• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

An American Songline

Journeys in Vintage Music with Cecelia Otto

  • About
    • An American Songline
    • Cece’s Story
    • Accolades & Press
  • The Programs
    • Prohibition
    • Centennial of Suffrage
    • The History of Early American Song
    • A Celebration of America
    • A Musical Journey Along the Lincoln Highway
    • The Songs of World War I
    • Video
    • FAQ
  • Shows
    • Current Tour & Show Dates
    • Book Cece
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact
    • Get Updates
    • Press Kit
    • Get Crowdfunding Support

Nevada

Gifts and Things Found Along the Lincoln Highway

December 23, 2013 by Cece

Happy Holidays Everyone!

The nomad in me never stops moving, hence my silence on this blog. After I finished the tour this fall, my husband and I took the plunge and moved 2,000 miles from Chicago to Portland, Oregon where we’ve both never lived before! We’ve been here now for a few weeks, and are spending the holidays here on the West Coast. So far my time has been great here, and I look forward to exploring the area more very soon.

But enough about non-Lincoln Highway things! I know many of you out there have been enjoying and celebrating your holiday season amidst the hustle and bustle that comes along with it.  I wanted to stop and take stock of the many gifts blessings I’ve received from people along the road this year, and I wanted to share these roadside finds with you all. Below you’ll find some really neat and unique items that were given to me as well as things I found along the way. You’ll also see a plethora of t-shirts in this collection as well from across the country (when you live on the road and laundry is scarce, new t-shirts are pretty much a necessity).

Without sounding too hokey, the biggest gift of all is nothing pictured in this gallery. It will always be the new friends I made while on my journey; they now have become “old” friends to me in such a short time. They are the true legacy of the Lincoln Highway, and I feel honored to know them. You will hear more about these extraordinary people in future blog posts as well as my book about my travels. So stay tuned-this is only the beginning!

Old Lincoln Highway Sign from Iowa. It was a gifted to me by someone from the Iowa LHA Chapter. These signs hung on the original route until they were replaced by Iowa’s Heritage Byway signs a few years ago.
Being the musician I am, CD’s were a welcome gift and soundtrack for my travels. Some CD’s were given to me by complete strangers, others by longtime friends. Everything from Classical to Country Music is included in this collection.
From left to right: 1) Hand-created Lincoln Highway Miniature Marker 2) Snowflake Christmas Ornament created with salt from the Great Salt Lake 3) Piece of Petrified Wood found at Middlegate Station in Nevada 4) Ornament from Rock Springs Historical Museum 4) Root Beer Growler from Gottenburg Brewery, Columbus Nebraska 6) Tote bag from Grantsville, Utah
Detail of Handmade Lincoln Highway Marker made by Bob Owens (Jefferson, Iowa). He told me that he puts 6 coats of sand on each marker to create the desired effect.
Detail of Rock Springs Historical Museum Ornament, Rock Springs, Wyoming
Detail of Snowflake Ornament, Grantsville, Utah
Handmade Pin on antique hankerchief, made by Janet Von Toussiant of the Livermore Heritage Guild in California.
There were several books presented to me on my travels. From Art Deco Paper Dolls to the Book of Mormon, all of the books play a part in the story of the Lincoln Highway.
The two books in the back were both written by my friend and Lincoln Highway guru Brian Butko. Both were published this year to commemorate the highway’s centennial. In the front you can see some fun sheet music from the 1910’s and 20’s that was given to me by people along the way too. I just love those old song titles!
I think the t-shirt speaks for itself…
You’ll find this old-time country store along the Lincoln in between Bedford and Pittsburgh. Definitely stop and take the time to walk around the store, you never know what you will find there!
I absolutely love the mission of the Music Village, and if you are in/near the South Bend area please check them out! They are doing great things for the community along the Lincoln Highway.
When I was staying in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this t-shirt was given to me as a great surprise from my host! I guess the road warrior in me was already shining through. :-)
About 30 miles outside of Cedar Rapids, IA, you’ll find the Youngville Gas Station and restaurant. Entirely run by volunteers, this place is a lovely stop along the Lincoln Highway.
Thanks to Bob and Joyce Ausberger not only for giving this t-shirt to me, but for inviting me to perform in Jefferson, IA for their huge Bell Tower Festival.
Neat t-shirt find in Colorado.
This wonderful shirt was a gift from the Music Director at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming.
One of the most unique performances on my tour was to be part of the annual Rockport Dam Jam. I got to learn new music for this concert, and the players were an absolute delight to perform with.
T-shirt of the Eureka Opera House. If you are in this part Nevada, please do yourself a favor and spend the afternoon (or night) here.
Middlegate Station in Nevada is a fanstastic place to stop, walk around, and get a bite to eat.
One of my favorite finds at the Nevada Historical Society’s gift shop: A t-shirt showing all of the hobo signs and symbols.

