, historic highway, Joliet IL, Lincoln Highway, mural
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, signs | 1 Comment »
February 16, 2010
Friend Road Dog just wrote about his recent trip from Dixon to DeKalb, Illinois. Sorry to say he reports that the The Beacon Inn restaurant in Rochelle is now a Chinese buffet and that the lighthouse was removed from its sign. Here’s a view in 2005, after it had been remodeled from the original.
Read more of Road Dog’s posts at downdaroadigo.blogspot.com/.
Tags:Beacon Inn, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, old sign gone, Road trip, Rochelle IL
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2010
The City of Dixon, Illinois will host the 2010 Lincoln Highway Association National Conference from June 22 – 26. The fun-filled event will feature bus tours of historical sites, a book and collectibles sales room, an art show, a cruise night, a session of presentations, and a visit by President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln.
Amazingly, the Illinois Chapter worked hard to contain costs and rolled back the registration cost to the 1999 price!
The Quality Inn and the Comfort Inn are the two official main hotels for the Conference. The Loveland Community House will be the location of two banquets, the book room, the art show, and the conference speakers. It will not be within walking distance of the hotels but they will help with carpooling.
Tuesday, June 22
Board of Directors Annual Meeting
Evening Welcoming Banquet
Wednesday, June 23
Bus Tours, East and West
Thursday, June 24
Bus Tours, take opposite tour
Friday, June 25
Speakers
Evening Awards Banquet
Sunday, June 26
Post-Conference Triangle Tour: Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, and Route 66, Starts in Joliet
Learn more at http://illinoislincolnhighway.tripod.com/2010.html
Tags:Dixon IL, fun highway conference, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, old roads, Road trip, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
January 21, 2010
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported about a bike trail that will incorporate seven miles of the old Lincoln Highway near the California-Nevada border. For now, that section is the biggest missing link in the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway, a 116-mile path that follows the Truckee River from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. The new part will be routed along I-80 and dirt roads from Boca Reservoir to Dog Valley Road in Verdi.
Janet Phillips, who founded the group of volunteers working on the project, said of the 10 new miles, seven miles will be on old roadbed from the Lincoln Highway and three miles of new construction will be required.
Phillips said, “There’s a huge transportation history in that canyon and we are going to bring some of it back to life.” A big obstacle was cleared December 10 when the Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District Board approved an environmental study for the project that was required by California.
Tags:bike trail, historic highway, Lake Tahoe., Lincoln Highway, travel, Truckee CA
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
January 18, 2010
The Sixth Annual BUY-WAY Yard Sale along the Lincoln Highway has been set for August 5, 6 and 7, 2010. The leading state is Ohio, which last years had over 1,000 yard sale locations.
“Ohio started this, and parts of Indiana and Illinois soon joined in,” said Mike Hocker, executive director of the Historic Byway in Ohio, “and now there is talk of New Jersey and Iowa joining this year.”
The dates are now established to be the “first Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in August” and will occur along with the “Route 127 Sale” which crosses the Lincoln in Van Wert, Ohio, the same weekend.
A Travelers Guide will be distributed to businesses along the corridor for pick-up by shoppers in late July, and the official byway website, www.historicbyway.com will host free and paid listings of yard sales and other activities beginning in May.
Tags:historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, Road trip, travel, yard sale
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, souvenirs, travel | 1 Comment »
January 14, 2010
Various local editions of Suburban Chicago News are telling of work today about noon to mount a new Lincoln Highway mural in Aurora, Illinois. The 200-square-foot mural, spearheaded by the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, depicts the city nearly a century ago, when the Lincoln Highway was the premier transcontinental trail.
Coalition Associate Director Diane Rossiter explains, “Each mural is painted on what’s called di-bond – a vinyl clad aluminum product — so if a building is remodeled or torn down, we could take it down without losing it.” The mural is on the north wall of the La Quinta de Los Reyes restaurant, 50 N. Broadway. Click HERE to see the image below larger.
The project has been in the works for years, according to Sue Vos, head of the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau…. Each mural costs roughly $10,000, but the cities and towns receiving them are asked to contribute very little, Vos said. Aurora was responsible for finding a building owner willing to host the mural and for installing the brackets to hang it. The image of a streetscape lit by electric street lamps was chosen by Vos, her staff and the Aurora Historical Society.
Aurora was the first community in Illinois to install electric streetlights in the early days of last century, which led to its official nickname: the City of Lights.
Visit drivelincolnhighway.com for more information on the Lincoln Highway Coalition and the murals.
NOTE: A nice UPDATE ran the day after.
Tags:Aurora IL, highway history, historic highway, Illinois history, Lincoln Highway, mural dedication, Road trip, travel, two-lane roads
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, transportation | 1 Comment »
Lincoln Highway News 