1968 Transcontinental Tour

Reprinted from The Bulb Horn, Vol XXIX No. 5, Sept-Oct 1968, pp 30-40
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Hastings
Omaha
The 1968 TRANSCONTINENTAL
by Judith Henry
At the end o f th e 1966 G Iidden Tour in Tampa,
Fl orida, Mil lard N ewman cha llenged th e most stalwar t
o f antique car enth usiasts by announcing that a transcontinental re li abi 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 r e -run of the fir st 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 hand s and a surprising
numbe r volunteered de fini te in terest.
Herew ith is a
chronologica l report of the events which fol lowed the
an nounceme nt in Tampo.
1967
Th is is the view we u sua l ly hod of the Steve r~s-Dur yeo.
30
100 (more or less) owne rs of cars 19 14 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 we re tinke r ing , resurrec ting, restoring and tuning up in prepara tion for the big
adventure .
The Antonio Guerroros secur ed a 1911
Rolls-Royce from New Z ea land in order to partic ipate.
Warre n ond Ele anor We ionl
- Timc.s Square
*,
Albany
Chicago
Clevetan::d..........~
~s;n.es-•*--*$
'*
New York
January 1968- June 13, 1968
Th e ma il between the rest of the world and
Tampa, Florida, almos t surpassed the record Christmcs
volume , but Richard Flemings, committeeman from
Tamp a, managed to keep accounts stra ight cs participants registered, withdrew, ond changed their minds
innur11 erabl e times.
Tension increased among the
garage widows.
June 14, 1968
Car Hs , a 1912 Hupmobil e , didn't com e 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.
Th e 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 Imost as fast.
1911 Packard, Ti mes Sq ucre
31
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. "
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 Sch uster, 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 trav elers well and other notables including
AAA and N ew York Tim es representatives were there.
The d inn er ended with instructions from Millard Newman to appear at Times Square, ready to go, at 8:30
the following morning.
34
Passe rsby and guests gathered for the start and
the greatest of th e present day antique fleet, the 1907
Thomas Flye r, took its pla ce 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 pois ed littl e
la dy made inquiry among the cars for the 1910 Pe erl 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 th e 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 fro m 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 insp ection, 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 th e Mohawk Valley 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 th e 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 Chapte r 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 Ji m 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 Fl yer 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 o rd er 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 t he
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
assum ed th e whee I from there across Siberia to Pari s,
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 conti ngent was, of course, pl eased to hove
the opportunity to tal k with Mr. Schuster and shore
memories of his father.
June 19
C leveland's 125 red (and th ey 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 sympa thetic 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 li e f was obviously great when,
having been incarcerated for at least half on hour,
they were hauled to safet y by the gallant Ernie Gill .
An appreciative group of tourists a tte nded a loye ly
cockto i I party g iven by th e Tom Lesters .
Ju ne 20
Fourteen cars (on ly those w ith major ai lments)
were restored at the Linco ln Tire Company's garage ,
where a host of mechanics worked around th e c lock to
get the sick veh icles back on the road. The evening
res toration hour and dinner were in a uniqu e and appropriate set ting -- th e Frederick C. Crawford AutoAviction Museum -- where the tourists could admire
one of th e finest col lec tions of antiq ue outomobi les in
the United Sta tes.
Many o ld fr iends were there , includ ing Ruth Sommerlod a nd t he Norm Vineys.
June 21
The Stan ley Steamer was spotted along th e road
in a ppare nt 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
June 22
June 25
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 th ey 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 fea r not, this is not the last we w iII see of
these tenacious travel ers.
The coffee stop at Stuart, Iowa was one of the
high lights of t he 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 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 d ifferen 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
Malcolm Coxe, in a handsome new
w ith his wife.
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 t o numerous side trips to such places as Wes t Point and Niagara
Falls.
June 26
A bris k and ch i lly b low be li 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 t he city were roped off and a tremendous
crowd inspected the cars all afternoon. Kodak should
To dote 4, 867,233 snapshots
sponsor the next trip.
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
th e 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 afternoon 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 Tun ick 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.
Everyon e made Denver, including the She Idons (a Ibe 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 jo ined the tour equipped with a brand new Driver
Learner's Permit and the Maxwe ll 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 lig ht of the day was a cocktai I party at t he
36
The Thon,os Flye r o t Provo, Utoh
Three pi lgr ims, two pionee rs ond one ostronout . Capt ion:
"The y coul d hove turne d bo ck" . This struc k hon1e to the
Tronscontine ntol Tourists who went to Provo, Utoh.
beautifu l home of Helen and Arthur Rippey.
What
gorg e ous surroundings! And wha t fabu lous food! The
Eldon Ebys joined th e American La France and the 1913
Packard continge nt and two more uniforms designed by
J oanne Eby Sm ith, 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 th e Mill ard N ewmans
(although i t was given num erous 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
i n the 1910 Cadillac, misplaced her son, Ri cky, (he
was located late that night in the capab le hands of
Benny Goldfl ies) and was separated from her husband,
too, who hod water pump prob lems in the mode rn Linco ln.