Until then, may the rest of 2013 be merry for you all! –Cece

Filed Under: Life in General, Lincoln Highway, Music, Odds and Ends Tagged With: Books, Brian Butko, Gifts, Great Salt Lake, Handmade gifts, Indiana, Iowa, Lincoln Highway, Nevada, Ornaments, Pennsylvania, Roadside finds, Sheet Music, T-Shirts, Unique Finds, Utah, vintage

Writer’s Block or Writer’s Overload?

August 26, 2013 by Cece

Greetings from my last day in Reno, Nevada, and the final Monday of this tour! Yup, that’s right folks, my singing travelogue will officially (and unofficially-more on that later) be done on Labor Day weekend. I’m pretty much in shock that I’m a stone’s throw away from California right now.

It’s been a wonderful but crazy last few weeks of touring, and I know I’m couple states behind right now. You’re probably wondering what’s happening. Did she get lost or have no internet access? (Both were true.) Did she have computer problems? (Yes.) Did she just give up on writing? (Heck NO!)

Here’s why: I have writer’s block. Knock down drag out writer’s block, but not for the reasons you think. I’m currently working on the state of Wyoming (I had three performances there in early August), and the truth is that I’m not “blocked”, I’m actually on “overload”. I have SO much to say about my time in Wyoming, It’s extremely difficult to decide what’s best for the blog, what’s best for the book, and what’s best to talk to me about over a beer.

As this tour is coming to a close, I’ve felt some of the sensory overload start to melt away so that I can get something out to you all soon. Expect blog posts on all of the remaining states along the route that I haven’t written about yet, they just might come after I’m off the road.

Thanks you again for being along for the ride, it means a lot to me. Know that no matter what happens, I’m excited for the final performance in Livermore, (and maybe even an informal/”unofficial” performance in a surprise place, watch the calendar) as well as I’m also excited for what will happen post-tour for this project. This is all just the beginning!

Filed Under: California, Driving, Grassroots, History, Life in General, Lincoln Highway, Music, Nevada Tagged With: California, Livermore, Nevada, Overload, San Francsico, Singing, The Road Ahead, travel, Writer's Block

Post-Conference Highlights and Reflections

July 4, 2011 by Cece

Happy 4th of July everyone!

So it’s been about a week since I last wrote, and my brain is still swimming from all of the things I learned at the Lincoln Highway Association conference. I did not come directly home after the conference, because of some other traveling I had to do. Now that I am home, I now have the time to write about all of my impressions of my first Lincoln Highway Association conference (you can read highlights of it all here on their website). I have photo highlights of Tuesday and Wednesday on this website in previous posts if you would like to see more photos.

Monday’s welcome dinner was quite a welcoming.  The guest speaker was McAvoy Layne, who is “The Ghost of Twain”. He regaled us with Mark Twain’s first view of Lake Tahoe and the mishaps that ensued upon arrival. As a performer myself, I very much enjoyed how he engaged the crowd, but was genuine in his performance.  For a first-time attendee like me (it was noted on my lanyard/name badge), the dinner also gave me a chance to meet new people and learn more about the association and the conference.

Tuesday’s tour of California was impressive.  I’ve only been to San Francisco for a quick weekend trip, so I’ve never really explored the state. We started at our hotel in Stateline, Nevada taking the southern route of the highway along what would have been the pioneer route with stops along the way to Clarksville, CA. The view from Echo Summit was breathtaking.  The paved road underneath my feet had been there to serve pioneers and motorists for a very long time, and it was humbling to think that people negotiated this road in worse conditions not very long ago.

The road near Echo Summit.

The highlight of Tuesday for me was when the Hangtown A’s out of Placerville, CA treated us to a drive on the original Lincoln Highway roads in Model A cars through the ghost town of Clarkesville, CA. Here the road was only 14 feet wide in some places, and the texture of the road was not the smooth tarmac we are all used to. It was a conglomerate of stone and concrete. It is believed that Folsom prisoners laid this part of the Lincoln Highway. Driving along these roads in the heat of day (it was around 100 degrees), the speed of the car and  sound of the horn all took you back in time instantly. Our driver Ernie was pretty “zen” with his 1927 Model A. It takes a delicate sensibility to know when to shift gears and when not to.

Driving along the original road, near Clarkesville, CA.

As we were part way along our drive, the car turned and we were on part of the road that had been updated and now paralleled Highway 50, the new alignment of the Lincoln Highway. Ernie commented on this, and I remarked about why they didn’t incorporate the old road in with the new road.  Why did they build the new road right next to it? Ernie then said, “It was much easier to build a new road next to the old one. That way people could still get to where they were going without stopping traffic.”

This echoed some of the comments made on the tour that morning. There were still a couple of these old Lincoln Highway roads that could still be used if US 50 had to be shut down due to inclement weather. These older roads still provided a temporary safe pass through the Sierras.

