Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

This beautiful hack is made from
birch and cherry wood.

"The bulb is out on your
arm turn signal, sir."

Golden Days is an annual celebration commemorating the early history of Fairbanks and our Gold Rush heritage. It kicks off with a party at Pioneer Park that includes a Show and Shine. We take a museum car to the show each year, although we were a bit delayed on the way there with our 1911 Ford Model T depot hack.

As always, the Show and Shine organized by the Vernon L Nash Antique Car Club was a hit.

For some reason, the traditional wear for many women at Golden Days is a dance hall costume, which to my knowledge was not seen on the streets of early Fairbanks. The "Good Girls" felt the need to show our disdain for the "Good Time Girls," but the men seemed to approve of the latter.

Photo by Kristie Dickerson

The event also featured live music, free food and olde-fashioned games for children...

...and about $40,000 worth of gigantic gold nuggets to admire.

Of course, the highlight of Golden Days is the annual parade. This year Willy drove our 1919 Pierce-Arrow Series 31 touring car, which had the honor of carrying the winners of the Miss WEIO (World Eskimo-Indian Olympics) pageant. A great end to a fine week!

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Abigail Cucolo
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Corsets and girdles have been used for centuries to mold women’s (and sometimes men’s) figures into the fashionable shape of the times. We recently put two corsets on display as part of an exhibit on undergarments. The desired silhouettes they helped achieve are dramatically different.

During the Victorian period, the fashionable ideal of a “well developed bust, a tapering waist and large hips” resulted in a mature, firmly restricted silhouette. A split-metal busk at the front for dressing convenience and narrow boning that did away with shoulder straps created a curvaceous design. Extending from mid-bosom to lower torso and supported by a steam-set shape that emphasized the hips and raised the bust, the corset pushed the bulk of the flesh up and down creating the fashionable hourglass silhouette.

While wool corsets were worn for warmth, fashion often trumped function as the 1880s saw finer materials dominating corset construction. Sometimes seen as a rebellion against the severe moral attitude and prim exterior of Victorian society, corsets became increasingly embellished and seductive. Colorful, lace-trimmed, embroidered designs in fine silks, lawns, and muslins became the most sought after models.

With the rise of the health and dress reform movements, there was a great amount of controversy surrounding the corset. Advocates for reform protested against the harmful effects of this “instrument of torture.” They believed that the tight lacing crushed the ribcage, displaced and damaged the internal organs, and caused disease. Many argued to go corsetless, but that was seen as particularly indecent by prudish Victorian society, so more flexible, breathable designs with straps to relieve the weight from the waist and hips appeared. They were not as popular, however, and the mainstream corset remained an intricately boned, strapless hourglass.

Corset (1883-1895) from the
Victoria & Albert Museum T.84-1980

During the Bustle period, a new feature was introduced that attempted to bridge the gap between fashion and health- the spoon busk. With a shape that carved the stomach inward then expanded to cup the lower abdomen, this new busk was thought to keep the waist tight without pressing on the internal organs. It became the favorite model by the 1880s; however, its “improved” design did not lessen the harmful effects. Despite complaints by doctors and reformers, corsets became even more tightly laced throughout the 1890s as Victorian fashion made its last and most severe hurrah before the Edwardian period ushered in a new silhouette.

When the year 1901 arrived, a fresh look was in fashion that contrasted remarkably to the stiff, architectural silhouette of the previous decades. The figure was molded into an elegant, flowing s-curve by the new straight busk corset. Because of its straight front and long line, the bosom was pushed forward while the hips were thrust back, arching the spine and forming the fashionable shape (the forward tilt of a women’s torso could be so severe, that many women used canes or parasols for balance).This new corset was supposed to be more healthful than the late Victorian model.

Mme.Ines Gaches-Sarraute was a French corsetiere with a degree in medicine who is credited with the creation of the straight busk corset. She believed that the hourglass corset suppressed the bust, while the spoon busk forced the organs downwards. The straight busk, on the other hand, would support the abdomen and relieve the waist and the bosom by beginning below the breasts. In actuality, this corset allowed for even tighter cinching than any corset before and did not offer any support to the chest. The bust line, therefore, was low and emphasized the fashionable pigeon breasted, mono-bosom look of the time.

While the intentions to improve the corset and make it less destructive were respectable, they were misguided. The straight busk corset simply created new problems for the body. That elegant s-curve caused back, breathing, and knee (hyperextension) difficulties, resulting in the most harmful design yet through the fashionable extremes of a tiny waist and forced figure.

Though physically taxing, the corset as it had been known would not disappear in everyday-wear until WWI, after which women would wear more flexible corset like girdles to achieve the fashionable silhouette of the day. Even now we have not escaped the pressure to fit our bodies into a fashionable ideal- internalizing the corset through diet and exercise. And when that doesn’t work- hey, there’s always Spanx!

by Nancy DeWitt

We'd like to dedicate this blog post to all the wonderful people that have visited the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, especially those that have written a review on TripAdvisor. If you need more convincing to come visit us, check out the link above or this sample of reviews:

I'm sorry to say that visiting an antique auto museum was not on my list of things to do while visiting Fairbanks... HOWEVER... I'm so glad that our friends we were traveling with suggested it. What a wonderful surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the museum. The cars were so beautifully restored, and the clothing from the era made the display come alive. I felt like I was transformed to another time. The walking (audio) tour device gave each individual the chance to walk at their own pace and hear information about each car. I highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Fairbanks!

The refurbished autos were awesome and hearing their story, then seeing the dress of the day tied it all together. Loved having sit down areas throughout and the silent films were a fun addition. Wow, they really put those first cars through heck driving around on Alaskan dirt roads. Hearing about the man who made Alaska's first car was interesting and seeing the progression of the auto brought history up close and personal.

We were on a tight itinerary during our Alaska tour, so we wanted to hit the highlights of each stop. While an auto museum wouldn't be a logical stop on this type of vacation, the great reviews on Trip Advisor piqued our interest. This turned out to be one of the most memorable stops of the entire vacation. The collection of historically significant cars is truly amazing, and the recorded tour is very well done. Furthermore we found the staff to be wonderful. If you have any interest in automobiles and their role in Alaskan and U.S. history, I would highly recommend this museum.

