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Enteri ng San Franci sco over the Boy Bridge
S Reno
an ~-----Franc~~ t Hastings Omaha
--·*-•*• ~ The 1968 TRANSCONTINENTAL
Th is is the view we usua l ly hod of the Stever~s-Duryeo.
by Judith Henry
At the end o f the 1966 G I idden Tour in Tampa, Florida, Mil lard N ewman cha llenged th e most stalwar t o f antique car enth usiasts by announcing that a transcontinental re liabi lity tour wou ld be he ld in the summer o f 1968. The original idea was conceived by Dick Hovey and Alan Eby, who me t with Mil lord N ewman to sugges t a re -run of the first leg o f the 1908 around the worl d race sponsored by Le Matin, a Pa ris newspaper a nd the New York Ti mes. To get a sampling of those who might be wi l ling to unde rtake the trip, Millard asked for a show of hands and a surprising numbe r volunteered de fini te in terest. Herewith is a chronologica l report of the events which fol lowed the an nouncement in T ampo.
1967 100 (more or less) owne rs of cars 1914 and o lder
considered Mi lla rd Newma n' s proposition and there were 100 (more or less) "garage widows" during the year-- spouses of men who were tinke r ing , resurrec ting, restoring and tuning up in prepara tion for the big adventure . The Antonio Guerroros secured a 1911 Rolls-Royce from New Z ea land in order to partic ipate.
Warre n ond Eleanor We ionl - Timc.s Square
Chicago Clevetan::d .......... ~
~s;n.es-•*--*$
January 1968- June 13, 1968 The ma il between the rest of the world and
Tampa, Florida, almos t surpassed the record Christmcs volume , but Richard Flemings, committeeman from Tampa, managed to keep accounts stra ight cs participants registered, withdrew, ond changed their minds innur11erable times. Tension increased among the garage widows.
June 14, 1968 Car Hs , a 1912 Hupmobil e , didn't come through
in the clutch and the Fred Hol le rs left it in Pittsburgh in disgrace, head ing for New York City in a troublefree modern vehicle. The y showed th eir good sportsmanship all the way through the trip, however, by frequently aiding crippled contestants. Bill Dawn was sideswiped by a large truck on th e outskirts of N ew York City and two fenders of his 1914 Rolls were scratched. A swift masking job, plus a sprcy paint bomb made the damage hardly noti ceoble. Roland "Speed" Zillmer shipped his 1911 Hudson by airfreight from California and if rules had allowed, could have gotten back a I most as fast.
Albany *, '* New York
1911 Packard, Ti mes Sq ucre
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The Thomas Flyer, Times Square, June 16, 1968.
George Schuster, 95, at ceremony in Buffalo at which
he finally received the $1,000 check promised him
60 years ago, being greeted by Judy Henry.
ii.,
Montague Allen Roberts in 1911 Abbott-Detroit, son of Monty Roberts, driver 1909 Thomas Flyer in ''Great Race. "
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Canandaigua, New York
June 15 Numerous strangers and many old friends
gathered at t he Sheraton Hate I where cars were safety checked. The Safety Committee, headed by Tom Lester, conscientiously put several cars on a tentative basis to Cleveland. Delores Harper took a 15 minute Driver Training Course, and proved ready and able to handle the 1910 Cadillac Speedster.
The kick-off banquet was toastmastered by the ever-witty (though non-participating) H. Austin Clark, who called on pioneers and newcomers alike in the antique auto field. Tom Mahoney, co-author with the redoubtable George Schuster, of "The Longest Auto Race" was in evidence, along with the very popular Gulf Oil Representative (Gulf provided a ll the gas and oil for the ent ire trip). Norm Viney and Bill Harrah wished the travelers well and other notables including AAA and N ew York Times representatives were there. The d inner ended with instructions from Millard Newman to appear at Times Square, ready to go, at 8:30 the following morning.
