Feature Articles. 75 Years ago Along the Action Era Highways by Kelly Flory Kansas License Plates Through the Years by Mary Jean Flory

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1 Thirty-Four Years FEBRUARY VOL OL.. 34 NO.. 1 Monthly Meeting - Friday, February 8th - 7:30 PM Shawnee Mission North High School - Library Media Center 7401 Johnson Dr - Overland Park, KS June Lincoln Highway 100 th Anniversary Tour motel information on next page. Book your hotel room early. Rich Gibbs Photo Rich Gibbs 1959 Buick Electra 4-dr Hardtop Photo taken during June 2007 KC Modern Atomic Ranch Homes Tour Your AEV could appear here! Send a photo to me & I will return it to you promptly. Rich LOCAL AND NATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS ARE DUE FOR PAYMENT JANUARY 1, 2013 Feature Articles Car Buzz by Bob Vukas 75 Years ago Along the Action Era Highways by Kelly Flory Kansas License Plates Through the Years by Mary Jean Flory Check the Calendar on Page 1 for Complete Listing of Upcoming Events February th annual Sunflower Swap Meet Wichita, KS 85th St. North & I-135 at the Kansas Pavilions February 8 CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting Overland Park, KS March 3 40th Annual Rocky Manginelli Memorial Swap Meet Lancaster Event Center - Lincoln, NE March Greater Kansas City International Auto Show Bartle Hall, Kansas City, MO March 8 Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting, Lawrence, KS

2 Region Officers Director Assistant Director Kevin Stilley Rich Gibbs 2 Oak Valley Dr 1150 NW Sunset Ln Manhattan, KS Topeka, KS Secretary Treasurer Tom Millard Don Beck 5808 W 101 st Terr PO Box 8787 Overland Park, KS Topeka, KS Board Member Historian Bob Vukas Johnnie Williams 3806 SW Mission Av 2916 SE Aries Topeka, KS Topeka, KS The Starterator Editors Rich Gibbs Harold Eulert 1150 NW Sunset Ln 236 SW Kendall St. Topeka, KS Topeka, KS Calendar Page Design/Editor Kelly Flory W 86 th Terr Lenexa, KS The Starterator 1150 NW Sunset Ln Topeka, KS us at: sr-chva@cox.net Information: must be received by the 25th of the month to be put in the next month's newsletter. Newsletters are mailed one week prior to each month's meeting. We are always looking for material for the newsletter, articles, jokes, club gossip, for sales and feature stories. Material will be returned if requested. Dues: Dues are payable yearly and come due on January 1st of each year. National dues are $25.00 and Regional dues are $ National membership is a prerequisite to being a regional member. Meetings: Meetings are held once a month on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM. Meeting locations alternate each month between Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka. See the calendar section of the newsletter for the location of each month's meeting. For Sale Ads: Members may place free For Sale ads in the newsletter. We will run an ad for several months unless notified otherwise. Please send the ad information the way you want it to read in the newsletter. The ad will appear in the printed version only. Hospitalization or Death of members or members families: If you hear of a club member or member's family who has been hospitalized or passed away please notify the contact listed below in your area: Topeka Harold Eulert Lawrence open Kansas City Steve Hartwich Check out this website for a very good selection of Etowah-Bartow Region photos and events: Sunflower Region C O N T E M P O R A R Y H I S T O R I C A L V E H I C L E A S S O C I A T I O N, I N C. (Recognizing all old cars over 20 years and older) Website: Printable PDF files of The Starterator and all pages are in COLOR on the website Director s Message Editor's Stuff Rich Gibbs Editor Founding members of the Sunflower Region, CHVA. February 25, Steve Jewett, Rod Waggoner, Bruce Baker, Danny Downs, Ray Taylor, Edna Willits/Jewett, Licia Willits, John Kitos, Steve Hartwich Calendar page editor Kelly Flory Harold Eulert Assistant editor New articles are always needed for The Starterator by Kevin Stilley How about our Kansas weather? Temps up and down like a seesaw. Guess the only thing normal about our weather is that there's no such thing as normal. Our first Drive-n-Eat tour is on Saturday, Feb. 2. We will be meeting at the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls at 7:30 am for breakfast, and then head for the Wichita Swap Meet. I know that's early, but that way we will get to the Swap Meet before they get quite so busy. The cafe is opening early just for our group, so we need a decent