Lincoln Highway Association California
Lincoln Highway Association
California

Quarterly Chapter Meeting Minutes — Saturday, July 7, 2018 · 1:30 pm

Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum
Vallejo, California

Introduction

Thanks to Grant and Lee from Gracie’s BBQ in Vallejo for organizing the barbecue lunch!

Visitors to the meeting today:

Officer, Staff and Committee Reports

State Director: Neil Rodrigues

President: Joel Windmiller

Vice-President: Neil Rodrigues

Treasurer: Grant Gassman

Secretary: Paulette Johnston

Gary Kinst: Traveler Newsletter, Historian

Webmaster: Jimmy Lin

Sign Committee Chair: Michael Kaelin

Speakers

Coach tours/car cruises: Mark Hoffman

Old Business

Lincoln Highway in California brochure: Gary Kinst

Gary brought a rough draft of the brochure. It uses a 5-fold twenty-panel format, and includes of photos for 89 key places along four routes, based on past guided tours. It is amazing!

Once the brochure is in decent shape, have Brian look at it. Then we’ll have Neil, Joel, and Paul look through it to make sure there is consensus on the pictures and information. Jim Cassler will print it.

2019 Military Convoy: Paul Gilger

The official Lincoln Highway tour for 2019 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Army Convoy. The tour is in September so that it doesn’t overwhelm the annual conference in the summer. We will arrive in San Francisco on the same date as the original convoy. We can’t start the tour in front of the White House, as the original convoy did, so we will start at the Lincoln Memorial instead.

The Military Vehicle Preservation Association is conducting its own commemorative tour over 62 days. It will cross paths with the LHA tour at some point.

So far, the schedule is:

  1. Washington, DC
  2. (September 1): Gettysburg, PA — via Washington, DC Feeder Loop (Eisenhower farm, cemetery)
  3. Pittsburgh, PA (along an LH alignment no tour has taken before)
  4. Canton, OH — via Rochester, PA; Salem, Alliance, Mansfield
  5. Fort Wayne, IN — via 1913 route (South Bend)
  6. Joliet, IL — Route 66 party
  7. Clinton, IA
  8. Ames, IA — via Tama, Colo
  9. Omaha, NE — via Boys Town
  10. North Platte, NE — Lunch at Kearney Archway, rodeo at North Platte, photo at halfway point at Cozad
  11. Cheyenne, WY
  12. Rock Springs, WY — via Medicine Bow and its Virginian Hotel
  13. Salt Lake City, UT — via Ogden
  14. Ely, NV — via the Salt Lake desert over 267 miles of dirt road, with no gas, and lunch at Anderson Ranch in Callao. There will be one to two sweep cars, maybe a helicopter, to make sure no one gets lost. An alternate paved route through Wendover will be available. Afterwards, there is a train ride in Ely, cocktails at the Big Four.
  15. Carson City, NV — via new alignment through Fallon, Dayton
  16. Sacramento, CA — via South Lake Tahoe
  17. San Francisco, CA — via Altamont Pass, final party in Officers’ Club in Presidio

The driving directions will be over 100 pages. A separate book will include historical inforomation, published by Klinstedt Bros.

The ideal number for the tour is 60 cars, about 105 people. It’s hard to figure out hotels, places to go to lunch, etc. with larger tours. Larger tours have wiped out the gas supply of small towns! The tour price includes everything: attractions and food.

The LHA does not offer tours every year anymore, it’s too much work. We’ve switched to every other year. The 2021 tour will go from San Francisco to New York. Going east is a very different experience than going west, which is the typical direction.

100th Anniversary of the Pioneer Monument at Donner Memorial State Park — June 9

Bill handled the booth, along with Brian from Nevada. It was very well attended, but it was noisy, due to being close to the roadway, and very windy. They handed out lots of materials.

Clarksville Days

Joel, Neil, and Myrna handled the booth. They answered a lot of questions and showed how the markers were put up. Neil brought maps, while Joel brought photo books. It was a well-attended event.

Lodi Signage: Kevin Shawver

The public works department has not yet installed the signs. They will hopefully go up soon.

New Business

New Meritorious Achievement Award

Joel and Paul had a new award idea that came up due to Bob’s recent retirement: an award given out by our chapter that we would give to various people who we believed did a lot for the Lincoln Highway and California. Two discussions: Do we like the idea of the award? Can we agree that Bob Dieterich as our first recipient?

2019 MVPA Military Convoy Tour: Joel Windmiller

As stated above, the MVPA is doing its own re-enactment of the 1919 military convoy across the Lincoln Highway. The chapter is looking for someone to help guide the convoy in California.

National Conference in New Jersey: Bill von Tagen

Adjournment

Presentations

Jim Kern, executive director of the Vallejo Navel and Historical Museum, on the history of Vallejo and Mare Island.

Respectfully submitted
Paulette Johnston, Secretary

Edited by James Lin