Passe rsby and guests gathered for the start and the greatest of the present day antique fleet, the 1907 Thomas Flye r, took its place at the head of the formation. With a tremendous roar of throaty exhausts, 40 participants were California bound. It didn't seem real.
The first of mony hosted stops was a coffee break at the internct ionally known vintage car store in Nyack, New York. An attractive and poised littl e
lady made inquiry among the cars for the 1910 Peerl ess and the celebrated Helen Hayes soon contacted the Curtis Blakes who took her for a ride in their car and fulfilled a luncheon engagement with her. Committeeman Alec Ulmann suffered damage to his lovely 1908 Mercedes and decided to withdraw from the trek. Benny X. Goldflies reported: "There was a racketfrorn the rear of the car with the sound of a ton of iron be ing dropped from a third story window and my view was suddenly skyward as the car kept going with no visible effectfrom the application of brakes. Aftef250 yards,
we came to a lurchy stop. Upon close inspection, we found the left rear wheel missing . Fortunately a farmer had witnessed the sudden parting of wheel from car and returned the former to us."
Rain, minor breakdowns and "adjustments" featured the first day's run to Albany where the hote l was suffering from fire damage and other problems. Warren Weiant, in his 1909 Simplex, won the J>.lbany Automobile Club Trophy for completing the day's run closest to the average time of all the competitors.
June 17 It was a lovely drive through the Mohawk Val
ley from Albany to Syracuse. The Bayard She ldons 1904/5 Maxwell swa llaw~d a valve which was reinstalled about midnight and the Jim Shows had c lutch trouble. Everyone else seems to have made the 6:00 checkpoint in Syracuse.
June 18 A huge sign at the Miami Motel, Canandaigua,
New York proclaimed "San Francisco or Bust!", the signa I for a coffee stop hosted by the Brass and Gas Chapter of VMCCA. There was much mutual admi ration of shiny cars before the Transcontinental Tourists continued toward Buffa Ia and the Brass and Gassers
Coffee step at Canandaigua, N.Y. with The Brass and Gas Chapter of VMCCA os hosts
went on wi th their tour of the Finger Lakes. The Maxwe ll swa llowed another valve and the Liebermons' i llfated Chalmers was rescued by the Jim Shows - the first of th e latter's many "mother hen" services. The Shows own a huge van with spaci a us accommodations for both peop le and cars.
The real purpose of the 1968 Transcontinen tal Tour was to honor the people and the Thomas Flyer car that won the incredible race from New York to Paris, for the United ~totes. No race in history can compare for endurance a nd sheer miles (more than 16, 000) -most of it w ithout benefit of roods. Enthusiasm was at a peak when the starting gun was fired on February 1st 1
1908in Times · ~quare. The crowd of 250,000 onlookers was so dense that the Mayor of New York was unable to get through in order to fi re the actua I starting gun. The New York Timeshod promised a $1,000.00 check to any driver who carried on American flog around the world in a car. Montague H. Roberts was the starting dr ive r, but left the Thomas crew in Cheyenne, Wyoming to return East for racing duties. George Schuster assumed th e whee I from there across Siberia to Paris, but never received the promised check. On June ]8, 1968, it was the pleasure of all the tcurists to witness the presentation of the $1,000.00toMr.Schuster, now 95, by a representative of the New York Times.
Dr. Montague A . Roberts, a member of the crosscountry contingent was, of course, pleased to hove the opportunity to talk with Mr. Schuster and shore memories of his father.
June 19 C leveland's 125 red (and they were al l red)
li ghts proved a strain on numerous cars, but abso lutely finished Merrill Maxfield's cone disc clutch. Dr. Belf's 1908 Fi at burned out a rod bearing and the She ldons needed four new valves. To add to Dr. Self' s woes, his 1967 Cadillac was sto len from a parking lot a t a Holiday Inn and we overhead thi s comnoent from a sympathetic tourer: (in a relieved tone of voice) "O h, just a modern car!" A number of lady touri sts got stuck in o n elevator between the fourth ana fifth floors of the hotel and their re lie f was obviously great when, having been incarcerated for at least half on hour, they were hauled to safety by the gallant Ernie Gill . An appreciative group of tourists a ttended a loye ly cocktoi I party given by the Tom Lesters .
