Everybody’s heard about the vintage automobile that was put aside for whatever reason in some farmer’s barn, to be long forgotten until decades later when it’s found in mint condition by someone who knows its worth. I don’t have any idea of this is such a car. I vaguely remember shooting it, but I couldn’t find a story in September 1966 that went along with it. This looks more like an assignment than something I stumbled onto.
Maybe someone can identify the car and / or the woman in the pictures.
The automobile in Cape Girardeau
Here’s a piece about Cape’s early car history. Cape’s first car hit the street in 1904, for example. Cape’s first car theft happened a year later. A car ran over the first pedestrian on July 21, 1910; the next day, a car driven by R.B. Oliver, Jr., collided with a Western Union bicyclist. Cape hasn’t been safe for cyclists or pedestrians since.
More mystery car photos
Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery. Happy hunting.
Some of you have been interested in how the photos were taken. It must have been fairly dark in the garage, so I used an electronic flash held at arms-length high and to the left to keep the harsh shadows from falling directly behind the subject. That give the subject more modeling than if the flash was bolted onto the camera.
This does not appear to be of Mr. Harris’ collection, one of the best private ones in the country at that time.
More photos of that walking tractor back along the wall, please. I’m curious as to what kind it is, exactly. (I suppose it’s too late to go and get more photos.)
John,
My Time Travel machine is in the shop for an ion change. I’m sorry I am unable to provide you with more photos of the walking tractor at this time.
Looks Like an old Model T…but who and where I have not a clue…the olnly guy I knew that had these in Cape was Mr. James of James Auto body…
when we lived on south fredderick.there was a old man that had a model t that lived further down on the street. he would give up rides in it.i remember the head lights were kersosine that had to be lit. i don’t remember the man’s name.
The year is 1956, so my memory could be a little fuzzy on the lady’s name but there was a Ms Whipperman that lived on Broadway in the middle of the 600 block on the north side. She drove a similar touring sedan of about the same vintage. She was a friend of the family and that was where we watched the Sesquicentennial parade. She garaged her car in the back off the alley.
The car is a Buick. The Buick logo on the gas tank, a stylized “B” with the “uick” inside of it was first used by Buick in 1911. I’m not sure of the exact year but it is probably a 1911 or 1912 model.
Nice to see first line of Central’s Alma Mater at top of page!!
Remember so well when it was introduced. Four other boys and i sang it for first time in a school lyceum in 1945/46.
Tom, if you click on the Central photos at the top of the page, it’ll take you to a site where you can buy a copy of the Central High School Centennial Celebration book.
I’m going to be writing about it and the new high school’s library this week.
This car is a Buick, not sure of the model, but probably 1911 or 1912, and appears to have been lovingly stored. It sported antique vehicle tags, so somebody drove it during this time period.
Barnfind: noun, “In the auto realm, it is the near mythical, all original, parked-for-decades and all but forgotten, much prized and potentially very valuable, collector car.” Malcom Griffith
This is also the intro for my next book, KILLERFIND, coming summer 2012.
Sounds like this would be the perfect illustration for the cover….
Our next door neighbors had some antique cars in the 50’s. Their names were Harold and Dorothy Sanders but this doesn’t look like her as I remember her. I played with their daughter, Linda Kay Sanders, and he gave us rides in the old Model T.
Ken, what caught my eye in the photo, is the house in the background. It has the same front elevation as the house that my dad built on Dorothy St in 1958. It was a Crosnoe design and there aren’t that many in Cape. The most likely location is on Kingsway Drive diagonally opposite Stan Popp’s house (Stan’s house is one of the Crosnoe houses).