turn out. In turn, she'd like to see us drive some old cars down sometime this summer for one of their live music concerts on the street. Not much else happening this time of year. We have a lot of activities planned in the upcoming months, though. Here's hoping we can participate in them in a big way. Happy Motoring! Kevin June Tour to Lincoln Hwy 100th Anniversary Much More Information in next month s Starterator We will leave Friday evening and spend the first night in Beatrice, NE. On Saturday, we plan to visit the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island. We will then proceed to Kearney, and head home Tuesday morning, possibly stopping in Pawnee City at a pedal car museum. Motels: Friday, June 28, 2013 Capri Inn & Suites 3721 N. 6th (US 77) Beatrice, NE Ph: Doubles or Queens available $64.99 plus tax (includes deluxe hot breakfast) Saturday, June 29 - Sunday, June 30 - Monday, July 1 Microtel 104 Talmage Kearney, NE Ph: Queen Bed $64.99 Double Room $74.99 Includes hot breakfast Group conf. #114 Mention CHVA Car Club when making reservations. I have blocked 10 rooms at both locations, but make your reservations early, especially in Kearney, as they will go fast. (This is one day off of what we talked about at the meeting. I thought it was a Sat/Sun event, but is Sun/Mon. We had also planned to stay at Pioneer Village in Minden, but that is already booked up) CHVA National Website:

3 1963 Buick Riviera 2-Door Hardtop* Postcard from the collection of Kelly Flory *All-new for 1963, the Buick Riviera was General Motors first real attempt at a full-size personal luxury car to compete with the highly successful Ford Thunderbird. While the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix, introduced in 1961 and 1962 respectively were in the same category of personal luxury cars, the Riviera was the first to be its own distinct model, and a luxury car. While sales were modest, they were great for a car of its price range. The Riviera shown had a base price of $4,333, and was powered by a 325-horsepower, 401 CID V8 engine. CHVA sponsored event Other events FEBRUARY 2013 Please verify all events in case of changes, errors, or cancellations. Accuracy of this calendar is only as good as what has been provided. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday February 8 CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting Overland Park, KS Friday, 7:30pm, Shawnee Mission North High School in the library, one block west of Metcalf Ave on Johnson Drive. Enter on north side 1 of building, under the 2 tower. March 3, th annual Rocky Manginelli memorial Swap Meet Lincoln, NE Sunday, Lancaster Event Center, 4100 N.84th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska. 7am. Entry fee is cash donation, canned food or non-perishable food. Parking is free. For more information call: , or visit: March 6-10, Greater Kansas City International Auto Show Kansas City, MO Wed. thru Sunday, Bartle Hall Convention Center, 301 W. 13th Street, KC, MO. Entry is $11, $1 discount is offered with coupon, as well as 2 for $15 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday by showing coupon. For more information visit: March 8 CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting Lawrence, KS Friday, 7:30pm, Holcom Park Recreation Center, 2700 West 27th St., meeting in the South Bly room. March 30 CHVA Drive N Eat Tour Emporia, KS Saturday, William Allen White Home / Museum, Lunch at Pizza Ranch. More details to follow. April 12 CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting Topeka, KS Friday, 7:30pm, at the Highland Park United Methodist Church, Asbury Room, 2914 SE Michigan. April Clinton, MO tour Friday night downtown Dinner Theater, Saturday visit car collections and Henry County Museum. More detail will be in the March Starterator and at the February and March meetings. April Mecum Spring KC Auction Kansas City, MO Fri. to Sat., Bartle Hall Convention Center, 301 W. 13th Street, KC, MO. For more information visit: April 27 CHVA Drive N Eat Tour Topeka to Holton, KS Saturday, Lunch at the pad. Visit Kazoubek's. Dinner at Holton House. Tour leader Don Griffith. More details to follow. May th Annual Lawrence Region AACA Swap Meet Lawrence, KS Friday to Sunday, Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2 blocks north of K-10 Highway/23 rd Street on Harper. Free admission, $5 to park. For more information contact Lawrence Region AACA, P.O. Box , Lawrence, Kansas or phone: AACA, or visit website at Many more events in the Greater Kansas City area can be found on the ACCKC website: While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them 1

