From Its Beginnings to Where We Are Today

The route would be the fastest and most direct route across the country. The Lincoln Highway Association set up consuls in each state who played a role in defining the precise alignment. The preliminary route was announced on Sept. 14th and the first official “contributor’s ticket” (member card) was issued to President Woodrow Wilson on Sept. 19th. With the route being announced, communities were pulling for their towns not to be left out, so the route was adjusted quickly and often but on Oct. 31st, the official route was dedicated so that celebrations could be had to promote the highway.

Military Vehicle Preservation Association 2019 100th Anniversary Transcontinental Motor Convoy on Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway in Iowa.

The Government Gets Involved
The 1920s brought the federal government’s interest in building roads and the creation of numbered U.S. routes. In March 1925, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) created a federal highway system identifying roadways with the official shield and number. They had now asserted control over the transcontinental route.

In Summary
The popularity that the Lincoln Highway experienced in its beginning has not been matched since.  So how can we change the narrative and bring the Lincoln Highway back in people’s mindfulness when we talk about historical roads? At a time when the Lincoln Highway is losing its’ few remaining greatest assets, aging historical structures and bridges, the mindset to value, rehabilitate, and creative reuse is the route to a new narrative for the next 110 years.

So when you see an anniversary date, take a second look. Celebrate it, talk about it, and change the public mindset to value the historical idea. And don’t forget to take a road trip!

A few hours later Angela arrived in Cedar Rapids to a news crew and was interviewed by KGAN, a CBS affiliate. Angela handed the baton to CEO Joe Pritchard (4th generation), and along with Pam they took off on the second leg of the relay in a Ford F-150 Lightning (Ford’s electric truck). Ames was the lunch stop where the Pritchards handed the baton to an “extended family member,” employee Brock Thompson. Brock drove a Chevy Bolt EUV to Jefferson where the caravan greeted the statue of Abraham Lincoln before heading on to Carroll. As most central Iowans know, the figure is a long-standing homage to the Lincoln Highway’s namesake.  In Carroll, the baton was given to the newest Pritchard family employee Matt Bradley. Matt brought the Lincoln Highway idea to the Pritchards.

He was honored with driving the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid on the final journey through western Iowa where the EV infrastructure is just getting started. Shortly after sunset, twelve hours after the relay started, , the Missouri River was reached by taking the 3rd generation Lincoln Highway route from the town of Missouri Valley.

Born in 1833 in Peru, Illinois, into a family that could provide a ladies’ education, she was a multi-talented woman. Ruth Anne could not only play piano and write poetry, she could ride a horse and shoot a gun with the best of them, a talent that held her in good stead during the years she joined her husband on the prairies of Nebraska.

The Dodges built a grand residence in Council Bluffs, where General Dodge influenced the development of the Union Pacific Railroad. He died in January 1916, and September of that year found Ruth Anne also on her deathbed.

After her death, Ruth Anne’s daughters, Anne Dodge and Eleanor Dodge Pusey, had the sculpture made to depict the series of three nighttime visions experienced by their mother before she died. Ruth Anne had told them of the recurrent visions where she found herself on a rocky shore when through the mist she saw a small boat approach, carrying a beautiful angel holding a small bowl with water flowing forth. 

But apparently, fame did not bring her happiness, for a decade after modeling for the artist she tried to commit suicide and was subsequently committed to an insane asylum, where she lived another 65 years without visitors, dying at the age of 104.

Emmett says some people believe that those who touch the sculpture may be cursed. Others say the angel flies off her pedestal at night, and still others say the angel’s eyes follow a person as they walk past. One way to find out is to go and visit. The sculpture is considered likely the most valuable artwork in Council Bluffs, and it is just steps from a spectacular view of the Missouri River Valley and the expanse of Nebraska beyond.

“The Black Angel of Council Bluffs: The Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial.” Spiritual Travels: Practical Advice for Soulful Journeys. Accessed Oct. 15, 2023.

“Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial – The Black Angel.” History Online, The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County. Accessed Oct. 5, 2023.

Williamson, Zach. “The History, and Haunting, of Council Bluffs’ Black Angel.” KMTV 3 News Now, Local News, Oct. 15, 2022.

Those of you who have grown up in the Iowa Valley have most likely heard of Rolle Bolle and know how the game is played. For this central Iowan, I had never heard of the game and was quite surprised by many details I hadn’t noticed just by viewing the game in photos.

In simplistic terms, the game is played by teams of three or four people rolling bolles down an alley aiming to land their bolles closest to a pole. The object is to have the most bolles* the closest distance to the pole than the other team by the end of everyone’s turn.

