There is a ghost town called Sparks in rural Kansas that hosts an impressive flea market with ties to the past. I had never been there, so my daughter and I decided to make the four-hour trip yesterday to attend this biannual extravaganza. My sister drove up from Kansas City to meet us at this little junction located 23 miles west of St. Jo, Missouri, in what constituted a leap of faith as none of us knew what to expect. After eating at the Bread Bowl in Hiawatha (amazing pie) we headed down the barely paved road that led straight to Sparks. Keep in mind that Sparks is an unincorporated town with a population of around nine. Not nine hundred, mind you, just nine. When the flea market came into view, it was quite a shock to see 500 vendors, crowds of people, and cars parked along the highway as far as the eye could see.
This is the view walking up to the market. I meant to take more pictures, but I was soon overcome with a bad case of rust fever which caused me to forget all about photo ops.
I found lots of car parts and would have purchased more, but I did not want to force my family members to schlep around the heavy metal remnants of automotive history (again). Here are some of my favorite purchases:
I was particularly happy with the lighting finds. Lower right is a ’58 Caddy taillight, and the torpedo light sitting in the upper left corner of the picture is for a ’40 Chevy car or truck. Leaning against it is a ’50 chevy taillight, and the fog light with the amber bulb has a seldom seen International tag. I could not resist the 1969 Kelley Blue Book, and that old “winged Viking” radiator cap is broken but still oh-so-beautiful.
The flea market is open through Sunday and will return August 31st if you want to see what treasures you can uncover. While researching the history of Sparks, I discovered that the town used to be a thriving community with a bank, blacksmith, restaurants, stores, schools and, of course, churches. It is fitting that the town comes alive again the last week of August as this is something of a modern continuation of a long-ago tradition for the community. That tradition was described in a 1916 newspaper story:
“One of the best of all assets for Sparks . . . attracts more people to the town in a brief period than most all others combined. That is the annual fair and picnic. This event has occurred regularly for the past sixteen years and it embraces the best of all fall festivities in Doniphan County.
The fair and picnic at Sparks lasts four days and is usually held the later part of the month of August each year. . . The people all around become enthused to a high state over the event and it is beyond peradventure the greatest occasion for a brief season of annual enjoyment and sociability that is known in any community the size of Sparks.”
This photo depicts the citizens of Sparks laying a church cornerstone in 1915. I especially love the jaunty little gent in the lower left corner posing with the automobile. You just know that was a future “car guy!”
The Highway Creepers usher in the outdoor car show season in my area, and they host a terrific show replete with low riders, fins, rat rods, and hot rods. If you were unable to make it to Kearney over the weekend, here is some of what you missed:
This 9″ steel dog dish is one of our recent acquisitions, and it is a great find. Following the end of World War II, Willys Jeeps were marketed to civilians. Several companies produced trailers for use with Jeeps, and one of those was the Henry Spen Model S, an all-steel 3/4-ton utility trailer:
Interestingly, the marketing for both these trailers and the Jeeps that pulled them was targeted toward farmers. This 1946 advertisement is one example:
And look at these pages from the 1946 Jeep brochure:
I know farmers and ranchers with Jeeps, but they mainly use them for checking on livestock (and for fun)!
I found this old, brass radiator cap a while back, and I have never seen another like it:
It is embossed with the name “Douglas,” and I can only assume it is a product of the Douglas Motors Company that was once located in Omaha. The Douglas story begins with another Nebraska-made car called the Drummond. The Drummond was initially offered in a four and six-cylinder in 1916, and then became the Drummond Eight for the 1917 model year. This early V-8 automobile was powered by a Herschell-Spillman engine.
In 1917, the Douglas Motor Corporation organized to take over the Drummond Motor Company and sent solicitors all over the state to find investors. Notice the emphasis the advertisements (below) place on the high returns generated by investment in other automobile companies like Ford. By the time the campaign for the sale of stock was over, Douglas had sold half a million dollars in shares to 900 shareholders.
One of the new shareholders was rancher George Christopher who hailed from Nebraska’s largest county, Cherry County, located on the border with South Dakota in the magnificent Sandhills region. At a stormy shareholder meeting in 1918, charges of “gross extravagance” were leveled against the managers of the company. Apparently a charismatic sort, Christopher rose and gave a rousing speech in an effort to convince the others he should serve on the board. He received nearly everyone’s vote and moved to Omaha where he was soon running the company.
