(27) Fremont California to Fremont Nebraska in 40 Years

June 17, 1977

(27) June 17, 2017, Lexington Nebraska to Fremont Nebraska

Anniversary June 17, 1977 - June 17, 2017

Forty years ago I married Linda. I asked her to marry me because I had to, you see, I was madly in love with her. Since that time my love for her has only grown. She has tolerated me and she has been a wonderful mother to our three children. She is also a wonderful grandmother to our two grandchildren.

The Marriage has aged better

than the wine

On our honeymoon and we went camping. We camped in the same tent trailer  that is with us on this trip. Before you start thinking ill of me, we are staying in a nice hotel tonight. Last night was another story. We stayed in the field at the fairgrounds in Lexington Nebraska.

Shall we cut the cake now?

We were married in the church that Linda grew up in by a minister she had known most of her life. Nonetheless, he was nervous and started reciting and began stalling for time and using adjectives to describe Linda. Linda, always the cool head, very quietly said "Linda". He then remembered her name, said "Linda" and we got on with the show.

Today's Trip

Today we passed through a number of Nebraska towns in quick succession. I will post photos, but will only mention Kearney's arch museum, 1733 Ranch marking the halfway point  of the Lincoln Highway and Grand Island where we had a Milkshake, sat at the Lunch Counter and ate a Coney Dog. I will let you sort it out, Linda and I are off to dinner. I have a hot date!

West of Kearney on the Lincoln

Former sight of 1733 Ranch. 1733 Ranch was recognized
as the mid point on The Lincoln Highway

Covered Wagon Souvenir stand, Kearney, Ne. 

The Arch extends over both lanes of I-80 at Kearney, Nebraska. Well worth

the stop. Museum is very well done.

View of I-80 from the Arch.

1733 Ranch in the 1920's (Photo from 1974 American
Heritage  Magazine)

Halfway on the Lincoln Highway recreation of
1733 sign is part of a display at the arch

At least we didn't end up like this.

Oregon Trail Display at the Arch

Lincoln Highway Display at the Arch

Diner display at the arch.

After Kearney we continued east towards Fremont, our stop for the night. We stopped for a milkshake an Coney dog in Grand Island. Grand Island is a beautiful City.

Courthouse at Grand Island Nebraska

Coney Island Lunch Room in Grand Island.

At the Lunch Counter, Coney Island Lunch room.

1933 Menu at Coney Island Lunch Room

Coney Island Lunch Room, opened in 1933 and run by the same

family for 3 generations. George Katrouzes is the grandson
of the founder.

Kensinger Service Station, Grand Island, Nebraska.

"You want to do what on our 40th anniversary?"

(26) Lee Kizer and the Old Ford Garage

Lee Kizer, 93 year old owner of The Old Ford Garage, points to his photo

in an August 1945 Life Magazine

(26) Lee Kizer

Gas Pumps stand like sentries 

at The Old Ford Garage

Lee Kizer is 93 years old and was born in Julesburg, Colorado. He attended school in Julesburg at a school building which was three stories tall. On the first story was the grammar school. The second story was for the middle school. High school was taught on the third floor. Lee's father was also born in Julesburg. His grandparents came to Julesburg with the Union Pacific in the 1860s.

As a teenager Lee helped the janitor at the high school. Since it was during the depression, there was no money to pay Lee, so he was paid with copies of old photographs which the janitor had in a dark room at the school. The photographs date from the very inception of Julesburg. They represent a complete history of the city.

Lee's 1916 Buick

During World War II, Lee joined the Navy and served aboard a ship in the South Pacific. That ship survived a Kamikaze attack the South China Sea. At the end of the war Lee attended a party in Hawaii, hosted by Life magazine. Lee was one of many sailors attending the party and Life arranged  dates for the sailors. At the luau, hosted by Life, a photograph was taken of the girls and the sailors. When Lee saw the magazine he asked his mother to buy it and to save a copy because he was in 2 of the photos. That magazine also features other photos of the end of the war. One of them is a famous picture of the sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. Lee showed us the magazine and the page with the photo of the sailors at the luau as well as the page with the famous photo. Lee hasn't changed all that much despite the passage and seventy years.

Advertisement for the Old Ford Garage when it wasn't so old

After the war Lee returned to Julesburg and opened  a barbershop on Main Street. At some point after that his mother mentioned to him that he should find some place to display all of his historic photographs. At about this same time Ford dealership had moved from its location where the Old Ford Garage stands to a new location. When the property became available, Lee purchased it. It provided a place for his historic photographs of Julesburg and eventually a place to house his barbershop which he moved from Main Street.

