The 2008 Lincoln Highway Buy-Way Yard Sale will again stretch from West Virginia through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday August 7-9 (note only Aug. 8-9 in Illinois). Anyone along the various routings of the Lincoln Highway can have a yard sale and/or business sidewalk sale. In its second year participating, the Illinois Chapter of the LHA has cut the price on yard sale signs and increased the number of free services. Yard sale signs will be $8 and those purchasing a sign who include a street address will be advertised with GPS coordinates and maps. Signs are available at the Lincoln Highway Association National Tourism Headquarters, 136 N. Elm St., Franklin Grove, Illinois, or online. T-shirts prices have been cut too — order them through cafepress.
The Lincoln Highway Buy-Way originated in 2005 in Ohio, Indiana joined in 2006, and Illinois and West Virginia in 2007. This year, Iowa is hosting a Motor Tour across the state, making for activities of nearly 1,000 miles along the road.
In Illinois, the Lincoln Highway passes through Chicago Heights, Matteson, Frankfort, New Lenox, Joliet, Plainfield, Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, Maple Park, Cortland, DeKalb, Malta, Creston, Rochelle, Ashton, Franklin Grove, Dixon, Sterling, Morrison, and Fulton. For more information, visit the state chapter’s web site or contact State Director Kay Shelton at lincolnhighway2010@yahoo.com, (815) 748-7211, or call the National Tourism Headquarters at (815) 456-3030.
Gary Kinst wrote to say that on June 8, 2008, the Livermore Heritage Guild hosted the Santa Clara Valley Model T Clubs endurance run and flatlanders rally. Approximately 40 Model T Speedsters began arriving at the Duarte Garage at 10 am. A barbeque was awaiting the contestants along with an awards ceremony. The parking lot across from the garage was filled with vintage Studebakers, Pierce Arrows, Packards, Model A’s and T’s. At 1 pm, the caravan headed back to Santa Clara to complete the second half of the run.
As the Speedsters approached the garage on Pine Street, a gentleman in vintage costume flagged them across the finish line. Pine Street is a continuation of Junction Ave., the original Lincoln Highway. Race officials checked each arrival and then directed the racers to the front of the garage where they posed for photos, as seen above.
The Clarence Lincoln Highway Committee is sponsoring the 2008 Lincoln Highway Festival June 27, 28, & 29, 2008. Below are some of the hiighlights of this old-fashioned celebration in eastern Iowa.
Friday, June 27
Bingo, Frog Jumping Contest, and Adult Bean Bag Tournament.
Saturday, June 28
Lincoln Highway Parade and Car Cruise, Carnival Rides, Petting Zoo, Kids’ Beanbag Tournament, Hog Calling Contest, Dessert Bakeoff, Whistling Contest, Evening Dance.
Sunday, June 27
Church Services in Park, Fried Chicken Dinner, 3rd & 4th Grade Girls’ Softball Tournament, Walking Trail Dedication, Trivial Pursuit Tournament, Watermelon Feed, Horseshoe Tournament, and Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.
Two friends are set to drive their antique autos across this summer, and like an increasing tide, will follow the Lincoln Highway and let us all follow along on their blog. SoCal Early Ford V-8 Club members George Garrett and Tom Shields will leave Times Square on July 6 and pass through all 13 LH states (with a short detour to the EFV8 Grand National in Dearborn). George has a 1939 Ford Coupe; Tom’s is a ’37 convertible. Both are quite similar to two of my favorite cars, the 1937 and ’39 Lincoln Zephyr.
They’ll be posting daily updates online; so far, they’ve documented getting their cars to the east coast. George says, “I’ve been talking about this for 5 years and it’s finally going to happen…. I’ve downloaded the route to a GPS and it, along with some maps, is going to show us the way. The whole trip should take about a month.” Thanks to new LHA President Bob Dieterich for the tip.
Randy Wagner kindly sent a photo of the new state historical sign marking the original site of the Henry Joy monument. The sign was recently installed just off exit 184 of I-80. The Lincoln Highway runs to its right, and I-80 can be seen heading to the horizon. For more info, see my earlier post.
