THE TRAVELER LINCOLN HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION – CALIFORNIA CHAPTER www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/ca/traveler Editor; Gary Kinst NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED QUARTERLY ON THE FIRST OF JANUARY, APRIL, JULY, OCTOBER VOL. 18 NO. 4 FALL OCTOBER, 2017 1 COVER Lincoln Highway Marker on display in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington DC. This marker was placed alongside the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming on September 1, 1928 CURRENT MAKER PROJECT Copied from the Facebook Group, “The Historic Lincoln Highway in San Joaquin County”, submitted by member Kevin Shawver on June 24, 2017 “On June 15, I met with Lodi City Council Member JoAnne Mounce, City Manager Steve Schwabauer, and Department of Public Works Director Charlie Swimley. The purpose of the meeting was to request that Historic Lincoln Highway Signage be installed along the Lincoln Highway route through the City of Lodi. The City was very receptive and has agreed to donate labor to install the needed signage. The entire route is marked throughout San Joaquin County except for the City of Lodi. We are closing the gap in signage. The Lincoln Highway Association will donate ten signs for this project; however, the Association would like to recoup part or all the cost of the signs through public donations. The Association is a non-profit 501C group.” Kevin responded to the numerous comments on his hard work and dedication to the San Joaquin County sign projects by giving credit to member Mike Kaelin, his “sign mentor” and coordinator for the entire state, without whose guidance and advice, nothing would have been done. 2 JULY CHAPTER MEETING The California Chapter held its Summer Chapter Meeting on July 8th in Historic Downtown Auburn at the Auburn Alehouse & Restaurant. Thirty-two hardy folks tackled the brutal California heat (105-111 degrees) to attend the summer Chapter meeting. The meeting was held outside on the patio of the restaurant and thankfully, many umbrellas and the building itself provided shade. Ceiling fans and overhead fans provided enough air circulation to allow the heat to be somewhat bearable. Our server received a hearty round of applause for maintaining a steady flow of ice water and cold beverages throughout the meeting We were fortunate to have several guest speakers brave the heat to speak to us on several interesting topics. Mr. Mike Holmes, Auburn Chamber of Commerce, gave a presentation on the history and development of the roads/highways in Auburn and along the I-80 corridor. He recounted numerous stories from locals and the area newspapers regarding events on the roads dating back to the Gold Rush days. We would like to thank Mike for reserving 25 parking spaces in a lot behind the restaurant specifically for our group. Thanks Mike. Cindy Ainsworth, President of the Nevada LHA Chapter, talked about the current events being undertaken by her chapter, including the upcoming tour to Austin and Eureka. The Nevada Chapter was awarded a Friend of the Highway Award at the 2017 Conference for their efforts in renovating and restoring the LH bridge railings at Mogul, NV. Cindy handed out copies of the Chapters new brochure and travel guide “Discover Historic Nevada”. Beautiful brochure with map and accompanying photos. Cindy was accompanied by her husband Tom, who introduced himself as Cindy’s driver. Kendra Stoll, Senior History Librarian Caltrans Transportation Library, spoke to the vast historical research information and photos available at the Caltrans library. She also handed out brochures. There will be a special Department of Transportation exhibit showcasing the development of California highways, which will be displayed inside the State Capital Building beginning in March of 2018. More to come on that….. Updates were given by the individual committee heads, which included the following; President Joel Windmiller; Orangevale Bridge dedication ceremony and new marker State Director Bob Dieterich; Upcoming 8K LH run in Clarksville VP Neil Rodriques; Stone arch bridge on US50 Web Master Jimmy Lin; Report on web site activity Mike Kaelin; Current signage projects including Lodi Kevin Shawver; Signage in San Joaquin County Newsletter Editor Gary Kinst; Recent speaking engagement and questions to editor A complete recap of meeting minutes will be posted on the Chapters web site in late August. 