An Update on Life

Well where to begin, it has been sometime since I have done a post on here. The last blog post about my travels was down to Texas and the Mother road in October. Since then I purchased a 1941 Plymouth which was the last post I made on here. Lots has happened since then one of the biggest was me getting a new job.

Lets start there…

On November 5th of 2018 I became the director of the Owyhee County Museum in Murphy, Idaho. After my summer job ending at the end of September I came back home and had about a month off before starting the new job. I applied for the position back September and had my interview early October. Since starting at the museum which I have been a member of for the past ten years there is lots going on. I have been able to fire up not only the 1915 Model T at the museum but also the 1941 John Deere B tractor. The museum is located in a very small town in Owyhee County. I commute each day about 30 mile along country roads with no traffic which is great because if I had a job in downtown Boise I would be fighting the rush hour traffic mess, it gets worse each year.

Being the director, the boss of a museum was something I didnt think I would be doing at this point in my life. I just graduated Boise State University with my Bachelors in History in 2017 and without a Masters I have began my career in history running a museum. This small but well funded museum by volunteer, donations, members and county support is quite large and has alot going for itself. The museum highlights the history of the county from ranching to mining.

Front of the Owyhee County Museum

Besides being busy running the museum Thanksgiving came and went along with the Christmas holiday.   Both were enjoyable spent with family and Christina. Christina and I have grown closer and continue to work well together. This year in May will mark our 5 years of being together and as we continue on we are getting closer to wanting to move in together and eventually an engagement to follow. Only time will tell to see what

Christina and I under a canopy of Christmas Lights

happens. There is lots to talk about before anything happen and we are taking it slow. I am also still working part time at the Boise Depot as their tour guide. Five years ago I created a historic tour for Parks & Rec. who run the old 1925 Boise Depot as an event center. Each first Sunday I lead a tour of the history and during Christmas there is a special evening open house where I read the Polar Express to all the kids. I even dress as the conductor.

Conductor at the Boise Depot

As for restoration of the Plymouth is concerned it is moving along at a great pace. So far the new white wall tires are on and the inside is being cleaned and improved. By March the car will be ready to roll.

I believe that covers it for now, im sure I left things out but will add photos below of the museum and other highlights in the past months. Not much traveling will happen this year due to my full time job but for sure will be down in Ogden Utah for the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad  on May 10th. There will be a huge event and the largest steam engine in the world there as well.

Until next time..

 

First start of the 1915 Model T in seven years.

1940 JD model B out front of museum. currently being fully restored.

New White wall tires for plymouth

Cleaning our inside of car and prepping it for rust preventive. The car over all is in great shape.

The Story of a 1941 Plymouth

1941 February, brand new car up in Big Bear CA. The little boy hanging off the running board is Elwood.

The year was 1941 and America had not yet officially entered the War, President Franklin Roosevelt entered his 3rd term in office and Dumbo primers in theaters the top song was “Chattanooga Choo Choo ” by Glenn Miller. The average cost of living in 1941 for a new house was $4,075.00, Average wages per year $1,750.00, Cost of a gallon of Gas 12 cents and the average Price for a new car $850.00. This was the year when my recently acquired 1941 Plymouth Deluxe was born. Below is the story of this beautiful car and its amazing story.

The story is written by Patricia Rennison who is the wife of the former owner of the car.

It all started with Hugh Frederick Rennison (Fred). Fred grew up loving motors and automobiles. He would even motorize his bicycle. Fred supported his family in the late 1930s and early 1940s by working at a car dealership in Long Beach, California. The dealership like many other business weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s but was having difficulties meeting the payroll and other obligations. One day the owner gathered the employees together and explained the financial circumstances taking place. He asked them to forgo their paychecks for a period of time until the business was solvent again. He told them he would provide food, utilities, and rent for each family so all could remain employed.

