Posts Tagged ‘Lincoln Highway’
July 16, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Bernie Queneau, known to Lincoln Highway fans for his 1928 cross-country Boy Scout trip, celebrated his birthday Saturday July 14 with friends and family. An elegant dinner in Pittsburgh, Pa., included toasts and jokes ranging from his children to his young doctor. PBS’s Rick Sebak handed out DVDs of his Lincoln Highway program that includes the story of Bernie meeting LHA past-president Esther Oyster, and how that led to their marriage. A Powerpoint show by his daughter showed many fun times including the coast-to-coast trip.
Tags:100th birthday, Bernie Queneau, Boy Scout safety tour in 1928, Esther Queneau, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, travel
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, travel | 2 Comments »
July 14, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Bernie Queneau, the Lincoln Highway’s best-known ambassador, celebrates his 100th birthday today. In 1928, he was one of four Eagle Scouts to cross the Lincoln Highway (at 16) as part of a Scouts’ Safety Tour, which also promoted the highway and its marking that September with thousands of iconic concrete posts.
I was fortunate that in 1997, LHA president Esther Oyster arranged with me to interview 85-yr-old Bernie at my workplace, the Heinz History Center. Years later they returned—together—and took me to lunch to announce their engagement! They were married in 2003 and continue to explore the world together, showing up a few weeks ago at the LHA conference in Ohio. That’s Bernie and Esther Queneau a few years ago at a LHHC event.
Check out Bernie recalling the 1928 trip in this brief outtake from Rick Sebak’s 2008 program about the Lincoln Highway. Click the image, then Bernie’s block near Pittsburgh, PA:
Today would also have been the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie, known for his folk songs more closely associated with Route 66. The Lincoln Highway Association is also celebrating its centennial this year, culminating in a celebration July 1, 2013.
Tags:100th birthday, Bernie Queneau, Boy Scout safety tour in 1928, Boy Scouts, centennial celebration, Esther Queneau, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, transportation, travel, video | 1 Comment »
July 11, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
An auction is set for Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 9 am for highway memorabilia from the famous gas station once run by George Preston in Belle Plaine, Iowa. Not to worry — the signs on the station and adjacent garage are not being sold.
The station moved to 1301 4th Ave (west end of Main Street, green line on map) in 1921 when the Lincoln Highway’s route was changed through Belle Plaine. George started working there in 1923 at age 13 and soon purchased the Standard Oil station for $100. It later became a Phillips 66 and remained operational until 1989. George and wife Blanche also operated a 3-room motel.
After his passing in 1993, the site was cared for by his eldest son Ronald with the same passion and intuition, and he continued collecting memorabilia until he passed away in 2011.
Ron’s daughter Mary Preston wrote to say, “We have no intention of selling the corner but in the same breath we must sell some of the ‘clutter’ on Preston’s Corner.” The family is working with the Lincoln Highway Association and Belle Plaine Historical Society to preserve The Corner for travelers to step back in time.
Objects for auction include gas pumps, toys, furniture, books, farm equipment, a 1927 Model T … and lots of signs.
For additional information about the auction see www.billkron.com/duwa.12-0811.html
Tags:auction, Belle Plaine IA, gas station, highway history, historic highway, Iowa, Lincoln Highway, petroliana, roadside attraction, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, museum, roadside, signs, souvenirs, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 27, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The most revolutionary event for the Lincoln Highway since it was founded 99 years ago is now available — free, detailed, online maps of the Lincoln Highway!
The LHA Mapping Committee (myself and 2 dozen others) has worked for a decade to map all generations of the Lincoln Highway, from the obscure Proclamation Route to the equally-rare city feeders. Mapping software expert (and committee chair) Paul Gilger has done a stunning job, spending hundreds of hours to apply our info to DeLorme and now Google Maps. The maps are now available to the public for free. Click www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map to see for yourself this stunning resource detailing exactly where the LH went from coast-to-coast. Here are some samples that you should be able to easily identify.
Tags:highways, historic highway, history, Lincoln Highway, map, maps of old roads, Road trip, roadtrip, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | 14 Comments »
June 18, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Today launches the 20th annual Lincoln HIghway Association conference, located in Canton, Ohio. The Ohio chapters of the national Lincoln Highway Association along with the official Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway are hosting some 200 visitors at the McKinley Grand Hotel for a week of lectures, seminars, day-long road trips, banquets and other evening activities. The theme — Pathways and Presidents — celebrates the Lincoln Highway.
The annual conference is held each year somewhere along the corridor from New York to San Francisco. In 2011, Lake Tahoe dazzled attendees with local culture and history, and two years ago Dixon, Ill., hosted the week-long conference.
Organizer Jim Cassler said there will be tours focusing on Ohio’s Amish Country, a train trip on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway and a trip to the Packard Museum in Warren honoring Lincoln Highway co-founder Henry Joy, then president of Packard Motors. Presidential activities will include Canton’s McKinley and the First Ladies Museum, while a trip to Marion will highlight Warren Harding’s involvement in the early highway.
For details and developing registration information, go to www.lincoln highwayassoc.org or www.historicbyway.com.
