The Deseret News had a nice feature on Gregory Franzwa, author of 20 books including a state-by-state series on the Lincoln Highway. His new book, The Mormon Trail Revisited, retraces the 1846-47 route of the Mormon pioneers across the midwest and into Utah. The book mixes history with driving directions to the 1,400 miles of trails and country roads. Its 284 pages include more than 200 photographs of the trail and historic sites.

The article offers some insights into the author’s work and the trail:

“This exodus was the most amazing thing. There’s been nothing like it before or since. You think of the 2,500 humans and 500 wagons that left Nauvoo and camped at Sugar Creek. That has to be the biggest wagon train in history times 10.”

Franzwa and his wife, Kathy, who now live in Tooele, spent three years tracking the trail. They follow the mass exodus across Iowa, where the “adhesive mud so frustrated the pioneers’ plans to cross the Rockies that year that they had to hole up along the Missouri River. That must have been so discouraging for them.”

He then follows the trail that Brigham Young and the lead wagon train followed across the plains and into the Salt Lake Valley. “We found every single campsite,” he says.

His purpose in writing the guide was twofold. He wants to help people get there — “right in the traces. Right where the mules and oxen and wagon wheels left those scars. To get out of the car and stand in those ruts….

A second reason for the guide, however, is equally important, he says — to encourage preservation. “When a person has read that history, stood right on those pioneer pathways and driven or hiked the pioneer routes, it is unlikely that there will be much support for proposals which would damage or destroy the historic trails or sites.

To purchase the book ($24.95 paper, $39.95 cloth) or for more info, check Franzwa’s Patrice Press site patricepress.com/.

A free Lincoln Highway BUY-WAY Yard Sale Travelers Guide is being distributed along the different routings of the Lincoln Highway through Ohio. The fourth annual BUY-WAY Yard Sale will take place August 7, 8 and 9. The guide features a map of all Lincoln Highway alignments and towns in Ohio, plus contains listings and ads for more than 50 of the larger group events. Guides can be found at participating businesses such as restaurants, attractions, and convenience stores.

Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway Executive Director Mike Hocker says, “The guide is very helpful since many people are confused about where the Lincoln Highway ran — it did change alignments through the years from 1913 to 1928.”

In the 1920s, much of the old route in Ohio was marked US 30 but modern 4-lane improvements bypass the old towns and alignments. That means Ohio alone has roughly 350 miles of yard sales, community events, and festivals with lots of food, drink, and fun for kids. Last year saw more than 700 individual and organizational sales just in Ohio. Indiana and Illinois are participating too, and West Virginia’s 2.25-mile segment of the highway through Chester is also part of the BUY-WAY sale.

More information and a printable listing of yard sales and locations can be found at www.historicbyway.com (updated frequently).

The Laramie Boomerang reports that the ashes of sculptor Robert Russin and his wife Adele have been interred at the monument he created in 1959 to honor Lincoln’s 150th birthday. Its location in eastern Wyoming marked the highest point on the transcontinental Lincoln Highway: 8,835 feet. In 1969, the monument was moved to the nearby Summit Rest Area (exit 323) when I-80 opened between Cheyenne and Laramie, and is now at the highest point along I-80: 8,640 feet.

Above is a screen shot from the article and here’s a bit of the story:

Joe Russin, one of the sculptor’s sons, said his father’s wish was to be laid to rest near the statute [sic].

“The Lincoln statute became his calling card,” Russin said. “It was one of his favorite statutes.”

The mighty statute was actually made in Mexico City and then brought, in pieces, to Wyoming….

“My dad hadn’t thought about how low the wires were over Grand Avenue,” Russin said. “So they had to move it through Laramie really early in the morning and they cut the electric and telephone wires for each block as they went through.”

ABOVE: Sculptor Robert Russin and assistants work on the bust of Abraham Lincoln. Courtesy Jim Kearns, Manager, University of Wyoming Media Relations.

We spent last night under a rising full moon at the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In, named for the two roads passing by: the Lincoln Highway and Wm. Penn Highway (later US routes 22 & 30). Opened in 1950 in suburban Pittsburgh, the “drive-in capital,” it had closed in 1996 and sat mostly vacant, hosting volleyball tounaments for the adjacent bar and military-themed haunted attractions at Halloween. Three local partners – Jerry Salnoris, Dan Tice, and Jim Torcasi – reopened it last July 3. Business is OK but they have the usual challenge of rainy weather and that most profits go back to the movie distributor, so they depend greatly on snack bar sales. We did our part with endless trips for drinks, ice cream, french fries, and popcorn!

Visit your local drive-in this weekend to experience a movie under the stars. Their land is always tempting to developers so let’s support them while we can. Check the list at right for a LH drive-in near you or send any I might have missed.

Twin Hi-Way Drive-In
5588 Steubenville Pike
Robinson Township, PA
(412) 494-4999
www.twinhiwaydrivein.com

I have three updates on Sleepy Hollow Tavern near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, a 1939 roadside landmark along the Lincoln Highway that burned in February.

An article in today’s Tribune Review reports that the contractor demolishing and rebuilding the place has found numerous treasures including a couple huge safes. Fred Haeflein says one of the safes is a 100-year-old, 1,000-pound combo-lock model, hand-painted with gold lining and braided metal on the outside. Other items include a popcorn machine, brass lighting fixtures, a Corona metal beer cooler, and objects that hung on the walls such as antique skis, golf clubs, and “various Lincoln Highway road signs.”