The plan worked and as a bonus the owner offered each employee a new car at the factory price. Fred’s wife, Iva and sister, Blanche, boarded a bus and traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to pick up two new 1941 Plymouth’s from the factory. The two sisters started out for home traveling along the Lincoln Highway back to Long Beach. When they reached the Nevada border, they were arrested for trafficking new cars. At the time Nevada had a law prohibiting the trafficking of new cars from the factory to California. The hope was to discourage Southern California auto dealers from hiring women to drive cars out west as it was cheaper than sending them by rail. Iva and Blanche were jailed overnight until telegraph could confirm that the cars were legally owned by them and not the dealer.

Fred and Iva drove the Plymouth until about 1944, when they moved to Lehi, Utah. Fred opened his own shop with friend, Bob Livingston (R. & L. Automotive). The Plymouth was then parked in George and Ida Rennison‘s (Freds parents) garage in Long Beach, California. When George passed from a heart attack Ida did not drive but used the bus so the car continued to sit.

By 1952, Fred and Ida moved to Chico, California, so their sons could live at home while attending Chico State College. Both sons graduated as civil engineers. Grandma Ida gave the Plymouth to Elwood Eugene Rennison in about 1956. The Plymouth was taken from Long Beach to Chico for renewal. Fred and Elwood updated the car with a new paint job from its original maroon to a deep blue. Other minor repairs were made after being stored for so long. Elwood drove the Plymouth in college and during his time in the army reserve. Starting in 1962 the Plymouth was stored again in the garage.

In 1974 or 1975, Fred and Iva moved Iva’s mother Ethel from Southern California up to Chico. They had 2 acres so where in the process of building an apartment for her. Ethel‘s furniture and belongings were stored in the double car detached garage. Her chest freezer was plugged in and one day as the freezer clicked on it sparked causing a fire. Players at the local tennis club next-door noticed the smoke and ran to help. They pushed the Plymouth out of the burning garage into the driveway, saving the car. The firemen arrived but were only able to save a few things and most was lost, melted or smoke damaged. Repairs were made to the house and the apartment finished, and the Plymouth was returned to the garage.

In November 1979, the Plymouth was towed from Chico, California, to Meridian, Idaho. It wasn’t until about 2010 that Jason Bailey began restoration by taking the paint to the bare metal to discover no rust on the body. When he was priming the paint he noticed that there was a run in the finish coat, so he took it back to bare metal again, re-primed, and repainted it. The engine was taken to a fellow in Nampa who totally rebuilt the

Rebuilt engine

engine. The radiator was taken to a family owned radiator shop in Caldwell which rebuilt it by hand. A custom wiring harness was ordered from Southern California and installed by a professional electrical engineer, Garee Biladeau. The original AM tube radio was still in the car but was not working so it was removed and each tube was tested. Garee  and Elwood found that some of the tubes needed replacing and spent weeks finding and installing the right parts. An electric company in Caldwell had old/new tubes in stock. One tube was ordered and when it came in the original box, it was found out that it had been made in Canada for the U.S. Army in 1940. The army then sold it to China. It came from China back to Caldwell store at a cost $3.54. The radio worked great with the new tube and the radio was reinstalled into the vehicle.

Other things were done on the car were the running boards which were re-done with more modern “rhino bed” covering as the rubber line in bedded was no longer available. The chrome bumpers were re-done as well. All original chrome accessories were returned to the vehicle. An extra new mayflower logo for the trunk, the original fog lights, and several boxes of old and new parts went with the Plymouth when it was sold.

Picking up the car from Pat

Elwood passed away in 2015 from Cancer and never finished the restoration of his car. In October of 2018, Eriks Garsvo who was in Pat Rennison‘s third-grade class at Indian Creek Elementary in Kuna, Idaho stepped up to purchase the Plymouth and finish what Elwood had started.  The Rennison family is proud that Eriks will be caring for one of the family heirlooms.

Pat.

 

I am proud to own such a car with such a history. I look forward to getting it out on the open road. Since acquiring the car I have redone the brakes, interior floor pan area and restored and mounted the fog lights. A set of five white wall tires were bought and all the rims were blasted and powder coated blue. The original hub caps have been restored with the Plymouth logo painted red again. So next time your on the road make sure to watch for a classic 41 Plymouth to pass you and you never know you may even see Elwood in the passenger seat next to me.