Tags:highway history, highway history conference, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Mansfield OH, Ohio, Road trip, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 14, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
As the former Serro’s Diner moves closer to being back in service, the diner’s first waitress got to visit the restoration project. The Serro family opened the brand new 1938 O’Mahony-brand diner in Irwin, Pa., as a Lincoln Highway bypass was being built around the town for the coming Pennsylvania Turnpike terminus. The diner will soon be part of a museum complex being built by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor between Greensburg and Ligonier.
A story in the Tribune-Review (including the two images here by Eric Schmadel) reported how 95-year-old Jenny Baloh recently visited the diner where she began waitressing in 1938. As one of the 10 Serro siblings, she was THE first waitress:
My brothers (Louis and Joseph) bought the dining car when I was a teenager. I told them I didn’t know a thing about waitressing. They said, “You’ll learn.”
The diner was rescued from likely demolition in 1992 when I had the pleasure of arranging for its purchase and move by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, now the Heinz History Center. With no practical place to display the diner, it was given to the LHHC. After almost 2 years of work, the diner is almost ready for it’s new home, a soon-to-be-constructed addition at the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum along Route 30 East, across from the Kingston Bridge.
- Order Lincoln Highway Companion from Amazon – click HERE
Tags:Diner, highway history, historic highway, Irwin PA, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside attraction, roadtrip, travel, US 30
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 11, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
From May 28-July 28, a group of wounded warriors from America’s military is riding bicycles, hand cycles, and recumbent cycles from the Pacific to the Atlantic following much of the Lincoln Highway. For more than 20 years, the non-profit World T.E.A.M. Sports has organized athletic events for disabled and able bodied citizens, from mountain climbing to white water rafting. This year, 18 athletes are biking 3,698 miles from San Francisco to Virginia Beach.
Participating veterans of the Sea to Shining Sea ride live with disabilities ranging from loss of limbs to blindness to Post Traumatic Stress. These veterans served America in wars from Afghanistan and Iraq to Vietnam. Learn more at www.s2ssbikeride.org/2012-news/2012/6/6/along-the-lincoln-highway.html
Tags:bike ride, disabled veterans, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Nevada, Road trip, travel
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 8, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Members of the Galion Historical Society, Crestline Historical Society, Bucyrus Historical Society, and New Washington Historical Society will gather on Saturday to refurbish a monument to Colonel William Crawford, who was captured by Indians and killed in 1782. The monument erected by the Crestline Kiwanis Club in 1928, when Leesville Road was the Lincoln Highway. (Image below and more info at
www.touring-ohio.com/history/crawford.html.)
An article in the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum quotes Mike Hocker, Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway:
“I have no idea when the last time it was cleaned was,” said Mike Hocker, of the Galion Historical Society. “It sits in the shade next to the woods and the moss really loves that.”
Hocker said the monument is made primarily of marble and limestone with a brass plaque.
“It really is a gorgeous monument,” Hocker said. “As part of Crawford 20/20 Vision, we are reaching out to the other historical societies and trying to get to know one another a little bit better.
“We can all benefit from helping one another out on larger projects. We figure if we all get out there, we can have it done in about an hour and a half.”
The monument cleaning begins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tags:Bucyrus OH, Galion Ohio, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, roadside attraction, roadside monument
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, signs, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 7, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The next in the series of Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition Interpretive Murals was installed today in New Lenox, Illinois.
This collection of large scale works of public art can be found along the 179-mile Illinois byway corridor, in over two dozen communities. The latest mural is at 125 West Maple Street. It brings to life the story of the streetcar’s competition with the automobile.
As the designated Scenic Byway management agency overseeing the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway, the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) received a National Scenic Byway Grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, Attraction Development (TAP) Grant, to work with Jay Allen of ShawCraft Signs to implement the project.
For more information on the Illinois Lincoln Highway, places to see and things to do, stories of the highway’s significance and history, or to download an Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide, visit drivelincolnhighway.com.
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Illinois, interpretive murals, Lincoln Highway
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs | Leave a Comment »
May 31, 2012
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Explore the 1913 Lincoln Highway through Indiana on July 21, 2012, as part of the Lincoln Highway Adventure and Moveable Feast, a partnership of the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association and Indiana Landmarks.
Follow the highway east from South Bend past scenic landscapes, historic sites, and good food in Mishawaka, Elkhart, Goshen, Ligonier, Kimmell, and Wolf Lake. End the day in Ligonier, where the Movable Feast showcases landmarks such as the 1839 Stone’s Trace Historic Site, 1879 Kimmell House, and 1930 Luckey Hospital Museum.
Each registered vehicle will receive an Adventure Bag with a dash plaque, discount coupons, and Adventure Passport Booklet containing information about sites along the route with by turn-by-turn directions. Check in via FourSquare or stay connected through your other favorite social media during the Adventure. The Lincoln Highway Adventure welcomes families, car clubs and caravans.
For more information, contact Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office at north@indianalandmarks.org or 574-232-4534.
Buy tickets to the Adventure and the Movable Feast online at: http://adventure2012.eventbrite.com/.
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Indiana, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, travel
Posted in highways, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, souvenirs, transportation | 1 Comment »
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