Sometimes things happen for a reason. I can’t explain it. Call it fate, kismet, karma, serendipity, whatever. I can’t explain it but I know enough by now not to question it. Last weekend my obliging, dutiful wife took me back to Springfield, Illinois for my birthday. Our plan was to stop off at the last remaining Burger Chef restaurant in Danville, Illinois on the way out. You may recall that I’ve written about the restaurant, known as Schroeders, in past articles. The night before we left, a Facebook friend sent me a message informing me that it had closed unexpectedly late last year. Bummer. Never fear, it is scheduled to reopen in the fall and I plan on visiting it again when it does.
Undaunted, we traveled on to Lincolnland. We stayed in our usual hotel: A windowless ranch style abode built decades ago that stands about a hundred yards away from Oak Ridge Cemetery, operating under the Howard Johnson’s name. The front of the hotel faces the old cemetery and more resembles a tomb than a hotel. We were informed years ago that there are no windows in front to respect the solemnity of the departed. Okay, kinda creepy, but it serves a purpose.
The main entrance to Oak Ridge cemetery is located at the end of a street appropriately known as Monument Avenue. Just outside of the cemetery gates, right next to the cemetery office, is a charming log cabin structure known as the Lincoln Souvenir & Gift Shop. I had passed the structure dozens of times but had never gone in. Seems like I was always traveling through in the early morning or late evening hours when it was closed. I have always wanted to go in and luck was with me that Friday as we drove past and found it open for business. We pulled in, parked, jumped out of the car and as I walked through the door, I was immediately 10 years old again. It was like walking into a time warp.
The shop is full of great old souvenirs, most with an Abraham Lincoln theme as you might expect. It is one of those old time souvenir stores that have all but disappeared from the American landscape. It’s the kind of place where you can find everything from t-shirts to jewelry to statues to books to every kind of Lincoln tchotchkes, swag or loot your heart desires. But the real draw is the atmosphere. First of all, it’s a log cabin and who doesn’t want to shop in a log cabin? Second, you can still find something for $1 in here. The front of the building is wide open, giving it a market feel. The entrance, or in this case entrances, consists of 5 original garage doors that, when open, entice every passerby to come on in.
As I walked around the store, my attention was focused on the original elements that most people might not notice. Behind each garage door pillar rests sturdy Adirondack chairs with care and wear that only decades of casual use could produce. The headrest of every chair is tattooed with a vintage cartouche comprised of a pre-World War-II automobile window decal picturing either the Lincoln tomb or Lincoln homestead. Even though the decals hail from the 1940s, they shine crystal clear through 75 years of patina. It becomes somewhat of a “Where’s Waldo?” game as you walk through the store and discover more of the decals on the pillars and walls within. It’s all hiding in plain sight awaiting discovery.
A stroll around the building rewards the visitor richly with relics from the past at every turn. A long ago abandoned snack bar runs three quarters of the length of the back wall, complete with cedar doors opening to working restrooms. Remember free, clean restrooms? They, too, are a dying breed. Behind the snack bar counter rests an ancient Pespi-Cola ice chest with three stainless steel roll-top compartments and the original embossed sign reading “Say Pepsi Please” intact on front. A life size mannequin of Abraham Lincoln, complete with top hat, stands sentinel behind the counter. Likewise, two stuffed Jackalopes (a mythical Jack Rabbit with antlers) and a turkey in full plume adorn shelves behind the Great Emancipator’s shoulders. A first generation penny rolling machine rests nearby ready to spit out a smashed penny with the image of the Lincoln tomb embedded on the front.
The remaining quarter of the back wall houses the original office of the shop. The front wall of this workspace consists of three large picture windows that reveal the desk and cedar walls that are lined with old Lincoln mementos. My eye was immediately drawn to a pair of framed photos. Even though I was viewing them from a distance of ten or more feet away, I could see past the glare of the glass to identify who the subject was. It was Herbert Wells Fay, the legendary custodian of the Lincoln tomb from 1921 to 1949 and a true hero of mine.
I walked to the front of the store and asked the lovely woman behind the counter about the photos. She graciously asked if I would like to see them and retrieved them from the office for me to have a closer look. I could hardly contain my excitement. It was then that she informed me that the store had been in her family (by marriage) since it first opened in 1938. It was at that moment that I met the angel of Oak Ridge Cemetery. Discovering Mr. Fay would have to wait a moment as I inquired about the history of the building.
Her name is Melissa R. King and she has operated the roadside souvenir stand for over fifteen years. Her late husband Dean was the grandson of Bess and George King who started the store 80 years ago. In the summer of 1935, the Kings started their business as a way to keep their children George and Eleanor busy. The couple’s home sat on the adjacent lot and they thought it would be a good fiscal lesson for the kids to sell souvenirs to the many tourists who flocked to the tomb each summer. After all, they were located on the legendary Route 66 highway.
Bess bought $3.50 worth of souvenirs (roughly 62 bucks in today’s money), set a card table in the front yard and told the kids to stay there until they sold everything. It didn’t take long. They sold out within hours and a business was born. George lined the front porch with wooden shelves and reinvested the money from those original souvenir sales into more stock. The business grew and grew until the Kings were out of room. The family bought the lot next door and within three years the log cabin was open for business.
Since then, every member of the King family have either worked at or owned the souvenir shop. Melissa married grandson Dean in 1978 and the couple took over the business twenty years later. Melissa eagerly relayed details of the Kings and their adventures over the years. She shared with me a group photo from 1949 that included George (known as “Jack” to his friends) when he was employed as a grave digger at Oak Ridge cemetery. She explained that the old vintage items that adorn the walls (and there are MANY) were collected by the King family over the years. Some of them remain as examples of items once sold to tourists at the souvenir shop.
I asked if anyone famous had ever wandered into the store. “Well, we get politicians in here from time to time. Mostly on the way to or from visiting the tomb.” Melissa says, “I keep waiting for Brad Pitt or Matthew McConaughey to walk in, but that hasn’t happened yet. The Osmond Family (yes, Donny and Marie included) came through when they were kids but that was before my time.”
Melissa talked about how things have changed over the years. The tourist trade has definitely died down and roadside stands like hers are getting very hard to find. “Twenty years ago ‘Scout Sunday’ was our big day. There were 10,000 Boy Scouts marching in the parade right past the shop and into the cemetery. Today there are only about 1,500 scouts in the parade.” Melissa smiles as she says, “Nowadays, we get people in the shop all the time who tell us that their parents or grandparents brought them there and now they are bringing their own kids or grandkids in to shop.”
The 150th anniversary of the Lincoln Funeral having just passed in May, I asked how that went. Melissa said that it was “very crowded all weekend.” She was working at the shop with her 12-year-old grandson and decided to venture over to the cemetery to watch as the procession passed. “It was so quiet. Eerie. The only sounds were the wheels turning and the horses hooves clip-clopping as the hearse rode slowly past.” Melissa continued, “Then the bagpipes played Amazing Grace and it was beautiful.” As Melissa walked her grandson back to the store, she was unsure how he felt about it until he exclaimed, “Grandma, it was so cool, we should have brought the Go-Pro!”
Next week: Part II- Herbert W. Fay and why he matters.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
