June 5, 2002
Man crosses country in the name of Abe
Lincoln
Craig Harmon, founder of the
Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives in Galion, Ohio,
stands on the ladder of a 1964 Maxim
firetruck.
Photo by Rick
Gunn
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Craig Harmon is carrying a bit of President Abe
Lincoln with him on a nationwide journey to bring attention to the
old Lincoln Highway.
Harmon carries with him a photo and a
lock of hair taken from the dead president's head, on loan from
Miami University, to fulfill one of Lincoln's wishes: to travel
across the country. Of course, Harmon noted, Lincoln wanted to go on
the transcontinental railroad, which wasn't finished at his death,
so the president is taking a ride on the first transcontinental
highway, which was named in his honor.
"This is a way to give
Mr. Lincoln his ride," Harmon said.
Driving a 1964 Maxim fire
truck that has an open cab and gets all of four miles to the gallon,
Harmon is crossing the country looking for "pieces to the puzzle."
The puzzle? Helping find historical tidbits that will highlight the
historic Lincoln Highway and find ways in which to make it a lasting
memorial to President Lincoln during the bicentennial of his birth
in 2009. He's a little early in the planning process, but Harmon
said planning for events to recognize "the greatest president of the
United States" are already under way. He has been "following the
bread crumbs all over the country" to find ways in which communities
have celebrated the Lincoln Highway in the past.
A walking
history fact book, Harmon said besides the recognition of the
highway in the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, his trip serves
three other goals:
1. To commemorate the 85th anniversary of
a 1915 Lincoln Highway film and flag trip
2. To honor the
firemen of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
3. To celebrate the
250th birthday of Betsy Ross this year
A native of Ohio,
Harmon said founding the museum and embarking on the trip "found
me." He traveled across the country in a bucket truck in 1998 taking
photos of the land with a unique aerial view. From there, his work
found ways to throw him in the path of Lincoln Highway history, and
he founded the museum and archives in Galion, Ohio, in
1999.
During his trip, he has visited fire stations in each
of the 450 towns along the route, and has been collecting
firefighter signatures and signed hardhats from departments. He
displays an American flag, an imitation Betsy Ross 13-star flag, a
Union Pacific Railroad flag and a Lincoln Highway flag in each of
the towns along the 3,400-mile Lincoln Highway route. He will unfurl
his flags from the top of the fire truck's 100-foot ladder at Carson
City's Fire Station 2 today at 9 a.m.
The trip hasn't been
without travails. Harmon was stranded in Salt Lake City from
December to May and had to rebuild the fire truck's engine twice. He
survives on "spontaneous ... patriotic donations along the
way."
With any luck, Harmon, who has been continuously
driving since September 2001, will end up in San Francisco's Lincoln
Park on June 14 -- Flag Day -- to commemorate a 1917 flag planting
ceremony that officially marked the end of the Lincoln
Highway.
He plans to ship the fire truck, a truck from
Marietta, Ohio called the "Spirit of the Lincoln Way," to New York
City via an open Union Pacific rail car in time for a July 4
celebration at the at the site of former World Trade Center
site.
For information, head to the web at
www.lincoln-highway-museum.org
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