Frank's Archive

The stacks

Most libraries have stacks, and our mechanic's library is no exception. This pallet of old car repair manuals always amuses me. We love Frank, our mechanic. He does a great job for us.

Look into the stacks at some traditional libraries:
Stacks at the Manchester Central Library (in the UK)

Sterling Library stacks at Yale University
Manuscripts Behind the Scenes: Library of Congress

Lasters Art Shack Fantasy Minivan

Product of a fertile imagination

I spotted this fantasy minivan in the Big Lots parking lot in Hopkinsville, KY. It had Christian County, KY, license plates. Somehow, I missed photographing the front fender on the driver's side.

I hope the minivan's owners drive defensively, because other drivers will be staring at their vehicle, not watching the road!

Googling for "Lasters Art Shack" turns up this interesting website. On Flickr, you can view more photos of the van. 

Classic Automobiles Seen in Hopkinsville, KY

Pennyrile Classics Cruise-In

These photos are from the Pennyrile Classics cruise-in that was held on August 15, 2009, on the K-Mart parking lot in Hopkinsville, KY. It was reported that 150 cars were on exhibit by 5:45 pm. Anyone who was interested could walk around, look at the old cars, and talk to the owners.

The Pennyrile Classic Cars Club sponsored cruise-ins on the third Saturday night of each month from April through October.

Many of the owners have put untold hours of work into the engines of their cars as well as the bodies, so they like to open the hoods and show off. I am not particularly interested in the motors of cars, so I enjoyed best (and photographed more of) the vehicles that had their hoods closed.

Before Cars, The Importance of Hay

Horse power requires fuel.

A century ago, thousands of tons of prairie hay were sold out of wild meadows each year. Railroads carried the hay to distant markets.

Hay was an important income source for homesteaders who were trying to get ahead. A 1908 New York Times article (pdf) states that hay was the second most important cash crop of Nebraska.

The 1919 Encyclopedia Americana reported that Nebraska was the biggest producer of prairie hay in the nation (2,544,000 tons in 1917). It also notes that the largest hay-shipping station in the world was located at Newport, Nebraska.

The following short description of the best of Nebraska's fine hay prairies was written in the late 1930, after the hay-shipping market had begun to decline:

West of O'Neill, the highway [Highway 20] passes through the great hay-producing country, which extends as far as Valentine in an almost unbroken stretch of prairie, dotted in the fall with large haystacks.

Source: Nebraska, a Guide to the Cornhusker State (page 310), by The Federal Writers Project, Nebraska. Published in 1939 by US History Publishers.

And where did the railroads carry all this hay? Some of it went to the horses of the U.S. Army, but much of it went to cities, to feed the millions of horses that labored in the streets.

If one assumes an urban horse population of approximately 3 million in 1900, then 7,200,000 tons of hay and 4,200,000 tons of oats were consumed by city horses per year. To grow this amount of fodder may have required as many as 15,000,000 acres.

Source: The Making of Urban America (page 120) by Raymond Mohl. Published by Rowman & Littlefield in 1997.

The production of hay for the urban horses was an important part of the economy. In the early 1930s, the Horse Association of America (HAA) issued several statements that blamed the depression in the agricultural sector on the automobile. They claimed that the ag depression would never have happened if automobiles, etc., had not largely replaced horses in city streets, and they provided a set of figures to prove it.

The authors of The Horse in the City think that the HAA may have underestimated the amount of hay needed, had horses and mules still been powering all city vehicles in 1930. However,

[t]here can be little dispute that the amount of land needed to feed urban horses and mules was vast. In short, horses had to eat in order to produce energy, and the food they consumed absorbed the output of large amounts of agricultural land, required massive capital and labor inputs for production and transportation, and necessitated an extensive regional and urban distribution system.

Source: The Horse in the City (p. 129) by Clay McShane and Joel Arthur Tarr. Published by JHU Press in 2007

The importance of hay in the economy helps to explain why the New York Times archives from the era of horses contain many reports of prairie fires. An example is the article, A Disastrous Prairie Fire (pdf), which burned a portion of the hay crop in the Newport, Nebraska area.

Besides the interest that the public always has in disasters, such fires were matters of concern to business people. Just as we watch the price of gasoline today, people watched the price of hay then.

My Other Car is a Golf Cart

One way to save on gasoline

Fred Bishop, Prairie Bluestem reader and internet friend, recently sent some interesting photos of golf carts used on the streets around Sun City, Arizona (northwest Phoenix.) Fred, who knows his old cars much better than I do, has identified the little buggy below as a "1932 Ford." In explanation, Fred wrote:

We followed this Golf cart into the Shopping Center to get these photos.

