BUCKEYE RAMBLINGS
The Official Newsletter of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League
Number 51                                                                                                                            December, 2006

NEW LINCOLN HIGHWAY BRIDGE OPENED TO TRAFFIC

Although Lincoln Highway logo signs still need to be placed in the imitation brick pilasters of the structure, the sparkling new Lincoln Highway bridge at Beaverdam was opened to traffic in the early weeks of November 2006.  The bridge is at the Exit 135 interchange of Interstate Route 75, with the Lincoln Highway portion of the grade separation now being part of State Route 696.  Just east of the diamond-shaped I-75 interchange is a more complex interchange which provides access to U.S. Route 30.  This more complex interchange was opened in 1999 as part of the four-lane U.S. 30 project between Beaverdam and Ada.  According to the District One office of the Ohio District of Transportation District One, the missing logo signs for the pilasters will be set some time in December.  Our camera will be ready. 

Lincoln Highway bridge at Beaverdam.  Click to enlarge

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

            Three new members of the Lincoln Highway Association have Ohio addresses and have been added to the mailing list of Buckeye Ramblings and the Ohio Highway League:

            Judy Black (Shreve); Tim Fawcett (Stow); and Royal Star Inn (Orrville)

OHIO MEMBERSHIP DOWN AGAIN

            The newest roster of the Lincoln Highway Association was printed in September 2006, and for the second year in a row, the number of members with Ohio addresses has decreased.  After peaking with 166 members in 2004, the Ohio number dropped to 143 in 2005, and this year has fallen all the way to 126.  The loss of forty members in just two years represents a disappointing drop of 24%, which is more than double the 10% figure that the national organization has seen over that same time period (from 1187 to 1070).

The good news is that Ohio remains second in the nation with its number of LHA members, maintaining its typical placement behind Iowa (171) and ahead of Illinois (121).  Both of those states have also lost members in the past two years, but not to the extreme as Ohio.  The Iowa membership peaked at 184 in 2005, and the Illinois membership was as high as 146 during 2004.

            Certainly, we do not want this trend to continue.  We have done an excellent job in establishing two strong local chapters that host interesting meetings on a monthly basis, but many of the fine folks who regularly attend these meetings are not LHA members.  It appears that the time has come to get at least some of these good people on board at the national level.  May that challenge be our group’s first resolution of the new calendar year.                                                              

UPCOMING EVENTS

MID-OHIO CHAPTER:

For information regarding chapter activities, contact Chapter President Mike McNaull at mmcnaull@hotmail.com or newsletter editor Beverly Looker at blooker@columbus.rr.com

EASTERN OHIO CHAPTER:

Thursday December 14, 2006—Holiday Dinner at Peter Shearer’s in downtown Canton

For information regarding chapter activities, contact Chapter President Jeff Lotze at fordtractor@att.net  or 330-875-2989

OHIO LINCOLN HIGHWAY LEAGUE

April 21 or 28, 2007—13th Annual Meeting, hosted by OLHL members in western Ohio;

details and location to be announced in next newsletter

LINCOLN HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION:

June 18-22, 2007CLincoln Highway Association National Conference at Fort Morgan, Colorado

OCTOBER JOINT MEETING WELL ATTENDED

       The traditional October joint meeting of the Mid-Ohio Chapter and Eastern Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League was once again a great success.  Over forty people were in attendance at the meeting, which this autumn was held at Das Dutch Kitchen, on the Lincoln Highway near Dalton.  Special guests for the dinner event were Lowell and Miriam Nissley.  Lowell is the author of The Lincoln Highway: The Road My Father Traveled.  After the usual fine meal, Mr. Nissley told some of the interesting stories that went into the making of the book, and also showed a 45-minute slide show.  At the end of the evening, he kindly signed a good number of books for those who had purchased them.

Joint meeting in Dalton, Ohio.  Click to enlarge.

Easter Ohio Chapter President Jeff Lotze and Mid Ohio President Mike McNaull.  Photo courtesy of Mary McNaull.   Guest speaker Lowell Nissley.  Photo courtesy of Jeff Lotze.

SOME THINGS OLD, SOME THINGS NEW

In October, the editor drove the entire Lincoln Highway east of Wooster for the first time in several years.  Although it was good to revisit sites as far east as the Point of Beginning monument in East Liverpool, Ohio and the three concrete posts in Chester, West Virginia, it was even better to witness several new additions along the route for the first time.  Most refreshing was seeing that conscientious folks in Lisbon and East Liverpool have placed memorials to the Lincoln Highway within the last few years.  On the reverse of this sheet are some of the most interesting images from that road trip.  Below are the pertinent captions for each photograph.

