Honest Abe, Fried Chicken, and Electric Guitars

Awhile back I had a chance to get away for a weekend, so I decided to explore the Lincoln Highway between DeKalb and Sterling, Illinois. While much of the highway across the country is now US-30, in Illinois it's mostly state road 38 and though I've driven it many time over the years, I'd never really looked at it from a historical perspective.

The idea for this trip actually started in 2021, when I visited the Country School in Rochelle to try the fried chicken.

The chicken was very good, but while I was there I drove past this restored Standard station, which dates to 1918 and was the first station of any kind built along the LH in Illinois.

Fast forward a year to a rainy, dreary last November, when I was once again in Rochelle and this time with a bit more of an itinerary. Tracing the original LH route took me westbound out of town on IL-38, where I spotted this large plaque on the side of a building. These plaques are fairly common along the Highway.

From Rochelle I continued west, making a few dead-end detours to travel as much of the original route as possible, until I reached Ashton and faced my first big decision: continue with the later route on 38, or take the gravel original route southwest (Track Road). Oh well, I was planning on replacing the car's shocks anyway.

Even though the LH was opened in 1913 there are still many sections of the first route that are still gravel, but this would be the only one I encountered. After reaching 38 again I continued on to Franklin Grove, which happens to be the home of the Lincoln Highway Association. And as a pretty cool link to history, the building that houses the LHA was built in 1860 by H.L. Lincoln, a distant relative of Abraham. I spent probably 30-45 minutes there; my schedule was thrown off a bit but it was definitely worth it.

From there the trip was pretty routine as I pushed to reach my first destination: Don's Seafood & Chicken of Sterling. Set in what might be an old service station, Don's has a few booths but I suspect most of the business is carryout. Notice that some snow was starting to be mixed in with the drizzle.

I decided to eat there so I grabbed a booth and started to get my camera ready, only to realize that I'd forgotten the close-up lenses and would have to make do. Eventually my 2-piece meal came out and I enjoyed it, as the chicken was juicy and lightly seasoned with a good crust. But the overhead fluorescent fixture wreaked havoc on my lighting!

Since I'd reached my westernmost target it was time to start working my way back east. Northeast of Sterling is the Midway Drive-In, which is still in business although closed for the season.

My next stop was B.B.Y. Chicken and Carry Out in Dixon. By this time it was getting dark and the snow was increasing, so I didn't get a shot of the exterior. I went inside and discovered that it's possible to eat indoors, but decided to continue with my original plan and eat in the car. While the roll wasn't anything special, the chicken itself was outstanding and would ultimately be the best of the trip. I only wish that BBY opened earlier than 4pm, as I could easily see driving down some summer Saturday morning for lunch.

From there it was on to DeKalb to meet my friends Jeff and Susie at the final stop: Lothson's Karry Out. It's been open since 1949 and after 73+ years is amazingly on only the second generation of the Lothson family! Gotta love the neon...

True to the name, it's a carryout-only operation and everything's in plain sight. Notice our 3 setups waiting for the chicken to finish frying.

I was spending the night in Sycamore so I'd booked a room in case I wasn't able to go home with a waitress, the way I always do. We took our dinners to the hotel's dining room.

The roll and the fries were serviceable but the chicken was excellent; earlier I wrote that BBY's was the best but only by a whisker, and if the order in which I ate had been reversed the results very well could've been as well. Lothson's is absolutely worth a stop for anyone visiting or passing through DeKalb.

I've covered Honest Abe and the chicken, so that leaves the electric guitars. As it turns out, it's Mrs. Lothson that makes the chicken while Mr. Lothson has his own deal: Lothson Guitars! I've heard of them but have never seen one in person, and no, there's not one hanging in the Karry Out. I did ask if Rick Nielsen owned one but apparently he doesn't, and if I remember right it's because of who he's aligned with. Because if anyone would pose with a guitar in one hand and chicken in the other, it's him.

The next morning I headed for home, and what better way to wrap things up than with a plaque from DeKalb.

Thanks for coming along. Someday I hope to travel the Lincoln Highway west as far as Nebraska...maybe even as soon as this April?