June 20 Fourteen cars (on ly those w ith major ai lments)
were restored at the Lincoln Tire Company's garage , where a host of mechanics worked around the c lock to get the sick veh icles back on the road. The evening res toration hour and dinner were in a unique and appropriate set ting -- the Frederick C. Crawford AutoAviction Museum -- where the tourists could admire one of the f inest col lec tions of antique outomobi les in the United Sta tes. Many old fr iends were there , including Ruth Sommerlod and the Norm Vineys.
June 21 The Stan ley Steamer was spotted along the road
in a pparent troub le, hood up , driver peering into the depths, but - - happy ending! -Milt Harpe r was only hungry and invited solicitous passersby to shore his p izza which he wascooking over the Steamer's boi ler .
Near Rabbitt Ears Pass, Colorado 35
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June 22 Solon, Helen and Susan Spr inchorn didn't know
what a surprise Ju ne 22nd had in store for them as they exchanged waves with a modern car nea r Dixon, Ill. Some miles later they were hoi led down by the same car and the thoughtful st rangers- now friends - invited them for a delightful dinner. It was the ir way of expressing thanks for sharing the antique auto hobby with the public.
Chicago was the destination and four cars gave up the ghost . The Arthur Liebermans' 1911 Chalmers had serious mag problems, the Bayard She ldons' Maxwell needed a major overhaul and Dr. Self's Fiat broke its crankshaft. Also Wayne McKinley's Moyer was no moyer, but fear not, this is not the last we w iII see of these tenacious travelers.
June 23 A newcomer joined the caravan temporarily.
David Seavey, who had read about the 60th Anniversary Re-run in the New York Times, flew from Washington and rode in several differen t cars in order to record his impressions of the trip for the National Observer. A pleasant lemonade stop a t Dewitt, Iowa provided a respite from the heat, but trouble for the Shows' Marmon, which snapped its driveshaft. The Antique Auto Club of Cedar Rapids was most hospitable and helped several cars with major and minor repairs.
June 24 Most of the cars reached Des Moines, Iowa
wi th out incident, but the Stanley Steamer burned out its boil er and Milt Harper invested in a second-hand Lincoln, complete with trailer, in order to catch up w ith his wife. Malcolm Coxe, in a handsome new Rol ls, wa~ seen lurking near turnpike en trances after an announcement that antiques would suffer o 50point deduc tion from scores for deviating from the prescribed route. The other Tour Marshall, Martin Gordon with his harem, has ha rdly been seen at all, due to numerous side trips to such places as Wes t Point and Niagara Falls.
June 25 The coffee stop at Stuart, Iowa was one of the
high lights of the trip according to many of the toure rs. The townspeople surrounded the antiques like Grant taking Richmond, and a sort of impromptu town holiday was called, as the merchan ts simply locked their doors, in order to inspect the cars more closely . Accommodations in Omaha were among the best and many people were impressed that the cars were parked in a ballroom! The city must have been short of baked goods that day, as each car was provided wi th 2 or 3 cookie shee ts, filled wi th sawdust, to catch the inevitable oil drip.
June 26 A brisk and chi lly b low beli ed previous reports
of te rrib le heat in Nebraska and many blue-lipped tour ists developed a serni-perrnanent list to the south from having batt led the north winds all day . The Shows' mechanic, Carl Norris, picked up the troubleridden Liebermans in the "Mother he no.o van a t 4:00 a.m. and delivered them to Hastings.
June 27 The "Benny Goldfl ies Laundromat" got a good
workout on this rest day in Hastings. Four blocks of the center of the city were roped off and a tremendous crowd inspected the cars all afternoon. Kodak should sponsor the next trip. To dote 4, 867,233 snapshots have been taken and some 6,452 miles of movie fil m has been used by gogg le-eyed oglers.
