Next Meeting… a Compilation by Larry Hassel (Part 1 of a Series) Friday, March 15Th 2019 at Logan Uni- Versity (6:30 PM—EARLY START)
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Locust Street (Automobile Row)...How It Came to Be… Next Meeting… A Compilation By Larry Hassel (Part 1 of a Series) Friday, March 15th 2019 at Logan Uni- versity (6:30 PM—EARLY START) he automobile was probably the single most significant technology to im- Cafeteria (The Luck of the Irish...St. Pat- th T pact the early 20 century and beyond. While we, as a young nation, were rick’s Day Food and Celebration—Luck of we well into the industrial revolution and inventions and development were occurring the Irish...translated—NO SNOW!) rapidly, it was the automobile that spelled doom for the horse as a primary means of transportation. St. Louis was the epicenter of much of this for a number of reasons. Geographically, St. Louis was the center of the nation, connected by the vast Missis- sippi waterway that connected north and south, the Illinois River that connected to Chicago and the Ohio which took commerce eastward and as the gateway to the rapid- ly expanding west, the Missouri River. Railroads bridged the gap from East to West. The Eads bridge meant the Mississippi River was on longer a natural barrier even though large rail ferries had conquered the crossing. The 1904 World’s Fair brought all eyes on St. Louis from across the globe. One of the inventions show- cased there was the automobile. Even then a huge cultural shift was occurring. 1904 perhaps cemented the presence of the auto- mobile in St. Louis. The introduction, development, and use of the automobile was clearly influencing almost every aspect of society and culture. Its presence in St. Louis was revolutionary - a pioneering effort that began as a sport for the wealthy and ended up forever changing the appearance of the city and the nation. During its years of ear- ly development, the automobile was strictly associated with the rich and was perhaps more of a novelty and curiosity. It was a "status symbol for those with money to waste" on something con- sidered more of a toy than a utilitarian device. Most nineteenth- century Americans never believed that the automobile (and motorized transportation) would replace the horse, let alone change nearly every aspect of their lives. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Automobile ownership ascended rapidly after 1910 as the vehicle became relatively af- • President’s Column fordable to the average individual or at least family unit. This may be attributed to stand- • The Greater St. Louis Auto Show ardization and mass assembly production techniques, introduced by Ransom Eli Olds in Horseless Carriage Club Presence 1901 and ultimately perfected and employed by Henry Ford in 1913 with his Model T at his newly opened Highland • Updated Activity Calendar for Park Plant in Detroit. In 1910, Americans owned an average 2019 of 500,000 automobile. That seems like a small number but • The 75th...Progress Being Made consider the roadways and places where the automobile • Judging Seminar Information could be used, which was mostly in the larger cities and towns. There were no interstates as we know them today • St. Pat’s Parade...Participation and little expansion had really taken place west of the Mis- continued on page 5 1 Officers/Directors The President’s President Column… Larry Hassel (636) 391-8783 By 1st Vice-President/Programs Larry Hassel Joseph Yochim (314) 602-9498 2nd Vice-President/Membership Al Mercer (636) 928-8672 Treasurer Jackie Allen (314) 741-4158 Recording Secretary Sandra Neal (314) 368-1345 Corresponding Secretary Russell Neal (314) 368-2001 Directors John Hartman (2021) s car collectors and hobbyists, we’re also historians and when it comes to Aworking on our antique vehicles, we often need to research the archives. The older Dave Stephens (2021) the vehicle, the more historical knowledge you’re going to need to keep your vehi- Andy Dorris (2020) cle going strong. I had a service manual and owner’s manual for my 1928 Buick. I Neal McIntyre (2020) (Acting) used to love going to the auto parts store and asking for things called out in the man- Kevin Williams (2019) ual. Rather than 90 weight hypoid gear lubricant, the manual called out “steam cyl- Sharon Mercer (2019) inder oil.” That was probably something they used on the Titanic. I would go to the parts counter and request exactly as the manual called out and I would always get a The HCCM Publication Committee strange look….is that crazy guy in here again? Then I would start to laugh and show them my manual. Ironically, the distributor cap on the car had not changed Larry Hassel (Lead) between 1928 (maybe even before) and 1960 or 1970 something. GM was good 646 Woodhill Estates Drive about keeping things that worked. Why change something if it is operating success- Ellisville, MO 63021 fully? Same with condensers and points…little changes. 