Wisconsin Stories

Wisconsin Stories is a partnership of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television. Unless you're over 100 years old automobiles have always been part of your life. Cars get us where we're going. Most of the time! They're one of our most expensive purchases. Second only to our homes. The type of car you drive says a lot about who you are. Whether you like it or not. Hi, I'm Debbie Kmetz-- four-door, American-made station wagon. I'm Tracy Will. I've got a black two-door with fins "mechanic special" in the parking lot. It's the "Car Show," tonight... on Wisconsin Stories. Funding for Wisconsin Stories is provided in part by an advised fund of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin; the Estate and family of Lois Backus; the Halbert and Alice Kadish Foundation; and Philip J. and Elizabeth B. Hendrickson encouraging you to support history on Wisconsin Public Television and to visit Wisconsin's treasured historic sites. 1917. The mammoth Mitchell Motors plant in Racine, Wisconsin vering more than 45 acres upon which are located more than 50 factory buildings equipped with the latest modern machinery for manufacturing automobiles. When working at normal capacity, the Mitchell factory employs 6,000 workers.

Kmetz

Mitchell Motors Company was an industrial giant in 1917. Today, it is gone and forgotten. But just down the road in Kenosha there was another company building cars. When the Thomas Jefferey Company introduced its Rambler in 1902 it was only the second mass-produced auto in the country. The beginning of a long heritage now being celebrated at the Kenosha History Center.

Bob Fuhrman

This piece in the lobby is really a pride piece for our Rambler centennial display. This is an original 1902 Rambler that would have produced by Thomas B. Jefferey here in Kenosha. It is on loan to us, a five-year loan from the Museum of Science and Industry down in Chicago. We're really tickled to have this piece here. This is what starts it all.

Kmetz

This the first piece? This represents one of 1,500 in that initial year's production line. Jefferey, basically had a background in bicycle manufacturing. You see some bicycle hints in some things. You also see the wagon maker's art with the springs, and what have you. The body work, here this looks like it came right off of a buck board the seating. How fast could this go? Not really fast. It's got a 12-horse power engine. You might see 25 miles an hour. How did you steer this car? It's steered with a tiller. Now, from what I understand originally, Jefferey's design had a steering wheel but people didn't like it. When it came to production, he went with the tiller model. It wasn't until a few years later that he went back to the steering wheel.

Cait Dallas

We've got Rambler Magazines a publication done by the Thomas Jefferey Company. There are issues that are devoted to people who already have Ramblers. And they're filled with articles about the joys of people driving their Ramblers across the country. But he also aimed material at dealers. He had established a network of dealers for his bicycle Rambler line in the 1880s and '90s. And what he did when he went into the automobile business was to latch onto this established dealer network That's what this number is devoted to. He's telling them how best to advertise to his customers. He's telling dealers about what other dealerships are doing across the country.

Will

The Mitchell three-passenger Deluxe Roadster. Note the smart lines. The Mitchell four-passenger Deluxe Sport equipped for long tour. Mitchell. Now generally known as the "car complete." This is the Rambler Legacy Gallery. This is our largest display space here at the Kenosha History Center and our first display in here which you're seeing the initial grouping of. What we've done here is started out with the oldest ones in the display and kind of worked them chronologically around. So, over here, you'll see a '47 That's quite a car. It's just gorgeous. To think that we're going to have people come in who actually worked on these cars is just kind of a neat thing for us as local historians. The thing with the car is this is the final product. It's been lovingly restored by a collector. But the actual experience of making the car standing on that line day after day putting the same part on, hundreds of times a day that's lost to us in a lot of ways except through the people who are still surviving. We hope to eventually tap onto some of those people and find out what the experience was like in the plant. What else do you have? I see lots of things. We have some Ke-Nash-A Club News When does the word "Nash" get involved? Charles Nash had worked in the automobile industry for a number of years with General Motors. He comes to Kenosha and purchases the Jefferey Company from Thomas Jefferey's son, Charles, in 1916. It became Nash-Kelvinator a little bit later on, in 1937. What happens is that Nash-Kelvinator merges, then with Hudson Motor Company and becomes American Motors Corporation.

