0 Trivia Time!

by Derik Price
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Two of the most common questions we are asked by museum guests are, “Where did you buy all these vehicles?" and “Who did you buy them from?” The short answer is, we’ve traveled all over the United States and bought them from individual collectors, auctions, and museums alike. One vehicle was even purchased in the U.K. and flown to Alaska. Do you know which one?  If not, here’s a refresher… 

But being interested in the history of these vehicles, I’ve often wondered where they were all produced. It was a rainy summer, and I had some extra time on my hands so I decided to map it out. I made an iPhoto album containing one photo of each vehicle in the collection and assigned each one its original place of manufacture.  You might notice a few things about this map.  First off, it’s not weighted, meaning, there is only one pin drop in Detroit, Michigan, even though a full 27 of our vehicles were produced there. These include the manufacturers Ford, Cadillac, Cartercar, Hudson, Chalmers-Detroit, Everitt, Dodge, Chrysler, Fordson, Hupmobile, and Packard. And in case you’re curious, the runner up is Indianapolis, Indiana, with eight vehicles produced there, including the nameplates American (Underslung), Premier, Henderson, and Stutz. Rounding out the top three is Cleveland, Ohio, with five vehicles in the collection made by Peerless, Rauch & Lang, White, Cleveland (motorcycle) and Owen Magnetic.

Not coincidently, you may also notice the outlined pin drops almost precisely define the area traditionally known as “The Rust Belt" (from the Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia.com) 
----  The 1984 Democratic presidential candidate, Walter Mondale, is generally credited with coining the term. During the campaign, Mondale, the former vice-president from Minnesota, attacked the economic policies of incumbent Republican president, Ronald Reagan, stating that the president was "turning our great industrial Midwest and the industrial base of our Country into a rust bowl."  The media, however, repeated and reported the notion as "Rust Belt," and the phrase stuck as a good description of the declining industrial heartland, especially the steel and automobile producing regions in the Northeast and Midwest ---  

And finally, for your quiz, there are two vehicles in the Fountainhead Collection whose birthplaces are not shown on the map, as they were produced outside the boundaries of this area. Can you name them? I’ll give you a hint, the two States they were produced in are each known for their rich ‘Gold Rush’ history.  

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying right here at Wedgewood Resort. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

Detail: Trivia Time!

0 Busy Times

by Derik Price

Sorry our post this week is a little late.  We're half way through the summer season already and it has been a blur at the Museum.  It's fair to say we've exercised more cars this summer than I can remember.  Willy even had to write a list on the shop blackboard to keep track.  (So far) they include - '05 Olds, '04 Buckmobile, '14 Woods, '12 Premier 4-40, '14 Grant, '09 Hudson, '29 Model A, '25 Stutz, '08 Brush, '09 Olds, '04 Rambler, '11 Oakland, '12 Premier 6-60, '13 Argo, '23 Ford, '03 Columbia, '99 Hertel, '10 Whiting, '10 Stanley, '20 Argonne, '28 Pierce-Arrow, '33 Hupmobile, '34 American Austin, '32 Cadi, '09 IHC, '06 Cadi, '11 Ford, '27 Stutz, plus today and tomorrow the '14 Moline-Knight and the '18 Stutz. Wow!  30 cars out and running in the last 2 months.  It's been tough to keep up with Willy - he and the crew have just been 'cranking' them out.  :-)   I've had the opportunity to shoot LOTS of video this summer and we have been posting new clips each week or so to our YouTube Channel so do check it out.



After the long winters here we sometime forget - there is just nothing that brightens up your day like the sparkle of brass in the summer sun.

So thanks again Willy, Ethan, Steve and the whole docent crew for working so hard to get the cars exercised in our very short summer season.

Derik

Detail: Busy Times

0 Premier: The 4th "P"

by Nancy DeWitt

Many antique automobile enthusiasts are familiar with "The Three P's" of fine motoring: Packard, Peerless and Pierce-Arrow. We are fortunate to have fine examples of all three marques in our museum. We also have a "4th P" whose name overtakes my brain whenever I try to to list these three prestigious makes--Premier. Although Premier was probably never a real serious competitor against these three giants, its quality, power and handsome lines were certainly on par with them.

We presently have two Premiers in our collection, a 1912 Model 6-60 roadster (above right) and a 1912 Model 4-40 7-passenger touring car. Willy and his crew tuned up the 4-40 last week, and I was fortunate to take a spin in this huge machine. She has a very smooth ride compared to some of our other Brass Era cars. I was riding in high style in the roomy passenger compartment, which is decked out with a diamond-tufted rear seat, jump seats and a brass robe rail and footrest.

In 1912 buyers could choose between six body styles, ranging from a 2-passenger roadster to a 7-passenger limousine. The 40 hp models were powered by a 4-cylinder T-head engine that displaced 334 cubic inches. 

Early on, Premier established a reputation for superlative performance and by 1910 had completed three Glidden Tours with a perfect score, a very impressive achievement. The following year, 12 Premiers carrying 40 men, women and children completed the grueling, 4,731-mile Ocean-to-Ocean tour from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California in 45 days. The only damage sustained was three broken springs, a testament to Premier's superb reliability.

While we won't be putting our Premiers through such a punishing test, you can watch for us cruising around Fairbanks in one of these impressive automobiles. Click here to watch a video of the big 6-60 roadster and here for a video about its unique air-start system.

Detail: Premier: The 4th "P"