April 30, 2008 Press Release from the Ohio Lincoln Highway League:

The 14^th Annual Business Meeting of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League was held on April 26, 2008 at the Elks Hall in Galion, Ohio. The Ohio Lincoln Highway League is the state affiliate of the Lincoln Highway Association, a historical interest group which endeavors to promote and preserve the history of the Lincoln Highway—the first transcontinental automobile route in the United States.

Among the highlights of the meeting was the presentation of the “Exemplary Friend of the Lincoln Highway Award” to the Ohio Department of Transportation. This is an award given by the Lincoln Highway Association to individuals or groups for outstanding contributions to the association’s promotion and preservation efforts. In this case, ODOT was honored for their part in constructing the splendid new Lincoln Highway Bridge at the I-75 interchange with State Route 696 at Beaverdam. The bridge features four large Lincoln Highway logo signs which face four-lane traffic on I-75, and four smaller logo signs set in brick pillar replicas which face traffic on State Route 696—a renumbered roadway (formerly U.S. 30-North) that was once part of the historic Lincoln Highway route. The brick pillars are reminiscent of twenty other pillars which were originally set along the route of the Lincoln Highway during the 1920s.

Photo by John Renock

On hand to accept the etched glass award on behalf of ODOT was Kirk Slusher, P.E. (right), who is the Planning Administration for ODOT District One at Lima. The presentation of the award was officially made by LHA President Jan Shupert-Arick of Fort Wayne, Indiana. At the request of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League, Kirk took a few minutes to discuss the history of the project and explain how transportation enhancement funds became available for this aesthetic bridge. It was then pointed out by members of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League that in their opinion, this award was merited not only for ODOT’s vision regarding this wonderful new bridge, but also for its continuing assistance in such matters as the posting of green interchange signs and brown historic byway signs which help travelers rediscover the route of the Lincoln Highway as it traverses 241 miles across Ohio.

Here are some highlights of Evanston, Wyoming and the surrounding area, courtesy of Mieke Madrid from the City of Evanston. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Church Buttes, a unique rock formation along the old Lincoln Highway east of Evanston

Eagle Rock, also along the old Lincoln Highway east of Evanston

A tunnel built in 1920 east of Evanston

The newly restored Machine Shop, where many conference activities will be held

The newly restored Roundhouse

Historic Depot Square, located on the Lincoln Highway

Sunset Cabins, along Bear River Drive (Lincoln Highway)

A Lincoln Highway concrete marker near Depot Square

And here’s a message from Shelly Horne, the chairman of the 2008 LHA Conference.

Dear Fellow Lincoln Highway Enthusiasts:

This year is a rare opportunity for you to attend an exceptional Lincoln Highway conference without travel costs blowing a head gasket in your budget. Evanston, Wyoming will host this year’s conference. A quaint, interesting, historical town, Evanston is located on the highway just down the road apiece.

The theme of the conference is “Rails, Trails, and Highway Tales.” Evanston was an end of track town on the U.P.R.R. in 1868. It has a rich railroad history and many preserved railroad buildings and artifacts that you will enjoy. It has one of the few remaining original roundhouses west of the Mississippi with an operating turntable. Come ride it. Evanston sits near many of the old trails that people traveled from east to west to expand our great nation. If you like, you can visit the Mormon, Oregon, and California trails as well as the Pony Express route, all within easy driving distance.

And highway tales… we have hundreds of them. The first Wyoming Lincoln Highway consul was P.W. Spaulding from Evanston. He owned the first car in Uinta County, was a successful attorney, and a personal friend of Henry Joy, first president of the Lincoln Highway Association. We will be exhibiting a rare original LHA “Notable Service Award” given to P.W. Spaulding in the early years of the association. We will be giving a replica of this award to every attendee of the conference, a nice watch fob or key ring, and very rare. Hugh Colpharp will display his replica of the ten-millionth Ford Model T at the conference.

You could hardly cross the wide open country of Wyoming or the deserts of Utah without a water bag dangling from your radiator. So we have replicated the desert water bag, complete with cork and rope, as a tote bag for your memorabilia collection at the conference. We love replicas. You will be provided with a special table decoration at the annual banquet, a crystal-like replica of an old antique Packard automobile engraved with the LHA logo. Take it, cherish it, put it in your water bag replica with your LHA medallion.

The tours will be exciting. West in Echo Canyon you will explore Mormon history and learn how the canyon walls were used to defend against Johnson’s army; travel past the “Witches” to Taggart, to Wanship and the Echo reservoir. East to Fort Bridger and the Black and Orange cabins, then on to Miller’s crossing. See an eagles nest high on the bluffs of Church Butte. On the return trip to Evanston, watch film of the original military convoy that crossed the country from Washington, DC to San Francisco on the Lincoln road. See the comments of a young Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower about his experience on the convoy.