Kmetz

So, have you had continuous automobile production in Kenosha right back from Jefferey's? Since 1902, I think we could say. That was fun! How important do you think cars have been to Kenosha? I don't think you could overstate their importance. And in a lot of different ways. Obviously, there's this economic impact that when "The Motors" as they would call American Motors was doing well, the town's doing well. It really was so vitally important to what was happening in Kenosha in the 20th century. Today, of course, we don't build cars here. But the automobile legacy continues on because there is a Chrysler-- Daimler-Chrysler, excuse me-- engine plant still very much active here. I think of other facets, as well. I understand that there was a time when American Motors was looking for workers where they actually did some recruiting in the American south. Black workers migrated to the north to take those jobs. So, for a time, there was a little Mississippi newspaper that had a large subscribership in Kenosha. And it's just little things like that that I don't think you can over-stress the importance of the industry to the community.

Dallas

What's really special about these is that many of them take place in the foundry. This is really exciting for us because one of the biggest challenges here has been collecting everybody's story not just the story of certain groups in the community. And this collection does it.

Kmetz

They're really wonderful documentations of work. The U.A.W. was quite a force in desegregation.

Dallas

Right. Ooh!

Kmetz

I've always been struck, that, you know people say, "unskilled labor." But it's hardly unskilled. I mean, moving that much hot metal I'd call it skilled. You're all finished. How does it feel?

Fuhrman

It feels great. It's hard to believe that we got things done. And what's the last car that came in? The last one that came in is right behind me, here. This is a 1962 Rambler American Convertible. It's the actual car that was featured on the TV show, Th ird Rock from the Sun. One of the creators of Third Rock actually bought the car for the series. He wanted something "quirky" for this family of aliens visiting Earth. They picked a Kenosha car as a quirky car? Well, they picked a Rambler as a quirky car. What's the most important thing you've learned from putting this together? You start to appreciate it more when you actually work with it what cars meant to people. So, taking it out of its ordinary time and place and putting it in a museum maybe sparks memories or sparks reflections. I think it does. I guess that's one of the wonderful things that you're looking at cars that are made in the thousands. There are hundreds of thousands of the same model car made. But from that commonality when Joe Public comes in off the street that Pacer means as much to him as far as sparking his memories as the original one he drove when he was in high school. They're just kind of neat that way.

Kmetz

Early manufacturers wanted customers to know that their cars were tough. Because once you got outside of town the roads were tough, if there were any roads at all. That's why groups like the Yellowstone Trail Association were formed to help travelers get from town to town clear across the country. The Yellowstone Trail has been gone for 70 years now. But rediscovering its path through Wisconsin has become the passion of John and Alice Ridge.

Alice Ridge

John's father used to tell the tale of going to the Yellowstone Park, following the trail-- no numbers, no maps-- And when you came to a fork in the road you had to look for the yellow marker in order to move in that direction. This is fascinating. We all have interstates today. Can you imagine traveling that way in those days? So, I guess we got hooked. How far did the Yellowstone Trail actually extend? Well, eventually it went from Seattle to Plymouth, Massachusetts

because their motto is

"A Good Road From Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound." This was a big idea. Oh, it was a big idea.

Alice Ridge

You couldn't get across a county. Imagine driving along the road and all of a sudden there's a barbed-wire fence because the farmer has decided that no, that's his field, that's not a road. So, the idea of using a county to build a road across the county and then the next county to join up with that road and create a connectedness was the contribution of the Yellowstone Trail people. Connectedness was a new idea. Everybody wanted roads. There was mud everywhere. They said, "You know, if we got tourists to come..." Towns would be interested in housing and feeding them. So, let us make this a tourist route as well as for the residents. So, they sold memberships, if you will in the Yellowstone Trail Association to each little community along their proposed route. The communities were just dying to get on this road.

John Ridge

And the poor person or at least the non-rich person, could afford to travel. It surprised me to learn that it was no more expensive to own and operate an automobile than to own and operate a team of horses. And that's one of the reasons that it caught on so quickly.

