LINCOLN, Ill. (WAND) - A legendary stop for decades in Lincoln, not just for its unique look but for its famous fried pork schnitzel sandwich.
"The Mill [is] known for its schnitzel. That's because they had a cook from Austria who brought the original Wiener Schnitzel recipe. They Americanized it and made it into a sandwich that started as veal, then switched to pork with a tangy sauce. Unfortunately, it was lost to time," said volunteer Susan Harmon.
First opened in 1929 as The Blue Mill, the building itself was nearly lost to time. The Huffman family operated the building for four generations until it closed in 1996.
It took 12 years of work to bring it back to life as a museum through the passion of preservationists and help from the state.
"It became a destination; you have to go to The Mill because Mr. Huffman liked quirky decorations. People would have to come back," Harmon said.
The building also has memorabilia from the Pig Hip Restaurant from nearby Broadwell, known for its signature sandwich.
"The sandwich was a ham sandwich because he would say, 'I want the hip of the pig,' so that's the ham," Harmon said. "This is the last original booth from The Mill. Lucky for me, they now have a Mill cookie."
The museum has so many items that call your attention with a story.
Speaking of something quirky ...
"The most famous is the leg in the ceiling which is above your head right now," Harmon said.
"What I want people to feel here when they come past The Mill and how inviting to say come in and see what we've got to tell you," said Logan County Tourism Bureau Executive Director Wanda Rohlfs.
International visitors come with a lot of knowledge of the Mother Road and its purpose.
"This is something I think is marvelous. When you talk to people [who] come from other countries [and] they know as much as you could about the whole area," Rohlfs said.
"Well, one of my jobs is to keep track of who signs the visitors' log. For the last six weeks, we have had people from Canada, Germany, Austria, Israel, France, Spain, Croatia, Mexico, Finland, Slovakia, Turkey, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, England, Macedonia, Norway, India and South Korea," Harmon said.
"Soon the windmill will be back in motion, lighted up thanks to the restoration work, but you will have to come back at night to see it."
The Mill Museum on Route 66 still has people looking for that secret sauce.
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