Cementing A Vacation Plan

Lehigh Cement was founded in 1897 by six Pennsylvania businessmen who funded the construction of a cement plant in Ormrod, Pennsylvania. Then a second and third. Since the company’s cement was being shipped as far west as Kansas City, another plant was built in Mitchell, Indiana in 1902. By 1920 Lehigh Cement was the nation’s biggest cement company in terms of number of plants, with annual production of more than twelve million barrels of Portland cement. Lehigh’s profits reached a zenith after 1958, climbing to $75.8 million. Net income of $12.1 million on sales of $100.6 million in 1959 was far higher than Lehigh would again earn, at least as an independent company. About the time the illustration above was conceived.

Pictured is the one-year-only styling of a 1960 Ford Galaxie. The model introduced numerous styling trends that set the automotive industry on notice. Yet some Ford customers were not fans of the styling shock. It was devoid of recent Ford trends, most notably the round taillights and seemingly no hint of fins. Coupled with this was the fact the car was larger: it violated vehicle width regulations in many states. Garages got smaller. 

Speaking of fins, I find the 1960 model unique for its sleek "stealth" fins that begin up front as a vertically chromed arch defining the front fenders. The accent chrome magically transforms horizontally into flat fins, the "bottom" of which folds inward, stopping at the trunk lid. A beautiful execution that made the 1959-60 Chevrolets decidedly awkward. The 1960 Ford has since garnered many fins...er...fans in more modern times, especially the elegant Ford Galaxie Starliner. 

Broadcast Pioneers

Lowell Thomas (1892-1981) was an American writer, actor, radio broadcaster, and traveler remembered for publicizing T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Thomas was a relentless self-promoter, and he persuaded railroads to give him free passage in exchange for articles extolling rail travel. When he visited Alaska, he hit upon the idea of the travelogue, movies about faraway places. He pioneered the use of motion pictures in reporting news with his multimedia shows on the First World War. Working with a new form of journalism—movie newsreels—was a natural step for him, specifically, Fox Movietone News in the 1940s.

Thomas helped establish the broadcast news format. The newscast’s steady factual style reflected his newspaper experience which was distinct from the sensational staccato of his contemporary, Walter Winchell whose background was from Broadway’s vaudeville. With clear elocution—owing to his doctoral degree in speech —and a worldly air, he calmly delivered the news along with nonpartisan commentary.

In 1945, Thomas received the Alfred I. duPont Award. In 1971, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Five years later, President Gerald Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. The Thomas Mountains in Antarctica are named for him.

Main Street of America

 

U.S. Highway 40 (US 40) is a major east–west United States Highway extending across the United States from the Mid-Atlantic to the Mountain States. As with most routes ending in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the first U.S. Highways created in 1926 spanning from San Francisco, California to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The route was built on top of several older highways, most notably the National Road/Cumberland Road. Built between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. In the western United States, US 40 has been replaced by Interstate 80, resulting in the route being truncated multiple times. US 40 currently ends at a junction with I-80 in Silver Summit, Utah, near Salt Lake City.