Title
Weekly News April 9, 2018Description
My Talks with Ray Stanley: Raymond Walker Stanley (1894–1985) was the only male heir of either of the Stanley twins. His parents, F. E. and Augusta Stanley, were 45 years of age when Ray was born. One of his sisters was 23 years older than he; the other was 17 years older. He was doted upon and raised with s silver spoon in his mouth. When he became a teenager, like most in that age bracket before and since, he liked speed and no doubt begged his father to build him a very fast Stanley car. Three such cars were built between 1910 and 1912, and one survived. Brent Campbell bought and restored the survivor in the late 1990s and then re-created its successor, which was exhibited at our Auburn Heights Invitational Auto Display in 2016.
My father knew of Ray Stanley as a Boston banker, but I don’t think they ever met. He also knew of Carlton Stanley, a nephew of the twins who made many violins. Ray was not mechanical, and after his father was killed in 1918, he seemed far removed from the steam car community as it existed from the 1920s through the 1960s. I don’t think he had any reason to keep in touch with Fred Marriott during those years, as Ray was not interested in owning or operating a vintage Stanley.
Probably at the invitation of one of the Boston-area Stanley owners, such as the Rev. Stanley W. Ellis, Ray Stanley attended the annual Eastern Steam Car Tour at Woodstock, Vermont, in 1972, and his attendance was much appreciated by those in attendance. Unfortunately, I was not there as I was participating in my first Trans-Con tour in our 1912 Stanley. He was full of stories, most of them new to Stanley owners in attendance at Woodstock. After that, however, several years passed before Ray Stanley surfaced again.
Ray and his wife had a son, Francis E. Stanley II, born in 1920, and a daughter Joan who was a few years younger. Joan lived in New England, but Francis was an architect in Albuquerque and later Santa Fe, New Mexico. After his mother died, it was Francis’s practice to come to southern Maine each year to visit his father, and he would often stay several weeks. When the Glidden Tour of 1980 arrived in September at the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I heard that Ray Stanley and his son Francis were there. Brent Campbell and his future father-in-law Ole Vikre brought Ray over to our Model 87, and I met him for the first time. He sat in the passenger seat of the 87 for nearly an hour, filling me with new stories about his father and the Stanley Motor Carriage Company. I did not meet Francis that day.
Soon after this encounter, I suggested to my longtime steam car friend Frank Gardner that we should try to visit Ray Stanley at his home in York Harbor, Maine, “before it was too late,” and Frank agreed. Arrangements were made, and I drove to the Gardners’ home in West Newton, Massachusetts, in our ‘37 Packard Twelve, and the next day we went in Frank’s car to a guest house in Kennebunkport and from there to Ray’s home. His wife had passed away, and he was alone and greeted us warmly. He was agreeable to our recording the conversations, which we did. For three hours or more, we had questions answered and were told new stories, many of them humorous, as he opened drawer after drawer in several bureaus with many scrapbooks of clippings from the “old days.” Some of these recordings still exist, but our equipment was primitive, and better recordings were made by Dan Davis at Kingfield in 1984.
In June 1981, the greater Stanley family held a reunion in Kingfield, Maine, the ancestral home of their forebears. Dan and Sue Davis had opened an upscale restaurant at #1 Stanley Avenue, which served as the headquarters of this reunion. I think Ray was the oldest family member in attendance. Sue Davis became fascinated with the rich history of the Stanley family. Coincidentally, a few Stanley collectors had been talking for several years about having a progressive steam car tour culminating at Kingfield, birthplace of F. E. and F. O. At the annual steam car tour held at Sturbridge, Massachusetts, also in June 1981, it was decided to do it, and Frank Gardner and Jim Hancock went to Kingfield to see if there would be local interest in hosting a few Stanley cars. They met Sue Davis, who was ecstatic about the idea and set out to make the local arrangements. Ray Stanley, if he would come, would be the featured attraction.