For some reason, this thought hasn’t left me in the last week. Maybe this shows what generation or locale that I grew up in, but that never happens now. No one cares if you’re stuck on construction laden roads, that’s just the way life is. It was quite a “Kodak” moment to be moving along on the old road while watching the traffic and construction on the new road.

View of modern Lincoln Highway (US 50) while driving on original Lincoln Highway road.

Wednesday’s tour of the Nevada side proved to be just as memorable. Starting off at the Carson City museum, we were able to have a special tour of Coin Press #1 which was in use for many years all over the country. Being part of the conference, we were given a unique coin memento which was made from this very machine. This museum is a great museum with plenty of exhibits. We had two hours there, but I’m sure we could have spent the whole day there if we wanted to.

Special Coin minted just for our conference.

Next, we were off to Dayton, Nevada, which was settled around 1863. The Dayton Historical Society really pulled out the stops for us as we ate lunch and were able to walk the old part of the town freely for the afternoon. They were truly wonderful people. We were able to get a tour of the old firehouse/jail, and see the museum (which is in the old schoolhouse). The museum houses hundreds of items from the community and is definitely worth a stop if you are in the area. One neat hidden part of the town is actually off main street.  There is a rock wall next to the Union Hotel building, which is the remnants of an Overland Stagecoach Station, and was a Pony Express stop.

Overland Stage Station Wall, Dayton Nevada.

Thursday was seminar day and all of the speakers were wonderful. The two speakers that stood out for me and my upcoming travels the most were Bob Chase’s talk on his motorbike ride across the Lincoln Highway in a Piaggio MP3 in 2008, and the keynote speech by Craig MacDonald. Craig spoke about the evolution of US 50 historically, going back over 150+ years to talk about pioneers and stagecoach drivers including the infamous Charley Parkhurst (a female stagecoach driver who was the first woman to vote in the US).  We surprised everyone when I came up on stage at the end to sing and lead everyone in an anthem fit for Charley. I have video of me singing, and it will be posted at a later date.

There are so many memories of this week, I could write a book on it.  For a first time conference goer, it was a fantastic experience. Many thanks to the California and Nevada Lincoln Highway Chapters for their organization of such an awesome week. I also want to thank all of the other members who went out of their way to help me, give advice on my project, and just make me feel welcome to the organization overall. I look forward to communicating with all of you in the future.

Filed Under: Community, Lincoln Highway Conference, Music, Uncategorized Tagged With: 2011, Bob Chase, California, Carson City, Charley Parkhurst, Clar, coin, Coin Press #1, Craig McDonald, Dayton, Echo Summit, Hangtown A's, highlights, keynote speech, LHA Conference, Lincoln Highway, Lincoln Highway Association, McAvoy Layne, Model A, Nevada, Overland Stage Station Wall, Piaggio, Placerville, Reflections, The Dayton Historical Society, The Ghost of Twain, US 50

East Tour of LHA 2011 conference in pictures

June 23, 2011 by Cece

Hello all:

Another great day, but man I am tired.  Today’s tour was in Nevada. We started in Stateline, and then went to Carson City, Dayton, and then came back to Lake Tahoe for the Thunderbird lodge tour at sunset (an old mansion built from 1936-1939).

Again, I will write more later, but here are the highlights of the day.

This is Coin Press #1. This is the first coin press ever used in the United States, and still makes coins/medallions today. All of us who went on the tour today have a special medallion made for us, and it was made just for us.
Feral Horses outside Carson City, NV.
The historical society of Dayton NV went all out for us. We were able to walk the whole town for 2 hours today.
Sign on Dayton Fire House, Dayton NV.
Horse Hitch outside of the main saloon, Dayton NV.
Fence in Dayton, NV.
Coach/Carriage house, Dayton NV.
Original Lincoln Highway stretch outside Dayton, NV.
Thunderbird Lodge at sunset, Lake Tahoe.
Looking down to the water at the lodge. Yes, the rumors are true. Lake Tahoe is very clear. You can see down 100 feet in some places.
Another great sunset in Lake Tahoe. It will be hard to leave.

Filed Under: Driving, Lincoln Highway Conference Tagged With: 2011, Carson City, Carson City Mint, Dayton, Dayton Nevada, Ghost Town, lake tahoe, LHA Conference, Lincoln Highway Association, Nevada, Stateline, Thunderbird Lodge

Primary Sidebar

Follow Cece’s American Songline Journey

Relive the Struggle for Women’s Rights

An American Songline: Centennial of Suffrage is now available to purchase, featuring lyrics for 14 suffrage anthems, as well as Cecelia Otto's notes and commentary..

PURCHASE NOW »

Upcoming Tour & Show Dates

Come see Cece perform live! See if she’ll be performing near you in the near future.

SEE CECE LIVE »
  • Dribbble
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 — An American Songline • All rights reserved.

Log in