The fascinating history of American cars . . .one story at a time.
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.
This fantastic old truck is a 1918 Republic, and it was part of the annual Old Trusty Antique & Collectors Show in Clay Center, Nebraska:
By the time 1918 rolled around, the Republic plant in Alma, Michigan, was the largest in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of motor trucks. With a thousand distributors in the United States and representatives in other countries as well, Republic had already sold 25,000 trucks throughout the United States and beyond. The company was continuing to expand and set an ambitious goal of 40,000 new trucks to be manufactured in 1918.
The Republic line included seven models of trucks in varying capacities to suit every business, and for every conceivable kind of hauling. This ad has pictures of those seven models, the Dispatch, 3/4-Ton, 1-Ton, 1-1/2 Ton, 2-Ton, 3-1/2 Ton and 5-Ton.
In addition to the dependability of the Republic-Torbensen Internal Gear Drive, Republic also advertised that their truck frames were built stronger, in proportion to size, than a railroad bridge:
Republic struggled in the years after the war and eventually merged with American LaFrance in 1929, so this well-preserved 1918 model is really representative of the company’s heyday.
Sources:
Jaquith Motor Co. Advertisement. The Daily Argus Leader [Sioux Falls], 8 Mar 1918, p. 7.
Prough Bros. Advertisement. Bakersfield MorningEcho, 8 Sept 1918, p. 4.
“Republic Motor Truck Company Give Alma World Wide Fame.” Lansing State Journal, 15 Oct 1917, p. 13.
“Truck Firms Unite.” The Pittsburgh Press, 21 April 1929, p.5.
I have written previously about the Nebraska State Patrol’s Fox Body Mustang, but the NSP also has this 1950 Ford in the lineup:
1950 was an important year in the annals of police car history because Ford introduced the first police package that included “heavy duty” parts like springs and shock absorbers, clutches, and interiors as well as “extra heavy duty” parts like generators and batteries:
The police car brochure included testimonials from various chiefs of police including Omaha’s own Chief Fred “Fritz” Franks:
Franks died in 1954 at the age of 67. According to his obituary, he immigrated to America from Danzig, Germany as an orphan and worked in Omaha’s Metz Brewery before joining the force in 1914. He was nicknamed the “Dutchman” and was a big, gruff man known for his granite jaw, good work ethic and thorough approach to detective work. In the letter above, Franks states that he was personally driving a new ’49 Ford. I hope he got to try out the ’50 Ford with the 255-ci 110-hp police-only engine. Franks once said, “You gotta be tougher and smarter than the dirty crooks, ” but it helps to be faster, too!
The Nebraska Junk Jaunt is coming up September 24-26. The Junk Jaunt is 350 miles of garage sales and vendors along a route that loops through the central part of the state and the uniquely beautiful Nebraska Sandhills.
You will find an amazing variety of antiques, collectibles and primitives along the way including lots of classic car parts. Pro tip: Don’t skip Cairo, a veritable hotbed of Junk Jaunt activity!
I found this photo when I was researching my last post about the 50th anniversary Ford. It appeared in a June 1953 newspaper, and the caption reads:
“Fifty years ago, when Ford Motor Company was founded, the average man would have worked 17 months to earn enough money to buy a runabout consisting of little more than a two cylinder engine and a buggy frame. Today the cost of a Ford car similar to those above is equal to the wages an average man earns in 3 1/2 months.“
So, in 1953 the “average” man could purchase a new Ford with wages earned in the span of 3 1/2 months. How does that compare to today? According to the Social Security Administration, the average annual salary for Americans in 2019 was $51,916.27. Most new Fords would take every bit of that!
1953 Ford at the Platte Valley Antique Machinery Association Show
In 1953, Ford Motor Company was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its June 16, 1903, founding. The new Fords were given restyled, massive grilles and horn ring emblems that marked the occasion.
Ford called it the “Worth More” car because of the 41 “Worth More” features that made it “worth more” when both buying and selling:
Many events were held to commemorate the occasion, including a television special and the lighting up of the famous Ford Rotunda building like a birthday cake.
At the time of that 50th anniversary celebration, 168,000 Ford workers around the world were being paid more than $17 million on a weekly basis. To show just how far the company had come, some papers printed copies of the ledger page showing payroll for Ford’s very first week of operation; in June of 1903, the company’s seven employees were paid a grand total of $85.23.
