Lincoln Highway Association

Western Nebraska Highlights, and meet Nebraska Outback!

July 31, 2013 by Cece

I used to be like a lot of you out there in the US who had stereotypes about Nebraska. I always made the joke “Do you want to drive Nebraska by day to see how boring it is, or do you want to drive Nebraska at night to smell how boring it is?”

I can’t say that anymore. I saw stuff in Western Nebraska that was amazing, and all I had to do was leave the interstate and drive the Lincoln Highway. As Kevin Patrick noted at the LHA conference, “Friends don’t let friends drive the Interstate,” and I think I’ll start to embrace that motto after this tour is over.

The main people I have to thank for this part of my journey are Muriel (Nebraska Outback is her blog), her husband Mark, and Rob with N Route Entertainment (Muriel helps with this organization as well). They opened my eyes to seeing the beauty of their area, and they support live music and musicians with a passion I haven’t seen anywhere else so far. I left Western Nebraska with a whole other state of mind, and ready for what lies ahead.

I have to admit that the road caught up with me after my performances on the 4th of July. I was a little under the weather for a few days at this point of the tour with a sore throat and ear/sinus pressure. Luckily, it was all caught in time, and I was able to sing for a group of touring Norwegians, Swedish and Danish folks driving across the country.

There’s around 70 pictures in this post (get comfy), but here’s a few highlights of the area that I want to write about before you see the pictures:

1) While this is not directly on the Lincoln Highway, the Sandhills are truly a magnificent experience that’s close to the route. It is a region of mixed-grass prairie/grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska, covering just over one quarter of the state! You can pretty much Google and see several websites to learn more about it. Muriel has strong family ties to this area, so my driving tour both her and Mark took me on was made that much more magical.

2) If you’re a fan of anything of the Old West, definitely take the time to stop in North Platte. You’ll find plenty of things to do and see there, and you won’t be bored!

3) You’ll cross into Mountain Time Zone west of Sutherland, NE (my favorite time zone). I noticed on some of the original routes as well as some auxiliary roads you’ll see the sign “Minimum Maintenance Road”. Believe what they say! I wanted to go see some old wagon ruts on “California Hill” and my car got stuck in mud right off of the paved main route. Luckily I wasn’t in too deep and could back myself out of the mud by myself, but this warning as well as a few others is a note of caution for anyone driving the Lincoln solo. When in doubt, don’t drive it!

My view from the stage at the Ft. Cody Trading Post in North Platte, NE. This figure was originally a “Muffler Man” and when the store went out of business they turned him into a “Native American”.

View of the Trading Post from the outside. While it is now located on the interstate, the original location of the post was west of town on the Lincoln Highway.

Buffalo Bill stands tall in North Platte!

This was a special Lincoln Highway display the trading post had up to mark the centennial of the road.

A photo of Buffalo Bill’s Miniature Wild West Show. Over 20,000 tiny hand-carved figures populate dioramas of Bill’s show, were created by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist over a 12 year period. It was really neat to see all of the details!

Just outside of North Platte sits Buffalo Bill’s Scout Rest Ranch. A place of retreat for Bill from all of the touring, this home was built in 1886, with the “new” edition built in 1909.

Here’s the barn on the grounds. It was a working farm with over 4,000 acres at its largest point in time.

Here’s Muriel and I dressed up for my performance at the Oregon Golf Course in Sutherland, NE (about 20 miles West of North Platte). Pretty cool to perform with an Oregon Trail marker so close!

The Sutherland Reservoir is right next to the golf course, and it was the perfect spot to celebrate the 4th of July.

While this was a nice depiction of the West, it unfortunately was viewed while I was in a Doctor’s office.

Welcome to downtown Sutherland! You’ll see in the next few pics it’s quite the Lincoln Highway town.

This mural is a reproduction of the famous Franklin Grove, IL mural, the only difference is the mileage between the cities.

This is an excerpt of a mural that the town of Sutherland painted for its Sesquicentennial.

Of course if it’s got the word “Otto” in it, I have to take a picture!

This mural was created by Sutherland school children. Muriel’s son helped paint it!

