Music

Summary of the 2013 Lincoln Highway Conference

July 25, 2013 by Cece

A Lincoln Highway celebration would not be complete without attending this Lincoln Highway Association’s annual conference this year. This is the 21st conference the Association has held, and it did not disappoint. I wasn’t able to stay for the whole conference this time (just Tuesday and Wednesday), but I had a lot of fun hanging out with old friends and learning new things about the Lincoln.

Our bus tour on Tuesday went back into central Nebraska, and I got to revisit some of the places I had seen the week prior. For me, it was a good chance to get some more pictures (the lighting had changed because of the weather), see old friends and make new ones. The new place I went to on this tour was the Museum of American Speed. I’m not a gear head, so I thought I was going to be bored. I was SO wrong. There were so many exhibits of different auto related things, there really was something for everyone.

Wednesday was seminar day, and all of the presentations that I saw were fantastic. I wasn’t able to stay all day because I was being interviewed for a documentary (more on that in a future post). The evening concluded with me performing for the awards banquet, breaking down my table in the book room (it’s the best way to find me at the conference), and saying my thank yous and goodbyes to everyone before I went back to my hotel room to pack and get ready for the next stage of the tour.

I love going to the conference every year, and I look forward to next year’s conference in Utah! Here’s a few pictures of the conference for your viewing pleasure (Also check out Denny Gibson’s posts about the conference, you’ll learn some random things about me). My next post will be a continuation of Central Nebraska (it’s a pretty big state), focusing from Kearney to North Platte. Until then, have a good weekend everyone!

Another View of Grand Island’s Seedling mile, this time with the LHA tour.

We went back to visit the Pony Truss bridge I was a little freaked out about visiting, and there was a welcoming committee this time! They brought along some of these old cool signs dating back to the 20s.

Here’s another pic of the bridge, as you can see the water went down a little bit!

I could honestly photograph this bridge for an hour, so many cool shadows.

Here’s Russell and Jay near some local “foliage”. To curb deer from getting into places they shouldn’t go, hemp plants grow in/around most ditches in Nebraska. We actually had a cop sitting near us to make sure we wouldn’t procure anything.

The Merrick County Courthouse in Central City, Nebraska is the site of the first proclamation of the Lincoln Highway, on October 8, 1913.

We ate lunch at Duster’s in Gothenburg, NE, the place where I got that awesome root beer at in my previous posts of this area. This is a mural that’s inside the restaurant, which shows people traveling across the country.

Off to Lincoln, Nebraska next! Yes, it’s technically not on the highway, but honestly the Museum of American Speed was much more fun that I thought it was going to be. This whole wing of the museum was dedicated just to albums of racetracks and car noises.

Here’s a record of the first Dodge driving the Andes Mountains in 1923.

Most people remember Thomas Dolby for the song “He Blinded Me with Science”, not “Aliens Ate My Buick”.

Going up the stairwell from the 2nd to the 3rd floor I ran into this Lunch Box collection. It was one of the coolest retro things I’ve ever seen.

If you haven’t heard this song, go to YouTube and listen to it-now. It’s hilarious. I will probably sing it on my next tour.

And I thought my Dad hoarded tools, here’s a wall of Monkey Wrenches.

Inside this massive museum (3 floors), they had a replica of a 1920’s garage, including the “Lincoln Shock Absorbers”.

From the 3rd floor of the museum, you can see the whole view of downtown Lincoln, NE, including its unique state capitol building.

In the song “Preparing for the Lincoln Way” composed by Nolan Stolz, I’ve been singing about a “Motometer”. I finally got to see a sign of one at this museum, pretty cool!

Here’s the view of the replica soda shop in the museum.

There were several dioramas on the 3rd floor, but this one was my favorite.

Sign greeting you at the hotel, painted by Iowa artist and LH enthusiast John Fitzsimmons.

We all gathered for our group picture Wednesday morning wearing our best red, white and blue shirts. I turned around a snapped a pic after we were done with the photo shoot.

I had the honor of singing at the LHA awards banquet this year, and they put me at the head table! What great view.

Never again will my little car be surrounded by two other beautiful cars of completely different periods.

Again, here’s another great photo and sign display.

Lots of people brought out some great Lincoln Highway signs and memorabilia for this year’s conference.

My favorite part of Seminar Day was hearing the panel of the early founders of the Modern LHA, which included Joyce and Bob Ausberger, Brian Butko, Kevin Patrick and Drake Hokanson (first man to write a book about the highway).

