Roadside diners were an important part of the pre-Interstate American road system, at least in the East, and they're important to American Road as well. The issue contains a diner-by-diner count of the cross-country Lincoln Highway today, although a number of them are closed, in decay or have been turned into barbecue joints. There are great stretches without a diner at all, such as from mid-Indiana through Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, all the way to Wyoming. Clearly a diner freak, author Brian Butko identifies each diner by factory and year of manufacture.
Living in New Jersey, I especially enjoyed Peter Genovese's account of his record-setting 50-revolution drive around one of the state's infamous traffic circles. He reports it took 23 minutes, covered 12 miles, and involved only a few near-accidents. I was reminded of a visit I made to Ireland a few years ago, renting a car with the steering wheel on the right and driving (white-knuckled) on the left side of the road. All went surprisingly well until I encountered a "roundabout."
The concept of American Road is a good one, but it's a bit fuzzy in its execution. The focus in one article might be the history of a highway, and in the next it might be on some of the exotic shops or eateries along a highway in another part of the country. Another story might be about a local legend in a town, pretty much ignoring everything else. Quite a few of the articles are written by local historians or freelancers who seem to be so close to their subject that they strain to find interesting new angles - leaving the reader, presumably not from those parts, hungering for some basic information. For the actual rubber-on-the-road tourist driving into an unfamiliar area, recommendations for food, shelter and the like would be welcome sidebars.
Article comments
1 - GL Hauptfleisch
Another fascinating find, Ed. In general, thanks for bringing these periodicals to light in your reviews, but this one especially appeals to my wanderlusting ways.