Tag: Lincoln Highway

Join us for the 2022 LHA Annual Conference, June 20th to 24th, in Joliet, Illinois.

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger
The Rialto Square Theatre

After a couple of years on hiatus due to Covid, our annual LHA conference is back! The conference will start on Monday, June 20. The host hotel will be the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, just off the Lincoln Highway and close to Interstate 80. The nite of June 20 will kick off with an opening banquet followed by a bus tour the next day with a lunch stop and pipe organ concert at the gorgeous Rialto Square Theatre in the heart of Joliet, considered one of the ten most beautiful theaters in the United States and a photo stop at the Building the Lincoln Highway statue on the border of Joliet and Crest Hill. 

The Garfield Farm and Museum

Another tour will include a stop at the Garfield Farm and Inn Museum, an 1840s era farm, and a stagecoach stop. For a significant find in the middle of farm country, experience authentic Italian food in a stunning banquet hall featuring hand-painted décor for the Wednesday West Bus Tour. There will be a popular request tour of the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb on the West Tour. The Egyptian Theatre underwent a major restoration and expansion in recent years and has air conditioning. The West Tour will be a golden opportunity to visit the LHA Headquarters in the H.I. Lincoln Building in Franklin Grove to see the recent renovations.

Inside the National Headquarters in Franklin Grove.

The conference finishes on June 24 with Speakers Day, which will feature native Joliet resident Dennis Doyle speaking on the Lincoln Highway and James R. Wright, a lifelong resident of Homewood, Illinois, who will give a history of the Dixie Highway in Illinois. The activities on Speakers’ Day will conclude Thursday evening with the ever-popular Awards Banquet.

We hope to see you soon, in person, in Joliet!

Visit the Illinois Lincoln Highway Association page for booking and other information.

The Lincoln Highway Association adds RV Campgrounds to its interactive website map.

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger

Those planning a vacation trip along the nation’s first highway can now identify the locations of RV campgrounds using the homepage association’s website: www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org. Clicking on the blue tent symbol at any point along the national route displays the name and address of the campground in a pop-up box.

Established in 1913, the Lincoln Highway still exists in its many forms, clearly marked and offering a taste of motor travel as it existed before the Interstates.

Experience it a piece at a time in one or more of the 13 states through which it passes, between Times Square and San Francisco.

The online integrated map can help plan a trip and guide travelers along the way. Thousands travel over the route every year. Get off the four-lane whenever you wish and pick a more relaxed way to motor through the towns and villages that carry that unique taste of Americana.

There are hundreds of stop-over choices along the way including, historical attractions, sites of interest, and camping locations liberally situated. It’s the road that challenged the way Americans traveled, and it’s waiting for new explorers today: driveable, prosperous, and ready to host a most pleasant, informative, and memorable adventure.

For more information contact:

John Jackson, Marketing Section
Lincoln Highway Association
PO Box 1326
Delaware, Ohio 43105
Website: lincolnhighwayassoc.org
e-mail: hq@lincolnhighwayassoc.org

Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

The Loneliest Road in America

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger

Summer is almost upon us, and you know what that means Road Trip! This video is the work of a father and son who took three days to follow Highway 50 across Nevada. The route of Highway 50 follows in many places the older Lincoln Highway. In the video, we will see several Lincoln Highway posts and other attractions along the way. Enjoy!

“Forgotten Road”

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger

Ron Harris Photography will sometimes include photos of the Lincoln Highway. Here is one of “The Highway” near Applegate, California. In 1927 the Lincoln Highway became Highway 40 in this part of California. This stretch of road between Auburn and Baxter is a premiere “back road experience” road trip. You can follow our signs or our interactive map online here.

Amor Towles new book, The Lincoln Highway

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger

From the author of a Gentleman in Moscow comes a new book with an intriguing title, “The Lincoln Highway.” The publisher, Penguin Books has this to say,

“The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America

In June 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York.

Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles’ third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.”

While the book doesn’t actually cover the era our Lincoln Highway does, 1913-1927, the title shows the highway’s enduring appeal, adventure, and the freedom of the open road. The book comes out in October. See more here.

The online Lincoln Highway map now includes RV campgrounds!

Posted on by Trey Pitsenberger

Soon it will be time to hit the road for some camping adventures. Now you can find out where the best campgrounds are using our Lincoln Highway interactive map.

You can see the new “RV campgrounds” button that you “click” to bring up the campground icons in the map below.

Once the button is clicked, the RV campground icons will show across the country. This is a work in progress, so as we discover more quality campsites, we can add them to the map. Check out the map below to see what clicking the button does.

