Tag: theodore roosevelt

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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.

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Campaigning With Cars

The automobile affected every aspect of life in America, including how politicians campaigned.  The first President to drive a car was McKinley, but the first to make a public appearance in one while President was Theodore Roosevelt, king of the presidential firsts.  This Library of Congress photo  of Roosevelt standing in an automobile was taken at a later date, but it is one of my favorites because it just seems to capture him perfectly:

That first appearance on August 22, 1902, took place in Hartford, Connecticut.  Roosevelt toured the city in an electric Victoria, and was cheered enthusiastically all along the route.  Ten years later, an interesting story about the 1912 campaign discussed how the automobile had supplanted both the horse and railway for campaign travel and had been used by all candidates of importance including presidential candidates Roosevelt, Wilson and Taft.  It also described how the Cole Motor Company had placed automobiles at the disposal of candidates throughout the country.

Cole, named for its founder, Joseph J. Cole,  was manufactured from 1909-1925 in Indiana and was a competitor of Cadillac.  It was the second largest builder of luxury automobiles in the United States from 1918-1921 with 1,000 selling connections in this country and outlets in 58 foreign countries.  In its early days, the Cole won many road races and reliability tours while being piloted by drivers like Bill Endicott.

One slogan used by the Cole was, “There’s a touch of tomorrow in all Cole does today,” and it is true that Cole was a leader in many ways.   For instance, the company introduced a V8 engine in 1915 and, by the following year, the entire line was being powered by V8s.

Cole also pioneered the use of balloon tires and was the first to offer them as optional equipment.

In one 1924 story, a correspondent for the Indianapolis Star reported using her Corona typewriter in the front seat of a Cole while following a story:  “I have heard lots about ‘ballooning in a Cole,’ but I never dreamed that I would be able to write on a typewriter at sixty miles an hour in one of these cars . . . when they say you ride on a cushion of air when you ride on balloon tires, it’s almost literally true.”

In spite of advancements like these, Cole Motor Co. began to suffer financial difficulties  after the first World War. The company was in the process of liquidating in 1925 when Joseph Cole passed away at the age of 56, reportedly from heart disease.

Sources:

“Candidates Used Autos to Advantage.”  Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 24 November 1912, p. 20.

Cole Motor Car Company.  Advertisement.  Chicago Tribune, 18 August 1924, p. 20.

Cole Motor Car Company. Advertisement. Chicago Tribune, 9 March 1924, p. 14.

Cole Motor Car Company. Advertisement.  Topeka Daily Capital, 13 September 1916, p. 13.

“Joseph J. Cole, Pioneer Auto Manufacturer Here, Is Dead.”  Indianapolis Star, 8 August 1925, p. 1.

“New Cole Sport Car Demand is Large.” Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, 3 February 1924, p. 80.

“Operated Typewriter in Balloon-Tired Car.”  Bangor Daily News, 19 May 1924, p. 13.

“President’s Tour of New England.”  Scranton Tribune, 23 August 1902, p. 1.

“The President at Hartford.” Democrat and Chronicle, 23 August 1902, p. 1.

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The Marmon Roosevelt

Quick! How many cars can you think of that are named for a United States President? There is more than one (and no, Ford doesn’t count), but only one proudly features a picture of the man himself on the radiator badge. I am referring, of course, to the Roosevelt, named for President Theodore Roosevelt. The Roosevelt was built by the Marmon Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana in 1929 and 1930, and the radiator badge was a 1 3/4 x 1 3/8” oval that looked like this:

Regarding that famous radiator, Marmon bragged that “It not only has new lines – but new feeling, reflecting the staunchness, the energy, the character of the great name which it bears.”1 Everyone knows President Roosevelt was a vigorous man of action, but I like that they also invoked character. He often emphasized the importance of character, calling it “the chief factor in any man’s success,” and believing that, “all the laws that the wit of man can devise will never make a man a worthy citizen unless he has within himself the right stuff, unless he has self-reliance, energy, courage, the power of insisting on his own rights and the sympathy that makes him regardful of the rights of others.”2 Good advice then and now.

The Roosevelt automobile was available as a Five-Passenger Sedan, a Victoria Coupe, a Coupe with rumble seat and a Collapsible Coupe with rumble seat. It featured a straight-eight 70 hp engine and was the first 8 cylinder to be priced under $1,000. It was also the first automobile to come with a radio. By the end of the 1920s, three manufacturers (Transitone, Delco-Remy and American Bosch) were offering automobile radios. The Roosevelts were factory-equipped for radio installation, but dealers selected the brand at the buyer’s request.3  Like the automobile, the President was associated with many “firsts” as well. He was the first President to ride in an automobile (while in office). He was also the first President to own a car, to fly in an airplane and to be submerged in a submarine. How appropriate that Marmon described the president’s namesake as seeming “to invite motion – to be away quickly.”4

As you can see here, the Roosevelt was a beautiful automobile featuring clean, straight lines:

This is a picture of one housed at a local museum, Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska, but you do see the occasional Roosevelt for sale. Until I have the opportunity to own one, I will have to be content with remembering that President Roosevelt also said that self-respect is the most invaluable of all possessions, and I still have that (I just can’t drive it)!

 

  1. “The Roosevelt.” The Pittsburgh Press 21 4 1929: 79.
  2. Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (Np: CreateSpace, 2016), 16.
  3.  Tad Burness, Cars of the Early Thirties (New York City: Galahad Books, 1970), 256-257.
  4. “The Roosevelt”, 79.