 Registration is $3, which will go directly to restoration of The
Mill.Visitors and will be able to participate in rare treats,
such as tours of the restoration in progress and great food cooked
up by chef Doug Board and crew. There will also be a 50/50 drawing
and a display of antique cars. Music will be provided by local
favorites Vintage Daze, with Black Tea Shirts kicking things off at
noon.
All members of the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club and the Prairie
Capital Corvair Association along with the general public are
invited to attend this fun-filled event.
Geoff Ladd, chairman of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan
County, states: "It’s great to have them coming in to help us. I’m
looking forward to seeing all the cars and having a lot of great
food to save The Mill. The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has been
fantastic and make the event possible."
The Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County was created to
promote and preserve Route 66 sites in Logan County, after the
historic Mill restaurant was slated for demolition. Working with the
owner and city council members, this 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. 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became famous for its fried schnitzel, originally made of veal and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 restaurant 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.
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The Route 66 Heritage Foundation has just wrapped up a National
Park Service grant that helped with repair to the foundation,
floors, windows and electricity.
The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has been an active
organization in downtown Lincoln and hosts cruise-ins throughout the
spring, summer and fall. They’re always looking for new members, so
come out and join up. The Prairie Capital Corvair Association will
be making a return visit to this car show, adding it to their
calendar of events and meetings. Both clubs bring a fantastic array
of antique autos for display.
For more information on the car show portion of this event,
please call 217-732-3245. If you have questions or would like more
information regarding The Mill or the Route 66 Heritage Foundation
of Logan County, call 217-732-8687.
[Text from file received from the Route 66
Heritage Foundation of Logan County]
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