Seminar day had a lot of great talks about Lincoln Highway history. From general facts to the Tin Can tourist travel to learning more about the Colorado Loop, it was a great day.

The food for the banquet was excellent, and for my friends who have food issues, the Holiday Inn in Kearney did a great job!

Central Nebraska Highlights, plus the Lincoln Highway turns 100!

July 14, 2013 by Cece

The last few weeks have been non-stop! Between the performances, interviews, and just general merriment, it’s all been amazing! Unfortunately, the road has finally caught up to me almost 4 months later. My immune system crashed, I got sick, and I’m now resting and recovering for the next stage of the tour. I can finally sit down and update you on this exciting time in the Lincoln Highway’s history.

I’m doing the next couple posts slightly out of sequence because there’s so much information to cover. Today’s post will focus on Grand Island and all of the festivities for the Lincoln Highway’s 100th birthday in Kearney. My next post will be about the 2013 Lincoln Highway Association’s annual conference (of which I am a proud member), and then I’ll resume my regular posts which head westward.

Wow, where do I start in regards to all of this? There’s still a mix of honor and disbelief that I was a part of the Lincoln Highway’s birthday. It all went by SO fast! What really accelerated things for me were all of the various TV, newspaper and documentary interviews I did during this time (all media stuff I did was a complete surprise to me). This is the first time on the tour where people walked up to me and knew who I was! Audiences in Grand Island and Kearney overall were very enthusiastic of the project and the music, and the Lincoln Highway pride was in full force everywhere. It was amazing to have so many people from all over the world in one place celebrating America’s first transcontinental road, and to be a part of those festivities was so humbling.

I truly wish I could have had more time to spend in Grand Island. There’s a lot of really wonderful things going on in this town. Originally I was set to perform in the Grand Theatre, but when renovations weren’t complete, I ended up performing at the Liederkranz instead. The universe direct us to places and people that we never thought we’d meet, and I have to say the Liederkranz is one of those places for me. It was an amazing place to sing, and the owners Fred and Gloria are top notch people in the community. The city of Kearney is roughly half way between San Francisco and New York City, so it was a natural choice to host the Centennial celebration. I got to the city before the LHA auto tours, the Tin Can Tourists, and other folks from all over arrived to the town and everything was all abuzz in anticipation of what was on deck for the coming weekend.

Okay, enough yakking. In a blog first, you’ll see a lot of pictures of me in this post, which is thanks to my husband Dan who was my roadie, photographer, and overall awesome guy during this busy time in the project. I couldn’t have done it without him!

The Shady Bend Campground in Grand Island used to provide gas, food and lodging to travelers for many years, and there were extra amenities like a playground and a sandy beach lake. Today it is now a restaurant.

Love this original sign above the main door at Shady Bend!

Not too far down from Shady Bend is Kensinger’s Gas Station, which is still a fully operating gas station for more than 75 years.

Here’s a picture of the gas station interior. Thanks to Richard Grudzinski for letting me take pictures of everything.

You saw the main room in the previous picture, here’s the back room of the gas station.

Located behind Kensinger’s in Grand Island, this is an original seedling mile (paved 1915). You can’t drive on it, but you can walk on it.

Another view of the Seedling Mile, with a few Burma Shave signs this time.

The Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer is a couple miles south of the Lincoln Highway, and definitely a fun must see when in the area.

It’s not fancy, but I’ll take it! The door to my dressing room for my live TV appearance.

Here’s the outside of the building I performed at in Grand Island, the Liederkranz. The club has been around since the 1870’s, but this current building has been in existence since 1911 (it was built along what would become the Lincoln Highway).

The Liederkranz is used for a variety of things from dances to dinners to sing-alongs, acoustically it was a perfect place to sing.

It’s a fuzzy picture, but as you can see this microphone is an old one and has probably been around for a long time.

There is a gentleman counterpart to this tapestry, but I loved these ladies that were awaiting me in at the Liederkranz.

Guess who made front page news in Kearney! What a nice surprise to see when I was checking into the hotel.

Singing for my supper in downtown Kearney.

Will Rogers and I look on at the parade as it goes by.

The Lincoln Highway “Marching Marker” made its debut in Kearney for the parade! I wonder if I’ll see it anywhere else…

Even Smokey the Bear made an appearance!

One of the hundreds of beautiful cars I saw during the parade on Sunday.