Tail light shot showing original glass tail lights and California plates from the 1960s.

Some additional information:

This car was manufactured during the first days of production in September of 1940. The year 1941 was the last year the Plymouth was produced because all the factories were retooled for the WWII effort. It was not until 1946 that the Plymouth was again produced after the war.

 

 

Silver City via a Model T Ford

On Sunday October 7th the Western Idaho Model T Club headed for Silver City, Idaho. This was a journey the club used to make all the time but in the past ten years it has only been a dream. The trip would make history not only because it was the first trip up the mountain for the club in over ten years but a surprise finding in Silver City would make the trip even more special. I was privileged enough to have been invited to come along with the club on this trip even though I dont own a Model T myself. In next couple paragraphs I will recount the trip and share with you lots of photos that I took of the ride.

At around 11:45 a.m. on October 7th two 1924 Model T Touring cars and one 1923 Model T speedster started out at the base of the mountain where the dirt road meets the pavement. All the T’s where trailered to this position  from Nampa, Idaho. Everyone was bundled up since the cars are not enclosed and it was a brisk morning with breezy conditions but the sun was out and crystal blue skies as far as you can see all the way up to the top of the mountains where our destination lay, the old mining town of Silver City, Idaho.

Silver City was founded in 1864 soon after silver was discovered at nearby War Eagle Mountain at an elev. 8,065 ft. The settlement grew quickly and was soon considered one of the major cities in Idaho Territory. The first daily newspaper and telegraph office in Idaho Territory were established in Silver City. The town was also among the first places in present-day Idaho to receive electric and telephone service. The town would have electricity before the capital of Idaho, Boise did. 

The placer and quartz vein mines became depleted around the time Idaho became a state in 1890. Due in part to its extremely remote location, Silver City began a slow decline but was never completely abandoned. Small-scale mining continued off and on until World War II; the last mine to be operated all year round in Silver City was the “Potossi,” managed by Ned Williams.

The Idaho Hotel one of the main iconic buildings in Silver City once housed 40 rooms and electric power. It was restored and re-opened for tourists in 1972. It relies today on the use of propane refrigerators and stoves in order to supply cold drinks and snacks or a complete meal to guests during the summer months. The rooms are fitted with indoor plumbing and furnished with antiques, making it a tourist destination though today there are only 13 rooms. By 1972, the townsite and its environs were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, the Silver City Historic District.

From our starting location with the T’s to our destination is around 60 miles of dirt road. Luckily the road was in great shape but has about two large steep climbs that the group was concerned about but were all pretty sure that they T’s could make it. As we rolled along and began our accent the cars did well and there is nothing like watching the scenery roll by from the back seat of a Ford Model T.  I was in Jeremy’s 1924 Model T along with Susan and Jerry making the car fully loaded along with Mark’s tour car also fully loaded they were handling well as we climbed the first hill. Gary’s speedster with only one passenger eventually over came us and sped along the dirt road, having no problems climbing up the grade.

Getting closer to Silver City before the big accent. Paused for a little break and time to get a great shot of the cars together.

Following the group was a pace car and a truck and trailer just in case one of the cars broke down and had to be towed out. As we began our climb up the steepest part of the road Jeremy and Mark’s T eventually just flamed out with not enough power to climb the hill with all the weight in it. This is when Susan Jerry and I climbed out along with the other passengers in Mark’s car. After helping with a push of the T they started up the grade once again while we were left with either the pace car to ride in or on the trailer. I chose the trailer which proved to be a bumpy ride going up the hill.

The road started to level off at the top and we were able to once again ride in style to our destination. By this time the road was winding its way through the pine trees and aspens that were all in full Autumn bloom.

Before coming into Silver City the road drops back down into a valley and as we rode down both the Model T’s used their brakes a little much to the point you could smell the oil in the transmission starting to cook. Model T’s dont have normal brakes on the wheel area like modern cars. All the braking and clutching is done with bands on the transmission and you can over heat them if you are not careful and also destroy the band completely. By the time we rolled into to town most of the braking power was gone.

We Made it!