Also, the Uinta County Herald ran a nice story yesterday about the just-concluded 2008 LHA national conference.
Rick Sebak has been traveling the Lincoln Highway with his PBS crew mates Bob and Glenn for a must-see production that will air this October. Last week he caught up with the LHA national conference buses heading east. He sent shots from the trip:
CLICK the above view to enjoy it large.
Todd Thibadeau tells tour-goers about Church Buttes.
No coaches — school buses only on those dusty Wyoming trails!
While seemingly everyone is driving the Lincoln Highway this June, including those now returning from the LHA conference, I’m unfortunately typing not driving. Worse, I’m having trouble downloading photos from Sebak. So for now, just a quick update.
Rick Sebak and crewmates Bob and Glenn were in Woodbine, Iowa, this morning filming at Brick Street Station. Hard to believe that 3 days ago they were at the LHA conference in Evanston, and tomorrow night they’ll be back in Pittsburgh. Then a different kind of challenge ensues – choosing just a few of the stories and moments from the hundred of hours that they’ve filmed along the Lincoln.
They hooked up a couple times with our Piaggio scooter friends, Buddy and Bob — read the blogs from PBS and Piaggio.
Another road trip just completed along the LH in Wyoming was a 3-day memorial ride by friends of Scott Griemann; it can be followed on the Wide Open Wyoming blog.
Day 2 of the Lincoln Highway Association conference featured a tour westward into Utah. Here are some scenes from LHA President Jan Shupert-Arick:
Gas station at Echo.
Summit Mercantile and Furniture Company, Coalville.
Studebaker Champion in jumkyard at Castle Rock.
Wayne Pump (manufactured in Fort Wayne, IN) next to Pony Express Service Station/junkyard at Castle Rock.
Cross-country cyclists Buddy Rosenbaum and Bob Chase met up with the conference; here, Jan and Diane Rossiter (Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition) try out the Piaggio MP3s.
Day 3 featured speakers such as Mindy Crawford (above) discussing preservation issues plus:
• Todd Thibodeaux on Ezra Emery and Wyoming Good Roads;
• Chavawn Kelley on the LHA’s Austin Bement;
• John Waggener on the Medicine Bow Route;
• Heyward Schrock on Highway Architecture;
• John Clark on Automotive History in Utah;
• and Robert Rampton on the 1908 New York to Paris Automobile Race.
PBS producer Rick Sebak has called the past few days reporting that like any good road trip, there’s just too many places to explore when you’re trying to keep to a schedule: “There’s so much to see, we could do this forever.”
They’re on their second cross-country trip fiming for A Look Along the Lincoln Highway, premiering this October. Amazingly, this afternoon Rick and Bob and Glenn are driving east and will be pulling into the Lincoln Highway conference in Evanston, Wyoming. Amazing because they passed by just a few days ago heading west into Utah where they interviewed former LHA president Jess Peterson, headed down Johnson Pass (above, though Gatofeo wrote to say this is actually Dugway Pass), crossed the Great Salt Desert, got a flat tire, interviewed Jay Banta and toured with him, crossed Nevada, filmed in the Sierras and Placerville, reached the terminus, and are blazing back eastward. Amazing too are the photos and videos they’re capturing for their blog. Here are some extra beauties from Rick – CLICK on them for larger views. Makes you want to hit the road, doesn’t it?
• Horses along Pony Express Road, a LH bypass around Dugway, Utah.
• Pony Express Road meets the LH east of Fish Springs, Utah.
• Jay Banta shows the crew around Kearney Ranch, Callao, Utah.
• Crossing Nevada.
• Bob and Glenn set up a late-day shot at Berkeley Pier on the San Francisco Bay.
• Sebak reaches the Western Terminus in San Francisco for time #2.
Remember to CLICK on them for larger views – and you’ll soon be planning your own trip.