The Chandler Motor Car Company was in operation from 1913 to 1929 and touted their six-cylinder product as a light-weight car (less than 3,000 pounds) that was “built by men who know.”
Those men were largely former lieutenants of the Lozier Motor Company, no fewer than seven of the officers and department heads being formerly connected to that company.
A 1916 write-up about the Philadelphia Auto Show referenced the company’s policy of building only one type of chassis on which they would mount the different body styles. Aside from the Chandler Six motor, other equipment included an aluminum crank case, silent full-floating spiral-bevel gear rear axle, long semi-elliptic springs, front and rear, Bosch high-tension magneto, Grey & Davis separate unit electric starting and lighting system, silent chain drive for motor shafts, annular ball bearings, Stewart-Warner magnetic speedometer, Stewart vacuum gasoline feed and non-skid rear tires.
The Chandler made some headlines in 1917 thanks to the antics of a politician, a state senator by the name of “Wild Bill” Scott. I had never heard of this particular “Wild Bill”, but there was another 1917 story about him assisting an elderly woman who wanted to see the California Senate in action but couldn’t because all the chairs for spectators were full. Scott had a page bring another chair to his desk on the floor so that the lady could sit with him to watch the proceedings. After that incident, the Santa Ana Register printed this description of Scott:
“That’s ‘Wild Bill’ Scott. He’s loud-mouthed for booze and doesn’t care who knows it; he’s out-spoken, blustering and breezy and generally votes wrong on every moral issue that comes before the Senate and yet he is continually doing acts of kindness for some little friendless kid or some aged lady who seems to feel she is out of place in the legislative halls.”
In regard to Scott and the Chandler automobile, the story started when Scott and some of his fellow legislators hopped a train to Sacramento. Scott got off at one stop to send a telegraph and the train departed without him, much to the amusement of his colleagues. A Chandler Touring Car was parked in front of the station, and Scott bet the driver that he couldn’t beat the train to Sacramento. A wager was made in which Scott gave odds and the Chandler was off. The speeding driver was pulled over at Dixon, whereupon Scott stood on the rear seat and gave an impromptu patriotic oration to the town constable. It must have been a good speech because the officer sent them on their way. The Chandler and its pair of occupants arrived at the Sacramento train station a full four seconds ahead of the train carrying the other legislators. It was reported that Scott first paid the driver on the wager and then promptly sent a wire to San Francisco to purchase a shiny new Chandler for himself.
Sources:
“Chandler Car Saves Senator From Big Joke.” The San Francisco Examiner, 14 January 1917, p. 4A.
“Chandler Car Saves Wild Bill Scott From Being A Goat In Joke.” Visalia Daily Times, 20 January 1917, p. L-1.
Chandler Motor Company. Advertisement. Los Angeles Times, 30 January 1913, p. VI-12.
Chandler Motor Company. Advertisement. The Boston Globe, 20 July 1913, p. 43.
“Chandler Six May Enter Local Field.” The Tacoma Daily Ledger, 24 August 1913, p. 21.
“Convention Hall Scene Of Largest Automobile Show.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 January 1916, p. 2.
“Wild Bill Scott Votes Wrong, But He Does Kind Acts.” Santa Ana Register, 9 April 1917, p. 2.
While rifling through the April 3, 1927, edition of the Los Angeles Times, I found this great photo of famed aviator and TWA President Jack Frye buying, what else, a Rickenbacker, the automobile named after WWI pilot Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the “Ace of Aces”.
For more on the Rickenbacker and its distinctive radiator badge:
This 1959 Pontiac was a recent and welcome entry in the local car show:
When announcing the new line, Pontiac Motor Division general manager S. E. Knudsen said, “Pontiac has broken all bonds of traditional styling and engineering in 1959 with the most progressive change in our Division’s 51-year history. ” This was no exaggeration. Pontiac decision makers had left behind Indian-inspired names and ornamentation like they were a Cleveland baseball team, and Catalina, Star Chief and Bonneville comprised the ’59 line up. These models had 65 brand new features including lower, wider and heavier bodies and Vista-Panoramic windshields with greater visibility. Engine displacement was increased from 370 to 389ci with the Tempest 420 V8, and options included triple 2-barrel carburetion and Hydra-Matic transmission. Another new feature was the split grille, which Pontiac called a twin “air scoop” grille:
The new body was nearly five inches wider, and Pontiac labeled it “wide-track”:
These Pontiacs aren’t as plentiful as their Chevrolet counterparts, but their more simplistic styling makes them a beautiful alternative.
