Colo, Iowa, city clerk Scott Berka wrote to say the Colo Development Group has decided to close the much-loved Niland’s Cafe. Friday was its last day open.
Berka wrote, “We will still rent the motel rooms through the development group office (641) 377-2238. We are studying possible alternative uses for the cafe. One suggestion has been to make it available for meetings and special events. We would also be receptive to the right party leasing the facility and keeping it as a cafe.”
When United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001, it radically changed the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Today, access roads to the temporary memorial branch off from the Lincoln Highway, not too far west of where the Ship Hotel stood, which itself burned a month later. Families of the 40 passengers and crew who perished there on 9/11 have been traveling west by motorcycle for the past two weeks, often on the Lincoln Highway, to complete the trip their loved ones were making to California. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
Their trip is the same, from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco International Airport, and it will end this morning shortly after 11 a.m. – when Flight 93 was to have landed. The only difference: Joey traveled by plane and his family will arrive astride rumbling Harley-Davidsons….
After they get to the airport, the riders will go to the Dudley Perkins Harley-Davidson dealership in South San Francisco. This afternoon, they will ride to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, where a concrete pillar marks the end of the Lincoln Highway, the transcontinental road that passes near the site in Shanksville….
The end of a long road, the end of a long trip.
Above image from http://www.sfgate.com/. Read more aof the article HERE.
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/.
The Alice09 Yahoo group has 20 new photos from the centennial re-enactment of Alice Ramsey’s pioneering drive across the U.S. Visit groups.yahoo.com to sign up. There were at least two such trips this summer; this one found Dorothy Grace and Dana McNair driving much of the Lincoln Highway in commemoration of Alice Ramsey’s 1909 trip, Dorothy in a 1915 Model T and Dana driving a 1909 Cadillac.
Dorothy just posted the photos in the “July 3-6” album, such as these below: Ruth, Nevada, and the California state line.
Learn more at aliceramsey-theroadtrip.blogspot.com/ where you can also read all about their daily adventures on the road.
I recently talked with Olga Herbert, director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, about how the Ship Hotel constantly struggled with people stopping to take photos or use the restrooms but not buy anything. Costs to just stay open, let alone provide services, are a huge problem for roadside businesses. Olga adds:
I hear that all the time from Dunkle’s Gulf and Lincoln Motor Court. People love to stop for a snapshot, but then get gas at the BP and check into the Hampton Inn. In an effort to get more (and a younger Lincoln Highway fan base) we have begun a LHHC geocache. One of the sites is at Lincoln Motor Court. Geocachers and the Altizers [who own the motel] really enjoy it; feedback is posted on http://www.geocaching.com. It appears many have driven by Lincoln Motor Court and always wondered about it. Now they are stopping, meeting the Altizers and checking the place out. Hopefully, it will turn some adventure seekers into Motor Court guests.
There are a number of geocaches along the LH such as at the restored Coffee Pot nearby. Learn more about the motor court one HERE.
A couple first-person reports came in recently. First was a reader’s reply to this blog from Bonnie Metzler:
Just visited there 8/7/09. Loaded with nostalgic charm and spotless! Glass doorknobs, vintage lace curtains and bedspreads-SIX pillows on my bed and bedside plate of mints. Windowbox full of flowers, complete with friendly owner critters-cat came in to nosey around my cottage! Old fashioned tile bath w/porcelain fixtures and fabulous old wooden window. Cable TV, microwave, mini frig, and coffee pot plus glass mugs. Only drawback was Route 30 is noisy even late night if you sleep light. Will find a reason to return! Owners were friendly and accommodating!
Also, NY LHA Director Jerry Peppers writes:
We just stayed overnight in Bedford at the Lincoln Motor Court. The LMC is a true 1920s era experience, including the Altizer’s 1920s era hospitality. The cozy cabins are tastefully updated but the quality of construction from that era is still very apparent. Don’t worry about the lack of air conditioning, even in mid-August. The crisp mountain air had us scrambling to get under a blanket!
We also ate at the Jean Bonnett Tavern and saw Dunkle’s Gulf, which are in your book. Bedford has street concerts Friday nights in the summer in the center of town; you lose sight sometimes just how friendly people are. After visiting Sue’s hometown in Ohio we picked up the LH in East Liverpool and drove it, including Cindell Street, to Canton. We stopped at the Hot Dog Shoppe in East Liverpool and the Steel Trolley Diner in Lisbon (both in your book) and at Bob Lichty’s auto showroom in Canton. I have autographs in your book from the places where we stopped.
From Oh My News comes a series of reports by David McLane documenting life in small towns along four major highways in the US. First was US 95 from Mexico to Canada, then south on US 395 from Canada near Laurier, Washington, then merging with I-15 near Hesperia, California (at one time it went all the way to Mexican border near San Diego and was called the “Three Flags Highway”). The third section of the journey is the Lincoln Highway, then wrapping up with US 60 starting at Virginia Beach.
To get to San Francisco, they went north through the central valley of California and Weedpatch, made famous by John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath.” This report ends when they reach “the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, the west end of the Lincoln Highway”:
english.ohmynews.com/.
