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The Baltimore Motor Trend Auto Show Baltimore, Maryland January 2008 All Photos are by Diane Knaus and copyrighted
Chevy Corvette 08 - 15 Miles Per Gallon City $46,950.00 While GM offers all UAW Union employees buyouts, the car shows continue to draw crowds.
GM08 Buyouts and Their Numbers 74,000
Photographs provided by Dave Tanner Dave Tanner Pattern Maker
There once was a truck that was driven
from Windsor to Vancouver in 1917, a Model T Ford to get orders for
the Champion Spark Plug company by President Charlie Speers, and Cal
Evans. The trip taken by Charlie Speers and
Cal Evans is thought to be the first cross country tour for a car.
Some of the tour was taken with the truck on the flatbed of a train.
Then when Charlie and Cal got to individual towns, they would take
the car off of the train and go conduct their sales for the spark
plugs which the company manufactured. A year ago, Dave Tanner (a member
of the Canadian Transportation Museum), was talking about the truck
and the idea to rebuild the entire truck was born, so he was asked
by members of his car club to build it. To start from scratch was a challenge
indeed, as Dave had to cut individual pieces to create the spine of
the car, the mould so to speak. Dave' garage was designed and equipped
to make almost anything, which was where he built the car. Many of
these pieces were glued then screwed into place as Dave began to rebuild
the car as a replica of the original Champion Spark Plug Truck . By
using the space between the wheelbase of 100 inches as a pattern,
he ably constructed the truck exactly as it was originally. The whole
process took about a year to complete the truck during his spare time.
Today, the truck runs, and is shown at the Canadian Transportation
Museum in Essex County. Dave moved to Windsor in 1965 with his family, as a trained pattern maker, he teamed up with a few fellows to start a company here. The company called TEAM was made up of himself, Dave Tanner, Ellis, Anderson, and Mullindorf, and they did pattern making in Windsor. As he became interested in antique cars and vehicles, he began to make model cars, only life size. One of his creations that produced a
lot of buzz on the car circuit was the Ford Model T Depot Hack. Someone
gave him a radiator cap and he began talking about it and talked himself
right into building it when his fellow car enthusiasts asked him to
actually do it. The car was called a Depot Hack because it was used
to pick up people from the train station and take them to the hotels
or resorts, thus the “Depot Hack “ was born. His reputation
as a perfectionist took off. He has been known to take something apart
as many as tree times to get it just right. The rebuilding of this
car, the Model T Depot Hack, was the catalyst that actually led to
the creation of the Champion Spark Plug Truck last year because Dave
had done such a remarkable job on the Model T Depot Hack. Dave Tanner is originally from Lutterworth, England. He was trained because his uncle in England wanted to give him a chance to earn his own way. Dave was an indentured apprentice as a teen at the age of 15 until he reached 21 years of age, and became a pattern maker at that time. Dave said, “It was really a term for slavery at the time. Pattern makers then were trained to make wooden moulds that created the moulds for the foundry industry. These wooden moulds were used to cast metal parts, like a cylinder head or bolt. As Dave says “technology has changed that method now.” He describes his rebuilding of antique vehicles as a “labour of love.” Me, My Dad and Cars by Diane Knaus My father came back from the
Army in 1953, after spending a few years in Korea . While in the service,
he learned to like the work of fixing cars and engines in the Motor
Pool. His later life tag of "Mr. Fixit" experience came from
the time when he was at the Motor Pool in the service. When I was younger, I remember
him working on his cars, changing the spark plugs, the oil, and filters.
Most of the cars were Fords . A few years later I remember him buying
a 1956 Ford Fairlane. At the time I was 16 and not very interested in
cars all that much. Although I did want to get my driver's license,
I waited until I turned 17 to do so. When it came time to change
the brake pads on the Ford Fairlane I became pretty adept at giving
him the tools that he requested, like a 3/8" wrench rather than
a 3/16". Seemed like every time when he was fixing the car, I was
right there by his side. Soaking up the information about how the car
was supposed to run, my knowledge about car repairs grew as I did. There
have been times in my adult life when I have changed spark plugs, tightened
wires, changed the battery and checked the oil level and refilled it
to the mark on the oil stick. Not great things, but satisfying to me
in the knowledge that I could do it if I had to. I remember when my father
was trying to fix my first car, a 1952 Ford. It was a light green 52
Ford convertible with a white top. He went through a series of, if the
problem isn't this then it is this. If it won't start, then maybe we
can clean the spark plugs with sandpaper or run a wire brush over them
to get the "ick" off. Then of course he went to the parts
store and bought new spark plugs. That helped but he wasn't satisfied,
so he replaced some little square looking rubber brushes in a metal
cylinder, and the car ran much better. The next problem was the battery.