The Douglas was a 1.5-ton truck powered by a Buda engine and was advertised as “The Farmer’s Friend.” Many other parts with familiar brands were also utilized in the building of this truck as seen in this 1919 advertisement:
Sometime before 1920, the company moved from its original location at 26th and Farnam to a new home at 30th and Sprague. The factory had a capacity of 10 trucks per day, plus passenger cars. The cars being manufactured were now called Douglas Eights but were still being built with Herschell-Spillman engines.
This surviving example of a 1920 Douglas Truck is located at Shoemaker’s Travel Center in Lincoln:
The company flourished for a time due to the post-war boom, but financial struggles led to the company’s sale to the Nebraska Auto & Truck Manufacturing Company, led by L. C. Nash, in 1925. The purchase included the rights to the name “Douglas Trucks” and, according to a 1926 article, the trucks were being sold in the states neighboring Nebraska in every direction as well as Oklahoma and Texas.
Douglas Trucks were an early pioneer of the twin axle six-wheel truck, an ancestor of modern semi-trucks. This story about Douglas introducing the six-wheel truck to the Midwest appeared in 1928:
These ads appeared the following year, 1929:
There isn’t much information available regarding the closing of the company, but I did find this advertisement from 1936. It appears Douglas was likely yet another victim of the Great Depression.
You have probably heard some incorrect theories ventured regarding the meaning of the “BLC” logo on old car parts. For instance, here are some things it does NOT stand for:
Buick LaSalle Cadillac
Bright Light Company
Best Light Company
British Light Company
The BLC on those old parts actually stands for “Brown-Lipe-Chapin,” named for Alexander T. Brown, W. C. Lipe, and H. Winfield Chapin. Although Brown and Lipe’s brother, Charles, had gone into business in the 1890s, BLC was not incorporated until 1910. Located in Syracuse, New York, the business specialized in the manufacturing of automobile differentials, transmission gears, and clutches.
In 1917, it was announced that General Motors was in the mood to buy and would be acquiring BLC:
The purchase of BLC fell through due to “legal difficulties,” but some of the other “automobile accessories concerns” referenced in the above article and acquired by Durant and GM included familiar names like Klaxon, Delco, and Remy. BLC continued to prosper and was frequently mentioned in automobile advertisements like these:
Chevrolet used BLC gears, too. This 1918 advertisement makes the point that Chevrolet utilizes the same parts used by America’s finest cars, and it states that BLC gears were adopted as standard equipment by 80% of automobile and truck manufacturers:
By the early twenties more than 50% of BLC’s output was going to GM, and GM announced that it was purchasing BLC in December of 1922:
The BLC factory closed during the Depression and then reopened in 1936 as part of GM’s $50 million expansion project. BLC became a division of GM’s Guide Lamp and, instead of gears, began making chrome parts like bumper guards, lights, and hood ornaments.
This is an interesting snapshot of the GM empire in 1937:
Like the rest of the automobile industry, BLC soon retooled to join the war effort. By December of 1940, it was reported that the company was equipped to turn out machine guns en masse. BLC manufactured Brownings including the .50 caliber “stinger.”
BLC became its own division again in 1942:
After the war, BLC returned to making automobile parts, although it was also awarded the defense contract for the making of the Curtis-Wright J-65 Sapphire jet engine in the 1950s.
The last chapter of BLC’s history was written in December of 1961 when it was consolidated into the Ternstedt Division, making Ternstedt GM’s third largest division. The BLC logo lives on, however, on so many old lights, bumper guards, and emblems.
Sources:
Advertisement. Chevrolet. The Pomona Progress, 5 Feb. 1918, p. 3.
Advertisement. Davis. Houston Daily Post, 19 Nov. 1916, p. 25.
Advertisement. Daniels. The Allentown Morning Call, 27 Oct. 1915, p. 8.
Advertisement. General Motors. Detroit Free Press, 6 Jul 1943, p. 14.
“Auto Men Put 100 Millions into Expansion.” The Herald Press [ Detroit], 6 Feb. 1936, p. 3.
“Auto Plants Are Geared for War Production.” Morgan County News, 30 Jan 1942, p. 3.
“Company Incorporated.” The Buffalo Enquirer, 3 Feb. 1910, p. 2.
“General Motors Acquires Brown-Lipe-Chapin Co.” The Buffalo Enquirer, 29 Dec. 1922, p. 5.
“General Motors Buys Brown-Lipe-Chapin Co,” The Muncie Morning Star, 29 Dec. 1922, p. 17.
“General Motors Empire Harried by Strikes.” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 10 Jan 1937, p. 2-8.
