Author Archives: admin

Preservation Tales: Crying in My Beer

Some weeks ago I stumbled on the news that yet another building in South Bend listed in the National Register of Historic Places–this one was also a designated Local Landmark–was demolished. Someone had posted a video on a South Bend … Continue reading

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Tales from the Road: Seeking the WPA in Historic Harrison County, Indiana

Some 34 years ago I traveled to the National Archives in Washington D.C. to go through Indiana’s WPA records. Perhaps the last WPA project was to compile the project records, each of which had an identifying index card, onto microfilm. … Continue reading

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Tales from the Road: The Lincoln Highway in Illinois

Sometimes I just have to run off. And so, even though I had done little preparation, I headed out to hit the Lincoln Highway in Illinois. Actually, full disclosure, my original plan was to do Illinois and Iowa, but fate … Continue reading

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On the Road Again: In Search of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, Part FOUR

My last day on the road, like the three previous, dawned beautifully sunny and pleasant.  I was ready to take on the Alleghenies! This time in daylight! I headed west back to Schellsburg, where I passed the grocery that had … Continue reading

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Preservation Tales: I Thought This Was Saved!

Collier Lodge I first learned of Collier Lodge, originally built deep in the Kankakee Marsh along the river of that name, back in the 1990s at a historic preservation conference in South Bend. A fellow from Porter County gave a … Continue reading

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On the Road Again: In Search of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, Part THREE

As it grew light I was eager to leave the charmless motel outside of Trenton, with its broken security lock and lack of any coffee anywhere. Having determined the first day of this adventure that I could not make New … Continue reading

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On the Road Again: In Search of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, Part TWO

I awoke from a delightfully cozy sleep at the Lincoln Motor Court, about five miles east of Schellsburg, ready to resume. Again the day was clear and sunny. I walked around the charming court and gazed back westward at the … Continue reading

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On the Road Again: In Search of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, part one

I can still feel it–the exhilaration of flying along the two-lane highway through the Alleghenies: the Lincoln Highway, once touted as America’s Main Street, in Pennsylvania!  This was the year, you see, that I was going to do the Lincoln … Continue reading

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Why Historians Sigh

I do history, which some maintain is a science but others assert is an art. It is both, I believe, and I lean a bit toward the latter. And then there is myth-busting, which is sometimes impossible. We try. That’s … Continue reading

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A Cacophony of Cranes: A Symphony in Three Parts

Part 1                             The wonder of the earth fills my soul.  Ritual interactions with seasonal events are not to be missed.  And so, every fall for many years … Continue reading

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