This is the oldest building in Sutherland. It is currently vacant, but people hope to reopen it again soon.

Burma Shave Signs don’t have to just be along the road…

Mural in progress next to an old gas station that is in the process being restored.

Another Sutherland gas station gets another face lift!

Another great recreation of a famous Lincoln Highway mural (more on it in my next post).

The Sutherland State Aid Bridge was built in 1912, and is in danger of being torn down.

Here’s a view of the bridge from the side.

If you look closely, you can see the wagon ruts from where the Mormons went through this area in the 1840’s.

Sand of the Sandhills. As you can see, it’s pretty fine stuff.

There will be several landscape views of the Sandhills coming up, and this is #1.

Mark hands me some Yucca plant to try. Not my favorite thing to eat, but not horrible either.

This is the Schoolhouse where Muriel said she went to school. She also mentioned that dances would be held here once a month.

Closeup of the Schoolhouse. Note the cows are very interested in us…

Here’s what Muriel’s family homestead looked like from the outside.

Love this old stove! It is not original to the home, but has been donated for its restoration efforts.

As I learned from Muriel, we must always help the turtles find their way across the road.

Three people from the tour who came to my Saturday afternoon performance – they were all from Denmark.

Here’s a shot of a few of the cars that the tour drove. I loved the Imperial in the middle.

Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse is very well known as a must stop not only along the Lincoln but in all of Nebraska as well. It opened the day after Prohibition ended in 1933.

All of the animals in Ole’s were caught by the original owner himself.

Love this old lamp at Big Ole’s Steakhouse

The Spruce Street Station in Ogallala, NE has been restored back to its original glory.

Ogallala’s Boot Hill Cemetery is a great little stop along the road.

View of the Cemetery with the “Cowboy Boss” looking on.

This woman and infant were the first people to be buried at Boot Hill Cemetery.

One of the last Lincoln Highways I might see for a while…

Here’s a shot of the road from my car as I was driving in the Panhandle.

This building in Lodgepole, NE has one of the best ghost signs I’ve seen so far. Hopefully the Opera house will be restored again soon.

The Potter Soda Fountain supposedly is one of coolest places to stop an experience an old soda or tin roof sundae. Too bad it was closed when I drove through.

The original Lincoln Highway went under the railroad here. Lucky for me a train was going by!

One of the biggest gas stations in the US was the State Line Gas Station on the Nebraska/Wyoming border. There are 18 pumps in total.

While standing at the abandoned gas station, both a train a few Norwegian cars went by!

Here’s where the line was drawn for the border.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Up next I’ll talk about the infamous “Colorado Loop”. Until then, enjoy your week!

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!

New York Wrap Up

April 17, 2013 by Cece

It’s my last night here in New York City, and the time has flown. This experience in New York was an amazing start to this trip, but there’s 13 more states to go and there’s a lot left to see and experience.

For those of you that do not know, the Lincoln Highway is not very long in New York (around a mile). It starts in Times Square and heads West on 42nd street. Because it’s such a narrow strip and there’s much to see in that short distance, I walked this strip of the road so I could get some better pictures.

Here’s some photo highlights of my walk:

View of one side of Times Square from the 22nd floor.

Jerry Peppers' Display — This is just one part of the Lincoln Highway display that Jerry Peppers (New York State director) has. Look at the business card-you may recognize it from somewhere! :)

Me Sitting at Jerry's Desk — This is me sitting at Jerry’s Desk-you can see Times Square behind me.

Fun with the Naked Cowboy-a famous and long standing performer in Times Square.

New York Director Jerry Peppers poses with the post that will eventually mark the Eastern Terminus of the Lincoln Highway. For those of you who have seen “A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway”, this is the same poster he used for that documentary.

Me with Terminus Sign — Here’s me with the Eastern Terminus Sign.

LH Sign — This Lamp Post on 42nd Street marks the start of the Lincoln Highway.

Me and Jerry — Here’s a great photo of Jerry and I. A big thank you to him for all of his support on this tour so far. He’s a great guy, and if you are in the area and want to learn about the Lincoln, definitely reach out to him!