So we charged it, but it was too weak, so then he went out and bought
a new one. A few months later I had taken the car through a field a
few times just for the fun of it, guess that was when the muffler became
loose. I never told him how it came loose. My father was good at changing
oil and not spilling it all over. He eventually took the used oil to
a gas station where they reclaimed it. He kept his cars in good running
order and in later years then in his garage. During his lifetime my father bought me a few used cars. I'll never forget one in particular, it was an orange taxicab he bought from a junk yard. I wish he had left it in the junk yard! The brakes were nonexistent. He even bought a junked police car one time. We had a curious relationship! Some of the things I learned from Dad was to pay attention to the normal car sounds and the feel of the car while I had my hands on the steering wheel. Tactile is the word I believe that tells you things through your hands. Like if the right wheel is wiggling, you may be getting a flat. He taught me some things that I do with my car now to keep it in good running condition. When the oil gets nasty and dark looking that it is time to take it to have the oil, the oil filter, the air filter changed. Yes guys I do mark down the
mileage, and change the oil every 10,000 miles. Regularly I check my
tire pressure for safe inflation, windshield wipers for wear, and the
spark plugs annually. He taught me well, and I remember the lessons.
Am I am expert, no! But, I do like to know what goes on under the hood
and I work at knowing something about the engine. Most of the time I
know what to ask for when going into the parts store. Usually I was right alongside
of him when anything had to be repaired at home, no matter if it was
a screen window, or a furnace filter, the car oil, the car or air filter.
I watched him do the repairs and learned my lessons well. Like Alfalfa
in The Little Rascals (you remember the kid who had the one spike of
hair sticking straight up in the back of his head), "Amazing, simply
amazing! " It amazes me even today how car engines actually perform
in a vehicle.
Oh Those Fifties What is read and white and black, if you said a newspaper, you will only be half right. if your second answer was a checkered race flag you’d only be partially right. If your third answer added a 1950’s Diner you would be exactly right. That is where all of the hot rod cars were after 10 pm on the weekends during the 50’s. Oh those good looking guys and their shiny hot rods, what a combination! Believe me when I tell you that, lots of girls hung out at the drive ins back in the 50’s. They did so just to look at the guys with their hair slicked back and their shiny rods just spoiling for a race. The guys were wanting to put someone else car down and show off their spiffy cars and loud mufflers.That was one of the ways the guys would get their frustrations out back then.
Those kind of cars and the guys that drove them made the diners interesting, they brought that extra tingle to people eating at the diners. What with their white tee shirts and their pack of smokes rolled up in their shirt sleeves, and clean pressed jeans, they looked cool. Can’t forget to mention their work boots and dressy Penny loafers which really set their style. Of course then we had to bring
Dad a milk shake as a reason to make the drive in the first place. The
drive ins were bright and colorful, and clean. The menus featured good
hamburgers, french fries, and thick milk shakes. (Oh we didn’t
even think about cholesterol back then) The diners had bright colorful
jukeboxes and flashing lights inside, so we could play our Ricky Nelson,
Fats Dominoe, The Beattles, and finally Elvis Presley songs. At the 50’s Diner in
the Canadian Transportation Museum, you can get grilled burgers and
dogs to your liking. If you want to recreate those memories, you can
take your antique car or go to see other cars at the Canadian Transportation
Museum & Historic Village in Southern Ontario. You can actually
dine in their new 50’s Diner as did many in their first ever “Cruise
In” on May 18, 2006 . With dine in facilities, and an outdoor patio
area, as well as an inside bar and banquet facilities their offering
to the public is one in a hundred. While sitting on their red and white
chairs, listening to the jukebox you will think you are reliving history
as you watch the classic cars rumble in on the blacktop driveway. Cruise
Ins are scheduled for Thursdays during the summer. |
The Baltimore Motor Trend Auto Show Baltimore, Maryland January 2008 All Photos are by Diane Knaus and copyrighted
Chevy Car of the Year
Cadillac 08
Lexus SUV 08 $50,095.00 5 Door - 24 Miles Per Gallon
Photo Courtesy of The Fortin Family Hi-Ho Restaurants by Diane Knaus 8-16-2006 Years ahead of their time,
the Fortin brothers opened Hi-Ho Service Limited, otherwise known as
Hi-Ho Drive in Restaurants during the depression in 1937. The brothers
Leo and Frank Fortin actually built their own building with foundry
sand for their parking lot priced at $1.00 a load in Windsor, Ontario
Canada. Their first diner was 20'
by 30' located at 4033 Tecumseh Street East where they had plenty of
space to park. They flipped hamburgers and hot dogs for $.10 a piece,
they did so with hydro for cooking and lights because there was no gas
and for heat they used a coal stove. Their only other equipment was
an electric bun toaster and a grill. They were overwhelmed at their
success because people came from everywhere to try out their menu items.