The Tribune-Reviewreports that Sleepy Hollow Tavern, along the Lincoln Highway near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and destroyed by suspected arson in February, will be rebuilt to its original look by a building contractor who once lived in the area. On June 23, Fred Haeflein will begin selectively demolishing the building; equipment is already arriving, as seen in the screen shot below:
Haeflein plans to lead a seven-member crew in rebuilding the structure to its original log cabin inn appearance. The entire second floor and roof could not be salvaged but the first floor will be incorporated into the new structure, and 6 of the 18 framed dormers over windows on the front and back portions of the roof will be reused. Haeflein plans to base his reconstruction on the view in a vintage postcard, seen below, before the later additions of a stone front and solarium in back.
Sleepy Hollow started as a typical roadside stand; the inn was built 1939-1940 but suffered after the westbound lanes of Lincoln Highway/US 30 were moved across Loyalhanna Creek. A small causeway was added, but the place declined in recent decades, surviving mostly as a tavern.
Lincoln Highway fans were in Evanston, Wyoming, on Monday to kick off the 2008 National Lincoln Highway Association Conference. Tours were given of the roundhouse and railyard, then a get-together was held for first-time conference attendees followed by a welcome reception in the railroad machine shop, and capped by a buffet dinner with keynote speaker Mark Foster, University of Colorado professor and author of Castles in the Sand: The Life and Times of Carl Graham Fisher.
Above photos show a family from Colorado with one of the cast-iron state line markers, Bill Arick with Mindy and Rodney Crawford, and art show entries including a painting from a student and a photo detail of the Fisher Mausoleum by Jan Shupert-Arick.
As reported earlier, 71-year-old Dr. Bernard “Buddy” Rosenbaum is driving the Lincoln Highway coast-to-coast with long-time cycling friend, 72-year-old Bob Chase. They started in San Francisco June 13 and will end in New York City’s Times Square on July 14. The pair is riding three-wheeled Piaggio MP3 scooters, getting some 55 miles per gallon.
Read more about the trip at their blog www.noagelimitpiaggio.us/. There are tons of pictures, virtual Google maps, and info on restaurants and roadside stops. The pair are about to enter Wyoming.
Lincoln Highway Association President Jan Shupert-Arick reports that a number of attendees arrived early for the 16th Annual National LHA Conference in Evanston, Wyoming.
Above, several of the attendees from Utah, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan gathered for Mexican food on Front Street.
Next door at an old gas station, an original LH sign took them by surprise as no one in the group had ever seen this rare treasure.
Following dinner the group explored Evanston on foot. The city is all dressed up for the conference, having hung over 100 LH banners. The group stopped by the Machine Shop (a main conference location) and peered into the windows to see rare LH artifacts from the early years of the road.
It was a full moon on a beautiful evening in Evanston. Near the the depot and round house, train whistles in the distance made it a perfect first day.
Historian, trails authority, and former LHA president Randy Wagner reports that the State of Wyoming will install a new historic site sign commemorating Henry B. Joy and the Lincoln Highway today, Monday, June 16. Those headed to the LHA conference in Evanston, Wyoming, from the east can look for it just south of the I-80 Continental Divide Exit (184) about 30 miles west of Rawlins, at the original site of the Joy Monument.
Above: The Henry B. Joy monument at its current location, I-80 exit 323.
Joy, one of the leading players in the original LHA, had camped at this site in 1915 and the stunning sunset led him to declare his desire to be buried here. He was not, but a monument was erected in 1939 that included 8 of the 1928 concrete markers. The site is very isolated but vandals nonetheless took a toll until the stone tablet and 4 of the posts were relocated to the Summit Rest Area (I-80 exit 323) east of Laramie in 2001 (as seen above).
Folks have been asking how the Rick, Bob, and Glenn — filming a Lincoln Highway program for PBS — are faring after their tornado troubles. Rick called to say they’re having a bit of trouble posting to their blog, understandable in the midst of so much weather-related damage. They’re back on the road this morning, heading to Wyoming, but first were about to check out Fort Cody Trading Post, one of the Lincoln Highway’s coolest roadside attractions. Make sure you visit next time you’re in North Platte, Nebraska.