“General Motors Factories Start $61,000,000 Machine Gun Order.” The Boston Globe, 18 Apr. 1941, p. 34.
“General Motors to Have New Division.” The Minneapolis Star, 25 Jun. 1942, p. 28.
Greenburg, Abe. “’42 Auto Models Seen Certain, Despite War.” Daily News [New York], 29 Dec 1940, p. 217.
“More for Motors Co.” Muncie Evening Press, 11 Oct 1916, p. 6.
“United Motors is Earning $9 a Share.” The Wall Street Journal, 30 Apr. 1917, p. 6.
“United Motors is Parent Now for Big Added Firm.” Detroit Free Press, 5 Nov 1916, p. 2.
The markings on this piece indicate that it is a “Jet Aerial Booster” and that it was made by the Fulton Company in Milwaukee:
As you can see from the following 1950 advertisement, this rocket-shaped accessory fastened to your car antenna and was supposed to improve radio reception. It was available in four colors: red, green, blue and pearl-gray.
This one even has what appears to be the original vinyl streamers. I do wonder if this device actually made the radio stations come in any clearer.
Just for fun, here is the rest of that 1950 advertisement. As someone who grew up where it is blazing hot in the summer, frigid cold in the winter, and with a father who protected his car interiors at all costs, I developed a strong dislike for those awful plastic seat covers.
My Dad’s ’55 Chevy (parked behind my ’78 Mustang). Photo was taken some time in the late 1980s.
The November 1920 issue of Motordom magazine reported that 173 people had been “run down by motor vehicles” during the month of October alone. Check out the chart that follows, and you will realize that number pales in comparison to some of the previous months.
That same year, a number of media outlets reported that the Chief Clerk of the City Engineering Department in Rochester, New York, had proposed a “Traffic Code for Pedestrians.” I can’t find any evidence that such a person actually existed, and I think maybe the newspapers and magazines that reprinted it fell for a hoax. It is pretty funny, though, especially if you like dark humor. This is how is appeared in 1920, but I will re-type it after the image in case it is difficult to read:
Traffic Code for Pedestrians
Proposed by Eddie C. Wilman, Chief Clerk, City Engineering Department, Rochester, N.Y.
Rule 1 – Pedestrians crossing boulevards at night shall wear a white light in front and a red light in the rear.
Rule 2 – Before turning to the right or the left the pedestrian shall give three short blasts on a horn at least three inches in diameter.
Rule 3 – When an inexperienced driver is made nervous by a pedestrian he shall indicate the same and the pedestrian shall hide behind a tree until the automobile has passed.
Rule 4 – Pedestrians shall not carry in their pockets any substances which when broken will be apt to cut automobile tires.
Rule 5 – In dodging automobiles pedestrians shall not run more than seven miles an hour.
Rule 6 – Pedestrians must register at the beginning of each year and pay a license fee of $5.00.
Rule 7 – Pedestrians will not be allowed to emit cigarette smoke on any boulevard in an offensive and unnecessary manner.
Rule 8 – Each pedestrian before receiving his license to walk upon a boulevard must demonstrate before an examining board his skill in dodging, leaping, crawling, and extricating himself from machinery.
Rule 9 – Pedestrians will be held responsible for all damage done to automobiles or their occupants in collision.
This 1920 one-page advertisement for United States Rubber Company’s Royal Cord tires contains so much history:
The text of the advertisement reads:
“Two great aids in the advancement of motor travel –
U.S. ‘Royal Cord’ – the height of perfection in modern tire construction, insuring the traveler ease and riding comfort.
The Modern Hotel – monument of engineering skill – a haven of rest at the journey’s end.
U.S. ‘Royal Cord’ records for long service and dependability are worthy of your consideration.
United States Tires are Good Tires”
The “modern hotel” shown at the center of the picture is the Commodore, named for “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt and built to service Grand Central Station in New York in 1919 with 2,000 beautiful rooms. The Commodore was renovated by Donald Trump in the 1970s and rebranded a Grand Hyatt. It is now apparently scheduled to be demolished and replaced by something new. United States Rubber was one of the 12 titans of industry that comprised the Dow Jones Industrial Average at its inception in 1896, and the company’s longtime slogan, “United States Tires are Good Tires,” makes an appearance in this particular ad. In the 1960s, the company changed its name to the more familiar name of Uniroyal and became known for its iconic Tiger Paw tires.
This 1964 advertisement references the Pontiac GTO as “the wildest thing in Detroit, ” a tiger that obviously needs tiger paws.