4 2012 KC-Lawrence Lawrence-Topeka Cruise nights are over until next year Since there are not Cruise Nights this month...the article below is paraphrased selected points of interest from an article printed in the November 1937 issue of Harpers Magazine. Herein is part 2 of 3 parts. The article is titled, THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY...THE AUTOMOBILE by Donald Wilhelm Part 1, in the January 2013 Starterator set the stage for the birth and early years of the automobile. This part continues the race for recognition and sales. Roy Chapin startled the country in 1901 by driving an Oldsmobile from Detroit to New York after having had to take to the Erie Canal towpath, a trip he repeated in a Hudson 30 years later, when he was Chairman of the Hudson Motor Car Company. Such men, along with David D. Buick, the Fisher brothers, Louis Chevrolet, Charles Nash, Walter P. Chrysler, among many others, were eminently practical men. Most of them, like many an American car, emerged from the bicycle industry, a $60M industry in And, most grew up with the automobile industry, and were of inventive or mechanical background rather than theoretical or academic. It wasn t long before automobile races were being promoted. Many races with three or four cars between cities had appeared, such as the Oldsmobile, Packard and Winton chugging their way across the continent in The first Vanderbilt Cup race, in 1904, was won by a Frenchman at a speed of 52 mph. And, in 1911 the first Indianapolis 500 race, with a Marmon Wasp winning the race at an average speed of 74.6 mph. But the real race was for survival of the fittest. Being a new product, everything had to be developed from the ground-up. Marketing of the automobile was one issue. One of the first known advertisements was for the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in the March 1896 issue of the trade magazine, The Horseless Age. The first known national magazine ad was for a Locomobile, appearing in 1899 in Harper s Magazine. Some started with a handicap of being very badly named. For example: Buffum, the waterless Knox, Storck, Pungs-Finch, Bugmobile, Riddle, Ponder, etc. Others were started on a shoestring budget, and were no doubt doomed from the start. And, in the early days, there was always the danger of selling a car labeled as World s Finest, given the many pitfalls of early cars. The cars that were to be the winners, everyone of them it seems, were skillfully given distinction or personality. They were made to stand for something definite...and something consistent. The Oldsmobile, for example, first advertised in 1901 with a 2-inch business card sized ad announcing The Motor that Motes. Then month after month, and year after year, it consistently expresses a certain distinction of reliability, a happy and blithe personality, not hesitating to refer to itself as The Best Thing on Wheels. It was James W. Packard who first recognized that due to the expense of the automobile they needed to be not only reliable, but durable after his purchase of a Winton in He wrote to Winton, I got one of your damn cars. It s no goo. I could make a better one myself! By the end of 1899, Packard built his first car, by 1902, he was overseeing construction of his new plant in Detroit. When prospective buyers asked if his car was any good, he instructed his secretary to reply, Ask the Man Who Owns One. This became the company slogan in Also, in 1903, along with Cadillac and Ford, appeared Buick, with two distinctive asset: First, its valve-in-head motor; second, a certain assured and aggressive personality aptly expressed since 1912 in the slogan When Better Automobiles Are Built, Buick Will Build Them. The race runs on, gaining momentum, making world records, making countless mechanical improvements. Meanwhile the eminently practical men were insistently demanding and finding public acceptance for a production which in 1900 was only 4,192 units but in 1910 was to be 181,000 automobiles and 6,000 trucks, and today (1938) is nearly 5,000,000 units. The Reo appeared in 1905, the Hupmobile in 1908, and the Hudson in But along with these came a whole flock hundred that fell by the wayside. Not always though, did machines emerge as winners, falter and wholly disappear....to conclude in March... 2

