Looking Back at the Lincoln Highway in Dekalb County, Illinois

From the October 13th Midweek Newspaper.

Evidently, they looked at some old newspapers for the stories.

Both 1935 articles are about the Lincoln Highway, or Illinois Highway 38 as it was called back then.


OCTOBER 11, 1890

Of course, this was from before the Lincoln Highway, but the article was interesting so I included it.

"The village authorities of Malta (where Illinois' seedling mile was built) have for some time been discussing the feasibility of putting in an electric light plant to illuminate the streets. The necessity for such an expense has been obviated by the appearance of a lot of beardless Dekalb (about six miles east) youths, who come up on every dark night, and as soon as they strike the corporation lights a "cigeroot."

They are so numerous that a better light is given than could be obtained from a score of arc lights at 300 candle power and it is as cheap as daylight."

Perhaps 110 years ago, folks knew exactly what this was all about, but not me. I'm of the opinion that this article was done more in jest than anything else.

I'm guessing that young male Dekalbites (since they did not have the beards popular with men at the time) were coming to Malta to smoke their cigarettes, cigars or small cigars.

Arc lights were being used at the time for street lighting.

What is a "cigeroot?" --RoadDog