636-484-0227 As I sat down at the Greater St. Louis Auto Show, I thought about the car I had brought to the show…my new “old” car…the 1913 Ford Model T 3 Door Tour- Webmaster ing…plain, simple and utilitarian, that is what it was called and that aptly described Kevin Williams the vehicle that Henry Ford designed to put America on wheels. It was not a Scor- pion, X-5 or an LS-400. Those terms sound more appropriate for a full afterburning (314) 481-9111 fighter jet than an automobile. I guess that is what you call marketing and brand- ing…create some thought provoking racy/menacing term or maybe something like Special Events Coordinator “Forester” that is indicative of a get back to nature green theme. Do you ever won- Neal McIntyre der where certain automotive descriptors come from? Take the Volkswagen Tiguan for example. The name Tiguan is a portmanteau (combination) of the German (314) 494-0346 words for tiger and iguana: Tiger and Leguan. The name was the winner of a competition run by Volkswagen and German magazine Auto Bild (I had to search Special Liaison and Parliamentarian the internet on Google to find this…I didn’t just know it). As I looked at our cars Gerald Perschbacher on display, largely a St. Louis themed motif, I saw loads of nostalgia and what those of us in the hobby refer to as “Patina” for lack of a better term to describe tarnish, Easter Show Chairs rust, dents, peeling paint, etc. A car too perfect loses the important sense of history Michael Ebert and the story how it survived and got here. We call that “original-unrestored.” I Car Show and Swap Meet Chair thought about my little Model T sitting there on display adorned in so much antique Elliott Cytron brass and wondered in my mind…”If it could talk, what would it tell me?” As his- torians we like to know trivial things like miniscule details. I learned from Jim www.hccmo.com Schild that my little car was built on February 12, 1913 at the newly opened High- (314) 991-HONK Continued on page 3... 2 land Park Plant of Ford Motor Company (or so we think). That just a superficial image that’s captured a fleeting moment in time was a good reason to order a decadent French cake at LeBonne by the camera lens. I have three favorite pictures from the book Bouchee Bakery. I’m sticking with that excuse while I think of that stand out as meaningful for me. One shows a very young Marie Antoinette and her famous statement. That dated caused A.L. Dyke motoring in one of his products with his wife beside me to research the history of Ford up until my car was built and him and she is holding a parasol…he is rather dapper and she is a little bit beyond. It was in 1910 that Ford opened up the High- an extremely beautiful lady, clearly making a dramatic fashion land Park, MI plant and in October of 1913, the assembly line statement at the time and in front of the most magnificent man- became mechanized. All previous cars were essentially hand sion. The original negative we scanned was just about lost and it built on more of a “pulse line” configuration. You’re probably thinking that the old fool is rambling again and why are you getting your Brass Lamp so late? To provide an excuse, I have been working on a special collaborative project with Gerry Perschbacher regarding the club’s 75th Anniversary. You’ll see it soon, but it chronicles automotive production in St. Louis (second only to Detroit) and the emergence of HCCM in the form of a near 100-page book. We’ve both been burning that “midnight oil” to create something quite special for you and we’re excited to share this. I have been feverishly working on the development of images that were photographed or scanned over time. You’ll see many images you’ve never seen before. We’ve all seen the classic images of Clara Bow sitting on the took a lot of digital work to bring back the image and enhance the cloudy detail. The second image is on Sixth Street in St. Louis. It looked to be an event of sorts…perhaps a parade but it had to be Spring of Summer. The cars were about 1906-1910 and the men were all wearing straw boater hats in impeccable suits and the ladies were in ‘Gibson Girl” attire, smartly tailored with elegant spring/summer hats to complete the ensemble. hood of a Moon wearing a baseball uniform. We’ve gone well beyond those type of canned publicity shots.