I’m not really a car person, but when a Tucker drives by, I pay attention.

These bike riders were so hypnotic to watch.

Officially the most unique car in the parade, this camper/truck made all kinds of fun and crazy noises as well as had some moving parts on the outside too.

Even FDR showed up to the festivities! He really loved my rendition of “God’s Country” (the song mentions the President himself).

My guitar player was Jeff Erpelding, a local Kearney musician who plays in a few bands in the area. Not sure what I’m pointing at, but it must be important!

Kearney’s World Theatre was right across the street from where I was singing. It has been recently restored back to its 1920s glory, and it played a silent movie during the festivities.

Here I am with one of the great old cars that was on the 1910s block.

On Monday, I performed two great shows at the Archway to mark the highway’s centennial. In between sets, I ran over to the hotel to set up my table for the Lincoln Highway’s Annual conference (more on that in the next post).

There was a huge celebration at the Archway Monday evening, where there was a lot of good food, music and Lincoln Highway merriment! One of the things that did happen also was the Brian Butko gave a talk on Monday about the newest book he edited “The Lincoln Highway: Photos Through Time”.

Here’s a picture of Brian and I with my signed copy!

Last but most definitely not least, here’s the picture of me in this new Lincoln Highway book! You can find me on page 21. Thanks to Jamie Ralston (My Lincoln Highway) and Brian for putting this picture in the book. It was truly a wonderful surprise to see, especially on the 100th birthday of the road!

The Jefferson Bell Tower Festival Plus Sightseeing in Greene & Boone County

June 20, 2013 by Cece

There’s a bunch of pictures in this post, so I won’t write much here. What I will say was I had a wonderful time a being a part of Jefferson’s Bell Tower Festival. I performed both at the opening ceremony on Friday night, as well as a regular performance on Saturday afternoon. Another first for this tour was that I performed as part of a church service on Sunday in Grand Junction, Iowa. The minister said a few words, and then let me perform!

I also got a chance to hang out with a lot of great Iowa Lincoln Highway Association folks during this time, including Bob and Joyce Ausberger, Bob and Janet Owens, Dean and Jeannie Parr, John Fitzsimmons and many more! One beautiful day after the festival was done, the two Bob’s and Joyce took me on a driving tour of Greene and Boone Counties, and I learned more about bridges in one day than I had in my lifetime.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but if anyone has any questions about the pictures feel free to ask in the comments below. Thanks!

This statue of Lincoln is right next to the courthouse in Jefferson and he faces the highway. An excerpt from his 2nd inaugural address is inscribed below.

The Jefferson Bell Tower is a Carillon Tower that has an observation deck in which you can view the whole city and a couple nearby towns.

The Jefferson County courthouse is truly one of the most beautiful courthouses I’ve ever been in. What a lovely ceiling!

I was honored to be a part of the Jefferson Bell Tower Opening Ceremonies. Thanks again to Bob and Joyce Ausberger for setting everything up!

Hanging out with some LHA folks after performing for the Opening Ceremonies of the Bell Tower Festival.

I was so happy to have my Mom drive down from Minnesota for the Bell Tower Festival, it was great to have her there. Thanks also to our family friend Leann for coming down and taking this picture as well!

Here’s me in the parade! The car is a 1929 Model A.

Here’s a picture of me and Marty, my accompanist for the Jefferson and Grand Junction performances.

Here’s what the museum looks like from the outside.

Here’s another view of the Grand Junction museum.

A great banner done by local artist John Fitzsimmons. You’ll read more about him later.

This Haynes-Apperson car was built in 1902, and is the 1st car ever owned in Boone county, and the 10th car ever owned in the state of Iowa.

Here’s the back of the Haynes-Apperson Car.

It really is the 10th car owned in the state, and here’s the plate to prove it!

Me with Terry, the Mayor of Grand Junction.

This 1914 newspaper was found when they were renovating the museum in Grand Junction. Definitely click on this photo so you can see all of the detail in the paper.

These recreated Burma Shave ads from the heydays of the highway can bee see randomly all over the state. They all are pretty funny too!

This table at the Lincoln Highway museum in Grand Junction has a table that has been covered and lacquered in old matchbook covers. Pretty neat!

Here’s a detail picture of that cool table.

The Eureka arch bridge was built in 1912 and has five large arches spanning the Raccoon River just west of Jefferson Iowa.

