PBS producer Rick Sebak alerted me that Jay Leno mentioned his new program, A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, on last night’s show. At 8:29 into the show, near the end of his monologue, Leno says “it was a pretty good show,” then tries to joke about the title having a questionable double meaning. The joke is pretty odd and falls flat, but any publicity is good publicity.
Click the screen image above to go to the full episode.
What are the must-see places along the Lincoln Highway? It’s impossible to answer, as everyone has their favorite things. Some like natural scenery, or good eats, or wacky attractions, or shopping, or water towers. I veer towards vintage roadside attractions like the Shoe House, seen below being repainted.
Rick Sebak, producer of A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, commented last time I brought this up, “Isn’t every stop different depending on weather, time of day, people you meet, your mood and the temperament of everybody else in the car?” Yep, that’s why the well-known attractions might not even be on your list of favorites.
Nonetheless, I charge ahead with my top 10 places from East-to-West that will make you feel like a Lincoln Highway regular:
1 Shoe House/Dunkle’s Gulf/Coffee Pot/Lincoln Motor Court, PA
2 Balyeat’s Restaurant, Van Wert OH
3 Ideal Section, IN-IL border
4 LHA Headquarters, Franklin Grove IL
5 LH concrete bridge, Tama IA (image above)
6 Scout’s Rest Ranch, N Platte NE
7 Virginian Hotel, Medicine Bow WY
8 Salt Lake Desert route, UT (image below)
9 Carroll Summit road, west of Austin NV
10 Donner Summit, west of Truckee CA
That’s 10 if you don’t mind my PA quad pick (and that’s leaving out the fabulous Poquessing Creek Bridge and Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum).
So what must-see sites did I leave out?? I already can think of more places that I can’t believe didn’t make the list. But the ones above would be a great start to a lifetime of Lincoln Highway touring.
The Lincoln Highway can be a great idea for a road trip: its length makes it close to much of the county, you can drive as little/much as you want, and even remote sections are never far from an Interstate for a quick return trip or a family who need modern amenities. I’ve never driven it non-stop from coast-to-coast but have driven most of it in every state. The adventures are still endless — as PBS producer Rick Sebak said on his road trip this summer, “We could do this for the rest of our lives!” That’s his picture of Green River, Wyoming.
Our kids have been along on most of the trips and will be with us again next summer as we head from Pittsburgh west to the Pacific Ocean. There was a time when 5 of us could fit on one bed — not by choice but when a motel’s double rooms were full! Now they’re nearing driving age, and though none are roadside devotees, they’re more excited about the trips than we are. The trick is to keep it fun for them too.
Along with old-fashioned car games, they bring along their favorite electronics. We mix in some familiar restaurants along with lots of cafes and diners (advertising draws them to fast food but they always remark how good diner food tastes). We ask them each to keep small trip diaries to help them (and us!) remember where they’ve been, stayed, and eaten. We visit bookstores and toy stores along with cool old attractions like Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte, Nebraska. Next trip we may visit a skatepark and snowboarding hill. We also stay in a cool variety of rooms, from tourist cabins to chains (we like Quality Inn) to wacky places like the Wigwam Villages. We see a lot of the country and its people, who have been overwhelmingly friendly.
About that trip next summer — my Lincoln Highway Companion will be published in Spring 2009 and we’ll be using it ourselves to drive the road and do some signings. This book was meant to coincide with Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway but our schedules got out of sync. The publisher is finishing the design now but here’s the first peak at the cover. It will list many cool places to visit, eat, and sleep, but if you want info now, check my Greetings from the Lincoln Highway book, or the Lincoln Highway Association site, or old posts on this blog.
Reviews have been coming in for the PBS program A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Toledo Blade, and The Truth Newspaper in Elkhart, IN, all used the Scripps story
So did Salt Lake City’s Deseret News, which missed a great opportunity to interview three leading LH historians in its area, two of them prominently featured in the program
Pittsburgh Tribune Review commented on the show and its music
Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal among others used the same text and made it tonight’s Must-See
Our friend Ron Warnick reviews it on his site, Route 66 News
Finally, USAToday compliments the show but it’s obvious the reviewer skipped the preview DVD when he writes, “Sebak sometimes allows his passion for roadside stands to overwhelm the road itself.” Once you’ve seen it, you too will wonder “what roadside stands??” and then guess that the reviewer made an assumption based on past shows.
The above images are from producer Rick Sebak. Learn more about the show here.