The Trib also recently reported that Ligonier filmmaker Andrea Niapas, who produced a 2007 docudrama of Amelia Earhart’s last flight, is documenting Haeflein as he dismantles and rebuilds the tavern. She sometimes stands atop construction vehicles to get better footage of the building’s selective demolition.

Finally, Clinton Piper wrote to say that his mother volunteers to compile obituaries for a local database and was searching the Latrobe Bulletin on microfilm when she came across some interesting references to two buildings on the Sleepy Hollow site:
1. Overland Inn burned prior to 1926
2. Gas station destroyed by fire 10/18/26

A later gas station at the site is pictured in my PA LH book (shown above) but little is known about it.

As Buddy and Bob pulled their Piaggio MP3 scooters into Times Square on Monday, ending their coast-to coast drive across the Lincoln Highway, reporters lined up to interview them. Their arrival was covered by The New York Times, Forbes, CNN, New York Daily News, NY Metro, and others, including a number of blogs. Buddy and Bob were nice enough to mention to the NYT that they used my Greetings from The Lincoln Highway as their travel guide.

LHA director for New York Jerry Peppers was there to greet them and provided the photos above and these observations:

Piaggio’s marketing people got a police escort so we could occupy the NW corner of Broadway and 42nd Street for a half hour or so without being harassed by traffic. They also arranged for media coverage and I was personally interviewed and talked about trying to get a bronze plaque to mark the eastern terminus on the building corner that was only about ten feet from where we were standing.

I took the paper sign that I had previously attached to the post on the corner where we are endeavoring to get a permanent sign post and pasted it there again for this event. The second photo shows Bob Chase on his bike next to that temporary marker. The Piaggio people produced a hand-held sign that found its way into many photographs as well.

I talked to both riders at some length, particularly Buddy who is a New Yorker. They were appreciative of meeting the LHA members in Evanston and the treatment they got. Also, Bob Chase has joined the LHA and actually carries his membership card! He lives in Livermore in the Bay area.

Here’s a screen shot from the NYT story:

Hazen Market, a well-known stop east of Reno, Nwevada, has closed after some 70 years in business. A report in the Lahontan Valley News says the recent widening of US 50A made it difficult for travelers to stop, leading to a decline in business. The store was originally along the old Lincoln Highway but was relocated in 1944 when the railroad and highway were moved to bypass south of the little town. Producer Rick Sebak stopped last year on his first trip for the upcoming PBS special and, like so many, enjoyed his visit.

The market had been spruced up since then (as seen in Rick’s sunset photo above versus one from the article below). It still maintained its classic appearance, but that was not enough according to the article, excerpts of which follow.

Owner Allen Hughes blames the Nevada Department of Transportation for the store’s demise…. “The State of Nevada blocked me off,” he said, adding he was promised three turning lanes, which never materialized.

People traveling from Fernley would have to drive 300 feet past the market and make a U-turn to enter his business and make another U-turn when exiting the store because there is no turn lane when traveling eastbound….

Hughes said he is not sure of what he will do with the building, but has thoughts of turning it into a delicatessen/bar to make it more of a destination business than a convenience. He said people who would not stop for a soft drink might do so for a sandwich.

Hughes said the store is for lease, and is willing to work with interested people who would like to open some type of business there.

Hazen residents said they are being affected by the closing of the market, which is located halfway between Fallon and Fernley.

LancasterOnline reports that more retail may be coming to the busy Lincoln Highway/US 30 corridor east of Lancaster, Pa. This stretch was still rural until about WWII, then grew modestly along with interest in the Amish who live in the area. Living history farms, country-style buffets, and other Pennsylvania Dutch-themed businesses dotted the road till the early 1990s when the city pursued businesses that operated beyond daylight hours. Wal-Mart was among the first to open (on the former Amish Homestead attraction) and now outlet malls, strip malls, and fast food chains dominate the multiple-lane highway.

Many of the old hotels are gone, which is apparently what this development would replace — the former c. 1960 Congress Inn, seen above in May.

[Lancaster County Planning Commission[ planners are expected to review plans for the Millcreek Square shopping center proposed for 35 acres on Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township.

Affiliates of High Real Estate Group LLC and Faison Enterprises Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., are planning a 287,000-square-foot center adjacent to Lancaster Host Resort.

The main entrance to the center would be opposite the entrance to the complex where Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and the Italian Villa are located.

Smaller retailers would be located along Lincoln Highway East, while midsize and large stores would form an “L” shape along the east side and rear of the property.

Developers have declined to name any retailers that might occupy the complex.

After 3,400 miles but just $300 in gas on their Piaggio cycles, Buddy Rosenbaum (71) and Bob Chase (72) are set to reach the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway on Monday, July 14. Scooter commuters and the New York Scooter Club will welcome them to Times Square, which will close briefly just for them!

You can greet them too - here’s the schedule:
9 am — Breakfast at Vespa Jersey City.
10 am — Ride via the Lincoln Tunnel (a later LH route) into NYC.
10:30 to 10:45 am — Welcome at Times Square, 42nd and Broadway.
11:45 am to 2 pm — Reception and lunch at Bond 45, 154 W. 45th St.

Above: Bob, Buddy, and their Piaggios in San Francisco at the western terminus. Read more at www.noagelimitpiaggio.us/.

George Garrett and Tom Shields left Times Square on July 6 and are following the Lincoln Highway west in their vintage Fords, George is driving a 1939 Ford Coupe, Tom a ’37 convertible. Don’t forget to follow their progress on their blog. Here are a couple views from western Pennsylvania.