The Hillcrest Motel was opened just outside of Jefferson in the in 50’s. When the route was re-routed a few years later, it fell into ruin quickly. There is discussion to restore it back to its original glory and make it a historic site.

The Lincoln Highway has several incarnations as you all know. There were several places in Greene County like this where it went through a person’s property long ago, and then was re-routed. This farm outside of Jefferson has the original route running on their property, and you can see it here between the trees.

Old motel sign just outside of Grand Junction.

Want to know how the Lincoln Highway is spelled in Chinese Characters? This gas station in Grand Junction has it listed on their station.

This Lion’s Club Tree Park and Lincoln Highway Interpretive site is right outside of Grand Junction. It is is located at the point where the Lincoln Highway splits from the newer US 30 and where four bridges cross West Beaver Creek.

The Lincoln Highway wasn’t the only auto trail that was created in the early 20th century, and you can see what their logos/signs looked like here.

The Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge is located just outside of Beaver, Iowa on the original Lincoln Highway Route. This bridge was one of the earliest bridges of this type, and it was built in the 1910s.

Bob and Joyce posing with two of the bridges that started it all. In the background you have the 1915 bridge, and in the left foreground you can see the 1920s bridge.

Before signs, the routes were painted on telephone poles. This is a faded Lincoln Highway post from that time.

This is the Little Beaver Creek Lincoln Highway Bridge. Note the “L” on the sides of the bridge.

Here’s a full view of the Lincoln Highway Bridge

I saw the leaning shed with the prairie, and thought this image had to be immortalized.

Another Bridge built over the railroad tracks near the Dragoon Trail. Look at that blue sky!

We got lucky when a train passed by I was photographing the bridge!

The Kate Shelley High Bridge (built 1889-1901) is among the highest double-track railroad bridges in the United States. This is the first bridge to be named after a woman in the US, and rightfully so – she risked her life by crossing a railroad bridge to save passengers from a train that had been derailed by flood waters.

View of the original bridge from under the tracks.

You can see the old and new bridge together in this shot.

The Wagon Wheel Bridge was built in 1909, and is one of the few remaining large-scale wagon trusses in Iowa.

John Fitzsimmons is an artist who lives just outside of Boone, IA. He not only does some great artwork about the highway, he also is trying to recreate an old ghost town on his property. Here’s the Miner’s Inn.

This is a picture of John’s barn on the property.

Here’s the happy couple celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary.

Here’s Bob and Janet Owens, some other great members of the Iowa Chapter. They have been married for 63 years.

This is an excerpt from a 1953 A&W menu. Even back then they had veggie burgers!

Me posing with Bob Owen’s LH Marker in his front yard.

Illinois Lincoln Highway Highlights (outside Chicagoland)

June 17, 2013 by Cece

I’ve lived in Illinois for several years, and have driven the Lincoln Highway in these parts a few times. As noted in the previous post, navigating the highway is very easy to do in this state thanks to its excellent signage. There’s some memorable points along the route that one should check out once the traffic of Chicago is far behind you, and these are my personal highlights of this last trip in Western Illinois.

1) The Loveland Community House

George and Emma Loveland lived in Dixon, Illinois their whole lives, but traveled extensively. When they both passed away, they noted in their will and testament that all of their estate funds and belongings from their travels would be donated to the city of Dixon. With this endowment, a museum and community center was built that has continued to serve the community in a number of ways. The museum has one of the most eclectic but fun collections I’ve ever seen (it also includes donations from other Dixon Locals too), as well as meeting rooms and a huge auditorium. I performed my 3rd Illinois concert here and it was a fantastic show. You can see video of some of the songs from this performance on my new YouTube page.

2) The John Deere Historic Site

While this site is not on the Lincoln Highway (it’s about 5 miles from Dixon in Grand Detour), make the journey to visit this place. Between the Archeological Site, the resident Blacksmith doing demonstrations, the gardens, and the original home, you will really get a wonderful, interactive glimpse into life in Grand Detour in the early to mid 1800s.

3) City of Dixon, Illinois

For a population of 16,000, Dixon has a lot going on! The biggest claim to fame is that Ronald Reagan spent his boyhood here, and you can tour this home as well as follow the Reagan Trail. There’s a lot of Lincoln Highway sights here too (see in pictures below), plus there’s five gorgeous state parks all within a short driving distance of the highway.

