Petroliana auction of Preston’s gas station in Iowa

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 … Continue reading →

Ron Preston, son of famed gas station owner, dies

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO LHA headquarters in Franklin Grove, Illinois, received a call that Ron Preston passed away last week. He was the son of George Preston, whose sign-covered gas station in Belle Plaine, Iowa, is a shrine for Lincoln Highway fans. George bought the station in 1923 for $100 … Continue reading →

Belle Plaine’s Lincoln Cafe to reopen

Van & Bev Becker send word from Iowa that the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine is set to reopen in September. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported today that Gzim “Jimmy” Limani, owner of the likewise famous King’s Tower Café (also along the Lincoln Highway in nearby Tama) is working to rehab the shuttered cafe. When … Continue reading →

Iowa’s Lincoln Cafes go opposite ways

Two stories tell two different tales of Lincoln Cafes located along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that “Matt Steigerwald, owner and chef of the Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, has retained his title as the Midwest region’s ‘Prince of Porc’ after winning the Cochon 555 competition for the second straight … Continue reading →

20 years ago, George Preston took LH to Tonight

Van & Bev Becker of Iowa sent a reminder that it was 20 years ago today that George Preston appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to tell some of his endless stores about the Lincoln Highway. The March 20 Cedar Rapids Gazette mentioned it in the “Times of Our Lives” column by Jim … Continue reading →

Lincoln Highway on Belle Plaine, Iowa, mural

Van & Bev Becker wrote to say that Belle Plaine, Iowa, hopes to encourage tourism by promoting the Lincoln Highway and its importance to the town. Artists have been commissioned to paint historic scenes on local structures. The Beckers sent the photo below of a mural on the outside of the history museum at the … Continue reading →

Murder shocks, closes Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Curtis C. Bailey, co-owner of the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine, Iowa, was murdered Sunday by his common-law wife and two other people, reportedly her son and his girlfriend. LHA director Van Becker sent the photo and alerts us that the story was reported yesterday on Cedar Rapids KCRG-TV … Continue reading →

2009 Iowa Lincoln Highway tour set for August

The 2nd Annual Iowa Lincoln Highway Motor Tour has been set for August 28-30, 2009. Featured stops along the west-to-east tour will include Desoto Bend, Carroll, Jefferson, Boone, Nevada, Marshalltown, Tama, Youngville, Cedar Rapids, Mechanicsville, Lowden, and Clinton. ABOVE: George Preston’s station, Belle Plaine. Photo from the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association site, by Bryan Osberg, … Continue reading →