Film footage taken 95 years ago as troops crossed the U.S. to protect the West Coast shows the early role of the Lincoln Highway. The Nevada State Museum will screen the film when historian Jim Bonar, director of the Nevada chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association, speaks in Carson City at the Nevada State Museum’s Frances Humphrey Lecture Series from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26.
Bonar became interested in roads as a young child in Green River, Wyoming, while watching the traffic passing on Highway 30 through town. He retired from Sparks High School as a math teacher before pursuing the preservation of historical trails and roads. Bonar serves on the board of the National Lincoln Highway Association.
His talk, “Military Convoy Across the U.S. in 1919,” also offers special emphasis on military convoys and transportation. In 1919 the U.S. Army needed to find out if they had the ability to move troops and equipment from the fortified East Coast to the West, as Japan was growing in military power, he said. Trucks were just in their infancy, and had been used in Europe during WWI, to move troops and equipment.
The test was to see if American roads were up to the needs of the Army Transportation Corps. Bonar’s talk includes a 30-minute video of their trip. Visitors can compare the highways of 1919 to today and experience the trip as the troops did, traveling the Lincoln Highway across the country.
Early arrival is recommended as space is limited. The presentation is part of the Frances Humphrey lecture series held at the museum on the fourth Thursday of every month, shedding new light on the state’s stories. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, free for museum members and children 17 and younger. The program is included with regular admission. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 600 N. Carson Street. Contact Deborah Stevenson [email protected] or (775) 687-4810, ext. 237.
SOURCE: NCOT