Rick Sebak and his crew filmed dozens of hours but only had room for about 15 stories in A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway. Five stories that were finished but couldn’t fit in the hour-long program will be on the DVD as extras. And starting today — not only are they available online but so are 21 more outtakes from the show.
The five feature stories are on Woodine Iowa’s Brick Street Station, a bookstore in North Platte NE, a garage-turned-tavern in Lyman WY, a woman in Morrison IL with a yard full of lawn ornaments, and a farmer’s market in Belle Plaine IA.
The 21 outtakes cover a wide range of people and places, from Bernie Queneau recalling his Boy Scout life-saving demonstrations on the famed 1928 safety tour to Michael Wallis describing the genesis of Radiator Springs for the movie Cars and how it represents towns not only on Route 66 but along any old 2-lane. You’ll also see familiar faces from the LHA as well as folks from along the road who you’ll meet in the program.
It won’t ship till after the show airs nationally, but A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway DVD is available for pre-order from PBS.
The DVD includes 5 extra segments as listed on the back cover below plus we’ll have more information about them later this week. Above is a screen shot from the end of the program; note the cover has changed slightly since the program was finished, as seen in these images provided by producer Rick Sebak.
A story in Thursday’s South Bend Tribune recalled the Lincoln Highway across Indiana and discussed plans for the 2009 LHA conference in South Bend next June.
On the evening of Oct. 31, 1913, some 3,000 people and 500 automobiles paraded from to Springbrook Park in South Bend.
There, in the park that later became Playland Park and is now property owned by Indiana University South Bend, a huge bonfire was set ablaze — the flames could be seen for 20 miles. It burned simultaneously in a line of bonfires across the country from New York to San Francisco.
For miles across Indiana, farmers lit Jack-0-Lanterns on fence posts. It wasn’t to drive witches out on Halloween.
Instead, the “monster parade,” according to The Tribune, celebrated the dedication of Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcontinental highway.
The article included the above photo, provided by the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library, which “shows a gas station believed to be at the northwest corner of Cedar and Lincoln Way in Mishawaka, illustrating how businesses catered to tourists along the Lincoln Highway between 1913 and 1928.”
The LHA conference is set for June 16-20, 2009, headquartered at Century Center, South Bend.
Brand new from Simon & Schuster is Old Dogs: Are the Best Dogs by photographer Michael S. WIlliamson, co-author of The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate (2007). The $19.95 hardcover runs 160 pages. Williamson’s photos are accompanied by Gene Weingarten’s writing. Michael told me, “We are having a big opening at the Smithsonian here in D.C. on Oct. 30th — just a day after the LH documentary telecast so it’ll be a good week to be an author! A couple of the doggies in the book live on the Lincoln Highway so I guess that makes the two projects a teeny bit connected.”
From the publisher:
If you’ve known a favorite old dog, you’ll find him or her on these pages. Your dog might go by a different name and have a different shape, but you’ll recognize him or her by the look in an eye or the contours of a life story. There is the dog who thinks he is a house cat; the herder, the fetcher, the punk and the peacock, the escape artist, the demolition artist, the patrician, the lovable lout, the amiable dope, the laughable clown, the schemer, the singer, the daredevil, the diplomat, the politician, the gourmand, and the thief.
The Smithsonian launch and lecture will be at the Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr SW, Oct. 30 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 or $15 for members; call (202) 633-3030.
Old Dogs is available in bookstores or on Amazon for $13.57.
Reviews are starting for Rick Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway, airing next week. I’ll tell you more about what’s in it in the coming days, but here’s a review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Rob Owen that went out on the Scripps wire. An excerpt: “Fans of Sebak’s love letters to Americana won’t be disappointed as he visits both ends of the highway – at Times Square in New York City and next to a bus stop in San Francisco – and many locations in between…. Unlike past Sebak productions, ‘Lincoln Highway’ offers more of a historical focus with less emphasis on oddball Americans (or maybe Lincoln Highway enthusiasts just aren’t prone to saying wacky things).”
Our friend RoadDog wrote about a public art project celebrating the bond between Northern Illinois University and the DeKalb/Sycamore communities. More than 50 fiberglass painted Huskies were sponsored by individuals, businesses, and organizations. Each came as a pair: a 40-inch tall dog and a 20-inch pup.
On Thursday took a trip out to Dekalb and Sycamore and enjoyed looking for them. This was based on Chicago’s Cows on Parade. Really liked the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition’s “Lincoln on Lincoln” with the fiberglass Huskie sporting a Lincoln beard. Also liked “Paw McCartney” complete in Sgt. Pepper’s uniform and mustache.
