02-12-09 Announcing 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Events – in South Bend and Communities across Northern Indiana

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Pre-Conference Tour - Monday, June 15 th Auto caravan from South Bend to Mishawaka, Goshen, and Elkhart along the Lincoln Highway. Participants will explore downtown Goshen, visit the Goshen Historical Society featuring a traveling exhibit on the History of the Automobile, visit the famous Police Booth built as a WPA project to protect local citizens and Lincoln Highway travelers from Midwest gangsters, visit the restored Hattle Hotel that advertised in the Lincoln Highway Driving Guide to early auto travelers, and will dine at the original Olympia Candy Shop and Diner. Then the group will be off to explore the Old Bag Factory adjacent to the historic Lincoln Highway metal truss bridge and shop at the unique artist shops (quilts, pottery, art galleries, antique shops, furniture makers, a candle shop and a sculptor’s studio) that now fill the historic factory building. They will listen for the factory whistle that was once powered with steam and take a tour of the historic factory believed to be haunted by former workers. A visit to Elkhart will include a tour and lecture at the RV Hall of Fame and Museum where the Tin Can Tourists will display and open their vintage trailers for conference attendees for the public. The Holiday Inn in downtown South Bend will be the host hotel and the location for conference registration along with a vendor and book room. Wednesday morning, June 17 Attendees will board a charter bus south bound for th Indianapolis along Carl Fisher’s other road - the “Dixie Highway” - to the Hoosier capitol. They will explore the early auto industry and stop at sites relevant to the LHA including beautiful Crown Hill Cemetery (4 largest in U.S.) and a visit to the Fisher th Mausoleum. Next, they will tool through the auto corridor north of town, and have lunch at the old German House known as the Anthenaeum (now the Rathskellar) where Carl Fisher and James Allison held the first meeting to form the LHA in 1912. The return trip will include a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and “millionaire row” to view the estates of Carl Fisher and James Allison that are now part of the Marian College campus. Thursday June 18 Back in South Bend for Lincoln Highway programs including th sessions at the Century Center, an authors’ and artists’ reception, and a relaxing day along the river and highway. A marked dedication will be held at the intersection of the Lincoln and Dixie Highways followed by an evening campus tour of the University of Notre Dame Campus (advertised in the 1924 LH Driving Guide). Friday, June 19 The Transcontinental Motor Convoy vehicles will motorcade th through town for the entire community to enjoy. They will then stop and convene at the South Bend Regional Airport for a ceremony at the Military Honor Park on Lincolnway West. Attendees and the general public will have opportunities to view the convoy moving through the city and will be able to take an up close look at some 85-100 units that will be stationed in several locations around the city following the motorcade. The day will feature tours and LH presentations at the Studebaker National Museum - Center for History campus. Special exhibits at these facilities will include Studebaker vehicles, the Lincoln carriage that the Lincolns rode in to Ford’s Theatre on the night of the assassination, a Lincoln exhibit entitled Abraham Lincoln: The Man You Thought 2