Even the locals love the museum!

I have lived in Fairbanks for many years. My guests from all over the world are blown away by this museum. You do not have to know anything about cars to love this attraction; you do not have to be male. Even kids love it -- especially the dress up part.

Visitors also enjoy the convenience of staying at Wedgewood Resort and Bear Lodge, right next door:

If you are up this far north, you won't find a better place to stay! The Bear lodge is a first rate hotel with fine dinning, and a Great buffet breakfast too! Be sure to check out the Car museum! They even have a shuttle to take you to the museum and into town if you wish, But this hotel has everything you will need right here on site, It is a gem, this far north! be sure to check out the fine art on the walls too! The owner has Fantastic taste! and he shares it with you!

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

On July 29, 2013, a group of intrepid travelers departed Fairbanks at 10:15 AM to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Robert Sheldon's pioneering drive down the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail (now Richardson Highway). Sheldon made the trip in a Ford Model T, but we chose one of Fairbanks's very first Dodges--a former Valdez Trail stage on display in the museum--as our honorary chariot. We were able to leave 12 hours ahead of Sheldon's evening departure time for an interesting reason. Unlike Sheldon, who had to wait for creek levels to fall at night in order to ford them, we knew we'd have easy crossings thanks to bridges.

We only made it about five miles before we had our first flat tire (you can see the tire getting low in the photo at right). We were running on new old stock tires that had never been used, and the old tube in one failed. We stopped in North Pole, removed the tire, and sent Don back to Fairbanks for a new tube and repairs. Thanks to TDS, we were back on the road before long.

As we progressed down the road to Delta and Rika's Roadhouse, the old Dodge started to run rough. We were traveling at a slower pace than we liked, but the car still pulled the hills in high gear, running best at a slow pace of around 20 mph. Several stops to attempt to correct the problem didn't improve things, even using FORD parts (i.e., baling wire). Once at Rika's, we let the car sit and figured out the problem. Once again Don was sent to find repair parts. He located a coil and condenser at Delta's NAPA store, and after a few modifications we got the parts installed and once again had a great running old Dodge.

We spent our first night by the Lodge at Black Rapids, where we had a very warm welcome and a rare evening with no wind. We took a tour of the original Rapids Roadhouse, which Lodge owners Mike and Annie Hopper are working to restore. It is one of the few historic roadhouses along the Richardson Highway that is still standing. The photo at right was taken a few decades after Bobby Sheldon first drove by it.

On the second day we continued through the Alaska Range, climbing up to Isabelle Pass and Summit Lake. The weather was perfect, and there wasn't a wrinkle on the lake. A tour bus stopped while we were there and lots of pictures were taken of us. We enjoyed sharing information about Sheldon's drive with all with the tourists. Shown here is our group (l-r): Don and Nancy Cameron, Steve Carey, Ray and Jill Cameron, Dave Stone (with the halo) and me. Bobbie Hasselbring, a travel writer who came along to write a story for for Motor Home Magazine, took the photo.

Don has a very determined look in the photo at right, as if he is just going to walk the rest of the way. Maybe that was how Sheldon felt about this time on his trip! For us, we had encountered enough challenges to make the trip interesting, but nothing like Sheldon must have experienced on that first drive down the Trail.

At this point in the trip we all agreed it had been a great adventure so far, getting to know the car, how it reacts and what it likes. It had to be satisfying for Steve to know that all the work he had done on the Dodge's engine was first class, and that the car just might make it all the way to Valdez.

More to come................

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

A continuation from Part 1 of the commemoration of Robert Sheldon's pioneering drive from Fairbanks to Valdez in 1913.

As our travels continued, the nice weather stayed with us as we made our way south to the Sourdough Roadhouse. There is not much left of the original buildings due to several fires, but we stopped long enough for a photo in front of the rebuilt lodge. Sourdough was a popular stop for travelers on the old Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, thanks to its clean rooms and excellent food.

We had no trouble crossing the rivers and creeks (unlike Sheldon), so we made good time. We also had no car troubles until we reached Tonsina Lodge, where we had our second flat tire. Don, having the good sense to think ahead, had procured some "Green Slime" in Fairbanks while we were dealing with the first flat tire. Here was our chance to see if it would work on a tube type tire. Lo and behold, it worked great and is still holding today. We will order and install new tubes prior to the next adventure with the old Dodge.

After leaving Tonsina, the old Dodge ran like a fine Swiss watch, ticking off the miles with little effort. This photo was taken as we neared the top of Thompson Pass. Steve said, "I bet people seeing this old car coming out the fog are thinking it must be a ghost from the past." Once we reached the summit, the heavy fog and truck traffic convinced us to load the Dodge in the trailer and haul it down the pass. Safety first!

I am not sure that this was the correct turn, as we made the trip without a GPS. We did however, come thru with no damage, didn't even scrape the fenders! Wait, didn't we have an outside mirror on the car when we entered the tunnel?

This actually wasn't part of the old Trail, but was a tunnel in Keystone Canyon hand cut for a railroad that was to run between Valdez and Copper Center. Much controversy and a feud--culminating in a shootout--led to its demise. You can read about it here.

After the tunnel we decided to do some minor brake adjustments. My job was to make sure Steve didn't get run over while he crawled under the Dodge. We agreed that we may make a few changes to the brake system before the next big trip in 2016, when the Dodge turns 100 years old.

Here's Don in front of Horsetail Falls in Keystone Canyon, on a sunny warm day just outside of Valdez. We couldn't have asked for better weather. This was a great trip with good friends, in a great old car that once again has made memories for a lot of people.

Here's the Dodge at the end of its road trip in Valdez. The town made us feel welcome, as did the great folks at the museums. This trip took a lot of work and time to make it come together, and I wish to extend a big thank you to all who made it possible, and for the opportunity to be involved with this project.

I'm really looking forward to the Dodge's next big trip in 2016. Don and Ray will be in charge of the food again, Dave can handle the weather, Steve can make sure the Dodge is ready, and I will just enjoy the trip....

