While on my first four-day tour around Iowa this summer with 35 other owners of classic Model “A” Fords, I had the chance to meet Bill Jepson, author of a large 325 page book titled “Iowa’s Automobiles.” Bill spent 20 years collecting data for this book, and then about six years putting it together. It covers 24 different cars that originated in Iowa in the early 1900s, plus dozens of others in a huge section titled “Dreams and Schemes.” These were ones that were never actually produced. Bill autographed my personal copy of this unique book.
Scores of cities in Iowa, including Newton, Marshalltown, Grinnell and Oskaloosa, are covered in the book. Newton had the “Foster” in 1908 that never actually went into production. Grinnell was home of the Spaulding, produced from 1910 to 1916, with pages 160 to 190 telling the complete story. Part of the factory and the large smokestack remains to this very day. Whoever heard of the Spaulding? Yet, it was produced just 20 miles away, and old-timers in Grinnell still philosophically tout its many fine features.
Very few people in Newton today are aware that Fred Maytag built the Maytag-Mason in Waterloo, Iowa, from 1909 to 1911 before turning it back over to the Mason Company. At that time, the famous Duesenberg brothers were involved with Maytag auto production. The fascinating Maytag-Mason story is covered on pages 118 to 129 in this book, with two full pages of nostalgic color photos. My only personal experience with this car was when Fred Maytag II used to take youngsters for rides in the Maytag-Mason at the annual Maytag family summer picnic in Maytag Park back in the late 1940s. I was one of the passengers!
Browsing through this fascinating book got me thinking of the many popular cars during my younger days, which remain only as memories. My kindergarten teacher Irene Seibert drove a snazzy 1936 Chrysler “Airflow” which was way ahead of its time in styling, but soon faded away. Many thought it was ugly. The names Packard, Hudson, Nash, Studebaker and DeSoto are only a few cars that we grew up with.
In visiting with several “old-timers” (a dozen years older than me) around town, other names surface, such as the Graham-Paige, Whippet, Star, Lafayette, Crosley, Austin, Hupmobile, Auburn and the Essex. Their parents or family may have owned one of these “dinosaurs.” One of my dad’s first cars, which he drove when courting my mother in the early ‘20s, was the Essex, which was quite well-known in his day.
The new modernistic 1946 Studebaker set the world on its ear when introduced, and I remember it well. Old-timers used to say you couldn’t tell which was the front or back. It featured far-out styling for the time. My wife’s brother, Harry Rosenberger, had a neat, stylish little 1941 Studebaker, one of the last models made before all automobile production was shut down during World War II. It was a well-respected name.
Those war years gave many an inventive mind time to dream up futuristic new styles that would be introduced when cars could once again be produced. My all-time favorite was the Tucker, of which only 60 cars were produced in 1948. There’s still a Tucker Auto Club, with the founder Richard Jones living in Orange Park, FL. I’m going to be in touch with him soon for some nostalgic memories.
My brother Jim and I paid to see this futuristic flat rear-engine Tucker at the Iowa State Fair years ago. The middle-front headlight swiveled as the steering wheel was turned. There was even a designated Tucker dealer in Newton in the little showroom north of the old Churchill Hotel. Just across the street from the Churchill was the new Kaiser-Frazer dealer that was actually in business for several years. The Kaiser capitalization of $50 million was twice that of Tucker, and yet both of them never succeeded.
The Preston J. Tucker feature movie of several years ago was most fascinating, and so is the 1989 book about the Tucker automobile, which I have again just finished reading. Today’s cars, to me, are not nearly as “romantic” as those back in the “olden days.” As a youngster, I could name every car on the road and, in most cases, the year it was made. In my book, those old-time automobiles had very unique and genuine personalities all their own. Today’s automobiles, for some reason, all look pretty much the same.
When stationed in Germany in 1957, I had the chance to buy a classic white 1936 “Cord” for only $1,500. Ask anyone who really knew that car and they will mention the concealed headlights, squared-off front end, three large chrome exhausts coming from each side of the hood, front wheel drive and great styling. Today, that famous Cord in good condition would likely bring a cool $100 grand, if not more. I could also have bought a fine 1952 black Mercedes Benz “500” for the same price. But, Mary and I elected to spend $1,310 for a brand new little 1958 Volkswagen, which Uncle Sam shipped across the Atlantic and was waiting for us in New York when we arrived in December 1957. We had a great time traveling home in that little “Bug” for Christmas. Our unique little VW with sun roof and “Mox-Nix” turning signals brought lots of attention.