Kmetz

Do you see the Yellowstone Trail as having a democratic component to it? Oh, absolutely. Heavens, yes. Camping was one of them, the great democratizer and of course, the auto was, too. Yes, the rich person could afford a bigger auto. But the bigger or the smaller auto in the same mud at the same time. They were in the same campground. The "Tin can tourists." They were opening the same cans of beans. And they found themselves communicating with each other. Because you were not a good camper unless you had a better story than the next guy about how long you were stuck, or where you got lost or the bear that attacked you, or something like that. And they would have the campground site spelled out. So, if you were a tourist you would want one of these folders from the Yellowstone Trail Association And it would tell you everything you needed to know about your route. And so, you could find this route all the way from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound? And where's Wisconsin? Here's Wisconsin, right next to Lake Michigan. There's Wisconsin. There's so many towns listed on here now. All of them were part of the Association? Yes, they were. And that's why they were listed? They had representatives in the Association. We could name you names. Yes, "Trailmen," whose job it was to watch out for the trail in their little village. Hi! Hi! I'm Debbie. Hi, Deb, I'm Bob. Nice to meet you. You ready for a ride? Oh, I am! So, we're stepping back in time. Yeah, I guess we're on the Yellowstone Trail. Okay! We'll turn on the gas, turn on the switch... ( engine starts ) There we go. Okay, we're on our way.

Alice Ridge

Now, how did people get along and get around without numbers? No maps, no numbers!

Kmetz

How did they do that? Well, they did that by following what was called the Automobile Blue Book. Look how thick this thing is! And in order to travel at all someone had to ride shotgun next to the driver and read how to get from one place to another. This is interesting.

In Amherst

"Four corners; bank on left; turn left; cross the railroad." And that's your directions. That's it! Can you imagine trying to drive and hear, "There's a bank on the right. "There's a church on the left. Turn left in one-tenth of a mile." Oh, my!

John Ridge

This makes finding the exact route of the trail today very, very difficult. Because old barns and trolleys are all gone. So, you're missing some of these important landmarks that you're tracing. One of the interesting spots in Wisconsin is in Owen.

Alice Ridge

There's a bar in Owen. And it used to be called Twink's Bar.

Kmetz

Twink's Bar?

Alice Ridge

And it has a bright yellow "R" on the side of it. That meant that if you're on the Yellowstone Trail and you're driving through Owen and you've got to the end of the street... Which way would you turn if you saw a yellow "R"? It's a test. To the right? Right! And that does remain today.

Kmetz

You've been able to trace The original route through Wisconsin. Yes, we had to do a lot of sleuthing some guessing and a lot of computer work in order to re-create these old roads. We found that they were wrong sometimes. Did you? Mm-hmm. Sometimes, they would direct you to go right into a bluff. They were wrong! But here, we have a jeep. We have four-wheel drive. We have air conditioning. Eighty years ago people venturing out onto that very same road they had no services. And they had tires that had the life span of a fruit fly. And they had, you know, not enough gasoline. The tanks were smaller, and so on. The shear guts that people must have had traveling 80 years ago.

John Ridge

The difference is, of course, that they helped each other. If there was a car that broke down everybody stopped and you got it going again. You simply expected to have trouble. And people went with it. They rode with the tide because they were adventuresome. They accepted this. If they weren't, they would be on the train. So, it was the pioneers in the pioneer spirit, the "can-do" spirit that really built this road. Now, what's interesting is the Yellowstone Trail got enough use to justify it being the first highway in Wisconsin to be completely paved with concrete. Hi! Hello, there! How was your trip? Oh, it was great! It was good. And you were on the Yellowstone Trail. Did you notice the concrete? I did. This is part of old original Yellowstone Trail. We are in Chippewa Falls. We think this is the original concrete. We don't know any different. So, one time, though, this was very modern. Oh, absolutely. Can you imagine driving on this compared to a dirt road? So, following this road you could get all the way to Yellowstone Park? And beyond. And beyond. Should we go? I think we should! ( all laugh )

Alice Ridge

When the state of Wisconsin numbered its roads-- the first state in the nation to number its roads, in 1918-- The only thing that would be allowed on Wisconsin roads was the triangular Highway Department numbers. And the Yellowstone Trail yellow signs were still allowed because it was such a tourist draw. It was so clearly marked, that it was allowed to survive.