Lee and Linda standing in front of Curtain that once hung in the old Opera House

Lee rehabilitated the building and used it to display his photographs and, at about the same time, he became interested in antique automobiles. The first automobile he purchased was a 1912 Buick. That Buick is still on display in the garage in its unrestored, yet near perfect condition. It is remarkable to view.

Lee also has collected gas pumps and signs from garages in and around Julesburg. He is also collected a number of roadsigns, including antique Lincoln Highway signs and signposts which are on display in the garage.

I need to hustle over and ask that pretty girl to dance.

When we finished viewing the garage, Lee invited us to go next door and upstairs to his old "dance hall". The dance hall is a tribute to the American Military in World War II. There is a bandstand featuring instruments of World War II veterans from Julesburg and background music played of the big band era.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from this delightful diversion from our Lincoln Highway trip. However, in one sense it was not really a diversion. It enriched our understanding of the highway and the historic times which serve as a backdrop for the Highway.

A fitting tribute to the Men who won WWII and their Leaders

We are meeting many people on the Highway who are knowledgeable in its history and are quietly working to preserve it. Lee Kizer is just going the extra measure.

(25) Sydney, Nebraska to Lexington Nebraska

Buffalo Bill's Scout's Rest Ranch in North  Platte. Nebraska

June 16, Sydney Nebraska to Lexington Nebraska

On this trip, as in life, things don't always go according to plan. This is certainly the case today, although today unlike last week the fact that things didn't go according to plan was not a bad thing at all.

Sidney, Nebraska 

"Making the Lincoln Great Again!"

We began the day in Sidney, Nebraska at the Cabela's campground. We ended the day in the campground of the fairgrounds in Lexington, Nebraska. We were all alone except for the road apples and the wind and the Union Pacific Trains.

Abandoned Motor Court near Lodgepole. Nebraska

Near Lodgepole, Ne.

We left Sydney in good time and quickly passed through the towns of Lodgepole and Chapell Nebraska. We then decided to divert from our route to travel to Julesburg Colorado.

Julesburg, Colorado

Originally, on this trip we had intended to take what is known as the "Colorado loop". The Colorado loop was only a part of the Lincoln Highway for a couple of years. It seems that the promoters of the Lincoln Highway had made the mistake of announcing the route for the highway at the Governors' conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Long Gone Tourist Cabins, Julesburg

When it was discovered that the Lincoln Highway would bypass Colorado just as the Transcontinental Railroad had fifty years before, Colorado officials were understandably upset. In order to placate them and  get safely out of town, Lincoln Highway promoters quickly included the Colorado loop.

Outside Old Ford Garage, Julesburg

The loop would leave the Lincoln Highway at Big Springs Nebraska and head Southwest to Denver. From there, it would head north towards Wyoming and rejoined the Lincoln Highway proper.

The promoters of the highway quickly realized that if they said "yes" to Colorado they would be required to say "yes" again and again to other cities and states close to the Lincoln Highway. The "Colorado loop" was quickly abandoned. Lincoln Highway promoters returned to their guiding principle of one single route from New York City to San Francisco that would guide travelers along the most efficient route of travel.

Since our trip has not gone according to plan, we, like the Lincoln Highway promoters, abandoned the Colorado loop. Nonetheless, we decided to divert to Julesberg to visit the Ford garage in Julesberg. It was only 16 miles off of our route and we thought we could quickly stop, take a couple of pictures, and be on our way. We ended up having a wonderful tour of the garage and an adjacent museum and meeting one of the most fascinating individuals of our trip Lee Kizer. Our visit to the Ford garage will be the subject of another post. Suffice it to say that we lost quite a bit of time but we gained a new friend and learned a lot about the history of Julesburg, the Lincoln Highway through Colorado And Lee's Story. Old Ford garage is now owned by Lee Kizer.

Phelps Hotel, Big Springs Nebraska

We finally returned to the Lincoln Highway via Big Springs. At Big Springs we stopped at the Phelps Hotel. After a short stop it was on to Ogallala and then to Paxton. We continued to drive US Route thirty and eschewed Interstate 80. It was a delightful, albeit, late day. At Ogallala we toured Scouts Rest, built and originally owned by Buffalo Bill.

