Coming Saturday: 3rd annual car show to help save The Mill

[October 06, 2009]  The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has teamed up once again with the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County to present a car show at The Mill. This is the third annual event. All are welcome to attend or to register their car in the show. Registration is $3, which will go directly to the restoration project at The Mill. The show will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Mill, 738 S. Washington St. in Lincoln.

Visitors are invited to listen to some great music provided by The Bob Clymers and Vintage Daze, enjoy some great food and a display of antique cars. All members of the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club and the general public are invited to attend this fun-filled event.

Geoff Ladd, chairman of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, said it's a great opportunity to come and support The Mill and the history of Route 66 in Logan County. "I'm looking forward to seeing all the cars and having a lot of great food to save The Mill," he said. "This year we are also welcoming the Corvair Club to the event."

After the historic Mill restaurant was slated for demolition, the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County was created to promote and preserve Route 66 sites in the county. Working with the owner and city council members, the organization managed to save the building from the wrecking ball. The Mill is now a construction site as volunteers work to restore the building to its former condition.

The Mill opened in 1929 under the name of the Blue Mill. Its proprietor was Paul Coddington, who would serve patrons grilled sandwiches at any hour of the day or night. A Dutch-themed building with blue trim, it featured at revolving windmill and waitresses dressed in blue with white aprons. In 1945, Albert and Blossom Huffman purchased the building, added a barroom and dance hall, and then painted the building barn red. Over the years, the restaurant became famous for its fried schnitzel, originally made of veal, and later of pork. By the mid-1980s the Mill had lost most of the Dutch-themed interior and was becoming a museum of rather strange objects, including a mechanical leg protruding from a hole in the ceiling. The Mill closed in 1996; however, the building is still standing in its original location.

The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has been an active organization in downtown Lincoln and hosts cruise-ins throughout the spring, summer and fall. The club is always looking for new members, so come out to The Mill and join up.

Boy Scouts of America Troop 102 from Lincoln will be on hand serving up rib-eye and pork sandwiches and some cold drinks.

For more information on this and other events in Logan County, call 217-732-8687.

[Text from file received from Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County]