Here’s an image of Lincoln at the state fair from the ILHC, and below is Paw from huskiesonparade.com/. ILHC director Diane Rossiter says:
ILHC sponsored “Lincoln” and “Abe” as part of this project. Lincoln is 40″ tall and is standing proud on the corner of 1st Street and Lincoln Highway in DeKalb. Abe is 20″ tall and is allowed to visit many places throughout Illinois. He has gone to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and was on exhibit in Freeport, Illinois for the celebration of the Lincoln/Douglas debates. Keep an eye out for Abe at future outings!
Huskies on Parade culminated during NIU’s Homecoming weekend when the dogs rode in the Homecoming Parade. The Huskie pups will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to the February 14 Scholarship Fund. You can still check the Lincoln Highwy for Lincoln and 300 E. Harvestore Drive for Paw. For more info contact info@huskiesonparade.com or (815) 753-0835.
Saturday night saw the official premier of the new PBS program A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway. Attending were soundtrack musician Buddy Nutt, the Altizer family (owners of Lincoln Motor Court near Bedford, Pa.), and the often unsung stars—the crew who helped film and edit the production.
The screening was at the Sewickley Car Store, where guests got to snack and mingle with beautiful automobiles thanks to owner Joe Scarfone, above with Producer Rick Sebak. The video was shown on a big screen in HD and elicited some laughs and aww’s, especially for LH couple Esther and Bernie Queneau, who is seen driving around Ohio at 96!
Sebak advised everyone to watch the final two scenes after the video ends. First is a promo for the DVD that’s a funny interaction with cows in Wyoming. Then the credits roll and we hear Buddy Nutt singing “Goin’ All the Way on the Lincoln Highway.” Then came the roar of applause.
Here’s Rick in back along with his brother-in-law Bill Scott, sister Nisey Sebak, and mom Sebak. Up front are good friends Dave and Mary Beth Miller, and Sarah and Brian Butko (that’s me).
Above is On-Line Editor Matt Conrad with his girlfriend Bridget, cameraman Bob Lubomski, musician Buddy Nutt, and Liz “Ukulizzy” Hammond.
The Altizers, owners of Lincoln Motor Court, include Debbie, Bob, Rachel and her husband (who in the video make a quick appearance outside a cabin), Rick Sebak, and Carissa who has some great scenes in the show.
We can’t forget the stunning cars, all new except for this classic 1-cylinder, 12-hp, mid-1950s BMW Isetta microcar.
Everyone got a bag filled with cool stuff including DVDs of the show, each signed by Sebak. You can also read a fun blog post by jomama about the evening HERE.
A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway premiers at 8pm on your local PBS station on October 29, and repeats at 10 pm October 31.
This video about things to see in North Platte, Nebraska, includes the world’s largest railroad classification yard, its famous WWII Canteen, construction of the 9-story-tall Golden Spike tower, and Buffalo Bill’s Scout’s Rest Ranch, long a Lincoln Highway attraction.
Following up on my posts of February 17, 2008 and July 8, 2008, the delayed commemorative re-run of the 1908 New York-to-Paris “Great Race” will come to life later this week. Since the race was delayed in May (now set to start April 25, 2009), Luke Rizzuto and other fans have organized a US-only event called The Longest Auto Race Centennial. Riding with Luke will be Jeff Mahl, great-grandson of George Schuster, winner of the grueling 1908 race. Here is a great video of Luke Rizzuto and his 1918 Chevy:
The 3,700-mile cross-country event will start in New York City on October 18, 2008, and finish in San Francisco on November 8. Much of the 21-day route will follow the Lincoln Highway from coast to coast — click HERE for a full itinerary. All are invited to log onto their website and join the tour for even one day with no fees or rigid regulations.
Luke’s wife Joan-E Rizzuto wrote me, “The excitement and momentum are building significantly, considering we only took over the organizational part of it six weeks ago. Who knew? It must be that this race is NOT about money or glory, but was born out of people’s desire to authentically and respectfully honor those early-day automotive pioneers. Those participants had no roads, AAA service, gas stations or auto parts stores to make their journey less challenging. If you read the accounts of what George Schuster encountered, it is truly humbling.”
Time to hit the road and visit stands along the Lincoln Highway selling fruit, jams, gourds, and pumpkins. Here’s Bingham’s Orchard, 9823 Lincoln Way West, St. Thomas, Pennsylvania.