Now they’re on their way driving eastward: english.ohmynews.com/. Click at the end of each article to see the two reports since this one. You’ll find some interesting observations about life along the road, and some cool photos too.
A new travel column at San Fransico’s examiner.com features the Lincoln Highway‘s Western Terminus marker and maps out a trip across California and Nevada.
An interpretive gazebo will be constructed along the LH in Plainfield, Illinois, this fall. According to the Joliet Herald News,
The gazebo, one of 16 the coalition is building in participating communities, will be near Village Hall on the south side of Lockport Street. The coalition plans to use federal grant money to build the gazebos statewide along Lincoln Highway, once known as “the most famous road in America.” The village chipped in $3,080, 20 percent of the gazebo’s cost.
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, which Plainfield joined in 2006, has been marketing the 179-mile route for more than 10 years. The group counts 34 towns along its Lincoln Highway corridor, which means all aren;t exactly on the route, such Frankfort, Mokena, Joliet, New Lenox, Aurora, and Oswego.
Besides the gazebo for Plainfield, a committee is working with an artist to design a mural that will be painted on a local building along Lincoln Highway. This will likely depict U.S. Grant Blakely, former publisher and owner of the Plainfield Enterprise newspaper who was instrumental in getting Lincoln Highway routed through Plainfield, as well as several prominent local historic buildings, Schwarz said.
For more information about the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, visit www.drive lincolnhighway.com/.
As Denny Gibson climbed the Sierra Nevadas a couple days ago he wondered if he should or could access Kings Canyon Road, a sometimes steep climb between Carson City, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe to the west. Once suburban King Street ends, there are 9 miles of westbound climbing. The total gain is 1,800 feet, but the worst of it is the first two miles. Here’s my view of the eastern start:
An 1860s toll road, it became part of the LH in 1913 (improvements led it to be called called Ostermann’s Grade for LHA’s Henry Ostermann). It was bypassed by US 50 and the old road deteriorated; it was in rough shape when people began rediscovering the LH. It’s obviously been improved in recent years as hikers and bikers take to it. ATVs and jeeps share the road but it’s not recommended for regular-clearance vehicles. This article describes the condition: We couldn’t go too far up the mountain though; the road is no longer maintained, and at one point higher in the mountains, the road has washed away. An old truck lays in the valley below as if it had fallen off the cliff.”
As this article says, “Almost all freight, clothing, pots, pans, food stuffs and lumber came to Carson City by way of this road. If you wanted to visit family in California or spend a vacation at the Lake, this was how you went.”
Here’s a site that makes KCR look stunning but, they’re on bikes.
http://www.bikecarson.com/2008/06/24/kings-canyon-to-ash-canyon-loop/
This site says “Climbing from 5400ft above Carson City to 7000ft at Spooner Summit, Kings Canyon is no slouch for elevation gain. Most of the gain takes place in the first 3 miles of the climb, so expect to get the worst over quickly.”
The road is hard-packed dirt and rock, with very few sandy spots along the first 3 miles. During this time, the grade is fairly steep, giving the rider a good aerobic workout. After a couple switchbacks, the road contours along the hillside and makes for a small saddle, which marks the end of the steep climb and the beginning of the longer, easier gradient. The road stays pretty much on contour for the next 5 miles, with very minor dips. A few hundred feet below through the pine trees is Highway 50 to Spooner summit, but traffic noise is almost non-existent. Depending on the season, there are a few sandy spots along this section, but nothing serious. The final mile includes a quick steep climb, and then you pop out just above the NDOT highway maintenance station on Spooner. Note: this road is drivable with a 4WD and high clearance, so don’t be surprised if you run across motorcycles, ATVs, and Jeeps.
Finally, here’s a link to a topo map that can be enlarged even more once yo’re there by clicking a magnifier.
A Lincoln Highway landmark closed the past two years is set to reopen. Eagle-eyed “Loungelistener” stopped on his cross-country LH trip to photograph the giant sign for Stone’s in Marshalltown, Iowa, and noticed activity at the closed restaurant. He took this photo and reported on his blog,
As I drove around under the viaduct, I could indeed see action at the restaurant. Workmen were busily scurring around, saws and hammers sounding out. There certainly was something going on.
Indeed, the Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that new owner Steve Badger will reopen on September 1:
“It has been a challenge because starting a restaurant is a very complex process, but you hate to see something that’s been part of the community for so long disappear.”
An aroma of baked goods will add to vintage ambiance ranging from cinnamon rolls, pies and cornbread; edibles will include soups and salads, sandwiches, steaks, fresh fish and diet-conscious or vegetarian foods. A featured entree will be pan-fried chicken – cooked in cast iron skillets — served with fresh mashed potatoes and gravy.
“We’re trying to provide something for everybody,” Badger said. “It’s traditional Midwest cooking.”
And everything will be homemade…. On whether Stone’s will serve dishes reminiscent of menu favorites, Badger said one thing is certain.
“Yes, we’re going to have the pie,” he laughed. “But it might only be a half-mile high.”
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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