Hancock and Gardner developed the tour route, which began and ended at the Hancocks’ home at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. It took place in August and was planned to be three days over the road in each direction, with two days at Kingfield. About 11 cars took part, and those who attended agreed it was a week to be remembered. Ray Stanley’s daughter Joan brought her father, and her 13-year-old daughter came as well. They first met the steam car contingent at Dixfield, Maine, about 40 miles southwest of Kingfield, where distant cousins lived and some Stanley relatives were buried in a tiny cemetery. The cars entered Kingfield in a parade with my Model 607 as the first car, carrying Ray Stanley, his daughter, and his granddaughter as my passengers. Bob Reilly, my passenger on the trip, had to seek transportation in another car. Mike and Kathryn May also participated in the tour, using my 1913 Model 78 roadster.
About half of us stayed at the Winters’ Inn, a fancy guest house originally designed as a private home by F. E. Stanley for his friend who owned a local rolling-pin factory. Some of the rooms were tiny, and they put Ray Stanley in what had been a closet with no window. He had to go down a flight to find a bathroom, and I recall leading him to and from. However, it was fun to hear him say that this house was identical to the one where he grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. During our stay, we enjoyed excellent food at the Davis’ restaurant at #1 Stanley Avenue, and we were shown the Stanley School, built at the turn of the 20th century by the Stanley twins, which was then an empty shell to be disposed of. From these two days in Kingfield, the Stanley Museum was born.
A second and much larger tour to Kingfield was held in 1984, and Ray was able to attend again. Jim and Judy Hancock ran this tour that began and ended at Concord, New Hampshire. This time we stayed at #3 Stanley Avenue, a lodging house owned by the Davises. Now 90 years of age, Ray was interviewed by Brent Campbell and myself, all of which was recorded by Dan Davis. The Stanley Museum should have these recordings.
Francis and Suzanne Stanley of Santa Fe, parents of Sarah (and her five siblings) stayed with me at Auburn Heights on at least two occasions in the early 1980s, but Ray never was able to visit. He died in 1985 at the age of 91.
Work Report: On Tuesday, April 3, nine volunteers turned out, as follows: Stan Lakey (in charge), John Bacino, Steve Bryce, Mike Ciosek, Anne Cleary, Bob Jordan, Ted Kamen, Dave Leon, and Brent McDougall. Locomotive 402 was cleaned following its Egg Hunt runs on 3/30 and 3/31, and passenger car #870 was moved into the shop. Its rear truck was removed for repair, and the track near the turntable was tightened. The Cretors popcorn machine was put on jack stands and its large wheels were removed for painting. A broken bolt on one axle needs repair.
On the Rauch & Lang electric, the fabric under the windshield was replaced, and its trim needs to be glued in place. The mechanism for raising and lowering the glass seems to be working properly. On the ‘32 Packard, the brake housings and lining rivets were cleaned and appear to be O.K. for 2018. The gas pump, presently in the back building, was worked on and an attempt was made to remove the glass that seals the fuel chamber. Paint remover will be required to soften the old paint that is holding the lock screws for this circular glass.
On Wednesday, April 4, five volunteers were on hand: Bill Schwoebel (in charge), Jerry Lucas, Gary Fitch, Mike Todd, and Bill Rule (for a short time). The tire pressure was checked on the Mountain Wagon, and the front end was greased. The workbenches in the shop and garage were cleaned and tools and parts put away.
On Thursday, April 5, five volunteers answered the call, viz: Mark Russell (in charge), Geoff Fallows, Jim Personti, Bob Jordan, and Devon Hall. The battery box from the Model 76 had a badly rusted bottom, which was removed and a piece of stainless fit in its place. This will be tack-welded to complete the job. On the ‘32 Packard, the front wheel bearings were further cleaned and adjusted. The hub and wheel were installed on the left front, and the bearings and hub were installed on the right front.
AVRR Report: Volunteers: John Bacino, Mike Ciosek, Anne Cleary, Bob Koury, Dave Leon, Brent Mcdougall
Accomplishments: (1) Cleaned up bay in the garage where we worked on the MOW cars; (2)Worked on installing template on the MOW Tool Car; (3) Cleaned 402 and Diesel after Easter event; (4) Pulled truck off of the 870 car in preparation for taking it to Little Engines for a diagnostic evaluation.
