Highways and By-Ways
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Day 4: June 27, 2024 Highways and By-Ways Comment via blog |
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Thursday's bus tour ran west from Elkhart and was given the name
"Highways and By-Ways Tour" because, in addition to covering
parts of both the 1913 and 1928 alignments of the Lincoln Highway, it
came in contact with the the Michigan Road, Dixie Highway, Yellowstone
Trail, Historic US-20, and Historic US-6.
Our first stop was at the Studebaker National Museum and South Bend History Museum. We had enough time to either tour the Oliver Mansion or visit the museums. I have toured the mansion and visited the Studebaker museum in the past but had never gone into the history museum before so that's where I headed. There is a temporary display of doll houses in the museum which hopefully explains at last why this page begins with a picture of a miniature home. I've tried to keep things somewhat on topic by picturing the Studebaker family doll house first. The other house pictured is the Fink family doll house. |
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These "vehicles" were all significant to the area. The
Locomobile was South Bend's first automobile.
The Oliver riding plow is the only one of the four that was likely
manufactured in South Bend although I cannot say when. The
1946 Oliver 70 was built at a plant in Iowa.
The Milburn Company was founded in nearby Mishswaka but had relocated to
Toledo, Ohio, by the time this 1918 Electric
Coupe was built.
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The Voyages Gallery explores the history of the St. Joseph Valley.
Schuyler Colfax was born in New York but his family eventually moved to
South Bend and it was from here that he served as Speaker of the House and
as Vice President during Grant's first term. The last picture is of an
exhibit honoring the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
South Bend had a team in the league for all of its 1943 to 1954 existence.
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I saved some time to dash through part of the Studebaker Museum. That 1957
Nomad is not on the lobby turntable because South Bend loves Chevrolet but
because a station wagon exhibit is currently taking place.
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Here, in order of age, are a half-dozen of the station wagons on display.
The oldest is a 1908 horse drawn Studebaker.
Note the $1,099 "cost when new". Fifteen years later, the
1923 Durant Star sold for nearly $500 less. As
explained here, the station wagon name stuck
when horseless vehicles took over the job of carrying people and luggage
to and from railroad stations.
There is another Studebaker in the exhibit in form of this 1947 Champion Deluxe. I forgot to photograph the placard for the 1950 Crosley Super but do remember riding in an uncle's not-quite-as-shiny copy of this as a kid. The 1976 Buick Estate Wagon is pretty much at the other end of the station wagon continuum from the Crosley. The 4-wheel drive 1980 AMC Eagle really was a different breed of station wagon. |
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Back on the bus, we headed to Plymouth for lunch which was served in the
Marshall
County Historical Museum. Thinking I would look over the museum when I
returned, I hurried to the REES Theater with chips and drink in hand as soon as I
finished my sandwich. The theater originally opened in 1940 in a majorly
reworked Civil War era building. It closed in 2009 then reopened in 2022
after another major reworking. The current theater is not really a
restoration of the original but the Art Deco spirit has been continued.
Operation is completely modern, of course. In fact, it might be a little
more modern than most. That screen is not simply a target for a digital
projector but a 20 foot LCD array which shows movies just like your TV.
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Plymouth is also home to the first Montgomery Ward retail store and I
started up the street to take a look. I eavesdropped on a conversation
taking place behind me as I walked. The conversation was between
Plymouth's Mayor, whom I recognized from his welcome at the museum, and
another conference attendee. When asked if there was something in town he
was especially proud of, the Mayor identified a new park about a block
away. With a recommendation like that, I just had to check it out and I
agree that it is definitely something to be proud of.
Time almost always goes faster than it should and when I again headed toward the former Montgomery Ward store, I saw people boarding the bus and realized that time was up. I took the last picture from my bus seat. I did not make it to the former store but know it's the building down the block with the cable suspended canopy. |
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Our last sightseeing stop was at the 1897 Chinworth Bridge. Here are
pictures of the bridge, the bridge filled with people, and an overgrown
metal and stone Chinworth Bridge sign. A readable version of the sign in
the "people" picture is here.
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