Click to enlarge

“Arrows Everywhere.”  This is the intersection of Carr Road and Old Lincoln Highway east of Wooster. At least six signs facing the camera in this picture have arrows pointing one way or another.  One of the signs shows a new turn in the route of the Lincoln Highway Historic Byway which results from new construction on the route of U.S. 30.  Another indicates a movement in the convoluted temporary route of a broken Kansas Road. “Intersection Elimination.”  The north leg of the Kansas Road intersection at U.S. 30 has been eliminated, rendering the hodgepodge of arrow signs described above.  By this time next year, grass will have overtaken the straw that prevails here.  A new bridge is being built just west of the old crossing, and will provide a connection to that part of Kansas Road which remains south of U.S. 30.  The District Three office of ODOT has dubbed the new overhead as “The Buggy Bridge” in reference to anticipated Amish traffic. “Father Times.”  Since my last visit to downtown Minerva, the gift shop property which includes the circa-1910 gas station has received a new coat of paint, including a modest black-only mural.  The gas station—perhaps the oldest on the Lincoln Highway in Ohio—was previously all white, but looks even better with a light brick color.  The gas pump in the picture is a plastic replica.

“True Story.”  On this sunny and bright morning, IGA owner and LHA member Tom Kishman and editor Mike Buettner—both wearing dark sunglasses—failed to recognize each other as Mike was strolling the property composing pictures.  Once identities were revealed, Mike was relieved that Tom did not confiscate his suspicious camera.  Note the outstanding Lincoln Highway symbology on the cashier’s building.  Tom is the highway’s foremost ambassador in Minerva. “Mystery Bridge.”  OLHL Webmaster Jim Ross discovered this old steel span behind some Lincoln Highway homes near the county line east of Minerva.  The bridge may have been on an old cutoff road that took Main Market Route #3 north to New Franklin and Paris.  Unlike the Lincoln Highway, the market route was never marked through Minerva and Robertsville.  Hopefully, historians in Minerva will be able to help us learn more about this fascinating and photogenic antique. “Lisbon Pillar.”  This was the editor’s first visit to Lisbon in many years.  However, with each visit, the downtown square seems to have something new.  This brick pillar replica was dedicated in 2003.  Although the bricks were laid in a different pattern than the original Crawford County pillars, it still looks great.  Another recent addition is a memorial to area war veterans.  A gazebo and benches among maturing plants and trees make the Town Square a welcome rest stop while touring the historic highway.

“Rotary Project.”  In 2005, the East Liverpool Rotary Club placed this historical marker at the same intersection that is the zero point for the odometer charts in the editor’s road guide project for the Lincoln Highway in Ohio.  It is at the southeast corner of Fifth and Broadway, and shares that quadrant with a relocated concrete post and the Museum of Ceramics.  The museum was originally a post office, and was also a control point in the early guide books of the Lincoln Highway. “Lincoln Highway Station.”  In 2003, the southern terminus of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad was extended to this newly constructed station at Tuscarawas Street in Canton.  John Kiste of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor played a big part in getting the Lincoln Highway name attached to the Canton station.  The editor and his family enjoy occasional railroad excursions, and are looking forward to boarding the train here some time soon for a colorful trip north into the valley. “For Sale.”  While the Steel Trolley Diner continues to flourish two blocks to the east, the Crosser Diner in downtown Lisbon languishes with the doors locked and the greenery unkempt.  Its small compact size would seem to be ideal for a local tourist and visitor’s center…with a big stack of Lincoln Highway brochures, of course!

Thank you to LHA/OLHL member Jim Cassler and The Klingstedt Brothers Company, who have donated the return envelopes that were used to mail this newsletter.  In 2007, Jim and his associates will begin their sixth year as the official supplier of Lincoln Highway Merchandise.  Members are encouraged to visit the web site at www.LHTP.com for a look at the impressive inventory of items.

Buckeye Ramblings is the newsletter of the Ohio Lincoln Highway League, our state affiliate of the Lincoln Highway Association, and is published four times per year. Editor of this newsletter and president of the OLHL is Mike Buettner (1618 Chandler Drive/ Lima, Ohio/ 45805). Any changes of address should be forwarded to Mike, either by mail or by calling his office at 419-227-1135. Other officers re-elected along with the president through April 2007 are Mike McNaull (Ashland), Vice-President; Tammy Buettner (Lima), Secretary; and Michael Lester (Bucyrus), Treasurer. State Director for the Lincoln Highway Association is Marie Malernee (Canton). President of the Lincoln Highway Association is Bob Lichty (Canton)—the second Ohioan to hold that office. Esther Queneau (formerly of Ashland) was the first Ohioan to serve as national president. For texts of back issues, plus photography and other Ohio information, visit the web site created by Jim Ross (North Canton) at www.lincolnhighwayoh.com.

Costs for printing and mailing this newsletter are covered entirely by LHA membership dues. Please renew your membership in the national association so that we can continue to publish news from Ohio on a regular basis.

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