The idea was simple yet big. Carl Fisher wanted to gravel 3,400 miles of road across the US. He planned to use communities to provide the equipment and manpower and in exchange for the work, the communities would receive the material free of charge. On July 1, 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association was officially established and the Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway was given the name: The Lincoln Highway. Joy was the president and Fisher the vice president so it did not appear that it was only one man driving the plan.

On Oct 31st, on a very cold Tuesday morning at sunrise over the Mississippi River, Pritchard family member Angela Pritchard (5th generation), headed west out of Clinton, Iowa driving a Ford Mustang Mach-E (electric vehicle) on her way across the Lincoln Highway.

High atop a ridge overlooking the Missouri Valley is Council Bluffs’ Fairview Cemetery, where stands the Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial, also known as the Black Angel. Legend has it the spot is haunted and visitors sometimes report unusual occurrences. Nevertheless, the site is worth a visit as the beautiful bronze sculpture, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the work of Daniel Chester French, who created Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial and the minuteman in Concord, Massachusetts.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hang out with the group of Rolle Bolle enthusiasts who play this game every weekend of the summer rotating between courts in the Iowa Valley, Minnesota, and Illinois. They are such a welcoming group who made me feel at home.

Harrison County Historical Village and Welcome Center is on a unique five-mile stretch where three Iowa Byways are aligned together.

The Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama, IA, once again needs your help to survive. Due to severe deterioration, engineers say it should be replaced if it’s going to continue serving as a truck route. The Tama City Council is holding a public hearing Monday, August 21, at 5:30 pm, at the Tama City Auditorium to hear comments on whether to repair or replace the bridge.

From Le Grand, IA to Belle Plaine, IA, to the Amana Colonies, the Iowa Valley Byway takes you through rural agricultural land, the Iowa River wetlands/prairie, and a diverse cultural palette of Native American, Czech, and German heritage.

At the crossroads of the Lincoln and Jefferson Highways sits the Reed Niland Corner, celebrating 100 years of automobile transportation in the US.