Lincoln Highway News

Lincoln Highway Bridge Festival this weekend

brianbutko — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:36:07 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The 34th annual Lincoln Highway Bridge Festival in Tama, Iowa, starts Friday and features Merriam’s Midway Shows, bands, kids activities, and the Festival Parade on Saturday morning. The celebration is named for the 1915 concrete bridge built on East 5th Street that has been preserved and is still used.

Read more in today’s Tama Toledo News for times and more details. (Sorry, my link posting is down):

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/515014/34th-annual-Lincoln-Highway-Bridge-Festival-is-today–Saturday.html

“Pedaling Lincoln Highway” show follows IL route

brianbutko — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:55:14 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
To mark the centennial of the Lincoln Highway, Dan Libman rode his bike along the road through Illinois and recorded his recollections for a 3-part radio series. ”Pedaling Lincoln Highway” aired this week on the university’s radio station WNIJ 89.5 but you can listen too.

Libman, an avid cyclist and professor at Northern Illinois University faculty DeKalb says traveling by bike put him at the speed of early automobiles.

Read along here (also includes an audio player): Intro, 1, 2, 3.

Or if you just want to listen: Intro, 1, 2, 3.

New Lincoln Highway Mural in Chicago Heights

brianbutko — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:48:55 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The 33rd roadside mural from the llinois Lincoln Highway Coalition was installed at 137 East 14th Street, Chicago Heights, Illinois. The mural depicts a vintage photo of the McEldowney Bridge that once crossed Thorn Creek in Chicago Heights and Henry C. Ostermann, the Lincoln Highway Association Field Secretary who traveled the Lincoln Highway to inspect it. Chicago Heights is known as the “Crossroads of the Nation” where the Lincoln and Dixie Highways intersect. A special element in this mural is the “L” sign, a three-dimensional piece attached directly to the mural surface.

Another mural was installed the same day in Crest Hill, at 1701 Larkin Avenue in the Hillcrest Shopping Center. The story was also reported at nwitimes.com. For more information or to download an Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide, visit drivelincolnhighway.com.

Lincoln Hwy’s “Man from Utah” Rollin Southwell

brianbutko — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 05:03:10 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO

Long-time Lincoln Highway advocate Rollin Southwell passed away suddenly on Sunday while in Iowa. Among the many contributions of “The Man from Utah” to Lincoln Highway history, preservation, and promotion was the conception and creation of a monument to Carl Fisher in central Utah.

Rollin’s family has planned a service for Monday, April 1, 2013, 11 am at the Twenty-Seventh East Ward, 185 North P Street (corner of 4th Ave), Salt Lake City. In lieu of flowers, Marie Southwell, Elizabeth Southwell, and Robert Southwell ask that donations be directed to the Utah State Historical Society in honor of Rollin’s love for historical research, particularly the history of the Lincoln Highway.

American Songline sings the highway this summer

brianbutko — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:20:12 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Singer/composer Cecelia “Cece” Otto will celebrate the Lincoln Highway’s centennial this summer with concerts in every state along the coast-to-coast road. An American Songline: A Musical Journey Along the Lincoln Highway is a “singing travelogue” that will serenade communities with songs popular during the highway’s heyday.

Cece wants these performances to be free so she is asking for donations to help defray some of her costs. Visit her Kickstarter campaign at www.kickstarter.com/projects/614045560/an-american-songline> to make a donation. Whether you donate or not, at least check out her project, one of the most creative celebrations of the Lincoln Highway’s centennial.

“I will travel through 14 states, following the original 1913 route of the Lincoln Highway. I’ll be singing a mix of operetta, light classical, and vaudeville songs that were performed in concert halls and recitals along the road throughout the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. And I’ll be staying with people along the way and getting to know them and their communities.”

An American Songline kicks off mid-April in New York City. Cece will then travel from New Jersey to California, where the journey ends in Lincoln Park, the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway. To learn more about American Songline, visit americansongline.net or its page on Facebook.

Small-town Nebraska hotel to be demolished

brianbutko — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:10:27 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
As reported by Nebraska Outback, the town of Brule (west pf Ogalalla) wants to tear down an old hotel along the Lincoln Highway to make way for other businesses. According to KNOP-TV (source of the screen shot below), ”A new Community Development Agency in Brule wants to revitalize the downtown area, starting with this old hotel building on 2nd and State streets.”

Although no plan or even interest in the location is mentioned, the agency official nonetheless says a replacement “will be a nice looking structure that will start bringing in tax base. That basically helps all those entities that are dependent on upon tax income.”

It is unfortunate that when a structure looks old or in disrepair that so many want to demolish, when it is just those structures, restored or not, that give a community its character. This sense of heritage is exactly what people come to such towns looking for, not chain businesses that can be found anywhere.

Illinois B&B wins award

brianbutko — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:42:53 +0000

The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) blog reports that a bed & breakfast along the Lincoln Highway corridor has won a prestigious award. Parkside Bed and Breakfast, 200 E. Roosevelt Street, DeKalb, Illinois, was awarded the prestigious Guest Favorite Award from BnBFinder. Only 8 out of 3,000 that are listed on the BnBFinder.com site were chosen for this award. The main house was built in 1854; the attached apartment was opened as a B&B in July 2010. They are located just south of E. Lincoln Highway.

Learn more about innkeepers Bob and Pam Snow or make a reservation at www.parksidebedandbreakfast.com.

Illinois Lincoln Highway murals need your vote

brianbutko — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:48:32 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Murals, created by artist Jay Allen for the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition, won first place in the Murals/Exhibit Graphics category in an annual sign contest presented by Signs of the Times magazine.

Now the murals are competing in the Signs of the Times 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards. They need YOUR help. It’s EXTREMELY easy and fun to see the competing projects.

Every mural is a hand-painted, unique work of art. So far, 29 have been installed. Upon completion, the series will be one of the largest works of public art in the country.

Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8DV5THL and vote for your 3 favorite projects, including of course the murals. Voting is limited to once per computer and concludes on February 8.

2013 Lincoln Highway travel guide for Nebraska

brianbutko — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:05:29 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO

The Nebraska Lincoln Highway Scenic and Historic Byway Association has published a Centennial Travel Guide to promote attractions along the Lincoln Highway. Nebraska’s portion of the coast-to-coast road 450 miles, makes it the state’s longest byway. Print versions are available or see it instantly online HERE.

Sarah Focke, LH byway president, says “The centennial of the Lincoln Highway in 2013 will mean increased tourism…. This will help them visit all the hidden treasures located along the way.”

The guide includes historical information about the highway and key byway attractions and historical sites, maps to find lodging, meals and entertainment and a schedule of activities along the way.

Copies of the travel guide are available in the 36 communities across the byway, or for more information, visit
http://www.lincolnhighwaynebraskabyway.com.

Museum for LH & Route 66 restoring 1928 post

brianbutko — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:42:48 +0000

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Joliet Area Historical Museum, at the crossroads of the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, is asking for help in restoring its 1928 Lincoln Highway concrete marker. According to a release, the museum hopes “to raise $5,000 to restore the highway marker which is deteriorating rapidly. Restoration includes: stabilizing the interior rebar, re-adhering the broken segments, removing bronze disease, brightening the paint, and displaying it inside.” Of course, there is no paint — the colors are in the concrete — but the rest sounds like a worthy endeavor.