Top left photo of the Sourdough Roadhouse and Robert Sheldon courtesy of Frances Erickson, Sheldon's daughter.

All other photos were taken by Bobbie Hasselbring, a travel writer for Motor Home Magazine.

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Last week we headed south for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in "not always sunny" Monterey, California.

Tim Cerny, the museum owner, finally got to see our 1906 Pope Toledo Type XII when we rolled the car out of the trailer (above right). As you can see from the pictures, it is a stunning car, with nary a flat panel on it. Our friend Marlene refers to it as the Jane Mansfield car, "big headlights and lots of curves!" We had to fight the brass-tarnishing mist to get the car ready for showing, but we had her ready on time. Many thanks to Al and Paul Murray, of Murray Motor Car, for their hard work getting the Pope-Toledo ready for the Concours.

A real work of art lies under the Pope-Toledo's hood. The blend of polished steel, aluminum, brass, and copper are a sight that you really need to see in person, as the pictures just do not do it justice.

The right side of the engine is even more fun to look at than the left side. The engine has atmospheric intake valves that make a unique buzz sound when it runs, and you will be amazed at how slowly this engine will run. The advertised range of 200 to 1200 rpm would push the car from 5 mph to 60 mph without shifting out of high gear, a true "mile-a-minute" car as the company advertised.

The cowl on the Type XII Pope-Toledo is quite striking, with its brass rail following the curvature of the dash. A very unique oiling drip gauge mounted on the right side of the dash is a must-see (you will have to come see it in person when it arrives). The car was restored in 1956-57 and retains the same paint and upholstery that was done then. It still looks like new!

At right is the Pope-Toledo on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Course. Approximately ten-thousand people crowded the field to view the Concours and most stopped by to admire the Pope. It always helps to have a pretty lady dressed in period attire alongside the car...

We were very pleased when we learned that the Pope-Toledo won Third in Class (A1-Antiques) and the Ansel Adams special award. Next up is the Kirkland Concourse d'Elegance at the LeMay Museum on September 8, then North to Alaska!

Guest Post by Joan Skilbred

What are the odds of someone from Fairbanks, Alaska making a reproduction period dress, only to discover the original had also been purchased and was on display in Fairbanks too?

In January 2013, I was looking for a 1900-1910 dress to make for my daughter to wear during Gold Rush days in Valdez, Alaska, which occurs in August every year. I was looking for an attractive dress to copy that would give me some insights into construction methods and pattern drafting skills from that fashion era. After looking online at a great number of these dresses, one in particular caught my eye. It was a sunny yellow, and when I saw it, I knew it was the right dress for my daughter with her upbeat and sunny personality.

I began working on the pattern, first making a couple of test patterns and trying them out with a cheap muslin fabric until I had one that I liked. I then calculated the fabric and notions needed to make the dress and looked over my budget. It was a challenge to put the whole look together for under $200.00, but I did it by careful shopping over a period of 2 months.

I took advantage of store discount coupons and online discounts as much as I could. It was also difficult to match the exact dress as the print used in the original blouse is not made anymore, and the Chantilly lace featured on the original would have put me way over my budget. I had to make a decision to go with a nice ecru swiss dot silk charmeuse for the blouse and swap the colors on some of the original blouse colors from white to yellow to get a balanced look on the finished dress.

Finally, in late June all the materials had arrived and the pattern drafting was done. At last I could make the beautiful yellow dress! I started with the skirt and found it to be surprisingly easy to put together. Even sewing all those yards of black velvet ribbon went quickly and before two evenings were up, the skirt was finished! There was a glitch in the way one of the ruffles on the skirt was hanging but I wanted to finish the rest of the dress before I would go back to address that issue in case I ran short of time.

About the time the skirt was done, I received a phone call from the Pioneers of Alaska asking me if I would be the guest speaker at the Pedro Monument Rededication ceremony in mid-July. I was thrilled to be asked to do this and decided that I would finish the dress a little sooner, and wear it to the ceremony which is part of Fairbanks’s Annual Golden Days celebration. My daughter would have to wait to wear it until next year.

The next part to be made was the petticoat. One would think that would be an easy item to make, but it turned out to be very time consuming and difficult to gather all those miles of ruffles. I went online to look for an easier answer and found that using a ruffler attachment for the sewing machine would be the best bet. So after shelling out $60.00 for the attachment, I had all the ruffles gathered and sewn onto the petticoat in less than two hours. It was the best $60.00 spent on a sewing attachment ever! Finally the petticoat was finished in less than two nights of work thanks to that ruffler. I also discovered that the petticoat is worn with the ruffles to the outside.

Next came a delay, because I had underestimated the yardage on some of the fabrics, especially the velvet ribbon. I had to wait for the rest of the supplies to arrive in the mail before I could sew up the blouse which I made in two more evenings worth of work. I had also ordered a hat and needed to add some yellow embellishments to it so it would tie in with the look of the dress.

When finished, it took 6 evenings of work, 12 yards of yellow for the skirt, 45 yards of velvet ribbon, and 10 yards of gold fabric for the petticoat ruffles. It was a lot of work to look fashionable in 1906!

All this time I had only the photos from an online auction site that was selling the yellow dress to go by for creating my version of the dress. Working from just a few photos that only showed the dress on a mannequin was a real challenge, and I had to guess as to how many things were done to make the original.

Joan Skilbred models her reproduction dress with the original dress
at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum at Wedgewood Resort here in Fairbanks, and seeing the original dress on display in the museum! I could not believe my eyes, but there it was the original yellow dress right there in front of me! In my excitement I quickly told Nancy DeWitt the historian at the museum that I had made that dress. She looked at me with amazement and said no, that she was sure it was an original. I again said that I had made that dress and she insisted that would be impossible. So I took out my cell phone and showed her a photo of me wearing my dress at the presentation I did and then we both started to laugh. Before she could say or do anything, I handed my phone to her as I hopped over the rope and had her take a photograph of me with the dress so I could send it to my daughter.

