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Written by Stephanie Vavra

Spring is here, and the temperatures are starting to warm up.  With that comes the sound of classic cars rolling on the open road--like the ones that will be cruising on the 5th Annual Iowa Lincoln Highway Association Motor Tour.  The event is scheduled for Friday, August 24, through Sunday, August 26, 2012.

Come see the touring cars up close and welcome visitors to our portion of the Lincoln Highway.  The ILHA Motor Tour will stop at Morrison's Heritage Museum from 1:30 to 2:30 or 3:00 p.m., on Friday, August 24.  The museum has a permanent Lincoln Highway installation and will be open from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. that afternoon. 

The motor tour, sponsored by the ILHA, takes a different twist this year, beginning the tour along the Lincoln Highway in Illinois.  It begins with a pre-tour event on Thursday, August 23, in Rochelle, IL, and will end in Colo, IA, on Sunday.  This historic route will travel nearly 300 miles across Illinois and Iowa, through the communities of Franklin Grove, Dixon, Rock Falls, Sterling, Morrison, and Fulton, IL, and Clinton, DeWitt, Lowden, Stanwood, Cedar Rapids, Belle Plaine, Tama, Marshalltown, and State Center, and Colo, IA.

• The tour kicks off on August 24 in Rochelle, Franklin Grove, Dixon, Rock Falls, Morrison, Fulton, ending in Clinton overnight.
• August 25 the tour stops at DeWitt, Calamus, Lowden, and Mount Vernon, before overnighting in Cedar Rapids.  That night, the tour will offer a get-together dinner at the Hotel at Kirkwood, on the campus of Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids, a facility where students learn their trade in hotel and restaurant management.  The dinner will be prepared by student chefs.
• August 26 the tour departs from Cedar Rapids and continues west to Youngville, Belle Plaine, Tama, Marshalltown, State Center, and Colo.

The idea of the Lincoln Highway came from the mind of Carl Fisher, the man also responsible for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Miami Beach. With help from fellow industrialists Frank Seiberling and Henry Joy, an improved, hard-surfaced road was envisioned that would stretch almost 3400 miles, from coast to coast, New York to San Francisco, over the shortest practical route.  The Lincoln Highway Association was created in 1913 to promote the road using private and corporate donations.  The idea was embraced by an enthusiastic public, and many other named roads across the Country followed.

The tour will travel as much of the original Lincoln Highway route as possible and organizers stress that this is a "classic car friendly" tour because some of the original route is gravel, but the tour will not be traveling on those long gravel sections. There will be only a couple of short sections, less than half a mile to get to a stop or two. Otherwise the tour will be on all paved routes.

Any and all vehicles, including motorcycles are welcome to participate.  All cars from the classics to the present are welcome to join up.

More information and registration forms for the tour can be found on the Iowa LHA website at www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/iowa, or by contacting the County consuls listed on the website, contacting Tour Director Jeff LaFollette by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and also by phone at 563-349-3047.