LHA Past President Jan Shupert-Arick is working on a book, The Lincoln Highway Across Indiana, to be released by Arcadia Publishing in Spring 2009. She says some of the historical images will also be packaged as postcards, with both arriving in time for next summer’s LHA conference in South Bend. Here are two images from the book – above is the Log Cabin Camp at Benton (currently for sale); below is New Carlisle’s Main Street, now a National Register Historic District.
With Rick Sebak’s A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway awaiting its national premier on October 29, LH fans can get a taste for it in other Sebak videos, which often feature LH locations. Here’s a segment from Things That Are Still Here about Ligonier Beach, a 1920 swimming hole just east of Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The cement pool is fed by an artesian well and offers a short sandy beach.
Denny Gibson wrote to say that Phil Rosenstein is running across the US on a path that will cover part of the Lincoln Highway. “He’s currently running eastbound on Route 66. His schedule is here but he’s well ahead of it and has just entered Missouri. Although he doesn’t mention it (and may not realize it) it looks like he’ll be following the LH from Indiana through Pennsylvania.”
Indeed, Phil told me, “Route 30 is the one part of my run that I’ve no pre-knowledge about. I don’t think I’ve ever been on it.” Of concern is whether the road has shoulders and reasonable speed limits.
On his website, Phil writes that he is “running the entire Route 66 from Santa Monica, CA to Chicago, IL and then continuing on to Atlantic City, NJ to complete the transcontinental run. I will be alone and I am prepared to do it on my own every step of the way. But, this run will go much easier with a little help from a few people along the way.” Help could come in the form of lodging, publicity, and his ultimate goal, raising attention and money for The Mario Lemieux Foundation (www.mariolemieux.org).
Here’s a photo Phil at the statue of Andy Payne in Foyil, Oklahoma.
Payne won the 1928 “Bunion Derby” transcontinental footrace along the newly created Route 66. He was born and raised in Foyil, which is on 66.
Here are Phil’s Lincoln Highway check points:
November 8, 2008
Plymouth IN
Columbia City IN
November 8, 2008
Fort Wayne IN
November 9, 2008
Van Wert OH
Upper Sandusky OH
Bucyrus OH
November 12, 2008
Mansfield OH
Massillon OH
Minerva OH
November 15, 2008
East Liverpool OH
November 16, 2008
Pittsburgh PA
Latrobe PA
Reels Corners PA
Breezewood PA
Gettysburg PA
November 22, 2008
York PA
Lancaster PA
Coatesville PA
Along with major stories of financial woes, including the national debt clock running out of digits in New York City’s Times Square — the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway — comes news that the Eat’n Park chain of restaurants has greatly reduced the hours of its Park Classic Diner along the Lincoln Highway in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.
Located at the busy corner of US 30 and Lowry Ave. in what is locally known as Lincoln Heights, the building was an original 1960s car-hop location that the chain converted to a 1940s/50s-style diner in 1999. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “The diner remains open for breakfast and lunch, but now closes at 4 p.m. because of the lack of business during the dinner hours, said Kevin O’Connell, a spokesman for Eat ‘N Park.”
Reducing hours has become common for diners in recent decades, as including dinner means adding a new shift of workers and stocking many more foods for larger meals. However, it’s surprising that a chain that already manages a large staff and can supply most such items as standard with other locations finds the need to cut back.
Dennis Crowley continues his story as journeys across California:
California traffic presented some concerns, like that is hard to believe. I had to always be on the alert that someone wasn’t pulling on to the shoulder. Thankfully I had the foresight to install mirrors on the rig which I constantly monitored as well as installing a caution flag. The only time I had any real concern was along the stretch through James Canyon. For anyone not familiar with this stretch it is a slithery, windy, narrow, death trap with narrow and in some places no shoulders. Common sense told me to grab a fanny pack and leave the trailer behind which is precisely what I did. By the time I reached the eastern end of the “gauntlet” the traffic was bumper to bumper and I was doing what I now affectionately call “The Manly Shuffle” meaning that I was walking sideways. Thanks to Paul Gilger’s knowledge of the area I avoided jail time by crossing over the interstate on the railroad tracks west of Cordelia when faced with the onramp to the freeway.
Last but not least there are always concerns with injuries. Given the ground I cover (anywhere from 10-20 miles a day) they do happen and at times in the most inconvenient places. I was pushing so hard to get across the Mojave Desert on old Route 66 a few years ago that by the time I reached Victorville I sprained both ankles. I spent a month off my feet which was still not even enough for full recovery. I had events to attend in Southern California so I picked back up and limped my way to the Santa Monica Pier. In case you are feeling sorry for me hold on to that feeling because it gets worse. Outside San Bernardino a bee stung me in the corner of my eye. He died “an untimely death” but it didn’t make me feeler any better or look any better. The left side of my face swelled up and I looked like the Elephant Man. Looking back maybe I should have made that little stroll down Rodeo Drive. Thankfully I escaped any injuries on my first leg of the Lincoln Highway as well as any “encounters.”