The slate of speakers who will be addressing the conference is top notch. They will present a myriad of topics from notable Lincoln Highway people, to Utah highway history, to the 1908 New York-to-Paris Automobile Race. Then as dessert, we will be entertained by Willie Le Clair, Shoshone Indian, with stories of the Shoshone and Chief Washakie in Evanston.

Tour historic Evanston. Visit the Sunset Cabins on the Lincoln Highway. See Evanston’s original Lincoln Highway markers, and meet and visit with your LHA counterparts from across the country to exchange “Highway Tales.” You will be amongst the privileged few to attend and view the first Lincoln Highway Art and Photo show assembled by Ms. Kell Brigan, an LHA member in California.

If gas and airfare prices continue to rise it will become more expensive to attend future conferences. This is the time, this is the place, the 16th annual LHA conference, June 17th to 21st in Evanston, WY. Complete a registration form (visit www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org) by May 2nd to be eligible for a free conference reimbursement drawing. See you here!

Shelly Horne
LHA Conference 2008 Chair

Dear LHA members,

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the re-establishment of the LHA. Since 1992 a great deal has been accomplished along the historic corridor, and many more people are aware of the road and are out there traveling the back roads of America.

As we approach the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the congressionally appointed Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) is promoting a greater awareness of our nation’s greatest president and for whom the highway was named. The patriotic approach to building the highway worked in favor of gaining much needed grassroots and political support for the corridor as it was marked in 1913. In late September of this year, the LHA received news that both the 2008 and 2009 LHA conferences have been endorsed by the ALBC. Such an endorsement will be effective in achieving our mission: to preserve and promote the historic road. Our activities take on even greater meaning as we work on very local projects, state-level projects, and national-level projects.

The LHA Board of Directors, committees, and our executive director are setting new goals that focus on the long-term objectives of sustaining our organization’s mission, achieving national byway designations, preserving the road, and collaborating with tourism professionals to promote heritage tourism.

We challenge every member of the LHA and the public to become involved by being a voice for the road, asking others to join the LHA, participating in activities, building collaborations with local and regional partners, and by sharing your own resources, whatever they may be. I urge you to join the leadership of the LHA by offering your time, talents, and resources. We have much work to do, many road trips to take and make new friends to make.

Get out there — drive the road! We look forward to seeing you in Evanston, Wyoming in June 2008 and in South Bend, Indiana in June 2009.

Jan Shupert-Arick, President, LHA

July marked the beginning of my term as your president. My connection to the road began before my birth when my father followed his Studebaker Champion down the line at the Studebaker Plant in South Bend, Indiana, and was allowed to drive his new car off the line. My childhood was filled with road trips in Studebakers, many of them along our road.

As an adult I have worked in the areas of education, history, preservation, and the arts. My professional career includes serving as the Education Coordinator at both the Northern Indiana Center for History in South Bend, Indiana and at The Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Both museum experiences placed me in the position of interpreting the historic Lincoln Highway.

It was exciting to share the history, but once I attended a Lincoln Highway conference, I was hooked. The members of the Lincoln Highway Association have the passion for preserving the road and that is what makes me stay the course. I am delighted to serve you and look forward to growing the organization along with a talented board and our new executive director.

This is a very exciting time for our association as we continue to promote and protect the historic Lincoln Highway corridor. David Hay, along with our past president, Bob Lichty, will begin to enter into a new discussion with Congress in hopes of gaining a national byway status for the Lincoln Highway. We believe the LHA is positioned to accomplish this task.

Many of you have worked tirelessly to achieve local, regional, state and national preservation successes and you know that a national designation for the entire corridor would be a grand achievement that would serve to benefit all communities along the route. Certainly this would be a timely endeavor as the nation begins to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in 2009.

This effort will require grassroots support. Members, local communities, and state leadership will need to be involved at local and national levels as advocates for the designation. We thank you in advance for being a voice for the Lincoln Highway.

The board of directors and the National Office will roll out a number of projects over the next few months. You will be receiving information in the mail, via email (if you have provided your email address), and in the Forum. Please read and respond to these communications so we can move forward with good speed and direction. We will also be asking for your input. We care what you think, so take the time to share your thoughts with us!

In closing I would like to thank Bob Lichty and Gregory Franzwa for taking the time to assist in a smooth transition of leadership for the organization and a thank you to the 2007 LHA conference planning team for a job well done. Be sure to mark your calendars for Evanston, Wyoming in 2008 and for South Bend, Indiana in 2009. Remember to visit the LHA on the web at www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org.