There are a lot of Golf Carts operating on the streets in the Sun City - Pop. 38k, Sun City West - Pop. 28k and Sun City Grande - Pop. 35k (and growing) communities. (Three communities alone, Sun City, Sun City Grand, and Sun City West, together have a population of approximately 100,000 residents who are 55 or older). >> AGS Newsletter :: 2007 First Quarter - Arizona Geriatrics Society

Wife's cousin lives in Sun City Grande. I have not seen coyotes in Sun City west, but they roam and hunt rabbits and house pets, especially in new area Sun City Grande. Coyotes will walk on the top of block fences peering into the backyards looking for lunch. Fences are not used to separate backyards. Fences are only on major streets or used to separate sub-divisions. Backyards are defined by landscaping.

(Back to Golf Carts). Golf Carts are legally State Licensed to operate on the streets in these and other close by retirement areas. Have been told insurance cost less than $100.00 per year. All but in the older area of Sun City are required to be Electric.

Most will only run maybe 25-28 miles per hour. Of course, some of those old guys have geared their cart up so they will run maybe 31-35 mph. Many Golf Carts are used as a 2nd car. Some are designed to be just transportation vehicles as the one [at left.] That's wife Chris at the drivers door.

Note the more conventional cart at top right of photo. Many carts will have canvas/clear plastic panels to keep rain and cold out. Lot's of women , singly and in pairs, run about the area in a cart. Have noticed a lot of women driving with a male companion along for the ride.

Source: Email, June 23, 2008

And regarding this six-seater, Fred writes,

Took the photo last week. Sales person said it would be about $14K out the door. Background is Sun City West looking across Bell Road. There are lots of Palm Trees in the Sun Cities.

Source: Email, June 30, 2008

What does a golf cart need to be legal on Arizona streets?

In Arizona, all street-legal golf carts must be registered with ADOT. Because some are intended for private use only, the ADOT golf cart registry is not an accurate representation of how many vehicles are in the state. ADOT spokeswoman Cydney DeModica said she believes the number is much higher.

To be street-legal, the carts must be equipped with the same safety features as cars: headlights, taillights, turn signals and windshields, DeModica said. They must have license plates, and operators must be licensed. The carts must stay on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less.

Source: "Souped-up golf carts taking to the streets," by Erin Zlomek, The Arizona Republic, Nov. 30, 2006 12:00 AM

A golf cart isn't a viable solution for everyone, but I can certainly see some benefits -- they're economical to operate, easy to park, and fun to customize.

Why Cars Are Important

(According to cats!)

Technorati tags: Pet photo

Confessions of an American Driver

Money in the gas tank, time on the road, miles on the cars!

This week has contained a lot of driving so far. Yesterday, I went to town twice. The first time, I ran errands and went to the Y and the library. Then in the evening, I took Isaac to WalMart to get a few more survival supplies for an all-day, outdoor rock concert he attended today. The second trip should have been unnecessary, but we had forgotten something important.

Today, I got up at 5:00 to make sure that Isaac was awake and functioning. He left for Hopkinsville at 5:30, met some friends, and went with them to St. Louis (actually, Maryland Heights, MO) for the Vans Warped Tour. A few hours later, I drove to Nashville and picked up Dennis at the airport. He has spent a week with his sister in Washington D.C.

After the trip home and lunch, I went to town and got my computer out of the shop. (Hurray! Isaac wasn't here and Dennis went to bed early, so I had a good chance to reinstall a lot of programs and get the computer somewhat reorganized this evening.)

Isaac came in from the concert around 11 p.m, sunburned, but not as terribly as he would have been without sunscreen and a hat. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to town with him to buy his books, to walk at the Y, and then to play the piano at the mid-week service at church.

Keely called and said that "Sidney" (her car, a '97 Buick Skylark) is making a bad noise. I don't know how many miles the car has on it now but it's surely well over 150,000. It was a used car when we got it. Dennis drove it to work at Fort Campbell for a couple years, I drove it for about a year, and now Keely has had it for a couple of years.

She has an appointment tomorrow to get an estimate for repairing it. If repair will be too expensive, I guess we'll sell it for scrap and find another car for her. She might manage without a car at school, but it would be difficult. Murray doesn't have public transport, and she lives across town from the college. I feel that her trips to campus are safer in a car. Also, I want her to come home now and then!