Asyou can see the back of the dress is a lot looser in the fit.
This was necessary because it had to be worn outside with other
clothing underneath if the weather was chilly. The added room
in the back affords much more flexibility for the wearer.

The next day at the request of the museum staff, I did my hair up in an old time hairstyle and donned my dress for a photo session featuring the two dresses together. There are a few small differences, but the overall look is a pretty good match. When I wore my dress at the Pedro Monument Rededication Ceremony, the audience was very impressed. An audible gasp escaped the lips of many members of the audience when I walked up wearing my recreation of the fabulous golden dress. All the hard work to recreate this stunning ensemble was worth every bit of the effort I put into it. I learned a lot recreating this dress from the past and hope to work on another spectacular reproduction for next year! I think I will make it a point to stroll through the Antique Car Museum for some inspiration before I begin work on the next one.

Joan Skilbred is a professional seamstress and Alaska history buff who resides in Fairbanks Alaska. Her main trade is manufacturing outdoor clothing and gear This was her first attempt at historic costume reproduction. We think she did an AMAZING job!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

We just acquired a unique automobile for the museum--a 1902 Knox Runabout. We have wanted to add a Knox to our collection for some time, so this news is very exciting. Our collection's theme focuses on early American automobiles with significant or unusual technology and/or design features, and the Knox certainly fits.

Harry Knox chose to make an air-cooled, one-cylinder engine for his first automobiles. Most makers of air-cooled cars at the time used fins cast integral with the cylinder block for cooling. Because this only worked for light-duty engines at the time, Harry Knox covered his cylinder barrel with over 1,000 two-inch pins. Each pin has a spiral-knurled surface, which reportedly increased the surface area for cooling by 100%. The combination of pins and a fan worked well to maintain a normal engine temperature.

You can see from the photos why the Knox earned the nickname of "Old Porcupine," although some thought the engine more closely resembled a hedgehog.

Our Knox is being shipped from its former home in Pennsylvania out to California for some TLC by Allan Schmidt's Horseless Carriage Restoration in Escondido. I'm not sure when it will make it to Fairbanks, but I want to to be the first to ride in that scary front passenger seat!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

One of my first jobs when we were planning the museum was to determine what cars were the first in Alaska. We wanted to acquire identical or similar models to help tell the story of the Territory’s automotive history. One of the most challenging tasks was finding a surviving Pope-Toledo—the first kind of automobile in Fairbanks. It took several years, but I finally tracked one down in Kentucky and the stars aligned for it to become ours. My sights are now set on finding a Pierce Great Arrow and an Imp Cyclecar.

Crary-Henderson Collection,
Anchorage Museum B1962.1.1963

A few of the museum cars, such as our 1908 Brush, were purchased before we learned that they represented early Alaska automobiles. Our 1909 IHC (International Harvester Company) Model D auto buggy at right is another example. We wanted a highwheeler in the museum because of their unique design and historical role as “the farmer’s auto.” The tall wheels (40” in front, 44” in the rear) gave the auto buggy a full 18” clearance, which helped it negotiate the muddy and rutted country roads of the day. The wheels were set 60” apart to fit in the tracks made by wagons.

A few years ago I came across the photo at right at the Anchorage Museum. This highwheeler was photographed in front of the Paystreak Roadhouse near Nome in 1909. Lo and behold, it’s an IHC auto buggy, identical to ours!

Courtesy of Candy Waugaman

There was at least one other IHC highwheeler in Alaska. In July of 1912, James Fish, Jr. shipped a 20-HP IHC auto buggy to Valdez on the steamer Mariposa. In addition to holding a number of mining claims, Fish owned a dairy, poultry farm and general store, was chief clerk of the post office, and operated the Valdez Transportation Company, which carried passengers to Fairbanks by horse-drawn stages and sleds. In the early 1900s he had secured a government contract to carry mail from Valdez to Eagle by dog sled. By 1912 he must have decided that upgrading to an automobile was the way to go, as he planned to use his auto buggy to transport mail between Valdez and Gulkana.

1911 IHC Model A Auto Wagon at the National Auto &
Truck Museum. By 1910, IHC highwheelers were redesigned
with a hood up front, even though the water-cooled engine
still resided under the seat and no radiator was needed.

“... (Fish’s) machine will be able to plow through mud a foot thick,” proclaimed the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Autos were tried on the Fairbanks end of the trail two years ago in the winter time but never before have they been used on (the Valdez) end. The Fairbanks people have been agitating for an automobile road to the coast and if successful Mr. Fish will bear the distinction of being the pioneer in using autos for summer travel.” I have yet to find any photos or other mention of Fish’s IHC, so I have no idea how it worked for his mail service.

How I wish I knew what became of the Nome and Valdez IHCs, and if either survives! If you are aware of any other highwheelers that were in Alaska, please let me know.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

A few weeks ago my lovely wife and I headed south for the U.S. Bank Kirkland Concours d'Elegance in Washington state. We arrived in Seattle to a very wet and rainy Thursday evening, and while driving out to Monroe we encountered one of the hardest rains I have seen in many years. The water was nearly a half-inch deep on 405, and the wipers on the rental car could hardly keep up. We were also treated to a very bright and noisy show with lightning that lit up the entire area. Definitely not the kind of weather for taking out a 107-year-old automobile!

We spent Friday and Saturday at Murray Motor Car getting our 1906 Pope-Toledo Type XII touring car cleaned up and ready for the show. This included oiling the clutch and taking the big car for a test drive to make sure everything was working properly following its trip to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August. Once everything checked out, we loaded the car for its trip to the LeMay Museum for Sunday's show.

The day started out a little on the cool side, but the fog burned off and turned into a great day for a show--not too hot, but still plenty warm. The Pope-Toledo certainly generated a lot of interest among the show visitors. There were some other beautiful cars in the Antiques Class, including a 1914 Lozier and 1910 Buick. Tough competition!

It was very exciting when we learned we had won the First in Class award for Pre-War Antiques. This speaks highly of the fine work done by Al and Paul Murray (pictured with me at left, along with Paul's son) and their crew. They are now getting the car ready to ship north to Fairbanks later this month.

