I just don’t know where to begin today.
If I say too much then it may spoil it for the readers who plan to attend the Lincoln Highway program Joe Westhafer is giving next Tuesday evening at the library. If I don’t say enough the readers who don’t live close, or who won’t be able to make it to the program, will be shortchanged. What to do, what to do?
Well say - now I remember, I don’t know a thing about the Lincoln Highway so there’s no need to worry about giving anything away. And I know only a little about the man who was responsible for the highway which, said Joe, was Carl G. Fisher who proposed the idea in 1912 as a ‘Coast to Coast Rock Highway.’ "Fisher is also famous for building the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; creating the Dixie Highway; developing Miami Beach and the ‘Miami Beach of the North’ at Montauk, New Jersey," said Joe. (I hadn't heard of Montauk but found out that Fisher bought over 10,000 acres on the peninsula of Montauk in 1925 to develop as a grand resort. Most of what is there today roads, churches, village, harbor area, golf course, and most of the commercial buildings and homes, were built by Fisher during 1926 to 1932.)
Joe said that the Lincoln Highway extends from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, a distance of 3,389 miles. "Much of it has been replaced with the Interstate, but a lot of it does remain," said Joe. Joe’s program will cover the highway from Western Indiana to west of Salt Lake City, Utah. "That represents approximately one-half of the highway’s total length. Indiana is one of the 12 states crossed by the highway."
Joe and I attend the same church so when we had the opportunity to chat a bit about the Fisher family Joe told me about something Will Rogers said about Fisher. In the book "The Lincoln Highway" (Main Street Across America) by Drake Hobanson Rogers is quoted as saying, "Fisher is the midwife of Florida. Had there been no Fisher, Florida would be known today as just ‘The Turpentine State.’ He rehearsed the mosquitoes till they wouldn’t bite you until after you had bough." Will Rogers is only one of the famous and interesting people who were Fisher’s pals during his life.
If you’ve been to the library in Greensburg during the past couple of weeks you’ve seen the remarkable display the personnel has put on display about Fisher and the Lincoln Highway. Books have been written about Fisher including The Fabulous Hoosier, The Lincoln Highway and Castles in the Sand. There have been documentaries about him and stories about him in journals and newspapers. If a movie were made about him people would think it was fiction. His story is that unbelievable.
Joe said "The Pacesetter," written by Jerry M. Fisher, cousin of Carl, is one of the best books about Fisher. It has pictures of Fisher as a child in Greensburg and of some projects he brought to realization during his life.
Howard Kleinberg, of the Miami Herald wrote, "Carl G. Fisher has been overlooked by the editors of ‘Who’s Who.’" Well, they aren’t the only ones that’s neglected Fisher. The man was born right here in Decatur County and lived here for the first 11 or 12 years of his life. What I can’t figure out is where is some interesting item, a plaque or some such, that would tell folks that fact.
What Fisher did during his lifetime affects us all today. If you enjoy the Indy Motor Speedway you are benefiting from his vision, if you’ve driven on the Lincoln or Dixie highways you’ve benefited from his vision, if you’ve vacationed at Miami Beach or Montauk then you’ve benefited from his vision. Not only that, he also perfected the automobile headlamps and did a lot more visionary kind of things that most people would never in this world have ever thought of. He was surely one of the most fascinating people to have been born in America, much less Indiana, and much less in Decatur County’s county seat of Greensburg. He was born in 1874 and lived here until about 1886.
Carl had a - ah – well, a kind of interesting father. Several years ago I wrote a little about Albert Fisher, father of Carl when I wrote about the lynching in Greensburg. Carl was only eight at that time.
I hope you’ll make every effort to attend Joe’s program at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening. He will show slides and will answer questions. If this program is anything like previous ones he’s given we’ll all feel that we’ve been driving on the Lincoln Highway.