Soda pop was selling for .05 each, a double dip of ice cream was .05
and a single .03 cents, coffee was only .05 a cup. Hmmm, I wonder how
much Starbucks pays for theirs at this day and time. Because Leo Fortin had joined
the Army, Frank worked the diner by himself. Delivery service was instituted,
but soon discontinued, due to drivers wrecking the cars too many times,
and their menu list was huge. It was too large to have the deliveries
made and the food in good condition at the same time. As real community
people, they sponsored teams and bought a bus to transport the neighborhood
kids to school. The diner was closed during the winters because Frank
was holding down two jobs. Within few years times there
were another five Drive Ins to be built and their wild success enhanced
their reputation. Their reputation was so good that Walt Disney Company
gave them permission to use their Seven Dwarfs images on the menus.
Remember the "Hi-Ho, Hi -Ho It's Off to Work We Go" song from
the movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" made in 1937?
It has been said that Leo and Franks' mother gave the boys the name
of Hi-Ho for the restaurant when they first began in 1938. Although the restaurants have been closed since 1985, Franks daughter Annette and son Norman Fortin remembered the hard work that was involved, and how hard their father Frank Aime Fortin and their uncle Leo worked. Sounds to me like Canada had another first by the brothers Frank and Leo opening the "Hi-Ho" Drive Ins. Franks son Norman Fortin made some of the signs for the original diners. Norman Fortin as an artist has replicas of the Hi-Ho Logo, in his Lincoln Street studio in Windsor.
The Canadian Transportation Museum has an exhibit which features the front of a Hi-Ho drive- in, complete with images of the waitresses in their fifties uniforms. Dave Tanner, pattern maker extraordinary provided the talent and technical skills to reproduce the exhibit.
"Cruise In" Thursdays at the Canadian Transportation Museum Essex County,Ontario Canada /photo byDiane Knaus
Day Tripping to the Canadian
Transportation Museum & Historic Village in Southern Ontario If you really want your family to experience a taste of the "olde world" and find out about Canada's Transportation history at the same time, the best place to find an authentic atmosphere is at the Canadian Transportation Museum in Essex County. From the wooden Red River carts that farmers used to pile their vegetables into to the first cars built by the Henry Ford Company and others, you can see them all in the museum. Restored antique cars that sparkle, old motorcycles, touring cars, a 1904 hearse, an antique La France 700 series fire truck, the Champion Spark Plug Truck which was driven all across the country to prove that the plugs were reliable, can be seen at the museum. Along with fabulous antique cars some of which have been restored with love on site by volunteers, there will be an Emergency Medical Service Museum on the grounds as well. Most of these EMS vehicles were donated by Len Langlois, the former director of the Chatham and District Ambulance Service. A variety of their equipment that was used on a daily basis will be on display from the actual switchboards from a dispatch centre, to a bunkhouse, to operating tables.The heritage village area is an authentic refurbished village of homes that have been moved from their original home sites. It offers the history buff a place as a way to quicken the beat of a young person's heart, "a truly remarkable experience to be in the moment, yet in the past. " From the naturalist Jack Miner, his homestead which he hewed with his own hands, was donated by the Miner foundation to the heritage village, as was a barber shop, and post office. As an added attraction, there
will be a 1950;s working diner inside the main building. The organization features
a cancer fundraising walk for cancer each year, last time they raised
over $77,000.00. Visit the Museum's web site at: Nostalgia NASCAR and The Environment The Backyard Garage Boys to NASCAR to a Better Environment by Diane Knaus Oh those good looking guys
from the fifties. With their slicked back hair, white tee shirts with
rolled up sleeves, their smokes in the folds, and of course their clean
jeans what a sight they were alongside their hot rod cars at the “Drive
In” restaurants.The best looking sparkly cars took hours and hours
of painstaking work to keep them looking sharp. One of my cousins was
washing his car twice a day to keep the dust off of it, especially if
he was going to go into town. A hefty supply of Turtle Wax and clean
rags were a mainstay of anyones toolbox and maintenance program. Some
of the boys then would work at a garage to learn the trade of fixing
the motors and repairs, then buy junkers and fix them up. They certainly
were the precursors of today's Nascar drivers and owners. That is where
NASCAR began for the boys who made the hot rods in the fifties. Coca Cola became big in the
fifties as well, now there is even a Coca-Cola 600 race. For the guys
and their families who go to races with their flatbed trucks carrying
their cars,many of them will wear black tee shirts now. Black because
it doesn't show the dirt so much, and some people think it is cooler
looking! To keep their cars in good running order was their focus, which is the same focus of the NASCAR drivers and highly paid crew members today. Regular oil changes were paramount to a good running car, now many oils are made especially for the souped up hot rods that participate in the NASCAR races. Their tires are especially made for racing, Now you can go to the Canadian Transportation Museum in Essex County ,Ontario Canada to see some of those hot rods, and other earlier cars as well. Actually if you still have an antique car that runs you can participate in their Thursday “Cruise Ins” at the 50’s Diner and get fed as well. With dine-in facilities in an authentic diner, an outdoor patio area, as well as an inside bar and banquet facilities their offering to the public is one in a hundred. While sitting on their red and white chairs, listening to the jukebox you will think you are reliving history as you watch the classic cars rumble in on the blacktop driveway. Cruise Ins are scheduled for Thursdays during the summer. |
