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,

But before you do something,
"Off the Wall"
like that,
better make sure,
"It's the Right Thing to do."

So first a little homework.

New York City,
is hardly the place to learn
to operate a Fire Truck.

So off to
"The Big Apple"
to see if I was biting off
more than I could chew.

And maybe,
there might even be a few
"Bread Crumbs"
to help guide the way.

The Lincoln Highway Association
had their annual convention in Edison,
so I went up at the last minute
thinking I might be able to go along
for the tour and check out the route.

I traveled all night,
and arrived with only an hour to spare.

The tour was sold out,
but lucky for me,
one of the fellows
I met in Nebraska on the trip in 1998
said his wife was sick,
so I could use her ticket.

Lunch included!!

"Whew..that was close!!"

Buses loaded,
it was off
for Jersey City
and the ferry to NYC.

When we came out of the terminal
and on to 42nd street,
"Swear to God,"
the absolute first thing
to pass by was a
Fire Truck with a ladder.

In case you were wondering,
Trucks have ladders,
Engines have pumps.

Hmmm...pretty big bread crumb.

Then it was up to the
Times Square Brewery for lunch.

Little did I know then,
but a month later,
I was back and got this shot.

I sat with friends from Iowa,
and told them of my mission,
and the quest for crumbs.

Our table was up against the glass,
8 panels from the left,
so we had a perfect overview of
Times Square.

They thought I was nuts,
but just then...

another Fire Truck drove by,
just like the first!!

"Guess that pretty much solves that..."

So the trip was on!!

Back in Ohio,
I went over for a little practice...

and to try out some signs
like on the cars...

and fire trucks
in the Great Race.

Went all the way to
Noblesville, Indiana
just to see how
the "Big Boys" played.

Think it paid off in spades,
don't you??

Well...once around the block,
that's easy enough,
so the only thing left
is the ladder and
The American Flag.

My friend said,
"You know what you need now,
is a Lincoln Highway Flag."

Which sounded like a pretty good idea,
but where am I supposed
to get one of those???"

Later that night,
I got out the grindstone...

and came up with this.

The art was easy,
but cutting and tacking
took a little work.

Then Kris did the rest.

Guess that pretty well
wraps it up...

Now if I only had
"The Cheese."

Let's see...that's

32 x 160= $5,120.

If I hocked the dollars,
that would be give me
$1,300 for fuel and expenses.

Sounds like a plan to me...

So I called
my coin dealer friend
and said,
"When you gave me
the Uncut Sheets of 5 Dollar Bills,
I know it was only for display,
but how would you feel
it I cut them up
and bought a fire truck?"

Lucky for us,
he said,
"Sure!"

The next day,
we did the deal.

Here we are with
"The Ceremonial Handshake"

But there was still one problem...

It's kinda hard to spend
an uncut sheet.

What to do?
What to do?

Remember Tim's dad
was a printer,
and after he passed away...

Tim brought home a few items
as a memorial to his father.

So it was down to business...

There that wasn't so bad...

But all the sheets
had double sided tape on the back,
so some were a little crooked
and stuck together.

Tim was a little worried,
the bank might not accept them...

so back to Galion and Star Bank.

They thought it was great!!

The ones that stuck together are in the piles
and went back to "The Fed" separate.

I kept a few notes
and the trimmings
for posterity
which are on display
at the museum.

No pun intended,
but,
"note"
the date
on the calendar.

July 6...

Three weeks later,
this was taken on
July 29, 2000.

And so,
there you have it!!

The incredible story of this...

Thanks for coming along for the ride!!

Warmest Regards,

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