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Posts Tagged ‘Route 30’

A Bit of Sweden Along the Lincoln Highway

August 30, 2018

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO

This story started simply: I had an old postcard of a restaurant in Aurora, Illinois, in my LH collection. The back lists the location as “US business Route 30” so I wanted to check if it was truly on the Lincoln Highway (which is not always the same as Route 30). As is often the case, there’s not a lot of info out there on a restaurant from long ago, but what remains paints a story of an interesting family business.

LH_IL Aurora_bb.jpg

Bit of Sweden Smorgasbord opened in 1955 on the east side of Aurora at 110 Hill Ave, on the southeast corner of Benton/Summit. It was across from today’s Hansens Motel, itself a vintage business still operating. Hill and Benton indeed served as the 2nd generation LH and later US 30.

There was already a Bit of Sweden, closer to Chicago on Rush Road, that had opened about 1930. The Aurora restaurant — which would make sense to be related, though I could find no connection — was run by siblings Arvid (b. 1907) and Edith Nelson. For its next 15 or so years, it received a yearly profile in the local newspaper’s dining section.

A 1965 profile said its neon sign showed a dancing Poyk and Flicka (Swedish for little boy and girl), while inside there were more than 50 foods, a stone fireplace, and themed decor: “The smorgasbord tables are set against a background of a pastoral mural and under special Swedish styled modern lighting.” It also included this ad:

LH Sweden ad.1965.jpg

The largest profile, in 1960, described some of the food customers got for $2 buffet, including fish, roast spring chicken, Swedish meatballs, scalloped potatoes, baked ham, prime rib, Swiss steak, soup, and pickled herring. Homemade rolls and bread, dessert, and drinks were included, though no alcohol was permitted.

LH Sweden ad.1960.jpg

The last profile ran in 1972; by 1975, the equipment was being auctioned … after the place had been converted to BoJangle’s Discoteque. There ends the trail, and story, of Aurora’s Bit of Sweden.

I could find nothing online about Edith, but Arvid (who passed away in 1986) has a fund named in his honor. The Arvid Nelson Memorial Fund was established in 2013 by his son Alan (b. 1937) to support The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, a tax-exempt public charity of funds and resources given by local citizens to enhance and support the quality of life in the Fox River Valley. Visit
https://www.communityfoundationfrv.org/profile/nelson-arvid-fund to learn more.

Tags:Aurora IL, history, Illinois, Lincoln Highway, pickled herring, postcards, roadside America, Route 30, Smorgasbord, Swedish, travel
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, signs, travel | Leave a Comment »

Old hotel in Mt Vernon, Iowa, demolished

May 18, 2010

Our friend David at the 42N blog once again brings us news from Iowa. On May 3 the Palisades Hotel near Mount Vernon, Iowa, was demolished in just three hours; at right are before and after pics from his blog. He writes, “The structure was built in the 1880s and was known as the Cedar Springs Hotel. Its original guests were railroad employees working on a nearby quarry…. Palisades Hotel was the place to go long before the convenience of getting there was possible. The hotel stood 20 years or so before the Lincoln Highway was built nearby and many more years before modern State Highway 30 came even closer. Better roads and more reliable cars made visiting other sites around the region more accessible, and eventually helped lead the hotel into retirement in the 1950s. The demolition of the Palisades Hotel (aka Cedar Springs Hotel, Upper Palisades Hotel, Palisades Hotel, Biderman Hotel, and Old Dutch Inn) marks the end of an era when this site served as a gathering place for legions of students, families and relaxation seeker.”

Tags:highway history, hotel demolished, IA, Lincoln Highway, Mount Vernon Iowa, old hotel, Route 30
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »

More on “Route 30” the movie and Mister Ed

May 14, 2008

The Chambersburg Public Opinion reports on the forthcoming film Route 30 (previously written about here in posts 1 & 2). The article notes that writer/director John Putch is the son of Bill Putch, former artistic director of the Totem Pole Playhouse, located between Gettysburg and Chambersburg. It also mentions that a portion of the profits from the September 27 premiere at Gettysburg’s Majestic Theatre will benefit the playhouse and the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.

One of the featured locals is Ed Gotwalt (above), owner of Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum along the Lincoln Highway in Orrtanna:

Gotwalt, who plays himself, sells peanuts and other goods to a handful of the movie’s characters, helping to connect the three storylines…. Gotwalt pops in and out of the movie, which features three different plots. Each one pays homage to the areas around state Route 30, with a comedic twist.

The world premiere of Route 30 will be at the Stony Brook Film Festival in Long Island, N.Y., in July.

The September 27 premiere in Gettysburg starts at 8 p.m. in the Majestic Theatre. Tickets cost $16 and can be bought from the Majestic’s box office, online at http://www.gettysburgmajestic.org, at the Totem Pole Playhouse, and at Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum.

Photos used with permission, www.route30movie.com.

Tags:Chambersburg PA, Mister Ed's Elephant Museum, Route 30, Route 30 movie
Posted in highways, history, roadside | 1 Comment »

Route 30 film imagines Bigfoot at Caledonia

April 14, 2008

A new independent film, Route 30, is being shot in central Pennsylvania. The title, and locations like Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum, might lead you to think it’s a road trip movie along the Lincoln Highway, but this 2-minute clip from Fox 43 News visits writer, director, and producer John Putch filming scenes in the forests of Caledonia State Park between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. He says it was “actually written for the area geographically, and written about the people that meant something to me.” Putch goes on to mention some of the characters, including an eccentric Amish woman and Bigfoot. See my next post for photos from the movie.

Tags:Bigfoot imagined, Caledonia State Park, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, independent film, Route 30
Posted in highways, Road trip, travel | 1 Comment »

Film of S.S. Grand View Ship Hotel, 1972

December 2, 2007

The S.S. Grand View Ship Hotel was perhaps the best-known, most-visited landmark along the 3,300+ miles of Lincoln Highway. The famous roadside attraction was 17 miles west of Bedford, Pennsylvania, but unfortunately burned in 2001. With my Lincoln Highway Companion book ready for the editors, I’m starting on my next book, a fun look at the Ship. I first wrote about the Ship in 1989 and have been gathering information, recollections, and photos since then.

People took lots of snapshots there, and though they probably took movies, few of those surface, so it’s exciting to see this rare film from 1972! (Total time 3:32) Roger Shaulis shoots out the back window as they speed east on the Lincoln Highway through the Seven Mile Stretch, passing coal trucks. About 45 seconds in, they arrive at the Ship and go to the deck for the view and some goofing. The family jumps on the Turnpike for the final minute, passing through three tunnels on their way to New Jersey.

Tags:1972, Bedford, highway, hotel, motel, Pennsylvania, Road trip, roadside, Route 30, Ship Hotel, trucks, tunnels, Turnpike
Posted in highways, history, lodging, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 34 Comments »

Kearney Covered Wagon photo update

November 24, 2007

Leigh and Chuck Henline of Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte, Nebraska, stopped at the Covered Wagon west of Kearney on their Thanksgiving trip to snap a few photos of the Covered Wagon, previously reported on here. Note the office now has a second story. Here’s a closeup of the wagon, still awaiting restoration:

NE_Cov Wag1-Henline