Author: Deb Tracy

I am a reformed attorney who has returned to my first loves, American history and classic cars. Raised in a family of automobile fanatics, my Dad is one of those guys who can look at a set of tail lights and tell you what car they belong to and follow that with a story about one he owned. Forget the “new car” smell, I love the smell of old cars and old garages. My husband (retired law enforcement and former U.S. Marine) and I turned our hobby into a business a few years ago and now happily deal in classic cars and their various parts. We live in rural Nebraska with our amazing teenage daughter and a houseful of border collies.
Posted on

A 1934 Bank Robbery With A Ford V8 Getaway Car

1934

On a Saturday morning in September, 1934, the First National Bank in Holdrege, Nebraska, was robbed by three men carrying automatics. Customers and employees were herded behind the bank counter and ordered to line up, facing the wall, with their hands in the air.  It was reported that the bandits worked with “a desperate air,” swearing continuously and threatening murder with frequency.

Both customers and bank officials were taken hostage, some inside the Ford getaway car and some perched on the running boards to discourage anyone from firing weapons at the fleeing robbers.  The hostages were released a few blocks away, and the bandits hightailed it out of town.  The car was described as a “newer” Ford sedan with stolen plates, red trim and yellow wire wheels.  It also had a V8 engine, and that means it was soon long gone.  The local sheriff found evidence that the robbers had put the Ford in the ditch while taking a corner too quickly, and a farmer reported that the car had hurtled past his farm shortly after the robbery and had narrowly missed crashing into cattle crossing the road, but that’s the last anyone saw of it. Thieves matching their description, right down to the vigorous swearing, did continue to strike banks throughout the area during the following months, however.

1933 at Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

Hilariously, the opportunistic local car dealership saw the whole affair as a way to hype their line of Fords:

The Ford V8 was the engine of choice for bad guys in the 1930s, and law enforcement had no choice but to respond in kind. For more on the topic:

A Grand Christmas Gift (for Law Enforcement)

Arsenals On Wheels

1934
1932

1932 at Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

Sources:

“Bandit Hunt Spreads Over Two States.” The Holdrege Citizen, 24 Sept 1934, p. 1.

“Citizens Pursue Kearney Bandits.” Nebraska State Journal, 4 Oct 1934, p. 1.

“First National Bank Loses Five Thousand To Three Holdups.” The Holdrege Progress, 27 Sept 1934, p. 1.

Holdrege Motor Company. Advertisement. The Holdrege Citizen, 24 Sept 1934, p. 3.

“Robber Quartet Loots Holdrege Bank Of $5,000.” Evening State Journal [Lincoln], 22 Sept 1934, p. 1.

“Superior Robbery Fifth Bank Job In State, Two Months.” The Holdrege Citizen, 23 Nov 1934, p. 1.

Posted on

Reminder: Kearney Cruise Nite Classic Car Auction

The annual Kearney Cruise Nite Classic Car Auction starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow (July 16th) at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds in Kearney, Nebraska. See the Rhynalds Auction website for a preview of some of the classics going on the auction block!

1971 Olds 442
1967 Pontiac GTO
1960 Ford F100

Posted on

Barney Oldfield In His Own Words, Circa 1911

Barney Oldfield at the Tacoma Speedway Races in July of 1915.

I have wanted to write something about legendary race car driver Barney Oldfield for some time, but I don’t think I can do better than his own words. I found this interview with Oldfield from 1911, and it is such an absorbing account that I am just going to present it as written. Note that it starts out with the question, “Is the game worth the candle?” I had to look that one up. It is a saying that originated when people had to illuminate with candles when gambling after dark, so the potential winnings had to be sufficient to warrant the expense of the candles. Oldfield also refers to a pilot named Hoxsey and Colonel Roosevelt. He is referring to Arch Hoxsey, the pilot who took President Theodore Roosevelt for a flight and made Roosevelt the first American president to fly in an airplane. Hoxsey died tragically in a plane crash a few months later, but Oldfield lived until retirement and beyond, not dying until 1946, so I guess, for Barney Oldfield, the game was worth the candle.

Posted on

A Baby Nash, Featuring The “Foreign Look”

This adorable turquoise and white Metropolitan was sold at a recent auction in our area:

This is a 1958 model, but the Metropolitan was first introduced by Nash in 1954 after 11 years of research in the small-car field.  It was not intended to replace the family car but to “provide a discriminating answer for the suburban housewife” as a second car.  The diminutive Metropolitan had a wheelbase of only 85 inches, an overall length of 149.5”, width of 61.5” and height of 54.5”. 

In order to keep production costs down, Nash farmed out the manufacture of the Metropolitan to Austin in Birmingham, England.  It was initially powered by the A-40, a 4-cylinder OHV 42-hp Austin engine, had a top speed of around 80 mph and achieved 40 mpg at “normal highway speeds”. The A-40 was replaced by the larger 52-hp A-50 in 1956.

