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Traveling the Lincoln Highway
  
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Antique cars follow old Highway 30 route
By Dean Close, Times Editor
Some of Iowa’s most historic cars traveled together down one of Iowa’s most historic highways over the weekend, stopping Saturday morning at the Youngville Cafe on Highway 30.
The Iowa Lincoln Highway Association organized its first Mississippi River to Missouri River tour of the historic Highway 30. Several vehicles from both eastern and western Iowa traveled together on the journey that began in Clinton and ended up in Honey Creek on far western Iowa.
Along the way, the participants talked to each other, the media and passers-by about their cars, and their history.
“Every car has a story,” said Mike Kelly, one of the leaders of the Benton County Lincoln Highway Association.
One of those vehicles with a unique history was a 1929 Model A Ford truck owned by Kenneth and Dixie Naico of Council Bluffs.
Kenneth said a friend of his had the rusted old truck on his property.
“I talked him out of it,” he said. Now completely restored ” with a price tag of nearly $20,000 ” the shiny green truck turned heads across the state.
Dixie said the truck is very comfortable to ride; the couple drove it from Council Bluffs to Clinton and then back west along Highway 30. Kenneth worked on it with his grandsons, Dixie said, giving them an experience to share with their grandfather as well as lessons in automobile repair and history.
During the stop at Youngville, Kenneth talked about his truck with other tour participants. He answered questions about his motor, and his quest to find parts.
When Dixie asked Kenneth if he would ever be done working on the truck, he replied, “Well it is an old truck.”
From the other side of Iowa, Le Claire resident Steve Cochran brought his 1948 Plymouth, which used to be green.
But the most notable thing about the Plymouth, recalls Cochran, was that it was “flat on one side.”
Then he explains: When he bought the car in 1980, it only had 37,000 miles on it.
“But the lady who owned it was always running into the gas pumps with it,” he said. “When the attendants saw her coming, they would run away.”
Despite the dents, the car had no rust, which made the restoration easier.
Like most others who have restored an antique car, Cochran will tell you that it takes up most of his spare time and weekends, and the project is never quite finished.
Then one day, recalls Cochran, there was a fire at a house in his neighborhood. In the back yard was an old tear-drop camper that was being used as a dog house.
Cochran bought the camper, and restored it to match his car, even adding Plymouth fenders and wheels.
Now the car and trailer travel together, providing a sleeping quarters when needed.
“It sleeps two, but very cozily,” said Cochran. The back of the trailer includes a small kitchen, complete with sink and propane stove. A historic Iowa license plate and a Burma Shave rhyme add a historical flair.
In addition to Youngville, the historic gas station-turned cafe, the participants also stopped in Belle Plaine, where they saw the historic museum and gas station.
The tour continued that way from Friday through Sunday, with stops at historic landmarks along the way: museums, bridges, gas stations, welcome centers and parks.
Kelly said the original Lincoln Highway stretched from Times Square in New York City to Golden Gate Park near San Francisco. There are state associations as well as the national Lincoln Highway Association, Kelly said. The Iowa Association makes up more than 200 of the 2,000 or so members of the National Association.
Other historic highways in Iowa include the Red Ball Highway, which included the brick portion of Second Avenue in Vinton. The old Highway 20 which went through Waterloo, Independence and other parts of northern Iowa, was called the Washington Highway. The north-south Jefferson Highway went from Louisiana to Canada and passed through Des Moines, Ames and Mason City.
The Iowa Lincoln Highway Association organized its first Mississippi River to Missouri River tour of the historic Highway 30. Several vehicles from both eastern and western Iowa traveled together on the journey that began in Clinton and ended up in Honey Creek on far western Iowa.
Along the way, the participants talked to each other, the media and passers-by about their cars, and their history.
“Every car has a story,” said Mike Kelly, one of the leaders of the Benton County Lincoln Highway Association.
One of those vehicles with a unique history was a 1929 Model A Ford truck owned by Kenneth and Dixie Naico of Council Bluffs.
Kenneth said a friend of his had the rusted old truck on his property.
“I talked him out of it,” he said. Now completely restored ” with a price tag of nearly $20,000 ” the shiny green truck turned heads across the state.
Dixie said the truck is very comfortable to ride; the couple drove it from Council Bluffs to Clinton and then back west along Highway 30. Kenneth worked on it with his grandsons, Dixie said, giving them an experience to share with their grandfather as well as lessons in automobile repair and history.
During the stop at Youngville, Kenneth talked about his truck with other tour participants. He answered questions about his motor, and his quest to find parts.
When Dixie asked Kenneth if he would ever be done working on the truck, he replied, “Well it is an old truck.”
From the other side of Iowa, Le Claire resident Steve Cochran brought his 1948 Plymouth, which used to be green.
But the most notable thing about the Plymouth, recalls Cochran, was that it was “flat on one side.”
Then he explains: When he bought the car in 1980, it only had 37,000 miles on it.
“But the lady who owned it was always running into the gas pumps with it,” he said. “When the attendants saw her coming, they would run away.”
Despite the dents, the car had no rust, which made the restoration easier.
Like most others who have restored an antique car, Cochran will tell you that it takes up most of his spare time and weekends, and the project is never quite finished.
Then one day, recalls Cochran, there was a fire at a house in his neighborhood. In the back yard was an old tear-drop camper that was being used as a dog house.
Cochran bought the camper, and restored it to match his car, even adding Plymouth fenders and wheels.
Now the car and trailer travel together, providing a sleeping quarters when needed.
“It sleeps two, but very cozily,” said Cochran. The back of the trailer includes a small kitchen, complete with sink and propane stove. A historic Iowa license plate and a Burma Shave rhyme add a historical flair.
In addition to Youngville, the historic gas station-turned cafe, the participants also stopped in Belle Plaine, where they saw the historic museum and gas station.
The tour continued that way from Friday through Sunday, with stops at historic landmarks along the way: museums, bridges, gas stations, welcome centers and parks.
Kelly said the original Lincoln Highway stretched from Times Square in New York City to Golden Gate Park near San Francisco. There are state associations as well as the national Lincoln Highway Association, Kelly said. The Iowa Association makes up more than 200 of the 2,000 or so members of the National Association.
Other historic highways in Iowa include the Red Ball Highway, which included the brick portion of Second Avenue in Vinton. The old Highway 20 which went through Waterloo, Independence and other parts of northern Iowa, was called the Washington Highway. The north-south Jefferson Highway went from Louisiana to Canada and passed through Des Moines, Ames and Mason City.
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