The 10 Things I Learned 

1: Although the bolle looks like a greatly enlarged hockey puck to me, it is not the same diameter on each side. I even rolled the bolle down our hallway here at Prairie Rivers and did not notice that there is a smaller side and a larger side. So why the beveled shape? The origin of the shape is not known; a fun theory is that the first bolle was a wheel of Gouda cheese, although this is probably not true. Whatever the origin, the shape is what makes the game unique to horseshoes, bocce, bowling, or curling.

2: There is not a one-size-fits-all regulation size for the bolle. Although they can weigh no less than five and no more than 9.5 pounds and measure no larger than 8” in diameter, they can be different for each player. Doesn’t this give someone with a larger bolle an advantage of being closer to the pole? “Not really,” I am told. A smaller bolle may be able to creep between thrown bolles better, a larger one may be lighter and more easily bumped out of position. What it boils down to is the boller knowing their bolle’s weight and turn and their aim, strategy, skill, and luck. 

3: Bolles are not all made of the same material. Nineteenth-century bolles were made from ironwood, a hard dense type of wood. Fiberglass has also been used. Belgian bolles today are mostly made of phenolic resin which produces a lighter and chip-resistant bolle. Most bolles in the United States are made from rubber and there are only two makers in the United States. One of those makers, De Pauw, makes bolles that are rubber in the center and phenolic material on the outside; he calls it the “Wonder Bolle.”

4: Just as there isn’t one regulation size or material for the bolles, there isn’t a regulation for the material or slope of the courts. The court must be 42’ long with two stakes placed 6’ from the backstop (30’ between stakes). Most of the outdoor alleys are crushed limestone material that may get rolled before a tournament in an attempt to smooth it out. Alleys can also be made from clay, dirt, sand, grass, or even carpet (usually on an indoor court). And the slope can range from court to court, which as you can imagine will change the way you roll the bolle. Remember that beveled shape?

5: The backstops must be 6’ from the pole but a barrier behind the backstop can be any distance. Think of a pit with railroad ties surrounding it. The distance from the backstop line (which your foot can cross but not go over while throwing) and the railroad tie can be different and depending on the length of your legs, this can give you space to take a “running” start or hinder your pace and form when aiming the bolle. One particular boller who has long legs was starting his run cross-legged. When I asked why, he explained that he has to start his approach this way because if the backcourt is shorter, he can’t get a comfortable approach. So by starting cross-legged, he can step out giving him more space to then take his next steps. 

6: You can roll the bolle or you can shoot it! Shooting the bolle is exciting. Perhaps I see it that way because everyone kept telling me to “step back” and “heads up.” Or because the young man shooting kept breaking the poles. Or just maybe, because when I tried to roll the bolle, it went way too far (I have too much power behind my bolle roll). “Just roll it,” I was told while I was thinking, “I am.”

There are typically three types of players with different roles. The “lead person,” the middle person (no official name), and the “shooter.” The lead gets to make the team’s strategic decisions. The lead and the middle person typically roll the bolle to get it close to the pole. The shooter gets to shoot at an opponent’s bolle to knock it out of the area closest to the pole, or at a teammate’s bolle to knock it closer. More power is used when shooting. And a “step back” is shouted to the crowd.

7: There are Rolle Bolle courts in Belle Plaine, Marengo, Victor, Ladora, Blairstown, and Marion. And several have closed in just the last three years.

8: Bollers have a love-hate relationship with the game. One boller I visited with kept saying, “I hate this game.” Then he would tell me that he tries to play the game seven days a week. He was the only player from Illinois this weekend. After explaining that you can’t master this game because of all the variables, all of the bollers expressed how they love it. A love-hate for sure!

 9: This “thing” about Rolle Bolle is something that I know, and you may not know. Did you know that with a library card, you can check out a set of Rolle Bolle bolles at the Marengo Public Library? Yep.

10: This is not the last time that I will be writing about Rolle Bolle.

Thank you to all of the Rolle Bolle bollers who were at the Marengo Court on September 16th. We will continue to educate and encourage a new generation of bollers to carry on your legacy.  — Jeanie

Lincoln HighwayHeritage Byway Coordinator Jeanie Hau also contributed to this article.

The complex and conservation area includes a historical village, a playscape incorporating a Lincoln Highway theme, an old gas station turned into a picnic shelter, one of Iowa’s 99 Freedom Rocks, a Lincoln Highway Marker in its original location, and a mile-long hiking trail through a portion of Loess Hills. To top off the view from the complex, there is a balcony spelling out, “Lincoln Highway” and a selfie station. It’s wonderful to fill visitors in about the highway and how it got started,” boasts Welcome Center Program Director Kathy Dirks, “The center’s auditorium showcases historical photos of the Lincoln Highway many of which depict locations a traveler can still see today.”  Some Lincoln Highway in Iowa images that are on display include the First Seedling Mile, the Honey Creek Cut, the Iowa Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama, and Lincoln Way in Ames that many visitors find it hard to believe was once a muddy road Dirks remarked.