The Van Wert Historical Society hosts the 25th annual Ohio Lincoln Highway League (OLHL) state meeting Saturday, April 27. 

A welcome and introduction will begin at 10:15 a.m. by Larry Webb of the Van Wert Historical Society. 

Marty Thomas, president of the Western Ohio Chapter and of the Welsh Society of Northwest Ohio will give an update on the retrieval and restoration of a 1936 aircraft that accompanied Admiral Richard Byrd to the Antarctic in 1941. 

In October, 1939, Byrd’s polar exploration vehicle, which carried the airplane in the Antarctic, crashed east of Gomer on the Lincoln Highway in what became a national news story.

The morning concludes with the annual business meeting, and include reports from State Director Scott Little of Bluffton, chapter directors and state officers.

After a prepared lunch, guests will have time to visit the museum.  At 3 p.m. Van Wert County Commissioner Thad Lichtensteiger will lead a guided tour of the Van Wert County Courthouse. 

The Van Wert Historical Society is located at 602 N. Washington St. in Van Wert. 

The cost for the day’s activities is $15 per person.  Reservations can be made by calling Little at (419) 296-5565 or emailing [email protected].

Monthly meetings are hosted by the Western, Central and Eastern Ohio Chapters of the Lincoln Highway Association and those interested in becoming involved are encouraged to attend these meetings by contacting the address above. 

Among other things, the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) encourages the identification, preservation, interpretation and improvement of the Lincoln Highway. 

The LHA encourages awareness, research and promotion of businesses along “America’s Main Street”. 

The Lincoln Highway is famously known as America’s first paved coast-to-coast road and was established in 1913.