Surprise Number Two!

I wrote weeks ago about two surprises. The first one is that Cynthia Ogorek's book on the Lincoln Highway is coming out through Arcadia Press. Now I can tell you about the second surprise, the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb is getting an authentic Wurlitzer theater pipe organ, shipped out from Virginia. It is going to cost a mint to get it installed, but the theater originally had an organ, and after installation, the theater will become complete again. This future enhancement will complement the Rialto in Joliet and the Paramount in Aurora. This entire area already serves as a major representation of historic theaters, and that will just improve even more. I think there were just the four main types of theaters in the United States, Egyptian, Paramount, Rialto, and Fox. This area has three of those.

Happy Double Birthdays in 2008!

Happy 20th Birthday to Lee County Tourism in 2008! Check out activities and places to visit on the Lee County Tourism Web site at:

http://www.leecountytourism.com/

Today, March 1, 2008, is the 30th Birthday to an all volunteer group in DeKalb, the P.E.T. Inc. (Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre). Although DeKalb is infamous for tearing down the Old Post Office along Lincoln Highway, the preservation of the Egyptian Theatre is a success story, and it is one of the most photographed places along the Lincoln Highway (just two buildings off the route) in Illinois. The Web site for the Egyptian Theatre is at:

http://www.egyptiantheatre.org/

As always--for full disclosure, the blog master is on the Membership Committee for the Friends of the Egyptian Theatre.

Tragedy at Northern Illinois University

With Northern Illinois University right on the Lincoln Highway, we have members of the Illinois Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association who are also members of the NIU extended community, past and present. We pass our condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

Pontiac Turned Down for FEMA Money

Folks, I just heard on the news today that residents of Pontiac, which is on Route 66, as well as nearby Watseka which experienced flooding about a month ago because of ice jams on the river got turned down for assistance through FEMA. This blog's owner checked on the Route 66 Museum that is there, and it was OK: http://windycityroadwarrior.com/blog/2008/01/10/flooding-in-pontiac-illinois/
but many of the residents were hard hit, and getting turned down by FEMA is another blow. Trying to recover from flooding is extremely difficult.

Blast from the Past

OK, so this video is off topic from the Lincoln Highway . . . This is our Farming Heritage representative and Illinois Chapter Board Member Ron Colson drag racing in 1980.

Enjoy!

Alice Ramsey Documentary on YouTube

More good stuff on YouTube. This is a clip from a documentary on Alice Ramsey's drive and the upcoming re-creation of her drive. Alice Ramsey's drive took some of the same routes that the Lincoln Highway took later:

Next Board Meeting

The next Illinois Lincoln Highway Association Board meeting will be on Saturday, February 9th at 12:30 p.m., at Franklin Grove.

Of course, weather permitting! Old Man Winter is about to whack us again!