The default view for the map shows the entire country. To see more detail, zoom in using the “+” button at the lower right. You can continue to zoom in until the street names become visible, as seen in the screengrab below. Here we see the Fallen Leaf Campground just south of Lake Tahoe, California.

Don’t forget that you can also toggle the map to a satellite view by clicking the “satellite” button, shown with the map below and the red arrow. Pretty cool!

Now that our cartographer Paul Gilger has added the RV Campgrounds to our expanding list of features, we will be presenting a “how to use our map” tutorial shortly. We’ll let you know here when it’s available for viewing.

Start planning that Lincoln Highway camping adventure today!

California Chapter meeting on Sat 7/13 — Register by 6/14

Posted on by Lincoln Highway Association

Summer 2019 California Chapter Meeting
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Registration required by June 14 — Limit 50 people

The Rainbow Lodge
50080 Hampshire Rocks Road
Soda Springs, CA 95728
(530) 562-5060
Google Map

The California Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association will hold our summer meeting at the beautifully historic Rainbow Lodge on the old Lincoln Highway in the scenic Sierra Nevada Mountains. The chapter has rented the lodge for the day!

The lodge, originally called the Rainbow Tavern and Trout Farm, was built in 1927 and opened to the traveling public all year round. It is nestled in the forest of the Sierra Nevadas on a scenic portion of the Lincoln Highway, overlooking the Yuba River.

We will have a barbecue lunch out in the back patio with a view of the river, and hold the meeting and presentation inside in the Presentation Room after lunch.

We are limited to fifty (50) participants, so to attend, you will need to mail a payment for $35 per person, postmarked by June 14. The fee covers the lunch and a share of the lodge rental cost for the day.

Schedule

  • 10:00 am — Meet and greet
    • Enjoy the beautiful Sierra Nevada surroundings and the historic Rainbow Lodge itself.
  • 11:30 am — Barbecue lunch
    • Served on the deck (or in Yuba Room if weather does not allow outdoor seating)
    • Menu:
      • Beef hamburgers served with all the fixings, including lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and cheese, served with potato chips
      • Knockwurst and bratwurst
      • Veggie burgers (must be requested in advance)
      • Homemade potato salad and cole slaw
      • Fresh watermelon for dessert
      • Sodas, coffee, tea
      • No liquor or beer will be served
  • 1:00 pm — Meeting
  • 3:00 pm — Presentation
    • Donner History Along the Lincoln Highway

Reservations

This meeting will be popular, so reserve your spot as soon as possible. Please mail the following information:

  • Names of each participant in your party
  • Mailing address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Whether you want a veggie burger instead of a hamburger
  • A check payable to Lincoln Highway California Chapter, in the amount of $35 for each participant in your party

Mail info and checks postmarked by June 14, 2019 to:

Lincoln Highway California Chapter
1136 Capri Drive
Campbell, CA 95008-6007

Downloadable meeting flyer

We hope to see you in the Sierras on July 13!

Neil A. Rodrigues, LHA California Director
Neil_Rodrigues@yahoo.com

Rainbow Lodge History
by the Donner Summit Historical Society

Rainbow Tavern, as it was then known, was built in 1927 by Herstle Jones who also built Nyack Lodge. He was the brother of Oscar Jones who built the Soda Springs Hotel. Rainbow Lodge served as a way stop for summer travelers over the Sierra Nevada mountains offering meals, rooms, and cabins as well as a trout farm. Visitors could catch their fish and have the dining hall prepare them for supper. Once Old Highway 40 (the Lincoln Highway) was plowed in the winter, Rainbow Tavern became a winter destination and way station as well. A rope tow was built out back and skiers were welcomed. Later, skiers who were more adventurous were taken up to the Sugar Bowl ski area. There were also two gas stations located at the Rainbow Tavern for needy travelers.

 

California Chapter meeting on Sat 4/6

Posted on by Lincoln Highway Association

Spring 2019 California Chapter Meeting
Saturday, April 6, 2019
12:00 noon
Open to the public

Woodbridge Crossing
18939 N Lower Sacramento Rd
Woodbridge, CA 95258
(209) 366-1800
Google Map

Lunch at 12:00 noon ($20 cash preferred)
Sandwiches, salads, and soups

Meeting at 1:00 pm

  • Officer and committee reports
  • Updates:
    • Website
    • Brochures
    • 2019 Conference
    • 150th anniversary of Transcontinental Railroad

Presentations

  • Neil Rodrigues: Cold winter motorcycle ride to Duarte Garage
  • Trey Pitsenberger — Adventures in California History: Lincoln Highway tour