As you can see, the Pope-Toledo has some very curvy lines. This style of body is known as "Roi-des-Belges," which translates as "King of the Belgians." It was the mistress of King Leopold II of Belgium who suggested he have a car designed with seats that resembled her richly upholstered armchairs. The bulging, tulip-shaped seats and graceful, inswept waist of the Roi-des-Belges body caused a sensation when it was unveiled on a Panhard et Levassor in 1902.

The Roi-des-Belges body, also known as a tulip phaeton, remained popular for several years. It was used on several American cars and was carried by two of the first automobiles in Fairbanks--a 1906 Pope-Toledo identical to ours, and a 1908 White Model K steam car. You need to come see it in person to realize how elegant it is.

I want to send out a big thank you to my wonderful wife, Wilma, for accompanying me to these events, dressing the part, and spending the entire day visiting with folks. It always helps to have a pretty lady with the car, but this year we were blessed to have two of them! Many thanks to Marlene for also joining us, dressed in her pretty finery.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

Rotary snow plow used on the White Pass & Yukon
Railroad, Klondike Gold Rush National Park

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Last week Diane Fleeks from the Fairbanks Community Museum and I drove 700 miles to southeast Alaska, passing through parts of the Yukon Territory and British Columbia to reach Skagway. How odd that one sometimes needs a passport to travel from one part of Alaska to another!

My goal in Skagway was to visit the archives at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, primarily to see if I could learn more about Robert Sheldon's homemade automobile and the lady he hoped to impress with it. I left with more questions than when I started, but I also came away with some great photos of early cars in Skagway and several interesting transcripts and manuscripts. Many thanks to Karl Gurcke and Judith Munns for all their help.

Historic Fort Seward

From Haines we rode the ferry M/V Taku 14 miles down Lynn Canal to Haines, the site of this year's Alaska Historical Society and Museums Alaska conference. Our old hotel was once the bachelor officers' quarters for Fort Seward--very funky, but the view was amazing! From here it was a short walk to the conference in the Chilkat Cultural Center, a former cannery that was moved to its present location from across the inlet.

The annual AHSMA conference brings together a wonderful mix of museum professions and volunteers from around the state, as well as historians from Alaska and beyond. I was able to attend a workshop on using SketchUp to design exhibit layouts, and several interesting sessions on museum publishing, collections planning, and designing exhibits around a signature artifact.

A highlight of the week was visiting the Hammer Museum, which I first learned about when it was involved in a David-and-Goliath trademark dispute with the Armand Hammer Museum back in 2007. Founder David Pahl has collected over 1,600 hammers and organized them into a very fun little museum. Don't miss it if you're ever in Haines! Just down the road is the Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center, which does a nice job telling the story of Haines' history and the area's Native people. The Sheldon Museum shared some wonderful early car photos with me, several of which may grace our museum's walls one day.

I only saw a few vintage cars and machines on the trip, including a 1939 Cadillac and the steam-driven contraption at left. But, I made some excellent contacts with other museums, and gained some new documents and photos for our files. The conference was very well organized, and I extend my thanks and appreciation to the host committee, volunteers, and Museums Alaska board and staff.

Skagway and Haines are delightful little towns, although it's a toss-up between which has the most interesting nightlife. We were treated to live performances by the Windy Valley Boys in both towns (a very fun band!), but only Haines had the spectacular Salvation Army fashion show put on by the film crew for the Discovery Channel's "Gold Rush" reality show. It was a sight to behold.

We were treated to some amazing scenery on the 1,400 mile trip, as well as some cool critter sightings. I had to hit the brakes once to avoid hitting a grizzly bear crossing the highway, and we saw more bald eagles than cars on the entire drive. I've lived in Alaska 22 years and never cease to be amazed by her beauty. Come visit if you haven't!

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Our 1903 Toledo is a stunning car, and the restoration done on it by Horseless Carriage Restoration is one of the best you will see. One of several reasons why we want the Toledo's running condition to stay on par with its fancy appearance!

When we got ready to fire it up recently, however, we encountered a problem that I thought we had avoided: bad fuel. Our normal procedure is to make sure that we drain all the fuel out of cars that have a copper fuel tank, in order to avoid corrosion problems. When we had trouble getting fresh fuel to reach the Toledo's carburetor, we wondered if there was some kind of obstruction, but had no idea what we would encounter. Once the fuel finally reached the carb and we tickled it, out came a very green solution. Definitely not something you would expect to see in a fuel system. Hmmmm.

We finally got the Toledo started and limped it around to the shop. Once we drained out all the fuel and found that there was still close to a quarter inch or so still hiding in the tank, we knew we had located the source of the problem. So, even if you're sure you drained the tank, MAKE SURE IT IS INDEED EMPTY!

To access and remove the fuel tank we had to first remove the Toledo's side baskets, top braces, and the seat assembly. Once removed we steamed it out and cleaned it so we could remove its drain system. Next we repaired the tank with a sump to ensure that all the fuel was indeed drained out, leaving none to sour and make a mess.

Next we put in new fuel shut-offs so we can remove the carb in the future should it become necessary. We then cleaned the carb out and installed a new drain valve.

fitting from tank

This is the fitting we removed from the tank. As you can see, it allowed a considerable amount of fuel to remain in the tank.

Once the repairs were completed, we put in some fresh fuel and the Toledo started and ran like a charm. We drove it around for a bit, then drained ALL of the gas out and put it back in place in the museum. Thank you to the docents that helped clean it up, as it sure flings oil and makes a mess when it runs! The Toledo is now sitting pretty for the winter, waiting for you to come see it in the museum.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Abigail Cuculo
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Photo by Brian Bohannon

When looking at historic costume, the word “comfortable” does not easily spring to mind. Opulent- sure, beautiful- definitely. Romantic, stunning, intricate, and, of course, how could they breathe!? But not “comfortable.” It is rare to find a garment that combines comfort with couture. Luckily, we have two such gems in our collection, and both are now on display. With fine pleats hugging the figure in lightweight, shimmering silk, the Fortuny Delphos gown was the Versailles of rational clothing, and the two we have are in remarkable condition.

Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny’s simple, elegant, and unconventional Delphos dress made a debut in 1907. Inspired by the chitons of ancient Greece, the design reflected the fervor for neo-classicism seen during the Empire Revival. Indeed, with the columnar silhouette and fluted figure, women wearing a Fortuny resembled the caryatids of Peloponnesian architecture. Originally intended as a tea gown, the Delphos dress was driven by the ideals of the Aesthetic movement and meant to be worn without the elaborate underpinnings of the Edwardian period, relieving women of their spiral steel and cotton cages (in other words: the corset). Made in one size and easily slipped over the head, the mushroom-like pleats would expand and adapt to the wearer’s body, providing freedom of movement and making the Delphos dress incredibly comfortable- and incredibly risqué for the covered and corseted Edwardian lady.

Famous for the beauty and versatility of his textiles, Fortuny handcrafted each dress (and every feature of the dress) in his Venice studio (known as “The House of the Magician”). The silks were fashioned in a variety of dyes ranging from cool greens, blues, and purples to glowing reds and golds. Many were saturated with vibrant hues, and could be dipped up to 15 times to enrich the color. Hand-blown, Venetian glass beads were commonly attached to the side seams, weighing down the lightweight silk. To further highlight a woman’s natural figure, often the gowns would also be paired with a sash, belt, or cord of satin or velvet, printed in a design inspired by various historic cultures. The snowflake of fashion, no two Fortuny gowns were identical, and he would never use the same design or color combination on any two pieces of fabric.

The most distinctive and unique feature of the gowns- the fine pleats- were created by a secret process Fortuny never revealed. With silk being a temperamental textile when it comes to pleating, Fortuny’s method somehow managed to attain a near permanent pleat. It is believed that he finger pleated the silk when wet, possibly holding the creases in place with rows of basting along the length of the panel, then heat set the fabric with porcelain rollers. To help maintain the pleats, the dresses were rolled up and stored in little hat boxes (no folding or hanging! Woo hoo!). With each dress made out of 4-5 panels containing between 430-450 pleats, the process was incredibly thorough, and has never been successfully duplicated since.

Photo by Brian Bohannon
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

So basically, Delphos gowns were handmade, luxurious, custom creations, yet you could slip them over your head, shove them in a box, and never have to worry about steaming or ironing. It was the paradox of unfussy haute couture, a paradox beloved by enlightened women for decades. Soon, the dress was acceptable outside the home and was worn as sensuous evening wear by icons like Lillian Gish, Isadora Duncan, and Natacha Rambova (please look that lady up--she is pretty spectacular!). With devoted clientele, Fortuny produced his extraordinary gowns relatively unchanged until his death in 1949. The surviving garments have been lovingly maintained and can occasionally be seen on some of the fashion elite today. Timeless, unique, and rare, Fortuny’s gowns are prized processions of the lucky museums that house them in their collection--and we’ve got two, so stop by and feast your eyes on Fortuny’s fabulous folds!

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

My wife and I arrived at Hershey, PA for the annual meet on a rather cool Tuesday afternoon, and spent the rest of the day walking around the flea market looking for treasures. An ominous sky greeted us Wednesday morning. It wasn't raining when we arrived at the field, but that didn't last long.

Over the next few days we met up with and had short visits with friends from home: Ron and Nancy Allen, Rick and Jill Larrick, and Scott and Lynne Grundy. I sure hope they didn't float away

in the torrential rain that fell on Hershey during the meet.

I must say that I have not seen that type of rain since I was in southeast Asia during the monsoon season. We had 7 inches fall in one 24-hour period, and probably 10 inches or better in some areas.

The vendor numbers were a little sparse, and I think the spectator numbers were down as well. After the rain started a lot vendors never uncovered their loads of treasures to share, and many left early as the week progressed. The vendors that had tents up, however, drew crowds looking to get a moment out of the rain.

There was a lot of flooding in some areas, with some on/off ramps closed, so one had to watch where you were going. Thursday night I waded through ankle-deep water to get to our car, so that I could be a gentleman and bring the car to the ladies so they could stay somewhat dry.

This photo shows how vacant the flea market had become by Friday afternoon. Water was running through all the tents, golf carts were stuck on the grassy areas, and only the hard-core folks were venturing about.

I saw only a few Brass Era cars at the two nights of the RM Auctions, but there were some rather nice later cars. We managed to buy something for our Preservation Gallery--a 1910 Schacht Model R, which should arrive in Fairbanks in the next few weeks. It is a rather unusual little car and will make a nice addition to the museum.

All in all, it was another memorable trip to Hershey!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

The Pan Automobile was a fairly ordinary car with an intriguing history—and a distant connection to Fairbanks. The Pan Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Samuel Connor Pandolfo, who set up operations in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Within a few years he suffered a spectacular fall from grace, accused—perhaps wrongly—of concocting the Pan as nothing more than a sham to bilk investors.

Pandolfo had grandiose plans for his automobile and its production. He was a master of persuasion, luring numerous investors for his automobile by promising to build as many cars as Henry Ford. In just a few years he built a 22-acre factory complex and a community with over 50 houses for his employees. He had his engineers design a light car with advanced features such as fully enclosed, internally expanding brakes, a ball bearing crankshaft, and an engine with interchangeable valves and springs (which made it far easier to service than most other cars). Most notable was that its seats converted into a bed, and there was a "compartment tank" in the rear for tools, cold drinks and a reserve supply of fuel, oil and water.

To raise money for production of the Pan Model A (the company’s second model), Pandolfo went on a marketing tour and mailed out a flood of promotional materials. Some investors had apparently grown weary of his fundraising, though, and charged that the mailings misrepresented claims of output. Accused of defrauding his 70,000 stockholders, he was indicted in early 1919 on charges of mail fraud. Pandolfo’s defense team claimed that his company was a victim of persecution by the Associated Advertising Clubs, with which he had refused to do business. The defense tried to introduce motion pictures that proved the plant was producing cars, but the judge denied the request.