As you can expect everyone I encountered was curious about what I was doing. They were also kind and encouraging and displayed their support of me with everything from a “God bless you” to cold water bottles. All in all I don’t think I could have asked for a better time.
Now I turn my thoughts to May 2009. I will take what I have learned on this leg and prepare over the next seven months to make the trek from West Sacramento to the Reno over the infamous Donner Pass. I pray it will be as much of a success as this journey was.
A complete description of this first leg will be appearing on Dennis’ journal page of his website over the next few weeks at www.walkingamessage.com/.
Top: Lincoln Highway sign in Dixon, California. Above: Pony Express Station at Rockville Rd in Cordelia, and two views of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Pathway in Davis.
Bridge of Hope Lancaster and Chester Counties celebrates its 20th year helping homeless families with “Exploring the Lincoln Highway: Driving for Hope” on Saturday, November 1, 2008, 5–8 p.m., at Ridgeview Mennonite Church, 3723 Ridge Rd, Gordonville, Pennsylvania. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-11.
Regional Lincoln Highway food favorites from their “farmer’s market” will include:
Carmel Popcorn (Times Square – vendor style)
Philly Cheese Steaks (an eastern PA favorite)
Potato Pirogues (Coatesville, birthplace of Bridge of Hope)
Chicken Corn Soup (Can we say Lancaster?)
Apple Salad (Adams County famous!)
Root Beer and Lemonade (Favorites at roadsides across the country)
Premier Desserts and Gourmet Coffees will be available from a replica of the famous Coffee Pot in Bedford, Pa. Festivities will include a mime and barbershop quartet; for kids there will be storytelling, games, crafts, free treats, and a simulated road rally with activities and clues pertaining to the Lincoln Highway.
For more information, visit Bridge of Hope (which promotes “ending and preventing homelessness — one church and one family at a time with the help of trained mentoring groups within congregations”) or download the event brochure here.
A mentioned in my post of 9/3/08, Dennis Crowley is walking across America on the Lincoln Highway, breaking the trip into manageable segments. He’s completed leg one from San Francisco to Sacramento and sent a round-up for our enjoyment. Now back in Arizona, he writes that “It seems like only yesterday that I first conceived of the idea to walk across America on the Lincoln Highway. Tired muscles, a collection of photos, and a pile of credit card receipts are telling me that the first leg of my walk on the Lincoln Highway is over.” Here’s part one of his note, with more to follow later this week:
After completing a walk across America on Route 66 in 2005 doing another walk was the furthest thing from my mind. Getting back to living a “normal” life was the only thing on my mind and that is precisely what I did, but it would only be short lived. In the spring of 2006 I received a phone call asking me to meet someone who was walking across America. When this man, also named Dennis, arrived at my home he was pulling a wheel barrow with his gear in it. It was quite a novelty to be sure, but it got me thinking. What he had was crude, but he had a good idea and I knew I could improve on it. As I watched him leave in the middle of the night the wheels on his “rig” were not the only ones turning.
Over the course of the next two years I worked with a graphic designer developing a logo, pestered custom bicycle builders for ideas on how to build a lightweight trailer, befriended some folks with the Lincoln Highway Association, planned, strategized, and tossed and turned at night. Before I knew it I was at Lincoln Park in San Francisco strapping myself into the harness of my trailer.
No crowds gathered and no bands played. It was just a quiet beginning, but an encouraging one. Kent Laak and Carlos Toste with the Mountain Hardwear Company showed up to wish me well. They presented me with tent compliments of their company and an acknowledgement of their support. And as representatives of the athletic shoe company Montrail they informed me that they would be providing all the shoes I needed. It would prove to be the sign of how things on this first leg would go.
I am not saying that everything went perfectly, but given the type of undertaking this is I certainly can’t complain. I do wish though that I would have been more attentive with my maps. Thankfully I learned that lesson early on. As I told people along the way, “It’s one thing to have to back track when you are driving and quite another when you are walking.” Soon after leaving the Presidio over looking the Golden Gate Bridge I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. I quickly got on my cell phone and called my niece in Oregon to have her check a map. Sure enough, I was ten blocks south of where I was supposed to be. I turned myself around and made my own contribution to global warming with the continual utterance, “I can’t believe I did that!”