By the time we rolled into town it was just past 12:30 p.m. and decided to break out the pack lunches we all made. Town was busy with ATVs and side by sides and we found that the Idaho Hotel was still opened and was its last day of the season for them and they still had fresh baked pie to serve. Of course the whole club cleaned out what was left.

While looking around the town we met the winter caretaker. Each winter everyone leaves but one man stays and watches over all the buildings from people who come up through the snow to look at the town and may vandalize the historic structures. Now the winter caretaker happened to be Dave Wilper who was one of the founding members of the Western Model T Club! This trip to Silver City become all that more memorable and special when he gave us a tour of his home and the historic church that was built in 1868. He also showed us photos of when the club used to come up to Silver city during the 1970s.

Dave Wilper holding a photo of Pete and his Model T in Silver City many years ago.

Our Lady of Tears Catholic Church.

Inside of the church with original ceiling and varnish.

After our private tour of the church it was time to head back down the hill to where we started that morning. Jeremy and Mark checked their transmissions to see how the bands had fared on the way up and down the hills and both agreed that the cars could make it back home. Once again I climbed into Jeremy’s Model T, this time just me as a passenger which helped lighten the load. Luckily we had two pilot cars for everyone to ride in to keep the weight off the T’s.  Up and down the hills we went again eventually Marks Model T lost all its braking power and he relied on low gear using the engine to brake, no tightening of the bands could help eventually and we just took it slow going back. We left Silver City around 3:30 making it back to the starting location by 5pm.

Leaving Silver City

In the end no cars had to be put on the trailer and everyone had a great time. The weather was perfect for the drive up to 6,210 ft. The group all decided to head for Pizza at Idaho Pizza back in Nampa where we talked about the days events and how special the day was for the group.  I myself do not own a Model T but a big 1937 school bus but the club has welcomed me in like I am part of the family. It is a great group of people and look forward to more adventures with them in the future. They all say next year they plan to ride again to Silver City and this time bring their speedsters and leave the touring cars behind. As a passenger on the trip it left me time to look out and enjoy the scenery of the trip and one could almost imagine what it was like to travel by dirt road across the great American West in an open touring car with the wind and dust in your hair. What an experience to be able to have almost 100 years later.

Cars up at Silver City in front of the former drug store.

 

Historic Bus Keeps Rolling Along!

For the past 81 years this International School Bus has been rolling along the country side past houses, farms and fields. This is the first thing kids saw in rural America in the morning heading for school and with great joy watched it roll away each afternoon after dropping them off back at home. Life was simpler in America in the 1930s while also difficult for most people. The dirty 30’s were called that for a reason, After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the largest stock market crash in American history, most of the decade was consumed by an economic downfall called the Great Depression that had a traumatic effect worldwide, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. The 1930s also saw a proliferation of new technologies, especially in the fields of intercontinental aviation, radio, film, and school buses.

School buses before the mid 1930s were made from old utility trucks called “Hacks”. These hacks were used from police wagons to hauling kids around, kid hacks. By the 1930s school bus manufactures started using all steel construction for the bus frame since before most of the buses and hacks were made with a wood body. One such manufacture of bus bodies that were mounted on truck frames of the era was Hicks Bus Body Co. of Lebanon, Indiana. The Hicks Bus Body Co. was one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of school bus bodies, ranking 5th in total production at the start of the Second World War; its major competitors being Wayne, Blue Bird, Carpenter, Thomas and Ward. During the 1930s Earl M. Hicks designed, developed and patented several bus-related inventions, one of which was one of the first driver actuated remote school bus stop signs.

Now Hicks would build on whatever chassis desired by the customer in this case with cover photo of a International D30 truck. The school bus business was a highly seasonal enterprise, with four months on, then eight months off. Most school boards and superintendents put off ordering any new buses for the coming school year until the very last minute,  typically in April or May but demanded the vehicles be ready in time for the upcoming school year. Consequently many Hicks employees were part-time farmers, relying upon their bus building income to tide them over during the hot summer sabbatical.