Despite manufacturing 70 cars during the month of his trial, the jury was convinced that the Pan Motor Company was a sham, organized solely to sell stock. Pandolfo was found guilty on four charges of mail fraud and sentenced to serve ten years in prison. Not surprisingly, this was the beginning of the end for the Pan Motor Company, which dissolved in 1922.

After serving almost three years at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, Pandolfo was welcomed back to St. Cloud by 600 well wishers and a brass band. In 1956, he moved to Fairbanks at the age of 84 to prospect for oil. He died here in 1960 after suffering a stroke, and was buried at the Birch Hill Cemetery. Although described in his obituary by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner as “one of the nation’s most controversial figures,” he was all but forgotten in our town. The St. Cloud Antique Auto Club (the “Pantowners”) never forgot him, though, and with the help of his great-grandson had his remains exhumed in 2011 and returned to St. Cloud.

Photo by Brooks Brierley in Autoweek

Of 737 Pans produced, only six are known to exist. Interestingly, one was owned by J. Parker Wickham, from whom we purchased the core of our collection before the museum opened. Mr. Wickham donated his Pan, shown at right, to the AACA Museum, which recently sold it at auction to a collector in Minnesota. Perhaps we’ll find another. One article I read said that Samuel Pandolfo was photographed in a Pan while on his way to Alaska. Did he drive one to Fairbanks, and if he did, what happened to it?

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

One of the many interesting, early-American engine designs represented in our museum sits in our 1914 Moline-Knight Model MK-50 seven-passenger touring car (#4674). The man behind it, Charles Y. Knight, was so annoyed by the noisy valves on his 1900 Knox that he decided to design a quieter engine.

Daimler-Knight sleeve valve engine

Rather than the popular poppet valve design, Knight's engine used a sleeve as the inlet and exhaust valve. It reduced noise so much that he called it the "Silent Knight" engine. He licensed the technology to different automakers, including Daimler, Mercedes, Willys-Overland, and Moline. You can read more about the Knight engine here and see an animation of how it works here.

The high-quality Moline-Knight was less expensive than other Knight-engined cars and the only one to feature thermo-syphon cooling. It also carried the first American sleeve-valve engine with its cylinders cast en bloc. In a 1913 test a Moline-Knight engine ran a remarkable 337 hours non-stop at wide-open throttle without any adjustments, setting a world endurance record. The company claimed the test demonstration the "incomparable superiority of the Moline-Knight's engine over the poppet-valve design," and led them to advertise the car as a "Wrecker of World's Records."

I often wish that our cars could talk, as we usually have little information about their

Parker Wickham

histories. Our Moline-Knight, however, is one of those rare cars that came with a nice stack of paperwork, including some original sales literature. Its known history starts in 1966, when William Hoffman of New York purchased it from a widow. Hoffman wrote that the car had been jacked up in an old garage covered with junk for 35 years. It was in original condition and complete, except that the clock and one of the jump seats was missing. Apparently the tires disintegrated when he towed it home.

Hoffman spent several years restoring the Moline-Knight, but before it was finished he sold it to noted collector Henry Austin Clark for his Long Island Museum. The car remained in partially restored condition until Clark sold it in 1979 to J. Parker Wickham of Mattituck, New York. Wickham finished restoring the car and painted it bright aqua in the mid-1990s. We in turn purchased the Moline-Knight, along with a significant portion of Wickham's collection, in 2007.

We had the Moline-Knight repainted and the seats re-upholstered before it was shipped to Alaska in late 2009. Willy says, "This is a very large car, and is not for the faint of heart, as it drives like a large, almost truck-like car. The Knight engine has plenty of power to push the heavy 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) car along at a comfortable 45 mph (72 km/hr)."

The next time you are in the museum, ask one of the docents to show you the Knight engine display we have in the shop.

Barb Cerny (L) with Joan Braddock (R). Joan is
examining a WAVES havelock (hat raincover)

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

We never know what to expect when someone shows up and announces that they have a donation for the museum. From traffic lights to old fur coats to a spark plug tester, each piece has an interesting story behind it.

I was definitely curious when Joan Braddock offered to give us her mother's World War II WAVES uniforms, as I had never heard of the WAVES, and we had nothing like these garments in our collection. My intrigue only grew when I later discovered that the uniforms had a connection to a well-known haute couture designer.

WAVES stands for Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services. The WAVES were an all-women division of the United State Navy, created in 1942 to free up trained Naval men for overseas combat. Although women had served during World War I in the WAACs, or Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, the WAVES represented the first time women performed the same duties and received the same pay and rank as their male counterparts. The WAVES performed many non-combat jobs, including secretarial work, packing parachutes, teaching flight navigation skills to men, driving trucks, and decoding German messages. Approximately 86,000 women served in the WAVES until peace was declared and the WAVES units were demobilized in 1945.

Noted fashion designer Main Rousseau Bocher created the WAVES uniforms at the request of the wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Known simply as Mainbocher, he was an American couturier who designed simple but elegant dresses and gowns for exclusive clientele, including Wallis Simpson, Claudette Colbert, and Gloria Vanderbilt. He donated his designs for the “functional yet feminine” WAVES uniforms. Each enlistee was given four stylish outfits: dress blues, working blue, summer grays and summer dress whites. We now have three of these on display.

Joan in her mother's "dress whites"

Not surprisingly, the Navy used the fashionable WAVES dress uniforms as a recruitment tool, pointing out the specifics of the design as well as its couture pedigree. One recruiter described one of her job duties as walking around downtown areas in her uniform and simply talking to people who asked about it. The outfits were so trendy that in 1943 the WAVES and other women in uniform were named as Vogue’s “Best Dressed Women in the World Today.” The WAVES took great pride in the comfort, quality make and fashion of their garments. As Mainbocher’s clothing was beyond what many of them could afford, their uniforms became prized possessions.