5 ...Car Buzz... by Bob Vukas We Love to go. We love to show. We love to share. There s only one thing worse than a drinking person, and that s someone who doesn t. Harry Truman. Harry loved cars and so do the members of many clubs across the country and around the world. The Impala needs some touch up paint for my scratches and others. The 57 needs a whole new paint job and some rust repair. These projects are waiting till the finances are correct. Where people gather to talk, eat and drink, especially car lovers, the stories are shared like fishing stories. The big one that got away. The barn find with low miles. The person who drove the car only to church and grocery shopping. The relative who handed down the low mileage red convertible with plastic on the seats and doors. The gift of gab for the love of our wheels is evident. We even watch old car movies. A Man or Woman s Garage is their Castle Our garage now has a storage rack for the Ford s four winter tires and wheels. It also has extra shelving and two Hy-loft racks. Lowe s carries them and they hang from the ceiling giving raised storage area. These may be uses for lawn chairs, hoses, coolers, and whatever else you want out of the way from the basement and the garage floor. They come in various sizes. We have two 45 by 45 inch models. They hold sixty pounds. They may also be raised and lowered in height. One model is made strictly for the tires and wheels although the same could be done with 2 by 4 s as we had done. I will fill them up as time permits this winter during the varying weather. I Admit My Mistakes My Coleman Inflate-All must have the end screwed onto the valve stem. I just purchased a new one that will snap on. My time is worth something. I purchased an old fashioned metal funnel that flexes and fits in the transmission fluid input spout. Spilling and cleaning up can be a real hassle. Slip sliding away was a good Paul Simon song but not fun to experience live. When is the Timing right? The first real winter weather hit us December 19-20, Rain put down a nice glaze and then snow put down a layer of icing like a cake. It was that day that I had my four Michelin X-Ice Xi2 installed. They will stay on till April. The snow blower is tuned up and back in the garage ready too. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Miracle Cure for Traction Found Buy four extra wheels for your winter tires. Place the winter tires on the car. Put the summer tire/ wheel combinations in large plastic bags. Put two in the back seat and two in the trunk. Dig in and drive like a police squad member. While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them 3

6 Sunflower Region, CHVA Meeting Minutes January 11, 2013, Highland Park Methodist Church, Topeka, KS Director Kevin Stilley called the meeting to order at 7:32 PM. Nineteen members present, no visitors. There were no minutes for the December meeting (Holiday Dinner). There was no Treasurer s Report, the Treasurer was not present. A letter from Treasurer Beck said the Bank of America is now charging our checking account $10.00 per month because the balance is below $ Kevin Stilley will ask Don Beck to explore alternatives. A motion was passed to hold this year s picnic at Kill Creek Park. Kelly Flory will make the reservation. The location for the Holiday dinner was discussed. Kelly reported that the HyVee in Lawrence has a meeting room. This year s Holiday dinner will be at the same place as 2012, Cedar Ridge Banquet Hall, Atchison, KS. Kevin Stilley will make the reservation. At the recent planning meeting preliminary plans were made for this year s Drive N Eat Tours. The Lincoln Highway 100th Anniversary National tour will be late June in Kearney, NE. Kevin Stilley has arranged for 10 motel rooms. Members planning to attend should make their reservations soon. The rooms will not be held indefinitely. The trip will Friday, June 28th through Tuesday, July 2nd. Sharon Eulert thanked the club for the contribution on memory of her mother. Sharon s mother passed away at the age of 107. The following is a brief outline of the proposed monthly tours. Not all details have been formulated. February 2nd (Saturday) - Trip to the Wichita Swap Meet with breakfast at the Emma Chase Café in Cottonwood Falls (special arrangements so 10 to 12 attendees needed) & dinner a the Chicken House restaurant in Olpe, KS (Hwy 99). Emma Chase has asked us to bring our cars to one of their future Friday night music festivals. March 30th - Emporia April 27th - Topeka/Holton Memorial Day weekend - Holton Car Show/Hoyt June - The Lincoln Highway 100th Anniversary, Kearney, NE July 27th - TBD, may be Flint Hills Discovery Center, Manhattan, KS August - No Sunflower Region Tour, 2013 National Tour in August. September 28th (Saturday) - Windom, KS Auto Restoration Shop tour November - US Hwy 36 in NW Missouri (Rich Gibbs is from this area) December 14th - Holiday Dinner Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM Refreshments Following the meeting, Rich Gibbs showed a Sunflower Journeys episode including the Lucas Garden of Eden, CW Parker carousels and a Miniatures Museum. Respectfully submitted by Tom Millard, Secretary. 4 While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them