Here’s a brief videoblog they were able to post from Omaha yesterday:
UPDATE 1 PM EDT: They’re back online and updating their blog. A couple days later, here were Bob and Glenn at Green River, Wyoming:
“Iowa, Jones, Cedar counties are virtually impassable” ~ headline from [Cedar Rapids] Gazette
“Photos, videos and words cannot express the true horror, shock and devastation that’s going on here. This is not just some knee high deep water around town.” ~ comment on ABC News
Rick Sebak’s brush with a tornado in Iowa was but one example of the severe weather to slam the state. As he notes, much worse has happened, including the deaths of four Boy Scouts at a camp near Nebraska. The state suffered severe storms on Wednesday and Thursday and more rain is forecast. Iowa Governor Chet Culver said that with nine rivers at near record levels, dozens of bridges have been destroyed; he has declared 55 out of Iowa’s 99 counties state disaster areas and says infrastructure repair costs will run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Flooding is widespread, especially in Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second largest city, and site of the 2006 Lincoln Highway Association national conference. Here’s a screen shot of the main headline at the GazetteOnline – click it to read the numerous stories.
More than 100 city blocks were inundated after the Cedar River broke its bank – see aerial footage HERE. About 8,000 people were evacuated, many being rescued by boat. The flooding extends to neighborhoods too. This morning, the water supply is critically low. Click HERE for urgent news updates (replacing the city’s normal home page) or HERE for ABC News coverage.
Lisa Fox, vice-president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, told Reuters news agency, “It hits everything. Colleges are shut down, stores, it’s devastating,” Crops are also being ruined. Brian Pierce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport, told the AP, “We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring…. We’re in uncharted territory – this is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine.”
A road trip means adventure. On the first trip I took to photograph for my Greetings from the Lincoln Highway book, my trusty camera broke – and this was a PHOTO trip. All I could afford then was a cheap replacement, but I got my photos – along with some great adventures. So it goes for Rick Sebak and his PBS crew as they head out for a second round of filming for A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, premiering nationally October 29 at 8 pm. Follow his well-written adventures HERE. Click below for a videoblog recap of their first two days.
FIrst day out they ran into fierce storms and tornado warnings at Van Wert, Ohio. Next morning, his laptop died – the thing he’ll depend on for 3 weeks to store his photos, communicate to the world, and write his blog. Like on my camera adventure, where do you get high-priced electronic equipment in rural America? (In this case, a bit tougher than normal since he’s on a Mac – as am I.)
Rick does get a new Mac and heads to Iowa where they hit tornadoes again. And the tornadoes hit them too, or at least hail does, breaking a window in the van filled with their video equipment.
Reminder to us all for the next road trip – bring flashlights. Maybe plastic sheets for emergencies too. And here’s wishing them sunny skies for the rest of their trip!
The 3rd Annual Lincoln Highway Arts Festival in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, is set for September 27. Some 40 artists will diplay their work, while docents lead tours of the Lincoln Highway and three National Historic Districts. The Lincoln Highway Arts Festival is sponsored by the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council. Visit www.visitmvl.com for more information. And tell them what a great logo they have!
In anticipation of the 36th annual RAGBRAI®, the “Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa,” Des Moines Register Editorial Cartoonist (and race host) Brian Duffy has been checking out the route the past week. The yearly week-long bicycle ride through Iowa is sponsored by The Des Moines Register; the 2008 route will follow much of the Lincoln Highway from July 20-26. RAGBRAI® is the longest, largest, and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. Click HERE to see a list of Duffy’s daily posts. For a map you can zoom in on, plus photos and videos, visit Duffy’s blog (screen shot below):
Although Iowa seems flat to outsiders, this year’s day 2 alone has more than 5,000 feet of climb in its 80-mile length. The end of that day will bring riders their first views of Lincoln Highway and Burma Shave signs just west of Jefferson.
RAGBRAI was started in 1973 as a 6-day ride (not a race) across Iowa by two Register columnists; it’s still planned and coordinated by the newspaper. This year will launch from Missouri Valley but not pick up the LH till Jefferson, hit it from Ogden through Boone, again some of it in Ames, Nevada, Colo, and State Center, cross it at points in Le Grand and Tama, then pick it up in Chelsea through Belle Plaine, meet it through Lisbon/Mt. Vernon, and finally cross it at Mechanicsville. The bike route will be nearby or parallel the LH for much of the time, though not always along it.