There was also one other “learning experience” as I would prefer to call it that I also have to share. Someone at one point recommended that I install brakes on my trailer. I didn’t think that would ever be necessary. Was I ever wrong! I can’t even begin to tell you how difficult it is to walk down the steepest streets in the world pulling a trailer behind you. My friend Paul Gilger nearly fell out of his chair laughing when I told him about it, but I am feeling much better now. (Grin)
Looking back I wish I had a camcorder mounted to myself as I walked. The attention the trailer got was unbelievable and at times even hysterical. Heads turned, people stared, and some people even pulled over just to ask about it. Of all the comments that were made my favorite was from a man in Berkley who said, “Now that’s manpower!” Because the Lincoln Highway coincides with parts of the Pony Express Trail I affectionately deemed my rig, “The “Manly Express.”
The full story of this first leg will appear on his journal over the next few weeks at www.walkingamessage.com, or visit it to learn more about “Walking America The Lincoln Way.”
Above photos are at Dixon and Fairfield, California.
Route 30, a fictional film shot along the Lincoln Highway in central Pennsylvania this summer, premiered in at the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg last Saturday. The Gettysburg Times reported, “The 88-minute movie, created on a $50,000 budget, had crowd members laughing, area residents pointing out places they knew and showed a glimpse of what growing up in south central Pennsylvania was like for [producer/director John] Putch.” His parents are actress Jean Stapleton and William Putch, former artistic director of the Totem Pole Playhouse just west on the Lincoln. A portion of the proceeds from the premier benefit the playhouse and Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.
Olga Herbert, LHHC director, sent these photos and reports, “Route 30 – 3 stories, 1 Highway was a hoot and brought the sellout crowd at Gettysburg’s Majestic Theater to their feet more than once. I’ve already made arrangements with the director to show it in smaller theaters (not the mall cinemas) up and down LH/Route 30 in PA. He’s working on the logistics. I was glad our LH road signs made it to the big screen twice and the script included a reference to LH. You’ll get a bang out of it, and Mister Ed and his Elephant Museum have a pivotal role in the plot.” Judging by the bottom photo, we’ll have to line up to get Mister Ed’s autograph from now on!
And here’s a trailer for the film:
Eric Ebbinger writes that he and his wife Misty are combining their love of history, running, and the spirit to run across Ohio next February. To honor of the legacy of President Lincoln, they will begin in February on his 200th birthday and finish the 240-some miles 5 days later on President’s Day: “What better place to focus a birthday celebration of Lincoln than the engineering marvel which bears his name? … It will not be easy, but it will not be impossible. Ok, to be completely honest, most people think we’re crazy. But the road, the towns, the people, and the legacy of Lincoln will be exemplified in every step.”
To help spread the word about the man, the road, and the run, they’ve launched a website thelincolnrun.com. So far, it has only followed the story of Eric’s running but as November and the anniversary of the Gettysburg address approaches, they will “launch a daily celebration of all things Lincoln.” They will also offer a T-shirt for $20 with a portion going to the Lincoln Highway Association.
Rollin Southwell, aka The Man From Utah, has started a blog to complement his efforts to promote a monument to Lincoln Highway catalyst Carl Fisher. He has been working for the past decade to have the monument erected at Fisher Pass in Utah, 32 miles SW of Tooele. He’s long had a web site that explains that a monument was to be built by the state when the Lincoln Highway was rerouted in 1918 to a straighter path across the Salt Lake Desert.
As Rollin recounts, “Carl G. Fisher donated $25,000.00 to the State of Utah in 1918 to make a short cut on the Transcontinental Lincoln Highway cutting out fifty miles of the worst road conditions then existing on the Lincoln Highway.” He has part of the contract online too:
And Johnson Pass shall hereafter be known as Fisher Pass, or by such other designation as Mr. Carl G. Fisher shall hereafter determine.
Said Seilbering and Fisher are hereby given authority to construct, at their own expense, at the termini of, or at such other places along such sections, suitable markers, monuments or arches for the designation of said respective sections in connection with the work herein referred to.
Rollin says progress is finally being made on permits for the site. He adds, “If anyone has some material about Fisher Pass or the Goodyear Cutoff, feel free to leave it on the blog. We can add it very easy. Photos too. To start getting the blog rolling, we talk about old Betsy and her car connection to Fisher Pass.” Check it out at www.rgsouthwellblog.com/.
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!
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