July 2
Colorful Colorado - the country of campers!
Nine ty per cent of the ve hi c ula r traffic had some sort
of equipme nt for sleeping in the w ide ope n spac es.
Th e beauti ful Colorado countryside de te riorate d into
dese rt, but th en there was Utah with its spectacu lar
scene ry. The snow-copped mountains we re breathtak-
37
Inside Bill Harrah ' s Museum
ing!
Ken Shaffe r swea rs that he put a quarter in one
of those "Magic Fingers" massag ing beds, but that the
ma chine refused to accept his money on th e grounds
tha t he had already stored up a sufficiency of vibration
riding i n his 1913 Metz.
Th e Merrill Maxfi e lds arrived in Salt /LakeCity.
250,000 and th e patriotic themes of the literally
hundreds of e labora te fl oats made one proud to be an
American. Th e Sa lt Lake City Chamber of Commerce
we lcomed each of the touri sts with a personalized
souven ir, as th ey arrive d throughout the day.
July 5
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, Uta h in order t o 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 th e group), who had fri ends
in Provo.
Telev:is ion reports estimat ed th e crowd at
Most of the t ourists took adva ntage of a rest
day to see th e sights of beau tifu I Salt Lake City. A
late a ft ernoon parade th rough the ci ty was followed by
o restoration hour and de li c ious d inner, courtesy of
the Gulf Oil Corporation in connection with the
Chamber of Commerce. Ed French was summoned from
the di nner t abl e by a distraughtpoliceman who reported
that the 1913 Stevens Duryea was afire.
Fortunately
the conflag ration was confined to a side lamp where
Ed had stored some extra bulbs, wrapped in paper. The
paper was ignited by th e strong su n shining through the
old wavy glass.
Ed French and J erry 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 e ngine was located and
insta lled in th e Harpers' car!
July 6
38
The Hote l Utah ' s lobby wa s bust ling by 4:00
a.m. as th e old car con t 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 th e 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.
Th e Karl Summers
Judy He nry, 1911 Packa rd, Ju ly 6, 1968
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.
fying, as we ll .
No one could have needed anyth ing
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 7
N e lson Deedle, accompanied by Wayne McKinley, ra n out of gas trying to make a Gulf sta tion for a
fr ee refil l, but he had a much mo re 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 u nder the disabled Si mplex.
Young Greer
Goldfli es le t him suffe r for wha t mu st have seeme d
hours before he casually rema rked 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 th e prope r parts.
The Ji m Shows broke their
dr i veshaft ago in.
July 11
Anoth er full day with Bill Harrah ashost. Buses
were provid ed for a trip to Lake Tahoe, via Virg inia
City and Carso n City, the for mer a very liv e ly "g host
Many tourists stayed on to e njoy the
town ", indeed.
Lawrence Wel k Show in the even ing .
July 8
Most of the group were in Reno taking advantage of Bil l Harrah ' s k ind offer of the opportuni ty
for a q ui ck re turn on a sma ll (or la rge) investme nt.
July 9
Th e She ldons, Maxfie lds and Scorekeeper Dick
Hovey, made the 6:00 dead li ne easil y. They were, of
course, greeted by the " checker-inner", Mary Brown,
who shared th e d ri ving respons ibiliti es o f a modern car
with tra il e r (never nee ded) with Ernie Gill's wife,
Althea.
July 10
Thi s day is offi c ial ly li ste d 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 thoro ugh tour of hi s muse um containing approximate ly 1400 cars, should take a week at least .
Th e buffe t luncheon on t he grounds of the muse um was
not only fun ct ionally sa ti sfyi ng but a esthe ti ca lly_grati-
Some p lace in Utah
39
July 12
The tour left Reno, Nevada and recongrega ted
in Sacramento, Ca liforni a 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 consu n,ed a large
quantity of water over deserts 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 fee ling 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 in ment 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
Ernie Gill repairing his own cor! (He spent more
time fixing other' s vehicles.) Nice place to hove
o flat, though - Oasis.·
40
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 t ell 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 tsmansh ip
Trophy. Secondly, the "Sa n Francisco or Rupture" type
of dete rminati on that ran t hrough 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.
Breakdown on the Great Solt Flats, July 7, 1968.
Millard Newman, Monty Young, J im Thomas,
Curt Bloke, Ed North.
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 th e pub li c.
A ll were friendly
and interested .
After a II the cars had made the Berkeley rendezvous (all, tha t is , except th e 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 certifi cates, 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 cit y of
San Francisco tQ th e Hilton Hote l.
Torn Lester emceed the final banquet and had a
special verba l reward for each parti cipant, whi le
Mi liard N ewman and representat ives from Gulf, AAA
and Harrah's Autornobi le Collection, made presenta-
Leo Peters' 1912 Ford, California, July 13, 1968.
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 h is 1912 Ford on United Airlin es 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 Du nedin, Florida after 8500
miles of antique car touring.