I met Rick Sebak about 1990 as he was preparing to produce a show about roadside attractions in Pennsylvania. We traveled the Lincoln Highway together, and now almost two decades later (seems like two years!) he’s traveling the Lincoln Highway coast-to-coast for an hour-long show to debut later this summer. We’ve also worked together on programs about diners, Isaly’s, and one called Stuff That’s Gone, but we still talk most about the Lincoln Highway and the places we saw back then that are now gone, most notably the Ship Hotel.
Above: Jarrett, Rick, and Bob at the Western Terminus of the LH.
Last fall Rick and cameraman Bob Lubomski made it to the Pacific and back with Jarrett Buba. This time Rick and Bob are joined in the QED van by sound-and-video man Glenn Syska, who is also helping post their daily blog. They’re leaving early today with a plan of getting as far west ASAP. Of course, that was the plan last time! There’s never enough time or daylight to fit in all the cool places along the way….
The blog for his last long LH trip ended September 1 at San Francisco. Rick just updated it to include the days heading back east — scroll down and you’ll find another entry for that day called No Reservations. Start there and remember the days get more recent as you go up (so the top is the most recent, when they had reached Nebraska). Posts from the trip starting today should start arriving tonight or tomorrow — they have some great stops planned.
Also check out his Video Postcards link, which offer a great daily look at sites along the way.
BTW, note that the web address has changed — it can now be found at http://www.wqed.org/tv/sebak/lincoln_hwy/blog/. So has the name — no longer just Lincoln Highway Postcards, it now carries the name of the show, A Ride Along The Lincoln Highway. You can see when the blog updates by watching the RSS feed on the page in the column to the right.
It was 75 years ago today that the first drive-in theater opened. Celebrate these icons of car culture and the open road with a visit this week. What’s playing? Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, The Strangers, Iron Man, Narnia–Prince Caspian, Baby Mama, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Made of Honor, and What Happens in Vegas are just some of the flicks on local outdoor screens. Clck the drive-in page to the right to see a list of operating “ozoners” along the Lincoln Highway.
The Lewisboro [Connecticut] Ledgerreports that Buddy Rosenbaum will leave San Francisco next Friday and follow the Lincoln Highway to Times Square. It’s been done before, but not by a 71-year-old. Rosenbaum approached Piaggio, maker of the popular Vespa, in the hope of altering stereotypes about aging and activity levels. The company responded by offering their new innovative all-terrain bike, the MD3-500, with two wheels in front and one in back. Rosenbaum has biked around the world with his wife, but he will be accompanied on this trip by his friend, Bob Chase of California. They leave June 13 and hope to arrive in NYC on July 14. He had planned to camp along the Lincoln Highway, but has decided to use hotels, in part so they can produce a daily blog with photos. Click the screen shot below for the full story:
So much else to do, but you’ll be glad you took time to visit a drive-in, especially in honor of the 75th anniversary of the first one this Friday, June 6. Glad because of the fun you’ll have, the heritage you’re helping to preserve, and because the drive-in you visit might not be there next year — or even next month.
The Sacramento 6 Drive-In is located along the Lincoln Highway in California on what has become a big piece of valuable land just east of where US 50 crosses Folsom Blvd. The Sac 6, a latecomer that opened June 1973, was set to close after 2004; an August 5 article in the Sacramento Bee said owner Syufy Enterprises “hopes to raze the eucalyptus-lined lot to build a 20-screen multiplex and shopping mall.”
Was the problem low attendance? Janis Batesole, then vice president of operations and training for Syufy, which owns six other drive-ins and 75 multiplexes, said no: “It totally makes money because we own the land, so we don’t have occupancy fees. It’s just that the new project will be a better leverage of the corporate investment.”
A young patron was quoted as seeing the situation differently: “There’s no commercialism or any of that stuff like they have at the walk-in theaters. I’m going to be so sad if this place closes.” [Find that article, and commentary, HERE.]