Directions for NY & NJ — Jerry was nice enough to give me this turn-by-turn guide to drive the Lincoln in both New York and New Jersey. Where GPS fails, paper succeeds.

Right off 42nd Street and along the Lincoln, the New Amsterdam Theatre was an important theatre in this country during the 20’s and 30’s.

Love this old sign for the Lincoln Tunnel (modern detour for the highway, originally ferries shuttled cars back and forth on 42nd Street).

View from Pier 83, the pier that originally shuttled the cars from New York to New Jersey 100 years ago. Today the pier has boats that do sightseeing tours.

Empire Coffee — Found this place dating back to 1909 within a block of the Lincoln Highway. Empire coffee and Tea has great stuff-go check then out!

Old Building — Found this building along 42nd Street that looks like it could be from a century ago. It was dwarfed by all of the new high rise buildings surrounding it.

Times Square Clouds — I took dozens of pictures in Times Square, but this one at dusk was one of the best pictures. It was amazing to watch the square change from day to night.

I’ll be heading to Princeton, NJ tomorrow, and plan to take more photos as I go along the way. Stay tuned for more updates, and keep spreading the word!

LHA 2012 Conference highlights

June 22, 2012 by Cece

There were many, many things going on at this year Lincoln Highway Association conference in Ohio, it was hard to keep up with it all! I went on the West tour on Tuesday (Canton to Mansfield on the Lincoln Highway), the East Tour yesterday (Canton to Chester, WV), and took in the two fun evening activities: the Cruise-In and a night at the Palace Theatre downtown. Thursday was a day full of learning with seminars, meetings, and tours that people could take, with our final banquet at the Canton Club. All in all, it was a fantastic conference, thanks to everyone who made it so great!

So in photos, here’s my highlights of the 2012 conference in Canton (Get comfy-I have a few photos to share):

WEST TOUR (TUESDAY):

Our first stop was the Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society) in Mansfield, Ohio. The Reformatory doors were opened to its first 150 young offenders in September 1896. After housing over 155,000 men in its lifetime, the doors to the prison closed December 31, 1990. It has the tallest free-standing cell block at six tiers. I have been here before at night, so it was fascinating to see it during the day.

OSR sign — One of the first signs the inmates would see.

OSR East Cell Block — A standard cell in the East Cell Block.

Storage at OSR — This room in the East Cell Block now stores many things, including old toilets!

After lunch, our second stop was to Oak Hill Cottage near downtown Mansfield. Originally built in 1847, this home has all of the possessions and furniture that were used in the house by the Jones family for over 100 years. It was one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen.

Sphinx Lamp — The Sitting Room had an “exotic” theme with Moroccan and Egyptian elements in the room. These Sphinxes on the lamps are a great example of the details in this house.

Hats and shoes — This hutch holds the hats and shoes of the women who lived in this house.

Pipe Organ — This is a working pipe organ in the sanctuary of the house.

Front of Oak Hill — A true representation of Gothic architecture, the exterior of this house has been restored back to its original glory.

Our last stop on the West tour was in Mifflin, Ohio. This place has some neat historical markers, including a village watering trough that has been preserved near St. Michaels church:

Tuesday evening’s fun was a Cruise-in in downtown Canton. 91 cars from all over came to show off their cars. I was in the book room telling everyone about my project, selling CD’s, and talking with fellow LHA members.

Jamie and I — I was so happy to finally meet Jamie, the creator of “My Lincoln Highway” blog! Check out her site if your haven’t yet.

Bernie and Esther — We had our own “cruise-in” in the book room that night. Bernie (who turns 100 next month) gives Esther (his wife) a ride on a hotel cart-faster than I would have pushed it! These two have an amazing story to tell, which I will share at a later date.

EAST TOUR (WEDNESDAY):

This day we went all the way to Chester, West Virginia, stopping in Lisbon (the 2nd oldest city in Ohio), East Liverpool, Chester, and Robertsville. Our evening was spent at the glorious Palace theatre in downtown Canton touring and taking in a movie. I will post a few photos now for the theatre, but plan to see more video and audio of this beautiful place!