June 28 Judy Henry Qleretofore driving so lo) mode a
great grab in the middle of McCook, Nebraska. There was her husband, Howard, on a street corner and he immediately hopped in the 1911 Packard to continue the trip as a left-seat driver (in a right hand drive car). Lillian and Milla rd Newman lost a bracket for one of their brass headlamps, but a diligent search of the
roadside by the Newmans, J erry Durham and Ed North,
finally produced the. missing part.
June 29 Warren Weiont reported: One very hot after
noon in Colorado, we sow many prairie dogs -some smashed. One live one sot erect on the side of the road, amazed at the approaching thunder of the Simplex exhaust and yelled: 'How fast will it go, Mister, and how much is it worth?"' Dove Tunick injured his right hand in a freak accident, and Fred Ho ll er kind ly assumed the driving responsibilities ofthe 1909Sirnp lex, unti I the stitches could be removed from Dave's hand. Everyone made Denver, including the She I dons (a I be it by trailer), having mowed the grass in Ch icago, answered the mai I, and done a complete restoration job on the '04/'05 Maxwell. Young Dunston Sheldon re joined the tour equipped with a brand new Driver Learner's Permit and the Maxwell took off under its own power, li ke a pock of turtles.
June 30 A variety of activities were made available to
the tourists, including inspection of Arthur Rippey's museum, tours of the area and of Colorado Springs, but th e high light of the day was a cocktai I party at the
The Thon,os Flye r o t Provo, Utoh
Three pi lgr ims, two pionee rs ond one ostronout . Capt ion: "They coul d hove turned bock" . This struck hon1e to the
Tronscontine ntol Tourists who went to Provo, Utoh.
beautifu l home of Helen and Arthur Rippey. What gorgeous surroundings! And wha t fabu lous food! The Eldon Ebys joined the American La France and the 1913 Packard contingent and two more uniforms designed by J oanne Eby Smith, added to the e leganc e of the aforementioned cars .
July 1 The big challenge , Berthoud Pass and Rabbit
Ears Pass was occomp l ished by all concerned. A modern cor persisted in re maining beh ind the Millard Newmans (although i t was given numerous opportunities to pass) and at the top explained: "We just wanted to se e if you cou ld make it!" Later, De lores Harper threw a rod in the 1910 Cadillac, misplaced her son, Ri cky, (he was located late that night in the capable hands of Benny Goldfl ies) and was separated from her husband, too, who hod water pump problems in the mode rn Linco ln.
July 2 Colorful Colorado - the country of campers!
Nine ty per cent of the ve hic ula r traffic had some sort of equipme nt for sleeping in the w ide ope n spaces. The beauti ful Colorado countryside de te riorate d into dese rt, but then there was Utah with its spectacu lar scenery. The snow-copped mountains we re breathtak-
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ing! Ken Shaffe r swea rs that he put a quarter in one of those "Magic Fingers" massag ing beds, but that the machine refused to accept his money on the grounds tha t he had already stored up a sufficiency of vibration riding in his 1913 Metz. The Merrill Maxfi e lds arrived in Salt /LakeCity.
July 3 The Shows in the '11 Marmon are trying to
compete with J ess Brammer ('14 Ford) for the dubious honor of the most flat tires.
July 4 The Ernest Gills, Howard Henrys , N.O.
Geisinger, and J im Edwards in the Thomas Flyer took a side trip to Provo, Utah in order to participate in a 4th of July parade. The invitation came from the Town Fathers via Charlotte Stevens {driving modern, but an amiable add ition to the group), who had fri ends in Provo. Telev:is ion reports estimated the crowd at
Inside Bill Harrah ' s Museum
250,000 and the patriotic themes of the literally hundreds of e labora te fl oats made one proud to be an American. The Sa lt Lake City Chamber of Commerce we lcomed each of the touri sts with a personalized souvenir, as they arrived throughout the day.