4) De Immigrant Windmill, Fulton Illinois

Who knew an operating Windmill was in Western Illinois? Originally built in the Netherlands, disassembled and shipped to Fulton. They process 5 different grains in this mill (depending on how the wind is that day), and you can buy it on site. Check out the Windmill Cultural Center next door too, you can see really intricate models of dozens of different types of windmills from all over the world.

Other Lincoln Highway related sites include the Lincoln Highway Association Headquarters in Franklin Grove, IL (they’ve got so much cool stuff there, make sure you have a whole afternoon to check it out), plus the seedling mile in Malta, IL (right in front of the community college). There’s plenty of things to see and do along the route in the “Land of Lincoln”, you easily could do multiple trips.

Here’s a few snapshots of all of the places that I’ve mentioned, plus a couple extra surprises :-) – Enjoy!

Backstage at the Loveland Auditorium. We had lots of room!

Robert Haigler, Me, and Colin Bazali after the show.

There’s some great artwork in Loveland, but there’s something about this woman that intrigues me.

This is a Friendship Quilt dating back to the late 1800s.

This Dixon couple decided to married on Roller skates back in 1939. You can see her roller skates and picture in the museum.

In Victorian Times, people would save the hair of a loved one who has passed on as a memento. Some women actually took this hair and turned it into art, and this is one of a few hair sculptures in the museum.

Here’s the caption to the previous photo.

The person I was staying with in Grand Detour lived next door to the former Colonial Rose Inn and Restaurant. The owner of the home was nice enough to let me in and I got to walk around and check the place out!

This is the main stairwell in the Colonial Rose Inn. Loved the chandelier!

Sculpture of John Deere. He first made his living by being a blacksmith, and to this day there are blacksmiths that forge items near his original shop.

I had the privilege of getting to tour parts of the grounds off limits to the general public, which included a stop in the children’s bedroom and play area of the Deere family.

One of the reasons that amongst others that the John Deere Historic Site is a must see if the Archeological Site. In the 1960’s a team of Archeologists uncovered John Deere’s original location where he made his first self-scouring steel plow. The whole area has been preserved, and this picture is just one section.

There are murals like this all along the route in Illinois that not only are beautiful, but they are informative as well.

The Dixon Welcome Center has a lot of great information as well as a Lincoln Highway Interpretive Exhibit. Make sure you ask for a sample of their Petunia Wine, it’s really good!

Picture of me in front of the Ronald Reagan boyhood home. Thanks to Jeanne with the Dixon Tourism Board for giving me such a great tour!

One of my favorite parts of seeing the Reagan Boyhood home was this part of the house. When Ronald Reagan toured the home on opening day with his brother, he pointed out the fireplace tile in the living room where he used to hide his money so his brother wouldn’t take it. There was no money underneath the tile and the President didn’t carry any change with him, so his brother put the pennies there that you see now.

This sculpture of Ronald Reagan on a palomino is along Dixon’s beautiful and newly completed riverfront along the Rock River.

The Wings of Peace and Freedom Park in Dixon includes a full-size replica of a section of the Berlin Wall, which recognizes President Reagan’s efforts to attain worldwide peace and freedom.

This is an actual piece of the Berlin Wall which has been cemented into the sculpture.

This sculpture is the “Fishing Dutchman” and he’s in Fulton too.

Here’s another view of the windmill, this time from below. It was not in operation the day I visited-the winds were too unpredictable.

These a smaller representations of the grindstones used on the mill itself.

I LOVE these t-shirts! But seriously, the volunteers at the De Immigrant Windmill are really cool, I had a lot of fun hanging out with them.

This is what the Lincoln Highway signs look like in Illinois.

View of the Mississippi River from the Windmill, with Clinton, Iowa across the bank.

Up next, I’ll be taking a break from my road reporting and doing a special surprise post, so stay tuned to see what it is!

Western Ohio Highlights (including the J&M Trading Post)

June 1, 2013 by Cece

When I was visiting with New York Director Jerry Peppers at the beginning of this tour, he handed me a postcard with a red building on it. He said, “If you can swing it, stop by this place. Nancy and Joe are lovely people and they are true fans of the highway.”

The J&M Trading Post Antique Shop lies about 20 miles West of Mansfield, Ohio. Built in 1830, it has been store of some type in continuous operation ever since its opening and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is an antique store full of wonderful things as well as Lincoln Highway souvenirs (Note that if you are thinking of making a visit here, you should call them beforehand; they open the place by appointment only). But what makes this stop special is the people who have taken care of the place all of these years – Nancy and Joe Everly.