3 Bob Dieterich, Greg and Grant Gassman Greg Gassman, Secretary, Myrna Johnson Guest Cindy Ainsworth, Nevada Chapter President Treasurer Grant Gassman and husband Tom 4 Mike Holmes, Auburn Chamber of Commerce, speaking to group about the roads and highways in and around Auburn. President Joel Windmiller presented Mike with a copy of Greg Franzwa’s California book for their historical museum Dome of Court House Old Fire House Gold Panning Monument 5 LINCOLN HIGHWAY JOHNNY John Fitzsimmons AKA “Lincoln Highway Johnny” and “The Vagabond Artist” originally hailed from Boone, IA. Currently living in Placerville, CA John travels back-and- forth across the country attending as many LHA conferences as possible. A 1992 founding member of the current LHA, John and a friend are responsible for painting LH Logos on over 186 telephone poles in and around Boone County Iowa. John’s grandfather Pat helped build the 1913 Lincoln in Iowa. California Chapter member, Greg Beemer shared an original copy of the sketch shown here, at our July meeting, which he obtained from John while attending the 2017 Conference. To see more of John’s work, go to his web site; www.lincolnhighwayjohnny.wordpress .com 6 IN SEARCH OF THE LINCOLN In late July, my Daughter and Family were on their summer vacation, which included trips to New York, NY, Gettysburg, Pa and Washington, DC. I had asked them to keep a close eye for Lincoln Highway signage and was surprised with what they were able to discover. The first 5 days of the vacation were spent sightseeing in NYC and then on to Cooperstown where my Grandson’s baseball team played in a U12 tournament at Cooperstown Dream Fields, this being the main purpose of the trip east. First stop was Broadway and West 42nd Street near Times Square. After the grueling week in Cooperstown, the trip to Washington, DC took them through Hershey, PA and Gettysburg. Here are a few of the photos encountered in Pennsylvania. Gettysburg Mural appears to need some touch-up 7 Several of the signs discovered along US30 in Gettysburg 8 Upon arriving in DC, one of the first attractions visited was the Smithsonian Museum of American History. While viewing the exhibits they came upon the Lincoln Highway display. One of the photos taken is of a 1913 Contributor plaque. The display states that these plaques were attached to the member’s autos radiators…… My understanding is that these plaques were attached to the vehicles dash or in some cases, as with Henry Joy’s Packard, the floorboard. Example of an early Lincoln Highway Radiator badge with the thru radiator pin. An article appeared in the August 13, 1913 edition of Horseless Age Magazine stating, “Automobilists in general are now given an opportunity of donating their mite toward the construction of the Lincoln Highway, which is to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, for automobile radiator plates boosting the proposed coast-to-coast road have been placed on sale in Indianapolis. The plates are numbered consecutively, and plate No. 1 has been reserved and will be sent to President Wilson. With the exception of the lower numbers, the plates will sell for $5. The promoters hope to get higher prices for the low numbers, and plate No.2 already has been sold to a woman in Maine for $1,000” 9 TWO TRIPS ON THE LINCOLN On June 3, 1915, a gentleman by the name of Gustave “Gus” Petzel, a resident of Stockton, began a trip across the US to gain attention. Simply walking from San Francisco to New York was too utterly common. No one would remember that feat. So, Gus decided to roll a steel ball while walking across the continent. The ball which measured four feet six inches in diameter and weighed 180 pounds with a thickness of 1/16 of an inch would be certain to attract attention. The result of this trip on the Lincoln Highway is lost in history. Gus paid for his trip by working along the way. The goal was to reach New York in six months to claim the one thousand dollars sponsored by parties in San Francisco. By 1925, Gus had apparently relocated to the small island of Alameda next to Oakland and across the Bay from San Francisco. Records show Gus to be a member of a foundry workers organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, which lends credence to his artisan abilities. For his second trip to New York on the Lincoln Highway, Gus choose to drive instead of walking. The car he chose closely resembles cars built in 1915 and known as “Art Smith Baby Cars”. This car was designed and built by Gus and described as being “The smallest automobile in the world”. Gus’s car was an upgraded and modernized version of a baby car utilizing an in-line 4-cylinder Henderson Motorcycle engine. The car incorporated a three-speed transmission, electric lights and starter, 60-inch wheelbase, 21” x 4” airplane wheels and weighed 560 pounds. It made 52 miles per gallon and had a speed of 65 miles per hour on the road and 80 miles on the track. It cost $2,000 to fabricate. The trip, which followed the Lincoln Highway for the greater part, also included a side trip into Yosemite National Park; The picture shown above is from a postcard, which Gus peddled along the way to finance the trip.