Lincoln Highway Tour - August 25th

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Day 9 - Lexington NE to Sidney NE

From the Diary of Eagle Scout Bernard R. Queneau
Member of the 1928 Lincoln Highway BSA Lincoln Highway Promotional Tour
Wednesday, July 25, 1928 - Three times on the road we saw something interesting, and, as usual, Remo missed them all on account of being fast asleep. In the morning we ran over a couple of large rats. In the afternoon we ran over some kind of snake, and at night we saw some prairie dogs for the first time. We are staying in a tourist camp in Sidney, just a morning ride from Cheyenne. We went for a swim after the dusty roads, and put on a short life-saving demonstration at dinner. We ordered T-bone steaks and it upset me for a couple of days. At night we did a little good turn by helping start a troop.

Monday -
August 25th
The group is supposed to gather at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot for a photo. Despite ugly rumors that some of the participants overslept, the photo proves that everyone was present and accounted for. After all, photos don’t lie, do they?

We top up at the gas station next to the hotel and roll out of Lexington on 30 West. The scenery is nice, if repetitive. Hay, corn, and soybeans sweep across the landscape as far as you can see, and the railroad is a constant presence to our left. The weather is really nice – cooler than yesterday, mostly sunny with some haze up ahead.. Sophie is running great. The generator is putting out just the right voltage, the temperature is good, and the surging seems to be cured.

There are a lot of different ways to store hay – we have seen it in giant rolls, stacked square bails, and loose piles. However, as we approach Cozad NE, we see what look like giant loaves of bread. The hay has been layered in rectangular blocks – I’ve never seen it stored like this before, but we see the ‘loaves’ several times. Old farmhouses and barns are the only structures for miles. We pass fields of sunflowers and lots of yellow wildflowers.

As we approach North Platte, Bill remembers that Buffalo Bill Cody’s home ‘Scout’s Rest’ is just outside of town. We are running behind the rest of the group anyway, and decide to make the short detour to look. Now part of the Nebraska Park System, Scout’s Rest was built in 1886 a place for Cody and his family to relax between tours of his famous Wild West show. Cody traveled all over the world, and was one of the most famous Americans of his day.

We go into the Victorian house first – it has been restored with period furniture and some of Cody’s personal belongings. Displays are set up in most of the upstairs rooms with photographs, clothing, and other historical memorabilia. Cody was a showman who didn’t cut corners – the uniforms for his band cost more than $100 each in 1890!

Outside, there are some period outbuildings, and a huge barn with Scout’s Rest on the roof. The barn provided quarters for the horses and cattle of the Wild West Show, and storage for the tack and props. As we are looking around, Bill gets a call from co-host Bob Lichty. Turns out that the town of Ogallala (Oh-gah-la-la) has coordinated the dedication of a restored service station with the arrival of the Lincoln Highway Tour. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell any of the tour people that, so he was trying to get us all together in time for the ceremony.

We hop back into Sophie and roll the rest of the way to Ogallala on Interstate 80 in hopes of making the ceremonies. There are a lot of oncoming cars with headlights on – it looks like we may run into rain. The landscape is getting hillier and browner as we continue west. Arriving in Ogollala, we find the site of the ceremony – but no one is there. No, we aren’t late. Everyone forgot about the change to Central Time, and we have an hour and a half before the festivities.

Lunch is at the Front Street Tavern, and most of the group is already there. Charlie and Audrey Bronk are just getting ready to head off for a tour of the town in their 1962 Mercedes 300E. We find a large bunch from Tidewater finishing up lunch in the Tavern, which has a quirky Wild West/celebrity décor. Chase vehicle co-pilot Harold Woods is tinkling on the ivories of a great old player piano – I point him in the direction of the men’s room instead. Marge Tillett informs me that John Wayne is in the ladies restroom. I don't press for details. The waitress only gets the first item on the menu out of her mouth – hot roast beef sandwich with gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans for $6! One of the better meals on the trip so far.

We make our way back to the ceremony, where the locals have set up flags, a band, lots of flags and streamers, and of course, more food and drink. There are also a couple of really nice early Mopar products on display. The band provides some great music for listening, and Shirley Woolfitt gets Bob to cut a rug with her.

The dedication ceremony is for the Spruce Street Visitor’s Center, a 1920s service station that has been refurbished through a combination of local donations and state grants. The station has been restored to its original appearance, and will provide downtown office space, an activity center, and a public attraction instead of a crumbling eyesore. It is really great to see towns restoring these old buildings - most of the time old buildings are bulldozed rather than renovated, and the replacement is almost always a step down.

The local dignitaries talk about the history of the building, and despite a light drizzle that began to get heavier, went through a long thank-you process for those who have contributed to its restoration. Then the mayor called up Bob and Rosemary for individual awards, and thanked the Lincoln Tour Group.

Most of the group headed on right after the ceremony, but we made a short jog to Boot Hill – the original burial site for settlers, pony express riders, and horse thieves.
Ken is a little nervous as we pull up – we have been threatening him with bodily harm over the symphonic variety of nighttime sounds he generates, and here we are at a graveyard. Of course, we only complain about his snoring because we can’t hear the racket we make ourselves.

The cemetery only has a few graves remaining – mostly those of unclaimed or unknown persons. The wooden headboards are obviously recreations, but provide an authentic look. With the wildflowers growing over the site and the view, it is easy to see why this spot was chosen to leave loved ones behind.

The rain continues as we return to Route 30, but it is not too bad – with the sunny weather we have enjoyed most of the time, the rain actually provides a welcome cooling. Skies clear as we approach Lodgepole, where we see a group of tour cars stopped at an unmarked old building right on Route 30. The place is a former Texaco gas station and Chevrolet Dealership that is now home to Lodge Pole Restorations. Operated by Ken and Jill Way, the shop specializes in Mopar cars. One finished car was a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker convertible, one of only 785 made. Gloss black with correct Highlander interior, the sparkling drop-top was nice enough to make Bill try to figure if he could afford to buy the car and also pay alimony after his wife divorced him.

Bob and Shirley Woolfitt pull in with some surging problems similar to what we had yesterday. He probably got a tank of bad gas as well. The Way’s generously provide shop space and a jack, and Bob gets out and under. After much searching, he discovers that the LaVine shop had made sure the car would pass the most discriminating judging by hiding the filter right up by the tank and wrapping it. Changing to a different type of filter will require damaging the beautiful detail work, so he leaves it alone.

From Lodgepole, we continue into Sidney, NE and the hotel. Dinner is at Dude’s Steak House in town, a local restaurant that has set up a special room for us. You can tell this is cattle country when the meals are served. Those who ordered shrimp get only four, though the shrimp are quite large. For those of us who ordered the Prime Rib, however, there was full pound of meat to satisfy the largest appetite.

As we get ready to leave the restaurant, I get a big surprise – Cecilia Moree, a long-time friend who now lives in Colorado Springs, is standing in the lobby with husband Jim and son Jason. They drove almost 4 hours to visit, and have tracked me down from the hotel. So the rest of the evening is spent catching up on old times.

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	Most of the group headed on right after the ceremony, but we made a short jog to Boot Hill – the original burial site for settlers, pony express riders, and horse thieves. Ken is a little nervous as we pull up – we have been threatening him with bodily harm over the symphonic variety of nighttime sounds he generates, and here we are at a graveyard. Of course, we only complain about his snoring because we can’t hear the racket we make ourselves.
The cemetery only has a few graves remaining – mostly those of unclaimed or unknown persons. The wooden headboards are obviously recreations, but provide an authentic look. With the wildflowers growing over the site and the view, it is easy to see why this spot was chosen to leave loved ones behind.