Kmetz

It sounds like it was a very vibrant time.

Alice Ridge

Yes, it was. And it was a shame that the Depression came along and did away with all that vibrancy and creativity. ( high-pitched roar of race cars speeding past ) I know this was an early horse track. Then a dirt track. Then they paved it, what year? 1954.

Will

The legendary Milwaukee Mile is one of the most famous and beloved race tracks in America. And track historian, Al Krause knows everything there is to know about it.

Krause

To me, the Fair Park is the greatest race track I've ever been to. And I've been to more than a few of them.

Will

How long have you been coming here? I've been coming here since-- My first race was March 5, 1936. You've been here every year ever since? Every year, and I've got every program from the time I started coming here. You tell me a date that you want and I'll bring you the program. How long have they been racing? 1903. So, this is nearly 100 years old? Is this the oldest? This is the oldest race track in the country from the standpoint of continuous annual service or from any service. In the world? In the country. Well, I don't know in the world-- There may not have been that many closed courses that were running that ran then, too. So, this is a pretty special place. Oh, this is a gem. They've built on tradition here. Exactly. And this is what you've got to have. If you want tradition, come right here. Bring a knife along and I'll even cut it. It's so thick, you can cut it and move it out. ( laughs ) This is a piece of history that most people don't realize. Henry Ford brought two of his very famous cars here and they raced them. One was driven by a man by the name of S. Frank Day. His time to qualify came and coming out of the north turn a tire peeled off and the car skidded. The wheel caught on the fence threw it up in the air and... ( whistles softly ) Day went right off, over the top. And of course, he was killed. Really, he was probably only doing 45 or 50 miles an hour. But back then, an open car? Oh, my gosh! And so, that ended. So, that was our first fatality we had. And this track has been relatively free of that so let's not talk about that. Because so many innovations were coming about in the cars and the track, here and racing, in general, the metamorphosis was-- It was getting bigger. Was Harry Miller designing cars? Barney Olfield drove one of Miller's cars. And Miller said, "These guys are getting bounced out." So, he built a race car, the "Golden Submarine." This is one of the Harry Miller cars? The first one. Now, Olfield was in there. What Miller didn't count on the engine generated a lot of heat. And Olfield just... He's cooking in there! He was sweating like a hog! A 16-valve Miller. Harry Miller got better after that beginning effort. Oh, man, does that sound great! In fact, this Wisconsin native became one of the greatest automotive designers in history. And his race cars continue to hold center stage at the annual Vintage Indy Cars event. Now, how did this event start?

Dave Uihlein

Well, the event started because I have several friends around the country who are Miller collectors or if you really want to call,"Miller Freaks" that appreciate and love the great talent that this man had. So, I thought, why don't we get a Miller Club started then we can attract a few more which we have. Then, we decided that we should not be quite so stringent on our requirements which was pre-World War II. So, now we've opened it up to post-War Indy cars. Now we're going to go and dust off that Mercedes. How many of these cars do you own? Sometimes that's a secret, but I can answer it this way. Bill Harrah, out in Reno-- He has 1,400! 1,400?! And we only have 30! ( both laugh ) What's the thrill of collecting these cars? Oh, the thrill is in the great accomplishments of many of them and particularly Harry Miller who came from Menomonie, Wisconsin a little town above Eau Claire. And he was, you know, a genius. At least we think so. He couldn't draw two lines on a piece of paper but he had wonderful ideas. He was inspired! You bet! He was great at surrounding himself with talented people. And Leo Goossen, he could take Miller's ideas and put them on paper and do it well and improve it a little bit. And then, the had, over in the corner Fred Offenhauser who was a great German machinist. And he manufactured the bits and pieces. And then they put these cars together. Incidentally, they won the Indianapolis race 11 times. Eleven times?! Eleven times. Now, this car, here, was the first front-drive Miller. Leon Duray took the same type of car went to Monthlery, outside of Paris and turned 147 miles an hour with it 15 miles an hour faster than Bugatti, Mercedes or Alfa. That must have blown their minds! And Bugatti's mind was hard to blow so he bought the two cars, took them to Molsheim and copied them. Really? Copied Harry Miller's design. So, Miller's so influential not only here in America, but around the world. But it took the Europeans to wise us up.

