Lincoln Highway road trip wrap-up #5, New York to Indiana, from gorgeous Charlevoix MI near Lake Michigan.
If someone asked me what made the most lasting impression on me during this unusual and very different journey, I would definitely answer that it was the people I met. With very few exceptions I encountered just the most friendly and open people. They would chat me up as I was walking down the street. If I was at the bar for beer, if I was sitting at the table at the diner, if I asked for directions, in short, just about any time I came into contact with people, it was a friendliness I have seldom encountered in travels in America.
In the pictures, first, the owner of a food truck in Rahway, NJ along the LH route (don’t think food truck in a California sense – this is “what do you want on your hot dog?” and which sugary soda do you get with it). Besides serving me a more than acceptable hot dog this learned fellow gave me the history of the local area; this is the site of the American rebels’ victory over the British in the Battle of Spanktown, the former name of the place. He was convinced it never should have been changed to the more genteel sounding Rahway and called himself the Mayor of Spanktown.
The second is the proprietor of an old motel near York PA where I stopped for directions to the Giant Shoe while I was on my way to Gettysburg. It was what seemed like a slow day – I didn’t see a car in the lot. There he was sitting there with his grandson. Very chatty.
Next the ribmaster at the BBQ I stopped at as I continued my drive through Pennsylvania. It got much more of a southern and rural feel as I approached the northern Appalachians. (Man, those were good ribs.)
The fourth is a group of motorcyclists waiting out that afternoon’s downpour (it finally stopped raining as I pulled up) – one of them asked me to take the picture which I later emailed.
The fifth is the toll booth by the Newell bridge from Chester WV to East Liverpool OH: I got out of the car to get some shots of the bridge and the Ohio River, and these guys started taking to me right away. Sunday mornings at the toll bridge are pretty quiet, I guess. The toll booth seemed to me to be a just a little overstaffed. They were a hoot. They were channeling Click and Clack on Car Talk.
The older fellow in the next picture was in his garden in the historic section of Hanoverton OH – he proceeded to give me a history of the place and talk about all of the changes. He was 86, as I recall, and said he had lived in Hanoverton for 80 of those years – he had indeed seen a lot of changes there. Someone should be collecting oral histories from people like this dignified man.
Next, three more in Ohio: a member of staff at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, who was also once an inmate; a retired worker at the now closed Hoover plant in North Canton out on a walk while I was shooting the old buildings; and the delightful owner of Balyeat’s Coffee Shop in downtown Van Wert.
Finally, the last two were taken in Indiana: the first is a vendor at the Farmer’s Market in Auburn; the second and last shot is one of the employees at the Bonnie Doon drive-in in Mishawaka just outside of South Bend – it seemed pretty quiet, and I asked whether one could still order outside as I saw him heading back from the rubbish. He said they still do a pretty good business most times, and that on weekends especially it is packed. They have classic car Saturdays which he said are a big draw.
I could post another 10 or 15 of these – I would try to remember to ask if I could take a picture after one of these priceless encounters. In parting, my travel advice is that time permitting, try to get out on America’s old highways and byways. Take a road less traveled. It is hugely surprising and entertaining. It is somewhat somber and prompts a lot of reflection, too; there is a different and much poorer America out there quite unlike what we see in our prosperous coastal enclaves and the other bubbles – and not just back here in the Rust Belt. One certainly gets to see tremendously varied and diverse parts of our beautiful country in a way that is not possible at 70 mph on the freeway.
OK, that’s it – enough philosophizing. Over and out. Thanks again for reading these, for all the “likes” to my pix on Facebook and for your comments. See ya’ on the road.
