Minutes - April 2019 - Woodbridge - California Chapter

Quarterly Chapter Meeting Minutes — Saturday, April 6, 2019

Woodbridge Crossing
Woodbridge, California

Photos from the meeting

Meeting called to order: 1:35 pm
Bob Dieterich Remembrance
1. Card sent around for encouragement for the family.
2. Bob passed away peacefully at home on March 25.
3. Email from March 15:
  I appreciate it more than words can express. It was the surprise of my life, and making the cover of The Traveler was an honor. That means more to me than making the cover of Time. Please pass on my thanks to the chapter at the next meeting and especially to those involved with the award that I left off this email.
  It has been a true pleasure working with so many wonderful people over all these years with the LHA. I have made some of my closest friends here. I hope to continue these friendships. This award will always have a very special and cherished place in my home and my heart.
  Thank you!
  Bob Dieterich
32 people signed attendance sheet
Introductions
1. John Herrll: joining us for the first time in a while
Approval of January meeting minutes
1. Greg Gassman moved to approve the January meeting minutes.
2. Scott Miner seconded the motion.
3. Motion passed.

Officer, staff, and committee reports

Neil Rodrigues: State Director
1. Conference is June 18-21 in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
2. Survey for all members via email. It’s ten questions and asks for member input. Please be on the lookout for this in your inbox.
3. Neil has a list of special places to stop at in California’s part of the Lincoln Highway. They were asking for two, but Neil gave input of more than two because our state is amazing! They are putting together a travel guide for the entire route.
4. Yahoo Group signup. It’s a tool for getting the word out there and sharing photos out to the whole group. If you haven’t signed up, please grab a flyer and fill it out with your information.
5. LHA invited to about a mile of the 1917 section of the highway on Moe Mohanna’s property. He invited us up to an event center that is on the LH in order to hold meetings of the LHA in the future. The area will be developed, but he is looking to preserve the part of the road that is in that area.
6. Business card created for the Lincoln Highway. Asking for permission to produce the cards and take to the conference.
Joel Windmiller: President
1. Banner: Banner was suggested at our January meeting to show at events, such as the annual Clarksville Days, yearly conferences, and speaking presentations. As a gift to the chapter, Joel has donated the cost of creating the banner for future events.
2. Sign location spreadsheet: During January’s major winter storms, Joel decided to take on the challenge of locating every sign location along all 5 alignments of the Lincoln Highway from the Nevada state line to Oakland using our official map and GPS locator. Facts discovered:
  - Alignment with the most signs: 1913 alignment from Sacramento to San Francisco via Oakland (95 signs)
  - 2nd place: Sacramento to Nevada via Donner Pass (33)
  - 3rd place: Sacramento to Nevada via Echo Summit (22)
  - 4th place: 1928 alignment from Sacramento to San Francisco via Berkeley (6)
  - Last place: the 1928 Greenback Lane bypass alignment (2 signs at the Gold Creek arch bridge in Orangevale)
  The spreadsheet lists the alignment, location, county, city or town, sign condition, GPS coordinates, and traveled direction for each sign. It took a week to complete.
  If anyone locates additional signs not listed on the spreadsheets, please email Joel the location.
3. Clarksville Days 2019: This year, it’s on Saturday May 4, 2019 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Setup begins at 7 AM. A table, shade tent and chairs will be provided. Volunteers, please bring plenty of water, snacks, hat, suntan lotion and additional chairs. Parking will be provided. Neil has been granted permission to park his Rambler next to our table. Joel will bring the display boards and stands.
4. West Sacramento LH Markers: Currently posted LH markers along West Capitol Avenue need some attention. In the upcoming month, when spring weather temperatures allow, Joel will make the repairs.
5. Tower Court: The days of the 18-foot concrete roadway from 1918 are numbered — a new development project is currently under construction. The old 1926 Washington underpass for the former Sacramento Northern Railroad tracks along West Capitol Avenue roadway has been altered to an eastbound one-way only approach to the Raley’s Supermarket headquarters building.
6. Signage: Signarama in Rancho Cordova delivered 30 signs with UV and anti-graffiti protection and a stronger aluminum composite.
7. Bass Lake Road: On March 24, chapter officers were invited to a luncheon by chapter member Noah Breil and Moe Mohanna:
  We would like to invite you for a friendly lunch gathering at the ranch at 2101 Old Bass Lake Road in El Dorado Hills this Sunday, March 24th at 12 PM. I would like to commend your good work, and we will support your efforts to make the May 4th Clarksville Days event a success and expand to the rest of the Lincoln Highway. The weather will be nice and sunny, so that we can walk our properties on Old Bass Lake Road and appreciate our historic Lincoln Highway. John Thomson and his wife, Fran, will join us. Please let me know if you will be able to attend.
Trey Pitsenberger: Vice-president
1. First report as the new vice-president.
2. Placerville City Council is interested in signing the highway.
3. Drake Haglan and Associates, an engineering consulting firm, is working on a bike path on both sides of the Lincoln Highway. They have asked for input from the LHA. It’s great that they are seeking us out.
Grant Gassman: Treasurer
1. Deposits
  1. $171.00 (National)
  2. $250.00 (Signs purchase)
  3. $300.00 (Signs, anonymous donation)
  4. $270.00 (National)
2. Disbursements
  1. $250.00 (Meeting materials)
  2. $675.00 (Signarama)
3. Balance: Contact chapter for details
Paulette Johnston: Secretary
1. It was Myrna Johnston’s (former secretary) 78th birthday.
Gary Kinst: Chapter Historian
1. The California brochure can be revised as needed.
2. The Traveler research: Gary found some information about every marker that we currently know exists. Could we make this information available to members who would like to look for these signs?