In 1954, the hardtop sold for $1445 and the convertible for $1469.  The Metropolitan incorporated many of the styling details of the full-size Nash automobiles, but was said to feature “the foreign look” (as if that were a good thing) while still being built to American standards.

The Metropolitan survived Nash’s merger with Hudson and the creation of the American Motors Corporation, but it’s styling was dated by the time the 1960s rolled around and the last Metropolitans were sold in 1962.

Sources:

“Nash Motors Unveils New Small Car.”  The Chattanooga Times, 18 March 1954, p. 45.

“Nash Motors Unveils the Metropolitan.”  The Selma Times-Journal, 21 March 1954, p. 25.

“Nash Offers Newest Small Car.”  The Miami News, 19 March 1954, p. 20-A.

“Nash Unveils 40 Miles Per Gallon Model.” Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, 18 March 1954, p. 8.

“New Nash Metropolitan Features Economy, Ruggedness, Fine Styling.” The Knoxville Journal, 18 March 1954, p. 12.

“New U.S. Cars Combine Beauty, Style, Economy.” The Iola Register, 11 March 1954, p. 12.

Posted on

Classics Around the Courthouse Square

Minden, Nebraska, hosted a car show around the town square this weekend, and it was a beautiful setting for the gathered classics. Minden is the county seat for the area in which my family homesteaded after immigrating from Germany in the late 1800s, and it has a stately courthouse, a beautifully restored 1891 opera house and other interesting architecture. The gorgeous automobiles posed in front of the buildings just make them look that much better!

1936 Ford with the Kearney County Courthouse in the background. This picture doesn’t do justice to the deep burgundy paint job!

1949 Mercury with suicide doors (courthouse in the background).

1976 Bronco in front of the “Clearman” building.

1964 Chevelle camped out in front of the Opera House.

This 1936 Dodge four-door sedan was hands down my favorite entry. In ’36, the Dodge was powered by an 87-hp six-cylinder L-head and was touted as “The Beauty Winner of 1936.”

Posted on

Jet Fighter Hood Ornament Designed By Lucian Ring

I have noticed many reproductions lately based upon the above hood ornament. The jet fighter ornament pictured is part of my own collection, and it is an original. The manufacturer was Univex and a patent was granted on the design of this hood ornament in 1948:

Mine has some other markings on the wing, and I was once told that the inventor, Lucian Ring, put his initials on the ornament in a similar fashion to pin-up artist George Petty whose name appears on the wing of the flying goddess hood ornament he designed for Nash. To be perfectly honest, however, I can clearly see the “L” but I’m not certain it is followed by an “R”.

I am also not too clear on who Lucian Ring was, exactly, I found a short obituary from 1957 that stated he had died at the too-young age of 55 . He lived in Detroit for most of his adult life and was a die cast engineer. There were a number of other patents related to die cast equipment granted to him in the 1940s and 1950s, but the jet fighter was the only hood ornament. It was an aftermarket ornament that could be purchased from vendors like the one in this 1949 advertisement for Economy Auto Stores:

It was advertised as fitting a 1946 Ford and could be purchased for the low, low, low price of $2.49:

An original, like mine, is marked with the manufacturer’s name, Univex, and the patent number 149,443.

A beautiful remnant from the dawn of the jet age, originals are currently selling for around $100 (but beware the reproductions)!

Posted on

1923 Automobile Industry Numbers

The excerpt below was taken from a 1923 story featuring an interview with Walter Chrysler before THE Chrysler, when he was with Maxwell. It has some interesting facts regarding the state of the American automobile industry in 1923. Notice the complete dominance by Henry Ford at that point in time:

************

’36 Ford Pickup

Posted on

Central Auto Electric Building in Kearney, Nebraska

I was driving past the Central Auto Electric building in Kearney the other day and just had to stop and snap a photo of this ’62 Chevy sitting out front and completing a striking tableau:

This building is just about my favorite in all of Kearney and, thankfully, it remains unmolested with ugly “updates”. It was built in 1946 by Bierman’s Auto Electric, and they moved into this building, their new location, the following year. The business handled GM parts, and this incredible double-sided United Motors Service sign still hangs out front.

Bierman’s didn’t just service GM products per this 1945 advertisement with an emphasis on Studebaker:

Bierman’s advertised their shop as the place to take your car if you wanted “action in your battery, pep in your plugs and power in your engine.” Who doesn’t want those things?

1941 Buick

Posted on

Memorial Day 2021

This Vietnam-era M-725 ambulance was manufactured by Kaiser Jeep and can be found at the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.
This ambulance was powered by a 6-cylinder 230-ci engine and was capable of transporting 5-8 patients.

“We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.”

-Ronald Reagan

Thank you to all who have served.