From the time I was greeted to the time that I drove away, Nancy and Joe became my family to me for that hour I spent at the store. When I told them who I was and what I was doing along the route, Nancy said, “I know who you are! I saw you in the paper yesterday!” She brought down a big box of vintage sheet music for me, and I looked through it. Whatever music I wanted, she said I could keep it and take it with me. We laughed over all of the crazy song titles from the time like “You Can’t Get Along With’em or Without’em, You’ve Got to Have Them, That’s All!” and “Take Your Wife to the Movies (If She Won’t Make Love at Home)”. In that short visit, I found my new “old friend” along the road. Definitely take the time to stop here, it will be worth the trip.

The rest of my time in Western Ohio was pretty much spent in Lima relaxing with an old friend, as well as exploring the Allen County museum in the city. I did take pictures of murals and markers in Crestline, Bucryus, and Delphos, which are all below in my latest photo gallery. Enjoy!

Outside of the J&M Trading Post with the American Songline-Mobile.

Here’s me in front of the famous blackboard at the trading post. It tells the history of the building.

While perusing all of the beautiful antiques in the store, I came upon the sheet music of “Beautiful Ohio” one of the songs that is on the touring program!

Love this directional sign outside of the store. All four sides are covered, and here’s one side.

This Lincoln Highway Marker is across the street from the trading post. It is not an original marker.

This is one of two 1922 Lincoln Highway Markers in Crestline, Ohio.

The “Great American Crossroad” Mural in Bucyrus Ohio is so big, I had to photograph sections of it! Here’s the main middle section of the mural.

Here’s a Lincoln Highway detail in this very same mural, middle left hand side

If you’re standing in front of the Bucyrus mural, these two windows will be on the far left hand side.

LH Marker that is in downtown Bucyrus and “faces” the mural.

The Allen County Museum in Lima, Ohio has a Mini-Lincoln Highway exhibit in their outdoor park.

This is a typed transcription of a letter written by John Dillinger’s girlfriend while he was in prison in Lima.

There were a lot of neat exhibits at the Allen County Museum, and this was one of them. It had beautiful instruments, old opera programs and other performance mementos.

Original gravel stretch of the highway heading westward towards Indiana.

The road beckons! My next post will be about my performance in Indiana as well as photos from the road both in Indiana and in Eastern Illinois (which is part of “Chicagoland” as it’s called). Until then, have a good weekend!

The Hayesville Opera House: The Best Place to Step Back in Time – Literally

May 30, 2013 by Cece

As of today, I’m now almost ten performances into this tour, and every venue I’ve performed in holds a unique space in my mind and heart. The Hayesville Opera House is an amazing venue for a musician like me, and I wish I could take this venue with me everywhere I go so you all could see hear what everyone in central Ohio sees regularly.

Built in 1886, this opera house has been restored back to its original glory, and is on the National Register as a historical landmark. From the time I walked into the venue for my rehearsal, this place took my breath away. From the hat racks under the wooden seats to the hand-painted backdrops, I was blown away at the preservation of this venue. The acoustics were perfect; it was an absolute dream to perform there.

View of the seating area — View from the stage of the seating area. That is cast iron stove in the back was used to originally heat the place, but is no longer in use.

View from the seats — This is a view of the stage from the seats. The piano is on the floor on the right hand side, and that backdrop (painted in Chicago) is an original from 1886.

Another Backdrop — Here is another hand painted backdrop I found backstage. If you go to the Opera house’s website, you can see a photo of this same backdrop which was used in a play in 1916.

Ceiling Detail — Here’s a picture detailing the tin ceiling (added in 1907), and motif work on the walls.

The Opera House is located in a very small town on the highway, which is a pity. I’m sure this venue has been so well-kept all of this time because of its location, but places like these need to be seen and experienced. The president of the restoration board is Dave Roepke, and he was so kind to not only play the piano for my performance, but he let me wander everywhere in the space to take photographs. I’ve performed on stages all over the world, and I’ve never seen as much backstage graffiti as I did in this place. I spent a long time reading all of the names, shows, and dates that people have left over 125+ years (including a disputed signature from Buffalo Bill in 1888). I too left my mark on that place, as you’ll see below.

Buffalo Bill? — If you look closely, you can see what appears to be a signature from Buffalo Bill.

