The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio 44833 (419) 462-2212 Voice (419) 462-2214 Fax (419) 566-0790 Cell

Dear Friends,

Well we're finally home...

It's interesting to note,
that after Fred wrote
"Follow the Star"
he moved to Berkeley,
and published his first two books here in 1932.

The Idea of Integration
and
Evidence...Integration.

These emails are being written in Berkeley
and it would appear the main focus is in reality,
Integrating the Parts into the Whole.

And so it would seem we have come full circle.

OK, here we go...

If you can remember back that far to email #6
"Leading the Parade",
I had just figured out the goal
and who was to lead the parade.

That being said,
it was a pretty tall order,
and not one to just rush into.

One day I learned there was one of the 1928
Lincoln Highway Concrete Posts
still in San Francisco.

I talked the family into cruising by for a look see,
but there wasn't time to stop for photos,
so one day I ventured back by myself.

It's on California and Park Presidio,
right next to a Metro Bus Stop.

From my brothers house it's 40 miles,
plus all the bay area traffic
so at the time it was not something I wanted
to do again anytime soon.

It's a difficult shot under any circumstances.

In order to put the whole thing in context,
you have to not only get the post,
but the street signs as well.

There are only a couple of angles available,
and they're in the middle of the street.

So risking life and limb,
I started to frame the shot...

I couldn't believe it...

After all this,
the sun was right in my face
and back lighting the shot
making it difficult to get.

No matter how I moved around,
it was still ruining the shot.

Frustrated and not wanting to come back later for a reshoot,
I paused for a moment to survey the situation.

Then it hit me...

So I reached in my camera bag, and pulled out my trusty
Star Cross Filter.

As I took the shot,
I could hear Fred say,
"Always remember...Follow the Star."

That star was now perfectly
positioned over
The Lincoln Highway.

That's it in the upper photo,
the marker is kinda in the shadows,
just below the star.

The second photo was taken sometime later
on a trip on the Lincoln Highway just outside of Latrobe, PA.

What is interesting about this shot,
and unbeknownst to me at the time,
William C. Durant,
Vice President and General Manager
of General Motors
was the one who donated $100,000 for work
on the Fallon Sink in Nevada.

His son, R.C Durant was Chairman of
The Lincoln Highway Committee
of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce.

William was the President of Chevrolet
and built the west coast plant in Oakland
on The Lincoln Highway.

It was in front of
The Chevy Plant,
that
The Oakland Commercial Club,
The Oakland Chamber of Commerce,
and
The Lincoln Highway Association,
hosted
The Oakland Lincoln Highway Fiesta,
to raise money for
The Fallon Sink in Nevada.

The Date:
November 12, 1916

My birthday...minus 41 years.

What makes this particularly interesting
is that it was scheduled for an earlier date,
but for some reason it did not work out
so they held it on the 12th.

The idea was to build a mock section of the Fallon Sink
so people could experience it first hand.

This little comedy was called:
"Sinking in the Fallon Sink".

As motorists slowed to avoid the dugout filled with
soft soap and affiliated dirt,
several dozen Lincoln Highway Girls
would swarm the car and extract a $1.00 tax.

They were then presented a Lincoln Highway Flag that said,
"I helped build the road over the Fallon Sink".

They accosted over 18,000 automobiles
and raised over $11,000.

Theoretically,
there should be thousands of these flags around somewhere.

Talk about integrating the parts into the whole!!!

Warmest Regards,

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