We know a man who buys broken cars, fixes them, and resells them. Usually, he has some reasonably priced cars. Before Dennis had the '97 Skylark, he had a Honda that we bought from this guy. After a year and a half of hard driving back and forth to Fort Campbell, we sold it for nearly as much we paid for it. May we be so fortunate again!

One bad thing about country life is the vehicle and gasoline expense. For us, the trip to town and back is never less than 20 miles, and it's a 30-mile round trip if we go to the far end of town (where our church is.) The cost of driving limits the sorts of jobs I consider taking, the organizations I join, and the extent of my volunteer-ism.

Then there's all the additional driving in town, no matter how efficiently the route is planned. The main shopping district is a long strip several miles long. Even if I wanted to walk, there are no sidewalks between the stores. Other places I go -- church, medical offices, public buildings, etc. -- are scattered all over town.

I enjoy my car, and I love living in the country, but to be honest, we should sell this place and move to town. We have no reason to live out this far -- except that we like the peace and quiet of this place. we've invested a lot of work in it, and we own it, free and clear.

Runaway Beetle: A True Story of the VW Autostick

All In The Family... Life In Missouri...

During our second residence in Missouri (1982-1986), Dennis and I owned a couple of VW Beetles. Our old yellow Beetle had formerly belonged to my mother-in-law. In fact, it was the car in which she learned to drive after all the kids grew up and left home.

It had an Autostick, a curious semi-automatic transmission. The gear shifter was on the floor in the usual place between driver and passenger. As I recall, the shifter had five possible positions, all in a straight line:

R
N
L
1

2

To drive forward, you put the car into Low, and then as you picked up speed, you let up on the gas a little and shifted into First, and finally into Second. There was no foot clutch to operate; that happened automatically when you moved the shifter.

One thing you had to remember was to apply the parking brake when you left the driver's seat. The transmission didn't have a Park position, and the car would roll in any gear.

One afternoon, I came home from shopping with our friend Brent. I parked the yellow Bug in the driveway, and we got out. As we stood on the front step unlocking the door, I heard a crunch of gravel. The car was rolling. I had forgotten to set the brake.

Our driveway had only a slight incline -- until it curved around behind our house. Then the backyard took a definite downhill slant. So the car rolled slowly at first, but it picked up speed as I ran after it.

I caught up with the car as it left the driveway and started downhill across the lawn, and I finally got the door open as it went under the clothesline.

By the time I got inside the car enough to get my foot on the brake, it had crossed the alley and was headed for someone's back porch.

I backed the Bug out of the flower bed where it had finally stopped, drove out of the alley, parked again in the driveway and APPLIED THE PARKING BRAKE!

Brent had been watching all of this with a mixture of awed amazement and amusement.

"Do that often?" he asked.

1937 Plymouth 4-Door Sedan

History and Old Stuff...

I believe this is a 1937 Plymouth. If you disagree with this identification, please let me know!

This vintage auto is awaiting restoration at a shop north of Hopkinsville, KY. The owner saw that I had stopped to photograph it and came out to talk to me. He told me the year and make of this antique and a dozen others that he has sitting in front of the shop. I should have taken notes, because I couldn't remember any of them with certainty after I left!

I do remember one interesting comment that he made, though. He remarked that people must have been smaller when this car was new, because the interior of the car is so small.

Technorati tags: 1937 Plymouth

On The Road Again

All In The Family... And What I Think About It...

On the road again

Here I am, driving my car down a scenic byway in Christian County, KY. Isaac took this photo a few days ago.

To be honest, I rather like this photo, not because it shows my great beauty and my mop of hair, but because it shows me doing something I really enjoy -- just motoring along. How happy I look! And do you see the beautiful Kentucky countryside in the background. This photo is a true icon of the real me (one aspect of me, anyway)!

I suppose this post will define me as another of those gas-guzzling Americans, but I love road trips, great and small. I enjoy my car because it takes me places I haven't been before. I'll never see all the backroads and two-lanes in Kentucky (let alone the world,) but I see as much as I can, every chance I get.

I have happy memories of loading up the kids and going for little adventures when they were young. I drove a little gray Dodge truck at that time, and Isaac rode in the middle and Keely rode on the passenger side. Isaac says it was always nice and cozy in the middle. The older the truck got, the more adventurous it became to go places in it, but I won't go into all that!

The kids and I made many road trips together to Kansas (west of Wichita) to visit my parents. They are both gone now, my dad since 1996 and my mom since 1997, so I don't go out to Kansas as often nowadays, though my brother still lives out there.