An unfortunate rise in fatal school bus accidents resulted in an April 1939 conference in New York City where representatives from all 48 states gathered to develop a set of national standards for school bus construction and operation. The symposium was chaired by Frank W. Cyr, a Columbia University professor and a former superintendent of the Chappell, Nebraska school district.

The conference was attended by representatives of the bus body industry and at the end of the 7-day event the group released a list of minimum standards and recommendations. Among them were specifications for type of body, length, ceiling height and aisle width and color.

To determine the right color for the school bus strips of different colors were hung from a wall and the participants in the conference slowly narrowed down the colors until three slightly different shades of yellow remained and it was here that National School Bus Chrome became the chosen shade with slight variations allowed as yellow was a difficult color to reproduce exactly. Yellow had been decided upon because it provided good visibility in the semi-darkness of early morning and late afternoon.

1937 International D30, School Bus. I am the current owner of this marvelous vehicle.

Fast forward to June of 2017, I started maintaining this 1937 International School Bus, pictured above. A good friend of mine, Doug Rutan had been the driver of the bus for the past 20 years and was willing to let me not only drive it but also keep it at my place to work on it.  This particular bus lived its life in the Twin Falls County of Idaho transporting kids to one of the small farming towns in the county. Eventually school buses progressed in design and safety and the bus was sent to the junk yard. One wintry day in 1998 Doug Rutan noticed the bus in the junk yard and wanted to bring it back to where he lived to have it restored and on display at the Meridian Historical Society.

Bus before restoration in 1998.

After a couple months later the bus was brought back on a trailer and restoration began. The Bus was restored between 1998-2001 by the Meridian Historical Foundation. The Meridian Historical Foundation and the West Ada, Boise and Kuna school districts pitched in help and money for the project.

The bus was rebuilt, rust removed, holes welded shut, body painted and interior completely redone. The project was funded, in part, with a $3,000 grant from the Idaho Heritage Trust, along with $5,000 from the Boise School District, and $1,500 from the Meridian Historical Foundation. Students from the Boise, Kuna and Meridian districts volunteered their time to restore the Bus. The Kuna FFA Chapter designed and fabricated 12 new seats for the Bus based on the original.  Students at the Dehryl A.Dennis Professional-Technical Center did much of the bodywork along with students at Boise State University.

The School Bus made its debut at the Kuna Days Parade in 2001 and since then has seen many more local parades and car shows. Since I started working on the bus it is now running better then ever with new spark plugs, oil, and belts. After 20 years it was time for a service. Soon the bus will be converted to 12 volt system since its still running the old 6 volts. After about a year of running the bus I acquired the bus out rite in April of 2018. I am a proud owner of a very rare school bus since its in its original condition still. I have been able to take it to many car shows and cruises and it wins awards anywhere it goes. It is a joy to drive and take out. Thanks to Doug Rutan and his efforts to restore this vehicle it can now be enjoyed by kids and adults alike for many years to come. I now carry the torch and am proud to keep the bus running.

Thank you Doug for giving me this opportunity…

Here are some facts about the bus:

• The Bus is an International D-30 truck built in 1937 with a Blue Diamond Flat Head six cylinder motor.
• The top speed is 35 mph and has no power steering and must be double clutched to shift gears.
• The school bus body was constructed by the Hicks Bus Body Co. of Lebanon Indiana and mounted onto the truck frame.
• The bus was built two years before the official School Bus Chrome, Yellow was mandated.
• This particular bus operated in Twin Falls County, Idaho for most of its life. It is uncertain which school district used this bus.

Small town Historical Society making a come back.

The Kuna Historical Society has seen it’s better days and it’s ups and downs. Now this year and next the society is wanting to get out their in the community and grow.

I recently wrote an article for the small town I live in, Kuna, Idaho. I have been working with the society for awhile now trying to get them back on their feet. Recently I wrote a newsletter for the society and now being put out in downtown business. I can see lots of good things coming for this society but it will take time and good leadership.

Read the article here: https://www.idahopress.com/kuna/community/kuna-history-is-making-a-comeback-with-the-kuna-historical/article_1840b370-1597-522e-8157-db9c39340eaf.html#tncms-source=article-nav-next