Harold Peters

This is a Miller Ford. The interesting story behind this was Tucker-- of the Tucker car fame--

Will

They're just beautiful! Tucker was able to pitch to Henry Ford the idea of running some Ford-powered cars at Indy in the mid-'30s and convinced Miller to design the cars. 160 miles an hour.

Name of owner

Harry A. Miller, Number 10. I'll never sit in anything this cool, ever again! So, do you dream about it? Oh, I would say, "Who doesn't?" Anybody who's got some oil in their veins dreams about cars like this. An interesting thing is, though that they seem to be a bit of a forgotten legacy. Miller was one of the greatest auto designers in the world not only in America. That's not that well-known because he never produced road cars. He never had any major auto manufacturer backing him or any big money backing him. Money, for him, came and went easily. He poured it all into the cars. It didn't matter what it cost. Art and power? Is that what you say with his cars? Art and speed, beauty and technology. You can mix it all together. He was so way ahead of his time from an engineering perspective. It's sometimes hard to believe what you see here today. We're seeing "Perfect Circle Miller." Tell me about that. Frank Lockhart drove that car

up to a world record

172 miles an hour. Pretty incredible. Aerodynamic styling? Yes. Only 18 inches wide. Get a shoehorn to fit in? Exactly! You really had to be like a modern-day jockey to get in to those. Very aerodynamic, well-handling for the era and well-built. They just lasted and lasted. And when you see some people sitting in these cars you recognize that, really, your head becomes the roll bar. It would really hurt. I'm always amazed that people survived the crashes that not everyone was killed. Have you ever driven one of these guys? No, I've never driven one. I've been a passenger, and it's a thrill. It really is. It's a rolling piece of history. It's a great part of American history. It's been forgotten but we're remembering it. Exactly. When you look at these beautiful cars you understand why they ought to be remembered. They're just luscious! They really are. ( high-pitched roar of car speeding past )

Will

What's going on behind us?

Krause

They're now getting ready for the big 225-mile CART Championship race. I think it's the 52nd Rex Mays Classic. Why is it called that? Well, Rex Mays was killed in 1949 at Del Mar, California. But in 1948, Rex had stopped. He had spun his car out in the south turn and went up against the wall because Duke Dinsmore was laying on the track. He spun his car out deliberately ran up the track and flagged the field. They would've made hash out of Dinsmore. He was laying at a right angle. It would've just bounced him around. He was a great driver, a tremendous man. Did you ever meet him? Oh, yes, I've talked to him. He lent a dignity to this sport that some of these other guys could take lessons from. Right now, I'm talking about. But all the racing at Milwaukee has always been a big part of the racing schedule. The Fair Board, they were racing people because they were the ones that made the money! They told the horsemen when they were going to pave this track-- Oh, the motorcycle races-- They were tearing their hair out. Don McDowell, to his everlasting credit, stood up to them and said, "Gentlemen, auto racing is big business. "And you had better get used to the idea that auto racing gets the call." What a place, though. What a history! Who knew that Wisconsin had such an illustrious automotive history? Drive carefully, now. And don't forget to buckle up! Thanks for joining us... on Wisconsin Stories.

Captioning services provided by Wisconsin Public Television.

Krause

www.wpt.org Funding for Wisconsin Stories is provided in part by an advised fund of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin; the Estate and family of Lois Backus; the Halbert and Alice Kadish Foundation; and Philip J. and Elizabeth B. Hendrickson encouraging you to support history on Wisconsin Public Television and to visit Wisconsin's treasured historic sites.