Keely and Isaac were good little travelers, and they speak of those long drives with nostalgia. They like to talk about the sights we saw along the way and the times we stopped here or there. Keely learned to read the map at a tender age and became my trusty navigator, and Isaac enjoyed having the backseat to himself with his books, Gameboy, etc.

My husband, bless his heart, is not an enthusiastic traveler. He wants to reach the destination and get back home again. It's an inborn tendency, I think.

I find that Dennis and I enjoy our trips together much better if I drive. He relaxes and enjoys the scenery when he's "just along for the ride", and I enjoy driving my chosen route (which may not be the interstate.)

My spell checker is telling me that "backroad" is not really a word, but I disagree.



Related post: A Backroad

Technorati tags:

road trips
backroads

Impact of the Automobile

The Rural Life... History and Old Stuff...

I don't often think about the tremendous changes the automobile brought about (besides air pollution, roadkill and oil cartels), but today I was reminded by an essay question in a 1941 textbook.

Think of a farmer 30 years ago without an automobile. Then think of him to-day as the owner of an automobile for himself and family, and a motor truck for taking his products to market and bringing home supplies, and describe the change in his life made by his possessing these vehicles.

Source: Our World Today (p. 619), a geography textbook written by De Forest Stull and Roy W. Hatch and copyrighted in 1941 by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA

My parents were both born in 1923, while America was making the transition from horse-drawn conveyances and machinery to gasoline powered vehicles and machinery.

My father remembered going to the nearest little town in a horse-drawn wagon to hear preaching at a tent meeting when he was a little boy. He also mentioned that the first automobiles that they owned didn't have automatic windshield wipers. They were a welcome innovation!

My mother could remember the livery stable that her grandfather, Marcus Eaton, ran in Gordon, Nebraska. I am not sure when it finally closed, but probably the advent of the automobile was as much a factor as my grandfather's age.

Here are some interesting facts about the growth of the automobile industry, taken from Our World Today (cited above).

1895 -- 300 automobiles produced
1899 -- 4000 automobiles produced
1930 -- 6,000,000 automobiles produced, and 88% were manufactured in the U.S. and Canada
1940 -- 45,000,000 cars owned worldwide, and over 2/3 of them in America

Many people of the Amish and Mennonite faith in this part of Kentucky still use horses and buggies. Our more conservative Amish neighbors don't drive gasoline-powered machines of any sort, but they do use stationary gasoline motors to run some farm equipment. Most of our Mennonite neighbors use modern gasoline-powered machinery, but don't drive cars.

Even though these people reject the ownership of automobiles, trucks take deliveries to and from their farms. They routinely hire an automobile and driver if they are going to town, and virtually every product they buy there has been brought to the store by a truck. Their mail is delivered by a rural carrier in a car.

They don't live like a farmer in a developing country who raises a crop, takes the products to market and brings home supplies using only animal-power -- or even his own back.

They aren't even much like the American farmer of 1911, mentioned in the essay question above. Even if they wanted to live that way, I don't think they could in America.

Technorati tag:

automobile manufacturing

Packard Clipper Deluxe

History and Old Stuff...

I saw this old Packard today while I was waiting for Isaac to take his driver's license test -- which he passed, by the way, so he's now a licensed driver and probably wouldn't say "No" to a nice old car like this...










Technorati tags:

Packard
old car
1950's

Gas Prices

All In The Family... Another Trip Down Memory Lane... Life in The Nebraska Sandhills...

Today we were talking about the current high price of gasoline, and it brought to mind a memory of a long time ago.

When I was quite young, maybe six or seven years old in the late 1950's, we were driving to Gordon, Nebraska, to visit my mom's family. In one of the little Sandhill towns along Highway 20 west of Valentine, two gas stations on opposite sides of an intersection were having a price war. Each station had its price per gallon advertised on a big sign out front. The prices were in the low double digits. I think it was about 30¢ per gallon.

We stopped and my dad filled up the car. When he came back from paying, he had a handful of Bit-o-Honey candy bars. They must have been left over from World War II! They were so hard that we couldn't even bite them. We laid them in the back window of the car in the hot sun until they got soft enough to eat.

Can you imagine? Propane at that time was just 10¢ per gallon. My dad commented once that even in the money of those days, propane was cheap. A tank of propane to heat the house was not a budget-breaking expenditure.

Isaac said this was interesting and I should write it down -- so here it is. He said this would make a much better blog entry than that obscure "junk" I write about trees and flowers.

Santa Fe, New Mexico. 1938. Dorothea Lange, photographer
Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection

Technorati tags: gas prices gasoline 1950s nostalgia