Some things remain.

When I used to visit my grandparents in Crestline, Ohio, I was amused by the fact that it was one of the few towns I had ever seen that didn't have any fast-food restaurants. Indeed, by the late '60s, it didn't have a movie theater or any real restaurants either.

Crestline had been an important railroad center during the heyday of the iron horses. Its population peaked at nearly 6,000 in 1970 and it was legally classified as a city. In the 2010 census, it was down to 4,630, making it a village. It is actually very small, with a total area of just 2.9 square miles.

[caption id="attachment_1612" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Freezer Fresh"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Freezer-Fresh-1963-copy.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1612" title="Freezer Fresh 1963 copy" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Freezer-Fresh-1963-copy-300x156.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="156" /></a>[/caption]

The old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Highway">Lincoln Highway</a> went right through Crestline on its way west, and the Freezer Fresh in the picture was the one place a motorist could stop for something to eat on his way west.

The Lincoln Highway was actually the first national memorial to the 16th president, and it was one of the earliest auto routes from coast to coast, opening in 1913. There have been songs, television shows and more to memorialize Route 66, but Route 30 came first and it was more than a thousand miles longer. It went from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.

I remember going to the Freezer Fresh when I was 10 years old. I think it was the first time I ever had a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate to form a chocolate shell. The place was already a little run down in 1960, and I was really surprised to learn that it's still doing business in 2012. In fact, you can see the <a title="Freezer Fresh" href="http://restaurants.post-gazette.com/oh/crestline/62068-freezer-fresh-drive-in/menu/">menu</a> online.

It's part of an America that disappeared long ago. Nobody drives across country, and if they did, they would take I-70 to Utah and pick up I-15 on its way to Southern California.

<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IN19790702t100700.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1613" title="IN19790702t100700" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IN19790702t100700.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="100" /></a>But it's an America that's still there if you head away from the major highways and look for the small towns, where there really isn't any change other than decay and there isn't much else to do than watch the paint peeling.

Before I die, I want to leave Times Square and head west on Route 30. I may not find that long-gone America in New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, but I'm pretty sure that when I get to central Ohio I can get a gravy burger, some curly fries and a milkshake and still have enough change from a 10-dollar bill to get a hand-dipped cone.

Only the price has changed in 50 years. Oh, that and the fact that you can order your ice cream sugar free.

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