July 5 Most of the t ourists took adva ntage of a rest
day to see the sights of beau tifu I Salt Lake City. A late a fternoon parade through the ci ty was followed by o restoration hour and de lic ious dinner, courtesy of the Gulf Oil Corporation in connection with the Chamber of Commerce. Ed French was summoned from the dinner table by a distraughtpoliceman who reported that the 1913 Stevens Duryea was afire. Fortunately the conflagration was confined to a side lamp where Ed had stored some extra bulbs, wrapped in paper. The paper was ignited by the strong sun shining through the old wavy glass. Ed French and Jerry Durham (1914 Overland) have put over 6,000 miles on the ir cars this trip, since both have driven from the west coast to N ew York and back to Sa lt La ke City. Would you be lieve? -- a 1910 Cadillac engine was located and insta lled in the Harpers ' car!
July 6 The Hote l Utah ' s lobby wa s bust ling by 4:00
a.m. as the old car cont ingent was detern.ined to bea t the heat. Half an hour later, it was only 3:30 as the t ime changed just west of Sal t Lake City, and in spite of the advance billing about the pe ril s of the desert, the majority of ea rl y risers were downright chilly while crossing the Great Sal t Flats (circu lation was restored as the day wore on, to be sure). J im Thomas ' 19 11 White had bearing prob lems in the fan, but Ed North came up with the proper pa rts. The Karl Summers
made more than 250 mil es in their 1913 Overland and stopped early in Elko, Nevada . The rumor was {probably true ) tha t Tom Lester completed th e four day trip to Reno in hi s speedy 1909 Chalmers in one day.
July 7 N e lson Deedle, accompanied by Wayne McKin
ley, ra n out of gas trying to make a Gulf sta tion for a free refil l, but he had a much more harrowing experience after he had fixed a fl at tire. Miles beyond the breakdown point, he rea lized that his wallet was missing and must have sl ipped from hi s pocket as he c raw led under the disabled Si mplex. Young Greer Goldfli es le t him suffe r for wha t must have seemed hours before he casually remarked th at he had re trieved the missi ng wa lle t fr om unde r the car . Ji m Thomas' 19 11 Wh ite had magneto trou ble but Curt Blake came up with the prope r parts. The Ji m Shows broke their dr i veshaft ago in.
July 8 Most of the group were in Reno taking ad
vantage of Bil l Harrah ' s kind offer of the opportuni ty for a quick re turn on a sma ll (or la rge) investment.
July 9 The She ldons, Maxfie lds and Scorekeeper Dick
Hovey, made the 6:00 dead li ne easily. They were, of course, greeted by the "checker-inner", Mary Brown, who shared the d ri ving respons ibilities of a modern car with tra il e r (never needed) with Ernie Gill's wife, Althea.
July 10 This day is offi c ial ly li sted in the Trip-tik as a
rest day. Not so . It was a very fu II day, indeed, with Bill Ha rrah providing e nough entertainment for a month . A thorough tour of hi s muse um containing approximate ly 1400 cars, should take a week at least . Th e buffe t luncheon on the grounds of the museum was not only funct ionally sa ti sfyi ng but a esthe tica lly_ grati-
Judy He nry, 1911 Packa rd, Ju ly 6, 1968
fying, as well . No one could have needed anything more to eat, but at 5:30 we were treated to anothe r gastronomical and eye-appealing delight, fol lowed by dinner and e nte rtainment by Roy Roge rs and Dale Evans, in the Headliner Room of Harrah's C lub .
July 11 Another full day with Bill Harrah ashost. Buses
were provided for a trip to Lake Tahoe, via Virg inia City and Carson City, the former a very live ly "ghost town ", indeed. Many tourists stayed on to e njoy the Lawrence Welk Show in the evening .
