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Weekly News March 2, 2015Description
Our Stanleys with Important People (1949-2013): Over the years, my father and I have carried people of some importance in one of our cars. Here are my recollections in chronological order:
1949: At the invitation of George Sargisson, executive director of Recreation Promotion & Service in Wilmington, my father took his 1915 Model 820 (Mountain Wagon) to the first annual Old Timers’ Picnic in Brandywine Park to give old-fashioned rides to the attendees. Elbert N. Carvel, then in his first term as Delaware’s governor, who owned a Model T Ford, greatly enjoyed his ride on the front seat, as did my father. (During his second term in 1961, Carvel visited our museum when the Glidden Tour was here.)
1951: At the AACA Spring Meet at the Yorklyn Gun Club, James Melton, singing star of the Metropolitan Opera and a few Hollywood films, drove our 1908 Model H-5 up and down Gun Club Hill several times, accompanied by my father. Melton was the first big-name entertainer in the old car hobby, and, like Jay Leno today, was well-known for his collection of cars, including many steamers.
1951: On a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield during a weekend event sponsored by the Allegheny Mountain Region, AACA, 87-year-old Warren Gilbert, born at Gettysburg in 1863, four days after Lincoln’s address, described the battle to me from the front seat of my 1914 Model 607. Gilbert had been hired by my father during the summer of 1913 as a guide on his new Mountain Wagon during the 50th anniversary encampment of veterans, Confederate and Union, that took place that summer, and he was highly regarded as a foremost authority on the battle.
1952: Colonel Augustus Post, early balloonist, aviator, patriotic actor, and White steam car driver who was credited with convincing Charles J. Glidden (in 1904) to sponsor tours to prove the reliability of the automobile, rode with me in my father’s 1910 Model 71 on the ’52 Glidden Tour, which started at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and proceeded to Stroudsburg, Harrisburg, and Washington, DC, to help the AAA celebrate its 50th anniversary.
1953: At Mercersburg Academy in May, Admiral Joel T. Boone, a famous naval surgeon who had won both the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross and is one of the few who served in both world wars and the Korean War, along with Charles S. Tippetts, then headmaster of the academy, enjoyed a ride in my Model 607 around the campus after Sunday’s Chapel service, at which Admiral Boone had delivered the sermon.
1959: John J. Williams, Delaware’s “watch dog of the U.S. Senate” for four terms (1946-1970), had a summer home on Hickman Street in Rehoboth Beach. I gave him a ride around town in my father’s 1912 Model 87, which he said he enjoyed very much.
1959: Governor J. Caleb Boggs and his wife accepted a Sunday afternoon invitation to officiate at an opening of a wholesale drug distributorship in Dover, and those planning the event asked for one of our cars to take Delaware’s first couple and the president of the drug company and his wife from Legislative Hall to the store’s new location, about a mile away. I drove my father’s Model 87, and using the “jump seats,” all fit in very well on a cold November day.
1974-2013: Irenee du Pont Jr., a true friend of FAHP, first climbed into the front seat of our Model 820 Mountain Wagon and introduced himself at the “Meadows on the Brandywine,” where he and his wife, Barbara, were attending a 1974 Christmas open house given by the Danforths, who lived in the home at the “Meadows,” formerly owned by the Rood family. The hosts had rented our Mountain Wagon, with driver, to shuttle guests from the parking field to the big house. About 2000, Irenee was a front-seat passenger in our newly restored 1910 Model 71 when we made the round trip from Granogue to Buckley’s Tavern in Centreville as guests of Bill Kynett and the Historical Car Club of Pennsylvania. In 2013, he accompanied me in our 1913 Model 78 from Auburn Heights to the Wilmington & Western office building at Marshallton, and upon our return we drove around the new Auburn Valley Trail.
1981: Raymond W. Stanley, the only son of F. E. and Augusta Stanley, rode with me in my 1914 Model 607 as we entered Kingfield, Maine, on the very first steam car tour to the town where the Stanley twins were born. Also in the 607 were Ray’s daughter Joan and her 13-year-old daughter. We were hosted by Sue and Dan Davis. This trip laid the groundwork for the Stanley Museum.
2006: On a warm summer evening, Governor Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware and members of her staff visited Auburn Heights and rode around the grounds in our 1915 Mountain Wagon, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.
2011: Our current Governor, Jack Markell, arrived at Auburn Heights and rode in our well-known Mountain Wagon, along with Colin O’Mara, then secretary of DNREC, to the site of the initial blow that began the demolition of the Yorklyn fiber mills.
Work Report: On Tuesday, February 24, 11 volunteers were on hand, as follows: Jerry Novak (in charge), Ted Kamen, Brent McDougall, Anne Cleary, Tom Marshall, Steve Bryce, Jerry Lucas, John Bacino, Ken Ricketts, Jay Williams, and a new volunteer John Schuber.
New wiring on the Lionel electric train layout was continued and was photographed. More A.V.R.R. track sections were put together, totaling six so far. The caster on Jerry Novak’s “sitting dolly” was repaired (something “gave way” on Thursday again). A homemade slide hammer was tried for removing the mixing tubes from the Mountain Wagon’s burner, but the tubes were still rusted in the burner when the evening ended. A heavier slide hammer will be devised. The chrome trim strips on the running board of the ’37 Packard have been removed with the exception of the outer strips. This is necessary for replacing the rubber covering and has proved very difficult as the nuts are rusted and the screw heads are not accessible.
On Thursday, February 26, 17 volunteers answered the call: Tim Ward (in charge), Steve Bryce, Tom Marshall, Bill Schwoebel, Jared Schoenly, Geoff Fallows, Jim Personti, Tim Nolan, Kelly Williams, Richard Bernard, Bob Stransky, Eugene Maute, Gerhard Maute, Bob Jordan, Mark Russell, Lou Mandich and Mike Olsen. Two more volunteers were on hand Thursday afternoon, Dennis Dragon and Bill Rule.
Work continued in the F.A.H.P. Library. More railroad ties were cut and brought to the shed near the garage for the building of additional track sections. Paint removal continued on the frame and roof of the Cretors popper, and this phase is nearing completion. The ca. 1950 wall-mounted air compressor for the museum’s sprinkler system was removed along with its shelf and framework. This has been replaced with a more modern automatic compressor, part of the updating of fire protection for our collections.
Utilizing many talents and some ingenuity, the mixing tubes were finally removed from the burner of the Mountain Wagon. Following this success, the burner was dropped, and it was immediately obvious what had been causing the vapor leak and the stringent odor that went with it. The vaporizer itself was cracked over the pilot and just inside the block that forms a seat for the branch forks. It is also brittle in this area, and it cracked apart as it was being removed from the burner. A repair is possible, and it may not be necessary to make a new vaporizer. The air tank was removed from under the front seat of the Model 740. It will be tested to 175 p.s.i. before being reinstalled.
The crankshaft from the engine of the Model H-5 is every slightly bent, so the plan will be to replace this shaft. While the bend is slight, to make a first-class job this should be done as we rebuild much of the remainder of this engine. Inspection of Locomotive 402 reveals that a lot of wear will require many new machined parts. Although the eight drive wheels were turned down several months ago, rebuilding of this locomotive will be a long and expensive project, and it is unlikely that it will return to service this year. Our South Bend bench lathe was cleaned and oiled.