Take care and enjoy the journey!
Jan

The newly elected LHA officers. From left to right: Bob Lichty (Executive Advisor), Sue Jacobsen (Secretary), Russ Rein (Vice-President), Jan Shupert-Arick (President), and Jess Petersen (Treasurer). [Click to enlarge]

At its 15th annual conference just held in Colorado, the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) elected new national officers and new state directors for Indiana and California.

Dedicated in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first coast-to-coast improved highway. Still linking New York and San Francisco by 3,400 miles of road, the Lincoln Highway follows U.S. Routes 1, 30, 40, and 50, and other scenic two-lane roads. The LHA was formed in 1992, and has chapters in all 12 states along the Lincoln Highway.

The mission of the Lincoln Highway Association is to preserve and improve access to the Lincoln Highway, facilitate research and publications about the Highway, and work with local communities and merchants to promote the Highway as a tourism destination.

Elected LHA President was Jan Shupert-Arick of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, while Russell Rein of Ypsilanti, Michigan was elected Vice-President. Two serving officers were re-elected: Secretary Sue Jacobsen of Aurora, Illinois and Treasurer Jesse Petersen of Tooele, Utah. Immediate Past President Robert Lichty of Canton, Ohio was named Executive Advisor.

Ms. Shupert-Arick formerly was the LHA’s Vice-President and the Indiana director. She co-organized the 2003 national conference and a 2006 symposium on highway tourism promotion. She has extensive experience in historical museums and arts administration. Mr. Rein is a notable collector and student of the Lincoln Highway’s history, and is the editor of the LHA’s electronic newsletter and webmaster of the Indiana chapter website.

Succeeding Ms. Shupert-Arick as the Indiana director is Ken Locke of Warsaw, Indiana. Mr. Locke conducts Lincoln Highway preservation projects with local Boy Scout troops, and grew up along the Lincoln Highway. California director Robert Dieterich resides in Fair Oaks, California. He is co-author of a book on the Lincoln Highway in California, and currently serves as the chairman of the Association’s Endowment Fund Committee.

In addition to the newly-elected officers and directors, these directors continue to serve on the board:

• Mindy Higgins, Pennsylvania director, Hanover, PA
• Marie Malernee, Ohio director, Canton, OH
• Kay Shelton, Illinois director, DeKalb, IL
• Jeff LaFollette, Iowa director, Davenport, IA
• Lenore Stubblefield, Nebraska director, Shelton, NE
• Randy Moore, Wyoming director, Cheyenne, WY
• Alan Stockland, Utah director, Ogden, UT
• Geno Oliver, Nevada director, Reno, NV
• Olga Herbert, at-large director, Ligonier, PA
• James Peters, at-large director, Sudbury, MA
• Russell Rein, at-large director, Ypsilanti, MI

Elections will be held for some directors at the 2008 LHA conference in Evanston, WY.

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA — The Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) has established a new National Office in South Bend, Indiana, and an open house and dedication event will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 402 W. Washington St, at the historic Remedy Building. On the route of the original Lincoln Highway, it is now owned and operated by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana as its Northern Regional Office.

At 1:30 p.m., South Bend Mayor Stephen J. Luecke and Lincoln Highway Association President Robert C. Lichty will unveil a replica of a 1928 concrete Lincoln Highway route marker that will identify the Lincoln Highway Association’s new presence in South Bend. The LHA will hold its 2009 Conference in South Bend during the Lincoln Bicentennial.

The public is invited to the Open House and dedication. Light refreshments will be served, and Lincoln Highway historic objects will be on display courtesy of Association members.

Organized in 1992, the Lincoln Highway Association has chapters in all states where the Lincoln Highway exists. The Lincoln Highway was launched in 1913 and was America’s first coast-to-coast paved highway, linking New York City and San Francisco. The highway is over 3,000 miles in length and Routes 1, 30, 40, and 50 still trace its path.

To staff its new office, the Association recently hired David L. Hay of LaPorte, Indiana, as its first Executive Director. Hay earned graduate degrees in business and history, and has worked in fund development and management in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. Hay will conduct fundraising activities, strategic planning, and projects of national focus.

“I am excited to be working for this great organization,” Hay notes. “It’s rare to find the opportunity to combine one’s skills and passions, and it’s my good fortune be able to do that here.” He adds, “Highways embody our love of cars and the freedom to go where we want, and the Lincoln Highway continues to be a place where you can do just that.”

The LHA National Office complements its existing tourist information site in Franklin Grove, Illinois, which will continue to assist travelers. Located in the historic H.I. Lincoln Building, the facility is managed by Lynn Asp, who may be reached at (815) 456-3030.