Some p lace in Utah 39
July 12 The tour left Reno, Nevada and recongrega ted
in Sacramento, Ca lifornia at the Cal-Expo Fair , where they were officially greeted by the Mayor and Miss Sacramento. Mi liard Newman accepted a key to the city of Sacramento on beha lf of the group. N.H. Martin swears by anti -freeze as a radiator coolant for his 1914 Ford. Most of the cars consun,ed a large quantity of water over deser ts and mountains, but Marty used only one quart of anti -freeze on the enti re trip.
July 13 As the great day of a rri val approached, there
was a feeling of disappointment that the tour was coming to an end . As we approached Oak land and could see the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge, there was that indescribab le thri II of atta inment that only comes from hard work and having surmounted adversity. Also, as we pulled into Spengler's Fish Grotto parking area, the official end of the tour, there was
tions of the generous trophies. Mrs. Alice Huyler Ramsey, author of "Ve il , Duster and Tire Iron", congratu lated the tourists on comp leting their trip. She didn't tell us much about her feat in having been the first woman to drive an automobile (a 1909 Maxwell) across the con tinent.
Two main themes seemed to set the Transcontinental Tour apart from any other antique car function . The complete a nd friend ly cooperation of a ll the contestants was first and foremost. Indeed, the committee must have hod difficulty in award ing the Spor tsmanship Trophy. Secondly, the "Sa n Francisco or Rupture" type of dete rmination that ran through all the participants was amaz ing. At one point the tour was reduced to 28 cars, but 32 made San Francisco . Cars were rebuilt, engines and driveshafts were replaced. Serious breakdowns were overcome in some of the smal lest towns. A lo t of the spirit of George Schuster and company, the Thomas Flyer that went with us, and the Great Race in general must have rubbed off on us.
Ernie Gill repairing his own cor! (He spent more time fixing other' s vehicles.) Nice place to hove o flat, though - Oasis.·
Breakdown on the Great Solt Flats, July 7, 1968. Millard Newman, Monty Young, J im Thomas, Curt Bloke, Ed North.
Leo Peters' 1912 Ford, California, July 13, 1968.
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that feel ing of camaraderie tha t had grown throughout th e trip. As Allyn Roberts put it: "I think this trip brought out the pioneering spirit in each of us. Everyone wanted to make San Francisco, but just as strongly, they wanted everyone e lse to make it." California members of the Rolls Royce Owners Club were on hand to greet us and so was the pub li c. A ll were friendly and interested .
After a II the cars had made the Berkeley rendezvous (all, tha t is , except the Ken Shaffers, who had the terrible misfortune to break down just six mi les short of the final checkpoint, However, they repaired the Metz over the weeke nd and went back Monday morning to run those six final mi les). Millard N ewman handed out tour completion certificates, a car plaque showing the transcontinental route , and a marble paper weigh t with an app ropriate ly engraved blass plate aff ixed to the top. Times Square now seemed a million miles away and so did the rest of the wor ld of reality.
The final run was made from Berkeley across the Bay Bridge and th e n through the beauti ful city of San Francisco tQ the Hilton Hote l.
Torn Lester emceed the final banquet and had a special verba l reward for each participant, whi le Mi liard N ewman and representat ives from Gulf, AAA and Harrah's Autornobi le Collection, made presenta-
Too late to classify Bill Dawn got back to Knoxvi lie after 6 1/2
days of hard driving in his Rolls. Leo Peters, on the other hand, accompanied his 1912 Ford on United Airlines and greeted his wife on Long Island just five hours a fter he left San Francisco. "Butch" took the Weiants back to Ohio in a more leisurely fash ion . Eleanor Weiant, in her full driving regalia, frightened a little girl in a ladies room. The poor child thought Eleanor hod gotten into the wrong room . Those covera lis do give a rather questionable appearance. Dick Hovey and his brother Leon in their faithful dua l valve 1914 Wh ite arri ved back in Dunedin, Florida after 8500 miles of antique car touring.