Oldest confirmed signature — This signature is definitely one of if not the earliest I found on the walls.

Dressing Room — There are four dressing room at the Hayesville Opera House, and to me this one had the most interesting writing and drawings on the walls. Plus note in the photo that you can see an original gas lamp too!

My mark — I was very happy to “make my mark” in the dressing room you saw in the last picture.

I had a fantastic time performing in this venue, and would definitely perform there again. You can read more about my performance in Hayesville from Jamie at My Lincoln Highway here, or to read Denny Gibson’s review, click here. I’ll leave you with two more shots of me in at this lovely theatre. I am standing in front of the main curtain, and once picture is in color, and the other is in black and white. If you compare my black and white photo to the historic photos in this link, I think you’ll see that there’s not much difference between the two.

Up next, a short but sweet post about Western Ohio. Until then, keep listening for those songlines!

Driving the Lincoln Highway in Western Pennsylvania: A review of sights from Stoystown to Ohio

May 20, 2013 by Cece

To all my faithful readers out there, I apologize for the delay in posting this. Between server troubles and a lack of internet access, this post has been re-written over 5 times. Argh! But I won’t let that get me down.

The fun continues in the Keystone State for this post! I was in this section of Pennsylvania for about ten days and did two shows, and I have to say I loved my time in this part of the state too. What also made this part of the journey so wonderful for me was all of the great support that I got from local Lincoln Highway enthusiasts. After my short time there, I feel I can now call them good friends, which is the best gift anyone can have.

One of these people is author and local history buff Jennifer Sopko, who not only wrote a wonderful article about me for the Latrobe bulletin but she also talked about our day out and about in Westmoreland County on her website. Click here to read that post. I won’t replicate all of what she wrote, but I will definitely include a few pictures of our adventure below. She mentions Louise with Westmoreland Heritage, who is another valuable resource for the area. Do check out her website if you plan to explore this part of state.

I actually did two performances in this area, one in Ligonier at the Town Hall (an amazing place to perform), and the other was for the Lincoln Highway Festival in Latrobe which were both fantastic performances. The new Lincoln Highway Experience museum is a must see for any Lincoln Highway fan, so plan to make a stop if you are driving in the area.

After staying in Greensburg, I then went to Pittsburgh for several days to get caught up on all of the wonderful things I had seen so far on this journey. I had the honor of not only having lunch with Jennifer but also with two great Lincoln Highway giants: Brian Butko (one of the foremost experts on the road) and Rick Sebak (Producer of the show “A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway“). I did some more Lincoln Highway exploring and all in all took stock on this great part of the trip.

Now, without further ado, here’s some photos from this part of the tour. Enjoy the pictures, and I’ll be posting about my time in Ohio very soon!

This is the outside of the Ligonier Town Hall, which is right off the Lincoln Highway in downtown Ligonier.

Right outside of the town hall is a Lincoln Highway marker, telling you to head straight ahead.

Here’s the front of Ligonier’s LH marker, which is still in pretty good shape.

Here’s me performing at the Ligonier Town Hall! My accompanist is Aaron Gray, and the song I’m performing is (Preparing for) The Lincoln Way by Nolan Stolz. This piece and one other were composed by him specifically for this tour.

While I was staying in Greensburg, I was able to go to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. There’s a lot of great exhibits there, so definitely check it out! This is painting is of course President Lincoln himself, this time without a beard.

As Jennifer talked about in her blog post, our first stop on our adventure was at Hanna’s Town. Here’s a picture of one of the original cabins from the late 1700’s.

Hanna’s town not only has structures from the 1700’s, but tour guides dress and live from that time period as well. They grow an extensive garden in raised beds, which was common practice for that time period. Our tour guide noted the new resident in one of the beds-a toad. Louise’s daughter named him Frank, and in my mind he will always be Frank the toad.

Louise with Westmoreland Heritage and her family have been active with Hanna’s town for several year. This is her daughter showing off her awesome stilt-walking skills.

This was the opening day for Hanna’s Town this season, so there were some extra fun things going on, including some re-enactors showing off military drills for the late 1700’s.

As Jennifer noted, we stopped by the Lincoln Highway exhibit in the Ligonier Library on Saturday. There were so many wonderful things to the whole collection, including this collection of vintage clothing. It’s there until the end of June, so make sure you go down to basement to check it out!

This awesome barn mural is located outside of Stoystown, PA. I love the middle section; it shows that women were taking to the roads just as quickly as the men did a century ago.