Jimmy Lin: Website Update

Unfortunately, Jimmy could not attend, but he did send a report on our web stats.

From that report, here is a summary of the website traffic for the 1st quarter of 2019:

	Sessions	YoY%	Users	YoY%
Overall	25,4794	+19%	20,129	+18%
Map	17,395	+14%	13,864	+13%
California	1065	−10%	906	−14%
Traveler	645	+19%	553	+11%

Michael Kaelin: Signage
1. Concerns over missing signs. If anyone finds them, please return. Save the older signs as replacements for the ones we lose in the future.
2. Kevin Shawver added that he did an inventory and inspection of signage in San Joaquin Valley. The sign on the Banta is the only one that is in poor enough shape that it should be replaced.
Speakers: none
Coach Tours: Mark Hoffman

Old Business
1. LH Brochures California [Neil]
  1. Brochures have now been printed and are ready to go. There is a beautiful selection of photos. Gary Kinst did a wonderful job putting the brochure together. Please take and distribute.
  2. We would like to get these distributed at any place that might be a travel stop. We want to get these out en mass to spread the word about the Lincoln Highway.
  3. Folded incorrectly: The contact information should be on the back. That means that there should be a half fold first, in order for the cover to be on the front and contact information on the back.
2. 2019 Military Convoy Tour [Paul]
  1. Half full
  2. Hotel information coming out soon.
3. West Capital Avenue Road Rehabilitation Project [Joel]
4. White Rock Road Project [Joel]
5. 2019 Conference in Rock Springs, Wyoming [Neil]
6. West Sacramento LH Markers [Joel]
7. Transcontinental Railroad 150th Anniversary in Truckee [Joel]
8. Meritorious Achievement Award [Joel and Paul]
9. Truckee Sign Replacement [Joel and Bill von Tagen]
10. Members
New Business
1. Clarksville Days 2019 [Neil and Joel]
  1. May 4–5
  2. Neil, Joel, and Gary will represent LHA
2. Banner [Joel]
  1. Debut of the banner will be at Clarksville. Jimmy Lin was the designer. It was displayed at the meeting. Joel donated this banner to the club.
  2. Shirts for our California Chapter have been designed and are available for $40. Contact Joel if you are interested in ordering a shirt.
3. Tower Court in West Sacramento [Joel]
4. Signs [Michael and Joel]
5. Placerville Signage Project [Trey]
6. Adventures in California History LH [Trey]
7. Signs [Joel]
  1. New signs created with the “Historic” sign at the top in brown with yellow lettering.
  2. Signs at Donner were obliterated. The park contacted Joel to have the signs replaced. The park will be paying for the replacements.
  3. Scott could purchase an aluminum backing for the signs so that they are reinforced.
8. Members
  1. Can we craft a list of people who are experts on their area of the LH which could be ambassadors for certain sections of the highway?
  2. National is interested in having another conference in California.
Motion to end meeting Paul, second by Matt. Motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 3:23.
Intermission for 5 minutes after adjournment.
Presentation
1. Neil Rodrigues: Cold winter motorcycle ride to the Duarte Garage
2. Trey Pitenberger — Adventures in California History: Lincoln Highway Tour

Respectfully submitted
Paulette Johnston, Secretary
June 9, 2019

Edited by Joel Windmiller and James Lin