Kristani, our waitress at the Front Street Cafe

 Front Street Café, Ogallala, Nebraska

Hokes, Ogallala, Recently Closed

At Paxton we ended the day, hot and tired at the campgrounds located at the County Fairgrounds. Today is the eve of our 40th wedding anniversary. I wonder if Linda ever imagined 40 years ago that she would be spending her wedding anniversary in the parched fields of the Dawson County Fairgrounds hearing the trains and dodging the
sun. More on this tomorrow.

Vintage Postcard of El Rancho Motel in North Platte, Nebraska

Why it's Buffalo Bill himself

Ole's Big Game Bar, Paxton Nebraska

Camping at The Fairgrounds, Lexington, Nebraska

(24) Medicine Bow, Wyoming to Sydney, Nebraska

June 15, 2017

Summit Tavern once stood atop Sherman Hill

We awoke on June 15 and left Medicine Bow before 7:30. I'm not sure that the hotel was any more comfortable than our tent trailer, but it was nice not to have to break camp in order to get on the road. I walked around the town a little bit and took some photographs and added them to yesterday's blog before we got on the road.

The "Oldest House" in the world, built 1933 

Close up of the fossil House

Our first stop was the little town of Como Bluff Wyoming. It almost seems to stretch to even call it a town. There were a few buildings on one side of the road. One building was called the Fossil Cabin was constructed of fossils taken from the nearby Como Butte. The cabin was built in 1933 but was featured in a 1950s Ripley's Believe It or Not as the oldest house in the world. Ripley was playing with the age of the fossils, not the date that the fossils were added to the house.

Thunderbird Lodge, Laramie

We proceeded down Highway 30 toLaramie, home of the University of Wyoming. We then headed east towards Sherman Hill. Sherman Hill is the highest point on the Lincoln Highway. It features a monument to Abraham Lincoln as well as a Henry Joy Memorial.

Henry Joy Monument

A somber Abe Lincoln

After Sherman Hill we drove to the Ames Monument which was located on what was then the highest point on the transcontinental railroad. The Ames Monument was paid for by Union Pacific to recognize the Ames brothers for their efforts in securing funding for the transcontinental railroad and also for their considerable contributions to the effort. The Ames monument is meant to blend with the surrounding rock formations

Me standing at base of Ames Monument for perspective

Lobby of Plains Hotel

Depot in Cheyenne

Lincoln Theatre

Dennis showing of the elevator in the

Majestic Building

We got back on the freeway and headed towards Cheyenne. In Cheyenne we toured the depot, the Plains Hotel and the majestic building. While we were standing outside the Majestic building Dennis, who works there, asked us if we would like a tour. He took us inside and proudly showed us the oldest manually operated elevator west of the Mississippi. Dennis manages the Majestic to supplement his retirement income. He is proud of his building, his elevator and his city.

Before leaving Cheyenne, we also photographed the Lincoln theater and stopped to see The Big Boy. Big Boy is the largest steam locomotive ever built.

Big boys examining the Big Boy

It was specifically built by Union Pacific to haul loads of freight up Sherman grade. It seems that the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada both required specialty built locomotives to pull the freight to the top of the steep summits. The Union Pacific had Big Boy and the Southern Pacific had a Cab Forward which was similar to Big Boy but had the engineer at the front of the locomotive. This was because of the many tunnels over the Sierra Nevada. There was a danger of crews becoming asphyxiated in the long tunnels and snow sheds of Donner Pass
.

"Wait! Wasn't that Tree Rock?"

After Cheyenne we drove quickly to the Wyoming – Nebraska border. It was good by Wyoming and hello to the cornhusker state.

We didn't make it far into Nebraska. A few miles over the border I exited Highway 80 and opted for US 30. I was surprised what a difference this made in the trip and in my well-being.

Interstate 80 in Western Nebraska

Highway 80 it seems dominates the land. In addition the huge trucks, operating at high speeds, make for frayed nerves. I knew that I wanted to drive 2-lane roads on this trip but I didn't realize how much more I would enjoy them over the interstate . Driving a US Highway makes one feel like he is part of the surrounding landscape and towns. Driving the Interstate makes you feel like you are cutting through it and that you need to make up for lost time. The Interstate dominates the landscape both visually and with its relentless din. It is a beast that never sleeps.

Culvert from Lincoln Highway Days

We drove along Highway 30 until we reached our destination of Sydney Nebraska. Sydney is home of Cabela's sporting goods. In other words this is the mothership.

Cabela's, the Mothership

The Cabela's at Sydney features a campground. We stayed there and found it very noisy.
Tomorrow we will drive further east and hopefully further from the dominating interstate.