Lincoln Highway Association California
Lincoln Highway Association
California

Quarterly Chapter Meeting Minutes – Saturday, October 9, 2021

Home of Kristin Dieterich
Penryn, California

  1. Meeting called to order at 1:38 PM
  2. Welcome/Presentation
    1. Thank you to Kristin for lunch and time on the property. It was a lovely day and the food was wonderful. The pond and fishing was fun.
  3. Introductions [Joel]
    1. It was a pleasure meeting horse and donkey Thor and Leroy. The chickens added lots of fun to our meeting.
  4. Attendance Sign-in Count: [Joel and Paulette]
    1. 30 members and guests
  5. Approval of July 2021 Meeting Minutes
    1. Motion to approve the minutes was made by Greg Gassman. The motion was seconded by Greg Beemer. The motion passed unanimously.
  6. Officer, Staff, and Committee Reports [* did not attend]
    1. Neil Rodrigues: State Director *
      1. Could not attend because he is recovering from Covid. He’ll be back for the January meeting.
      2. On July 20, 2021, Neil gave a presentation to the Northern California Chapter of the Buick Club of America over Zoom titled “What is the Lincoln Highway”, consisting of 31 slides. The presentation was weighted towards California, but it can be tailored to other states and national interest by changing the landmark photos.
      3. Neil will be planning to present to the Model T Club in future months. Date not as yet determined.
      4. The National Automobile Museum in Reno is interested in adding Lincoln Highway mementos to its gift shop. However, the Nevada chapter reported that several attempts to contact the museum have gone unanswered, which may be related to the change in management.
      5. 2022 National Conference in Joliet, Illinois will take place on June 20– 24.
    2. Joel Windmiller: President
      1. Thanks to Kristin for allowing us to be here today. Her father Bob is definitely here with us in the room. Great food and great place.
      2. Sisley Road history: An alignment of the Lincoln and Victory Highways travels in front of the Dieterich’s home along Sisley Road. It is the longest intact section of original concrete roadway in Placer County. It was built under California Highway Contract #164, which was funded by the State Highway Act of 1915, approved by the legislature in 1915 and by voters in 1916. The contract, awarded to AC McLean Construction, specified pouring a 15-foot-wide concrete roadway between Penryn to Auburn, a distance of 7 miles. Construction cost $72,532 in 1915, about $2 million in today’s dollars.
      3. In August, Joel contacted Adriane Dieterich concerning Bob Dieterich’s collection of Lincoln Highway papers and artifacts. The collection also included items from Norm Root given to Bob after Norm’s passing. The chapter now has an impressive collection of documents about the history of the Lincoln Highway in California, the Association’s letters dating back to its founding, maps from the California Division of Highways, and documents and photos of Chapter events and tours. Chapter VP & Historian Trey Pitsenberger volunteered to store the collection.
      4. Moe Mohanna will receive a stone marker from someone in Placerville that was found cut off from the ground. Joel will set up a date to repair it and make some replica markers to go on the highway near his property.
      5. There is no progress on Historic Highway Status for the Lincoln Highway. Member Kevin Shavner encourages us to contact our state representative to encourage the legislature to create a state proclamation. Joel will create a letter for members to send to their legislative representative.
      6. We need some suggestions for where to meet along the highway for our four meetings next year.
    3. Trey Pitsenberger: Vice President/Signage czar/Traveler editor/Chapter Historian
      1. The Caldor Fire Presentation: Trey and Monica presented a slide deck of their tour of the re-opened portions of US 50, including:
        • Johnson Pass Road (now open)
        • Alpine Lodge
        • Meyers
        • Summit Lodge (the surrounding area burned — the fact that they saved the lodge and the city of Berkeley’s Echo Lake Camp was amazing)
        • Phillips (pretty devastating, but the highlight was finding the Phillips Station Marker)
        • Twin Bridges
        • Kyburz
        • Whitehall
        • Echo Summit Lodge (saved, but the surrounding area was severely burned) After the fire, there are likely things that have been uncovered by the vegetation being burned away. It will be a good time to check out US 50 over the next few weeks.
      2. Field Secretary of Signage: Not a whole lot of activity due to COVID and fires. Folsom has now manufuatured and installed signs along 7 miles of LH, at their cost.
      3. National Committees: Seems to be “more perky now.” There is now a marketing committee and a grant committee getting underway.
    4. Grant Gassman: Treasurer’s Report
      1. Deposit from National: $334
      2. Joel: $70 for chapter P.O. box
      3. Balance: Contact chapter for details
      4. About $2300 in donations for the chapter’s upcoming Lincoln Highway book
    5. Paulette Johnston: Secretary
      1. No report
    6. Mark Hoffman: Tours *
      1. Currently working on Lincoln Highway local tours for 2022
      2. Also working on cross-country LH tour arriving at the Joilet, Illinois for the conference
    7. Jimmy Lin: Website *
      1. Trey gave Jimmy’s report for the third quarter.
      2. Amor Towles’ recently released novel The Lincoln Highway has increased visits to our website. There was also a travel website that linked to our site, calling the Lincoln Highway one of the best highways to travel.
      3. Jimmy has a California Chapter to-do list, which includes a new webpage design, new implementations for easier maintenance, new website address, and plans to link to Trey’s map of signs.
      4. Facebook and Twitter have increased during the last quarter.
    8. Speakers/Presentations:
      1. July 20, 2021: Zoom presentation by State Director Neil Rodrigues, as mentioned above.
  7. Old Business
    1. Included in Officer, Staff, and Committee Reports above
  8. New Business
    1. Included in Officer, Staff, and Committee Reports above
    2. Amor Towles has released a new novel entitled The Lincoln Highway. Paul Gilger gave a short review of the book.
  9. Meeting Adjournment
    1. Next meeting: January 15, location TBD.
    2. Paul Gilger motioned for the meeting to adjourn, seconded by Trey Pitsenberger. Motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted by
Paulette Johnston, Secretary
December 29, 2021

Edited by Joel Windmiller and Jimmy Lin

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