Lincoln Logs-- Upcoming LH Conferences-- William G. Edens-- Consul RoadDog?

Some news from along the Lincoln Highway.

1. Upcoming Lincoln Highway Conferences-- 2008 in Evanston, Wyoming June 17-21; 2009 in South Bend, Indiana June 16-20; and 2010 in Dixon, Illinois June 22-26. I'll definitely be attending the last two. After all, Illinois is my home state these days.

2. William G. Edens-- The Land of Lincoln News of the Illinois Lincoln Highway Assoc. had a picture and short biography of William G. Edens. Now, I've taken the Edens Expressway many times, especially in the pre-neighborhood sticker days, but never gave much thought as to who it was named after. Well, now I know.

This man has a highway/road pedigree big-time. He served as the President of the Illinois Highway Improvement Association and was the Chicago consul for the the Lincoln Highway Association.

In addition, he was a banker in Chicago at the Central Trust Company, worked for the railroads, and had been appointed by Pres. William McKinley as the Asst. General Superintendent of the Post Office.

His knowledge of the LH, banking, importance of roads, and ability to talk to and convince local citizens made him effective at getting Illinois voters to approve a $60 million bond in 1916.

And he never even owned an automobile!!!!

3. All Hail Consul RoadDog-- The ILHA Board has recently approved bringing back Consuls for Illinois. Volunteers are needed for the entire length of the road through the state. The job requires attending local parades and car shows as well as being a local contact.

Maybe, just maybe, the Old Dog might just wag his tail for one of these positions.

By the way, you can view a picture of William Edens at http://www.archive.org/details/illinoishighwayi00illiilli at the University of Illinois.

To see upcoming Illinois events: http://illinoislincolnhighway.tripod.com/meetings.html

Keeping on Down that Two Lane Lincoln Highway. --RoadDog