Here are some of my photo highlights of this day:

Brick Stretch in Ohio — This stretch of the original Lincoln Highway brick road is right outside of Minerva, Ohio.

Built in 1805, the Old Stone House, is one of Ohio’s oldest buildings.

Bridge View — This bridge abutment is all that is left of the original bridge that used to cross the Lincoln Highway. Today it is now a scenic overlook (looking at Ohio from West Virginia).

View of the Ohio River from Chester, West Virginia.

Teapot in Chester, WV — The world’s largest Teapot: Chester, West Virginia.

Road changes in Ohio — Some other old remnants of the original route near Cindel Road.

Mural in Robertsville Grange — This is a Mural in Robertsville, Ohio of what their downtown would have looked like in the 1920’s. Those buildings still exist, but are used for different functions now.

Palace Theatre Stage Right — View of the Palace theatre from stage right. This theatre was built in the 1920’s.

Palace Theatre Dressing Room — Had a little fun with color on this one-this is one of the dressing rooms at the Palace theatre.

Detail of Chair in Palace Theatre — Detail of one of the theatre chairs.

THURSDAY:

Thursday was our final day of the conference, which included seminars and our final dinner/awards ceremony. I spent most of my day connecting with people, meeting about the Centennial plans for the conference and how I will be involved with the upcoming celebration in Nebraska next year. This view was magnificent from the roof at the Canton Club, which was where our final banquet took place. Here’s a few photos of that view from the 14th floor.

Again, I had a fabulous time performing and being a part of the conference this year! I hope everyone makes it home safely, and I will see you all soon.

Greetings from Canton!

June 19, 2012 by Cece

I’m here in Canton, Ohio for the 2012 Lincoln Highway Association conference, and all I can say is wow, what a night last night!

I had the honor to start the festivities off after invocation last night at dinner with a few songs from next year’s program. I am still floored by the response from over 130 people in attendance last night. Everyone had a good time, and were smiling and singing along. Thank you again to the Ohio Lincoln Highway League and the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway for letting me be a part of your conference this year.

We shot video of my performance last night, and plan to put up excerpts after the conference is over, so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I plan to post daily about the conference with pictures and words, so check back often for those posts. If you are in the Canton area, attending the conference, I have a table in the book room this year. Please stop by to say hello! I’ll also have an advance copy of last night’s songs for sale for $5, and you can’t beat that.

Here are a few picture highlights from yesterday:

Abe and I — President Lincoln and I met yesterday afternoon, and he bought a copy of my CD!

My booth — Here is a view of my booth for this year’s conference.

2012 performance 1 — Me in my full costume prior to performance.

Paul and I — A big thanks to Paul Gilger for accompanying me last night. I couldn’t have done it without him!

Me with in costume at my table this year.

Brian Butko and I — So glad to see a good friend and colleague Brian Butko last night at the conference! I know he is a busy man.

Getting ready for the 2012 LHA conference!

June 15, 2012 by Cece

I got back from Mongolia on Monday afternoon, and I’m still a little jet lagged still but all in all doing very well. It was a fantastic trip, and I look forward to sharing some of the highlights with you all after I’ve sorted through the 1,500 photos, videos and audio recordings I made while I was there.

No rest for the weary though-I hit the ground running when I came back. I am very honored and pleased to officially say that I will be performing for the opening night dinner of this year’s 2012 Lincoln Highway Conference in Canton, Ohio. I will be singing a few songs to give everyone a small taste of what people can expect when I take the program on the road in 2013. I look forward to seeing everyone that I met in Lake Tahoe last year, as well as making new friends at this year’s conference.

If you can’t make it to the opening dinner or conference this year to hear these tracks, do not fear! I am selling a special advance preview CD with five tracks on it for $5 at the conference (Look for my table in the book room and come and say hi!), and after the conference is over I will have a special link where you can purchase the CD (additional shipping costs will apply).

Like last year, I will be posting photos from the conference as well as giving written updates from the road. We will also try to get video of my performance as well so you all can finally see me sing, so stay tuned for that.

Safe travels to my LHA colleagues, and I look forward to seeing you all next week in Canton!