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,

So now we have...

Two Memorials.

Therefore, Be it Resolved,
That The Lincoln Highway Now Is And Henceforth
Shall Be An Existing Memorial In Tribute To,
That Great Martyred Patriot-
ABRAHAM LINCOLN

See what happens when you travel...

and follow
"In the Footsteps of Lincoln"

But how did that happen???

Like I said,
"It all started innocently enough..."

I was in Sacramento at
The State Library
finishing up research after
"Light Around the World".

While I had things pretty well mined out,
there was one lingering little nugget
I'd neglected to add to my bag of treasure.

Actually I'd know about it for almost a year,
but had failed to follow up.

It was an obscure listing at
The California Archives
under the
Department of Public Works
Division of Highways
California Highway Commission Records
buried under
Arrangement and Description
Division of Highways
Headquarters (1915-1973)
Office of the Highway Engineer
Survey and Studies
26. Road Survey File 1912-1940
and finally
Lincoln Highway.

I think you get the picture...

After all this,
I figured it was some boring
road survey
that nobody would ever care about.

But being a diligent researcher,
and wanting to leave no stone unturned,
I ventured over to the Archives
and made the request.

The attendant looked at me
kinda funny and said,
"You've got to be kidding."

It was comforting to know,
I wasn't the only one
who thought it was
"A Needle in a Haystack".

But I persevered,
and she reluctantly disappeared
into the stacks.

5 minutes later she reappeared,
brushed the straw out of her hair
and handed me the file.

There wasn't much to it,
only 6 pages
and a small pamphlet,
but it was sure an
eye-opener.

On first glance,
it didn't appear like much,
but then I read the first paragraph...

Excuse Me??

"because of an apparent lack of interest and support
on the part of central California..."

Mr. G.S. Hoag, field secretary of
The Lincoln Highway Association
was recommending to the Board
that Los Angeles be designated
as an alternative terminal
for The Lincoln Highway on the Pacific.

And then it went on...

in an effort to rectify the situation,
but the damage had already been done.

Pretty Heavy Stuff!!!

Someone went to a lot of trouble
drawing up a formal resolution,
which indicated the situation was serious
and had reached a point of no return.

While I'd known for sometime,
San Francisco
dropped the ball early on,
this was the first I'd seen
anything like this.

Clearly this would require,
further investigation.

Warmest Regards,

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