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There was no problem starting the car and getting from downtown to the
hotel on Sunday. I had a spare fuel pump in the trunk and figured I'd get
to that in the morning. I checked in, headed to my room and, as I leaked
in yesterday's summary, discovered my laptop would not boot. The fan had
been making some noise now and then and once I'd even seen a "FAN
ERROR" on the screen but it went away when power was cycled. Powering
on resulted in the error being displayed and a few beeps being emitted
before the machine shut itself down. There were certainly no repair shops
open on Sunday so that became another problem for the morning.
I had a fine time at the jam packed tour wrap-up event and stopped at my
car for something before heading to my room. Art Ackerman, who had been
just behind me in the parade was parked in the next space. "So when
you going to start this job?" he asked, referring to the fuel pump
swap. I mumbled something about "the morning", he responded with
something about "lending a hand", and the hood was soon raised.
It wasn't long before Milton Wheeler was also lending a hand. As a result,
the old was off and the new was on long before full darkness. To no one's
surprise, an ancient metal fuel line had not survived the operation but
that just emphasized the wisdom of not waiting until morning to tackle the
thing. In the morning, Mike Curtis took me to drop off the computer (more
on that later) and pick up the necessary parts. The car was running just a
few ticks past noon.
There are many stories of people helping others on this tour. I probably
could have found others to help me and it's a certainty that those three
would have helped out anyone needing it. That doesn't lessen in the
slightest my appreciation for what Art, Milton, and Mike did for me.
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When I got the car started, I started angling for a gas station and almost
got tangled in the Packard parade which had assembled at the hotel before
heading to the Arch. I arrived at the Arch behind them by the amount of
time it takes to pump a dozen gallons of gas. "Civilians" were
supposed to park away from the Arch and ride shuttle buses. Tour
participants were among those allowed to park at the Arch. I missed the
entrance to the designated parking area and drove by the front of the Arch
before turning around. I drove by people waiting for the advertised Parade
of Packards but the cars had turned off before reaching that point. The
Packards were all parked by the time I was and the would be spectators
were starting to move on.
I walked over the small bridge in front of the Arch. The dozen or so
Packards were parked under cover in a semi-circle. It wasn't a great set
up for taking pictures of the group but it was good for looking over the
individual cars. Daniel Hershberger's 1927 auto camp was at the right end
of the semi-circle. A large tent in the center was where the anniversary
ceremony had, presumedly, taken place on the arrival of the Packards. Some
speeches were still being delivered there, with Will Rogers as MC, even
after I arrived. They included a reading of the US Senate resolution
honoring the Lincoln Highway's Centennial. The recognition is great but
it's somewhat unfortunate that they got the wrong date.
Three 1913 dates have significance. July 1 was the day the Lincoln Highway
Association was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan. That is the event being
celebrated today at the Arch. The first announcement of a complete though
short lived route, the Proclamation Route, occurred on September 14 and
the nationwide dedication of the route, complete with celebrations and
bonfires, took place on October 31. So the resolution "Recognizing
June 30, 2013, as the centennial of the Lincoln Highway..." isn't
quite perfect but it's still a good thing.
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I next headed to the Arch itself and found Michael and Suzanne Wallis
signing books on the walkway. It is my understanding that the bricks in
the third picture are those that Brian Cassler helped obtain and deliver
from a section of Lincoln Highway in Canton, Ohio. I missed a dedication
ceremony that was held in the morning. Brian Butko was signing books in a
tent next to the Lincoln Highway Trading Post where his books were
available. Apparently this arrangement allowed some closer than desired
contact with the local wild life and it's possible that a tick was
climbing onto Brian's shoe as this picture was taken.
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I did not enter the museum section of the Arch (I did in 2009) but spent some
time on the ground floor then wandered around outside until it was time for
Cece Otto's performance in that big tent across the way. Lynn Asp, from
Lincoln Highway Association Headquarters in Franklin Grove, Illinois,
accompanied Cece with no rehearsal. Both Lynn and Cece delivered.
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Then it was time for my first ride, at least as an adult, in a Model T. I
sometimes think that I rode a few times in my great-grandfather's green T
but the memories are dim. Today I rode with Ken in his 1922 Model T as it
easily negotiated some dirt two-tracks beyond the tent.
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Not too long after my Model T excursion, I received a call telling me my
computer was ready. I had called two places in the morning. The first explained
that they would run three days of diagnostics then order any required parts
which would probably arrive in two business days with installation to follow.
When I explained my situation and asked for something a bit speedier, I was
told that was their standard operating procedure. I thanked them for answering
the phone and called the second place. Computer Warehouse #4 said exactly what I wanted to
hear on the phone. They understood my situation and that I already knew
what the problem was. Although they doubted they had the fan in stock,
they would look though their used bin and have it ready today if they found
one. If not, it would likely be a couple of days. They didn't find a used
fan but still got the machine back to me quickly by cleaning the fan and
replacing dried out lubricant. This is definitely the place to take your computer
problems in the Kearney, Nebraska, area.
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The day ended back at the Arch for the big gala with dinner (BBQ from Dickinson),
dancing (to the Bobby Lane Orchestra), and divulging (by Brian Butko of some of the stories
behind the new book).
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