Joan's mother, Helen (Boettcher) Forshaug, served in the WAVES from 1943 to 1944. Following the war, Helen earned her Master's degree in Home Economics from Cornell University. In 1950 she was teaching food and nutrition courses at the University of California at Santa Barbara when a summer vacation lured her to Alaska. During a week-long trip with Sig Wien by airplane, she met a teacher from King Cove named Jens Forshaug, and within ten days they were married. Their careers took them to King Cove, Minto, Fairbanks, Douglas, and Portland, Oregon. Following retirement they lived at Lake Minchumina, where Helen resided until her death in 1991. She clearly treasured her WAVES uniforms and preserved them well. We are pleased to be the stewards of these garments and hope you will come see our WAVES display soon.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

I sit on the board of the National Association of Automobile Museums, and last week I traveled to Dearborn, Michigan for a NAAM strategic planning session. We met in the Benson Ford Research Center, where I was able to spend an extra day researching some of our cars.

The first car built by Henry Ford - 1896 Quadricycle

The Research Center is sandwiched between Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. The former is the site of the annual Old Car Festival held each September--if you haven't been to that event, you really must go some year. The museum should also be on your bucket list. It's not just about Fords; in fact, it's much, much more than a car museum. You can spend hours looking at impressive displays of airplanes, trains, farming equipment, furniture, machinery, 20th Century technology, and the current traveling exhibit on the movie "Avatar."

Of course, "Driving America" was the star attraction for me. This exhibit showcases the enormous influence the automobile had on American culture. Over 180 cars plus information panels, artifacts, and high-tech touch screen displays cover topics such as road development, marketing, recreation, employment, trucking, auto safety, luxury, and racing. I will post more photos over on our Facebook page.

1920s child's car seat

The first Ford Edsel produced.

Another interesting exhibit is "Presidential Cars." It was very sobering to see the 1961 Lincoln that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated. I was surprised to learn that it had been modified to add more safety features, including an armored steel top and bullet-proof glass, and that Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter used it occasionally.

Of course, the exhibits about the Ford motor car are excellent too. The "exploded" Model T has always been a favorite of mine, but I also enjoyed the Model T assembly exhibit. Here, visitors get to add parts and assemble a Model T each day, which is then disassembled before the next day to start the process all over again.

Yours truly attaching a rear fender

Alas, I didn't have time to take the tour of the Ford Rouge Factory or visit Greenfield Village. Hopefully I will be able to return to the Detroit area again some day.

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Another special car arrived at the museum this past week--a 1910 Schacht highwheeler formerly owned by the AACA Museum. Pronounced "Shot," the marque was named for brothers William and Gustav Schacht, producers of bicycles and horse-drawn carriages in Cincinnati at the turn of the 20th century. Their entry into the automobile production industry began in 1904 when they decided to attach a two-cylinder, 10-HP gasoline motor to one of their buggies. They would go on to produce 362 runabouts that year.

rmauctions.com

The company's slogan for this well-built automobile was "The Invincible Schacht." Unlike most other highwheelers of the time, Schachts were equipped with steering wheels and were water cooled. The runabouts were marketed as the "Three Purpose Car" or "The 3-in-1 Schacht," because they could be changed in five minutes from a runabout to a four-passenger car or delivery car by the addition of a rear seat or wagon box. Despite its attractive price ($680 in 1908), Schacht struggled to compete with the Ford Model T and General Motors. Winning a respectable 5th place in the 1912 Indianapolis 500 race wasn't enough to boost sales, and by 1913 the company stopped making automobiles and began producing trucks.

Although not a flashy automobile, we acquired this rare Schacht in large part because it is all-original, unrestored condition. We do not plan to restore it. Any old car can be restored to showroom condition, but a car can only be original once. It is very impressive how well this Schacht's original upholstery and body have held up over 103 years. Its top is a bit tattered, but that just adds more character to this old vehicle.

Our car is equipped with a rumble seat ($20 extra) but the original buyer didn't spring for the pneumatic tires, which would have added $30 more to the price. There is not much room in the rumble seat, which looks like it would be a little scary to ride in.

The car is powered by a 24 HP, 183-cubic-inch two-cylinder engine. It is a little different to put the crank through the right front fender to turn the engine, but with the crankshaft going across the car from side to side there was no other option. It won't take much for me to get this car running again. I don't know how long it has been sitting, but it hasn't been run for many years. The oiler is almost done and working like it should.

Here's a view of the engine from the left side of the car. The large flywheel includes the clutch assembly that provides power through a large drive chain to a transaxle in the rear, then to two chain drives to the rear wheels.

We're not sure how many Schachts still exist, and we've found fewer than 40 listed in American car club directories. We are looking forward to hearing and seeing this one come to life again.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

A few weeks ago I was with the National Association of Automobile Museums board in Dearborn, Michigan, and got a behind-the-scenes look at the Henry Ford Museum's conservation lab. Clara Deck, the Senior Conservator, and her staff were busy working on some interesting artifacts--a collection of spindizzies.

I was surprised I had never heard of a spindizzy. Also known as model racers or tether cars, these one-sixth scale, gas-powered race cars trace their roots to California in the late 1930s. Inspired by motorized model airplanes, hobbiests built miniature cars patterned after midget racers, Indy cars and hot rods. The cars were very finely crafted and had many of the same parts as a real car, just on a smaller scale.

The cars raced against each other in metal grooves on banked wooden tracks, or individually, tethered to a central pole. The tether wire was 35 to 40' long, and winners were determined based on average speed over several laps. The method of stabilizing the cars at lower speeds (seen in this modern video), as well as watching them race at high speeds, was dizzying; hence the name.

By the time spindizzies were exhibited at the World's Fair in New York, the cars were being produced by more than 50 manufacturers. In the 1950s they were capable of traveling faster than midget racers and Indy 500 cars, reaching speeds of more than 150 mph.

The spindizzy hobby died out in the 1950s, but today the cars are very popular among collectors. A handful of people also race modern tether cars, which look more like model rockets and can reach speeds of over 200 mph!

Original tether cars are quite valuable, so be sure to watch for them at yard sales or when poking around in Grandpa's attic. I'm thinking we need to find a few 1930s models for our museum.

Many thanks to Clara, Matt and The Henry Ford for the interesting tour!

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What's a Spindizzy?