7 Kansas License Plates Through the Years Submitted by Mary Jean Flory Wichita WaKeeney Leather Plates Cottonwood Falls 1930 White on Black 1931 White on Green 1932 Black on Orange 1940 White on Black 1941 Yellow on Red 1942 White on Green 1933 White on Blue 1934 Black on White 1935 Orange on Black 1942 White on Green 1943 Aluminum tab 1944 Red on White 1945 Black on White City Issued Plate 1913 Black on White 1914 White on Blue 1936 Black on Orange 1937 Yellow on Black 1938 White on Black 1946 Blue on Yellow 1947 Black on Cream 1948 White on Black 1915 Black on Orange 1916 White on Black 1916 White on Black 1939 Black on White 1949 Black on Aluminum 1943 tab (enlarged) 1917 Black on Lite Green 1918 Green on White 1919 Dark Blue on Lit e Blue 1960 White on Blue 1961 Brown on White 1962 White on Green 1970 Refl White on Green 1971 Refl White on Red 1972 Refl White on Black 1950 Green on Aluminum 1951 White on Blue 1951 White on Blue 1952 Blue on White Tab 1963 Green on White 1964 Refl White on Blue 1965 Refl White on Red 1973 Refl Yellow on Green 1974 Refl White on Red 1975 Refl White on Green 1951 White on Blue 1953 Blue on Yellow Tab 1954 Black on White 1955 White on Black 1966 Refl White on Black 1967 Refl White on Lite Blue 1968 Refl Yellow on Black Refl White on Black With annual stickers 1956 Black on White 1957 Red on White 1958 Yellow on Blue 1959 Blue on Yellow (New Registrations) Series (new registrations only) April 2007, was a new graphic featuring a portion of the state seal in the background. Serial format was reversed to show numbers first, then letters. Kansas is one of the few states to make full use of the letters I, O and Q in any position on the plate, resulting in these "OXX" series plates having been issued. There are reportedly plates in the "OOO" series Refl White on Black 1974 running format changes A state-shaped border was introduced in 1956 (when federal plate size and shape standards came into play) and was used from 1956 through The "Midway U.S.A." slogan, was used from 1965 through In 1971, staggered registration was started in Kansas, and an embossed month of expiration was added to the plate in place of the slogan. Beginning with August expirations the state added a separate alpha character to the serial to denote the month of expiration. Kansas issued three different varieties of 1974 plate, all white on red. 1st was the embossed month and year at the bottom. 2nd the "74" was moved to the top of the plate and 3rd the embossed expiration month was removed and the new slogan, commemorating the "Wheat Centennial" was added at the bottom was the first Kansas plate since 1951 not to feature the state shape around the outer border of the plate. Starting in 1988, all motorists were issued a new graphic base, featuring a stalk of wheat in the center and the Kansas state name at the top. The script was not very well liked and was changed in ALPCA favorite, Kansas was the winning Plate of the Year in (Automobile License Plate Collectors Assn.) 2002 plate features the state capitol building in Topeka, set against a blue sky with clouds. The wheat motif from recent baseplates continued as well, in the form of stalks of wheat peering up from the gold fade at the bottom of the plate. Some information gleaned from the following website: While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them 5