The drive-in hung on but the future is again bleak. The May 11 Sacramento Beereported that declining attendance has doomed the region’s last drive-in (from a peak of 13), despite pleas from the community to keep one of the last inexpensive family venues:
The plan calls for a $116.5 million reinvention of the 37.5-acre site, replacing the drive-in’s crackled concrete with a 439,700-square-foot shopping center, including a 20-screen indoor theater…. [and] major tenants lined up: Marshalls department store, Michaels crafts store, Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy.
And some residents welcome the change:
Rancho Cordova resident David Bingenheimer, who runs an electrical contracting firm, said the project would be good for him personally and professionally.
The area needs more retail stores, he said.
“… I’m looking forward to it,” Bingenheimer said. “We have to leave Rancho Cordova to do our shopping.”
But others think the drive-in just needs cleaned and advertised to draw more customers to the family-friendly site:
Once we lose this drive in, we will never have another one in the Sacramento area. What do we get in return, another half vacant strip mall with the same stores you can drive 10 minutes in either direction to patronize…. There is nothing else that would take the drive in’s place for late night family entertainment. Once we bulldoze them, there is no way to get a drive in back. Please reconsider. Maybe they could draw more business if they invested a little bit into the facilities and spent some money on advertising.
More comments follow these articles ONE and TWO, the most recent of which states that the project is set to proceed.
Sacramento 6 Drive-In
9616 Oates Drive
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 363-6572
Click HERE for movie times – while they’re still being shown.
Next summer, the Military Vehicle Preservation Association will recreate the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy, a grueling trip perhaps best known for including young Dwight Eisenhower. The Lincoln Highway Association is working with the group, and one of the stops will be the 2009 LHA conference in South Bend, Indiana—arriving on Thursday, June 18, and joining an LHA parade on Friday.
More than 60 participants hope to drive some of the route, many of them all the way coast-to-coast Departure from Washington DC is Saturday, June 13, with arrival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4. Here’s a description from the site:
In 1919, the US Army’s Military Transportation Corps (MTC) undertook a transcontinental Convoy to demonstrate the need for a mechanized Army. This “hooves to wheels” plan to modernize America’s fighting force needed an attention-getting event to energize Congress and the citizenry, and parading the Army’s military might from coast-to-coast along the new Lincoln Highway was a great way to get demonstrate new vehicles. As part of its mission to honor our country’s military vehicle history, the MVPA has decided to recreate the famous 1919 convoy in 2009 as a 90th Anniversary celebration of the achievement and in conjunction with the nation’s President Lincoln Bicentennial celebration.
Click HERE for a PDF of the MVPA’s log of the route and overnight stops.
TO-DO THIS WEEKEND: Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the drive-in theater with a visit to a drive-in. Take a chair and sit under the stars, buy some popcorn at the snack bar, stay for both features, and try to figure out why you stopped (or never started) going. Don’t complain that no drive-ins are nearby, they can still be found in 47 states.
It was June 6, 1933, when Richard Hollingshead Jr opened the first drive-in theater, lighting the night sky in Camden, New Jersey. By the late 1950s, thousands of “ozoners” sat at the suburban fringe of most every town, but then they began closing. Blame TV, VCRs, smaller cars, fewer family movies, less need for a private getaway, Daylight Savings Time, rising insurance on the playgrounds, aging equipment, retiring owners, skyrocketing land values – or all of them – but only 397 theaters remain (with 650 screens). About half of those are members of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, a group that celebrates the industry and its accomplishments. In fact, Hollingshead’s son, Richard III, was guest of honor this past winter at UDITOA annual convention. Here are some drive-ins still operating on or very close to the Lincoln Highway, pulled from the UDITOA list site plus my own recollection – please send additions:
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
Now available: Lincoln Highway Companion features detailed maps and places to eat and stay. Click the book to buy it on Amazon.
Click the Greetings book below to purchase the ultimate guide to the history and route of the Lincoln Highway!
Cross-country cyclists Buddy Rosenbaum and Bob Chase met up with the conference; here, Jan and Diane Rossiter (Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition) try out the Piaggio MP3s.
