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The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio 44833 (202) 536-5329 |
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National Park Service
Lincoln Highway
Special Resource Study
Part 2
Overall
August
27, 2004
Moving along...
While
I have always supported,
anything that advances
"The Evolution of the Lincoln Way"
it is very important that
"The True Meaning and Significance"
of
The Lincoln Highway
be at the core of any effort.
Henry
B. Joy,
First President of the
Lincoln Highway Association...
said it best in 1914.
"The
Lincoln Highway
is on the Map."
"An
enduring and useful memorial
has been created to
The Greatest American."
The
Universal approval expressed on all sides is
tribute to the memory of a man
beloved by the people.
It
is unique in th annals of
American History
that a proposal of a national memorial
should not even be debated
as to its propriety or its fitness.
The endorsement is unanimous!!
Could there be a greater tribute??
The
evolution of this memorial has begun.
In loving tribute it will be carried,
as time passes,
to its ultimate ideal.
No
cenotaph could so much
through the years strengthen patriotism
and bring closer to us all the great principles
of public service which Lincoln so ably
illuminated by his life's work.
To
aid in advancing the evolution
of the Lincoln Way,
either by gift of effort,
is to serve the nation as a whole.
It
is a work to which all can lend aid
and derive benefit in return and
experience the golden satisfaction
of duty well done."
The
Work of
"broadening, straightening,
maintaining and beautifying
memorial road"
will be a labor of love
by a patriotic people.
Needless
to say,
it just doesn't get
any better than this!!
From
the very beginning,
I've had mixed emotions about
The Lincoln Highway Study Act.
On
one hand,
it brought national attention to
The Lincoln Highway,
but on the other,
it was obvious to me
that many involved
DID NOT
have a clear understanding of
The Lincoln Highway
and thus it actually muddied the water
and brought more harm than good
for projects such as
The Lincoln Highway Comes of Age.
As
a result,
many have placed false hopes
that the NPS Study would,
"Magically Solve All The Problems"
and instead of taking the lead,
they let the responsibility shift to others
perhaps less qualified,
and hesitated to
move forward taking a
"Wait and See Attitude"
while missing important
"Once in a Lifetime Opportunities."
In
addition,
it is OBVIOUS to me
The National Park Service
HAS COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT
and only sees
The Lincoln Highway
as a
"Highway"
with an assorted combination
of bricks and mortar
and interpretive sites
thrown in for good measure.
In
addition,
others see it as a resource
to be exploited for commercial gain
when in fact
The Lincoln Highway
represents
"The Heart and Soul of America".
Perhaps
the best example
of these two extremes
can be characterized
right in Galion, Ohio.
On
the one hand,
"The Lincoln Highway Comes of Age"
represents the true
"Spirit of America"
as articulated in this 1947 interview
by Bessie Beaty and June Rhodes
with Jane Fisher about her husband
"The Fabulous Hoosier".
Bessie
asks June a friend of Jane's
who recently read the book...
"What
is the Keynote,
the most American thing about it??"
The Answer...
"Enterprise...
There
is nothing American's
could not do if they wanted to,
the tradition of
AMERICA
is in that book."
"Now
men would hesitate
to do that sort of fabulous thing,
but then all those big men
were doing that sort of thing..."
"And
there dreams
are the things we are
realizing today."
"It took a Pioneer to do that!!"
"And
that is the
"Spirit of America"
that seems to be just a little bit down now."
I wish we'd stop worrying and go to work!!
Then Bessie says,
"Stop worrying and go to work..."
To which Jane replies...
"I think that 's perfect."
"I think work is the greatest thing in the world."
"I love to work!!"
To actually listen to the interview...