8 County Designations for the State of Kansas These codes were first used on the 1951 baseplate and remain in use currently. AL: Allen (Iola) AN: Anderson (Garnett) AT: Atchison (Atchison) BA: Barber (Medicine Lodge) BB: Bourbon (Fort Scott) BR: Brown (Hiawatha) BT: Barton (Great Bend) BU: Butler (El Dorado) CA: Clark (Ashland) CD: Cloud (Concordia) CF: Coffey (Burlington) CK: Cherokee (Columbus) CL: Cowley (Winfield) CM: Comanche (Coldwater) CN: Cheyenne (St. Francis) CQ: Chautauqua (Sedan) CR: Crawford (Girard) CS: Chase (Cottonwood Falls) CY: Clay (Clay Center) DC: Decatur (Oberlin) DG: Douglas (Lawrence) DK: Dickinson (Abilene) DP: Doniphan (Troy) ED: Edwards (Kinsley) EK: Elk (Howard) EL: Ellis (Hays) EW: Ellsworth (Ellsworth) FI: Finney (Garden City) FO: Ford (Dodge City) FR: Franklin (Ottawa) GE: Geary (Junction City) GH: Graham (Hill City) GL: Greeley (Tribune) GO: Gove (Gove) GT: Grant (Ulysses) GW: Greenwood (Eureka) GY: Gray (Cimarron) HG: Hodgeman (Jetmore) HM: Hamilton (Syracuse) HP: Harper (Anthony) HS: Haskell (Sublette) HV: Harvey (Newton) JA: Jackson (Holton) JF: Jefferson (Oskaloosa) JO: Johnson (Olathe) JW: Jewell (Mankato) KE: Kearney (Lakin) KM: Kingman (Kingman) KW: Kiowa (Greensburg) LB: Labette (Oswego) LC: Lincoln (Lincoln) LE: Lane (Dighton) LG: Logan (Oakley) LN: Linn (Mound City) LV: Leavenworth (Leavenworth) LY: Lyon (Emporia) MC: Mitchell (Beloit) ME: Meade (Meade) MG: Montgomery (Independence) MI: Miami (Paola) MN: Marion (Marion) MP: McPherson (McPherson) MR: Morris (Council Grove) NO: Neosho (Erie) NS: Ness (Ness City) MS: Marshall (Marysville) MT: Morton (Elkhart) NM: Nemaha (Seneca) NT: Norton (Norton) OB: Osborne (Osborne) OS: Osage (Lyndon) OT: Ottawa (Minneapolis) PL: Phillips (Phippsburg) PN: Pawnee (Larned) PR: Pratt (Pratt) PT: Pottawatomie (Westmoreland) RA: Rawlins (Atwood) RC: Rice (Lyons) RH: Rush (La Crosse) RL: Riley (Manhattan) RN: Reno (Hutchinson) RO: Rooks (Stockton) RP: Republic (Belleville) RS: Russell (Russell) SA: Saline (Salina) SC: Scott (Scott City) SD: Sheridan (Hoxie) SF: Stafford (St. John) SG: Sedgwick (Wichita) SH: Sherman (Goodland) SM: Smith (Smith Center) SN: Shawnee (Topeka) ST: Stanton (Johnson) SU: Sumner (Wellington) SV: Stevens (Hugoton) SW: Seward (Liberal) TH: Thomas (Colby) TR: Trego (WaKeeney) WA: Wallace (Sharon Springs) WB: Wabaunsee (Alma) WH: Wichita (Leoti) WL: Wilson (Fredonia) WO: Woodson (Yates Center) WS: Washington (Washington) WY: Wyandotte (Kansas City) 6 While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them

9 1938 B 1938 BUICK...WITH NEW DYNAFLASH EN- GINE AND TORQUE-FREE SPRINGING The 1938 Buick s, as advertised here, had the: Most Modern chassis in the World. The new Dynaflash engine as described in the ad, developed 3400 rpm for the 248 CID eight cylinder Special engine, compared to rpm in The larger 320 CID engine used in all other Buick models developed 3600 rpm, compared to 3400 rpm in 1937, and 3200 rpm in The Buick was definitely a Hot car! Buick s were again offered in four series, with the names added for the 1936 model year: Series 40 Special, Series 60 Century, Series 80 Roadmaster, and the top of the line Series 90 Limited. Prices ranged from $945 for a Series 40 Special 2-Door Business Coupe, Model 46, to $2,453 for the Series 90 Limited Limousine, Model 91L. Production dropped to 168,689 during the 1938 model year, as the U.S. economy slumped during its recovery from the depression, but Buick found itself in a 4th place finish at year end, passing Pontiac and Dodge. Series production is as follows: Special, 141,301; Century, 19,287; Roadmaster, 6,100; and Limited, 2, years ago Along the Action Era Highways 6 This ad is from the November 1937 issue of Harpers Magazine, published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers. Submitted by Kelly Flory. While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them 7

10 75 years ago Along the Action Era Highways The Fisher Body company has it roots in the late 1800 s, as brothers Fred and Charles Fisher joined their uncle in Detroit where Albert Fisher had established the Standard Wagon Works. The brothers found work at the C. R. Wilson company which built horse - drawn carriage bodies, and was beginning to build automobile bodies. With financing from their uncle, Fred and Charles established Fisher Body Company in July Fred and Charles were soon joined by their five younger brothers. By 1910, Fisher was building the most dependable auto bodies, with orders from Cadillac, and some for Buick setting them up for success. By 1913, with customer including Ford, Chalmers and Studebaker, the company expanded into Canada, and by 1914 were the world s largest auto body manufacturer. General Motors, recognizing the Fisher quality, invested a 60% stake in the company in Fisher then bought Fleetwood Metal Body in And in 1926, Fisher was brought into the GM fold as a new division. Fisher would build most GM vehicle bodies until 1983, when the company was dissolved into other divisions creating Buick City in 1983, and Lansing Car Assembly in Door sill of 50s- 70s GM cars. 8 While viewing this PDF, ON-Line, the links are active, click on them