There’s a lot of cool Roadside Giants along the Lincoln Highway, but I think this one is my favorite. You can find this one near where Route 30/219 Interchange.

I couldn’t find this mural on my initial expeditions in the area, but Jennifer and I found it! This mural you can see driving Eastbound through Stoystown.

This Pop-Art gas pump can be found by the Mountain Playhouse/Green Gables in Jennerstown.

This giant sculpture can be found just outside of Ligonier.

This gas pump is across from Idlewild Park, which is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States.

This is the back of the gas pump found at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Every single pump was painted on every side, and I personally like the back of this one better than the front of the pump.

This pump is at the Lincoln Highway Experience museum.

The Ship Hotel was an important fixture along the Lincoln Highway in this part of the country until it was destroyed by a fire. Many artifacts and souvenirs were donated to the Lincoln Highway Experience Museum, including this chair from the restaurant within the hotel.

I had an awesome time at The Lincoln Highway Festival! I met Michaela, who has dressed up for school as W.A.C. woman. The day of the festival she wore her awesome “civilian” gear, shoes and all.

I had a great time having lunch with these folks. From left to right: Me, Brian Butko, Jennifer Sopko and Rick Sebak.

This Mural can be found in the Strip District of Pittsburgh.

This is statue of Abraham Lincoln, which can be found at the intersection of the William Penn and Lincoln Highways in Wilkinsburg. It was erected in 1918, stolen in 1982, knocked loose in 1992, and then restored and returned to its rightful place in 2002.

This old firehouse is in Pittsburgh along the Lincoln.

This part of the Lincoln Highway in Glenfield is a yellow brick road (about 1.5 miles). It had rained that day, hence why it has the extra shimmer.

Thanks to Jan (my friend and host for the week while I was in town) for bringing me to this spot. Watching the city turn from day to night was pretty amazing.

No more brick in this section of the highway! This was shot right outside of Ohioville.

“The Beginning Point” is a monument at the border between the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, on the north side of the Ohio River. It is significant as being the point from which would open what was then the Northwest Territory for settlement in 1785. It is located near the three-way intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the northern tip of West Virginia.

The General Warren Inne: A Hidden Treasure

May 8, 2013 by Cece

My stay and performance at the General Warren Inne was an amazing stop on my journey on so many levels. I first heard about the General Warren through my friend Jamie over at My Lincoln Highway, and when I contacted the Inne about my project, the proprietor contacted me back immediately and the rest is now history.

The Inne started operating in 1745, and has been either a tavern, hotel or both for most of its 268 year existence. Not only has it been a pivotal place for three wars (including the Paoli Massacre), it also served as an important part on the Conestoga Wagon Trail in the 1800s long before the Lincoln Highway ever existed. The 1913 route went right past the hotel under some railroad tracks until it was rerouted in the 1930’s. Patrick Byrne, the hotel’s proprietor (and part-time historian for the hotel) hopes that it this part of the Lincoln can be reopened as a walking trail. You can see in these pictures where the route used to be on both sides of the railroad underpass (look closely through the trees and brush):

From the time I walked into the door, I was made to feel at home – period. I saw this same customer service with both hotel guests and tavern patrons (see the smile on my face below). It is clear that people at the GWI enjoy what they do, and who wouldn’t want to be a part of that in some way? Each of the eight suites have their own theme, and are decorated beautifully. You can see pictures of all of the suites here, and here’s a couple pictures of my suite I stayed in, the General Wayne Suite:

View from my window. Love the original panes of glass!

My room had a separate TV/Couch/Office area from the bedroom/bathroom area. I loved the flow, and slept really well here.

Here’s me with the Lamb Porterhouse-yum! For those of you who have dietary restrictions, their kitchens will definitely accommodate you. I never got sick once!

The night of my performance in the tavern was unique in that I was able to perform all 20 songs that night, so people who stuck around for the first two sets got to hear everything. It was a great crowd, and it was lovely to meet all of them. Here’s a few shots of the tavern:

Fireplace Tavern — Here’s the fireplace in the Tavern.

100_5786 — View of the Dining Room, just off the Tavern.

Again, whether if you are a local looking for a new spot, or a person not from the area, you should definitely visit this place! Visit their website: http://www.generalwarren.com/

*Note: While I did perform at the tavern, I was not compensated for any part of this review. These opinions are completely my own.