On or about this day in history August 22, 1915 two young men riding a 3-speed Indian motorcycle came through eastern Iowa on their way to Chicago and their homes in Washington D.C. In July they had become the first people to ride coast to coast, E to W, tandem on a motorcycle, and they were fast approaching making it a roundtrip of over 10,000 miles.

W. F. "Bud" Baker, (age 23) and R. A. "Dick" O'Brien, Jr. (age 19) had left Washington D.C. on May 3. They travelled the Lincoln Highway in the East, but took the southern route out of Chicago, going west through St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver. The Midwest had seen an abundance of rain that summer and traffic had stopped moving in Iowa. Lincoln Highway officials had "finished" the road that summer in anticipation of seeing hundreds of motorists traveling to the San Francisco World's Fair. "Finished" meant they had arranged for the dirt road to be dragged smooth in most places and the adjacent telephone poles to be painted with the familiar red, white and blue stripes. But that summer even some of the markers were underwater; motorists surveying conditions for the upcoming transcontinental motorcycle dispatch relay called the section from Boone to Denison a "Vale of Tears." (Motorcycle Illustrated; July 22, 1915) Baker & O'Brien arrived in San Francisco on July 11. They followed the Lincoln Highway most of the way back but apparently diverted to the River-to-River Road out of Omaha and rode through Des Moines and Iowa City on August 21-22. Find Bud Baker at Find A Grave memorial # 182630486; Dick O'Brien at #135479016. ... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago  ·  

On this day in history August 20, 1906 a 22 hp 2-cylinder Buick Model F touring car raced through Marion on the future Lincoln Highway on its way to San Francisco. It had left New York City August 16th. James C. Whittle brought the car here from Chicago, accompanied by war correspondent Richard Henry Little. Chief driver Norman Devaux had taken the car most of the way from NYC to Chicago, and would resume driving in Cedar Rapids. He had gotten some well-deserved rest, jumping ahead by train, along with Christian D. Haggerty, another newspaper correspondent covering the trip. The men were driving in relay fashion, 24-7, out to break the 15-day coast-to-coast record set by Lester Whitman and Clayton Carris just a few days before. Reporters Little and Haggerty were famous for their coverage of the 1904 Russo-Japanese War, but they had never witnessed action like they would see on this trip.

Devaux hit a rut in the road near Fishkill, NY, barely 50 miles from the start, and rolled the vehicle. Only a crash against a propitiously placed tree prevented it from rolling all the way down a hill. Later that night, the car caught fire on a refueling stop in Syracuse. (Syracuse Post-Standard; August 17, 1906) Thunderstorms caught them in Ohio and never let go. The men arrived in Cedar Rapids exhausted, 24 hours behind schedule, covered in mud and almost unrecognizable. As the car refueled, they scraped off some mud; then Devaux resumed his position in front and set off again with relief driver Terry J. King in the passenger seat and the two reporters in back.

Outside Marshalltown, Devaux startled a team on the road and the man's horse injured itself running into a fence. The men were arrested when they reached town. To avoid delay, and being the most expendable, Dick Little professed to be the driver and was held until the farmer arrived and the matter could be settled. He vowed to telegraph them and catch up later, "If they don't hang me." (The Motor Way; August 23, 1906) The case was settled out of court for $10.

Devaux's troubles continued all across Iowa. He drove off a bridge at one point and into a ditch at another. The car limped into Carroll looking like a lumber wagon, held together with some 2X4 fence rails the men had "borrowed" to help pry the vehicle from mud holes. (Marshalltown Times-Republican; August 22, 1906) They arrived in San Francisco on September 9, after several more accidents, in a disappointing 24 days, 19 hours--well off the record. Buick consoled itself by claiming the fastest westbound trip ever.

Devaux had a long career with several automobile companies, including his own, which he lost in the Great Depression. See him at Find A Grave memorial #47591225. Whittle continued racing briefly and then enrolled at Cornell University and got his degree in mechanical engineering. Sadly, he took his own life in 1912, despondent over losing his job at Studebaker. More about him at memorial #105949681. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago  ·  

On this day in history, August 16, 1916, 25 year-old Amanda Preuss raced through Marion on her way from San Francisco to New York and becoming the first woman to drive coast to coast alone in the car. Her time of 11 days, five hours shattered the previous women's record held by Actress Anita King by more than 36 days! You can find her now on Find A Grave at memorial #182428037. We wrote about the trip last year--see www.facebook.com/MarionHeritageCenter/posts/685413838272545.

Engineers perfected basic automobile technology remarkably quickly thanks to the hundreds of minds and companies working on the problem. Consider ten years before. On this same day in 1906, two cars flashed passed each other near New York City--one going east, the other west--each attempting to set a new record for going coast-to-coast. Lester Whitman and Clayton Carris, who I wrote about last time, finished in New York City the next day, after 15 days, two hours. They shattered the previous record by more than 17 days! Leaving NYC and traveling west that day was Norman Devaux, driving a 2-cylinder Buick with mechanic and relief driver J. C. Whittle. Devaux had planned to set the record himself and make a reasonably leisurely crossing with time out for sleep and a few tourist stops. But learning of Whitman and Carris's amazing time, he threw out his plans and put the pedal to the metal! Along to report on the trip and hold down the back seat were famed war correspondents Richard Henry Little and Christian D. Haggerty. They learned war-reporting was a cakewalk compared to driving cross-country in 1906.

They reached Marion on August 20. More about the trip then. It wasn't Devaux's first visit to Iowa. He bicycled through in 1896 going from NY to SF. See the story at www.facebook.com/MarionHeritageCenter/posts/848560211957906. ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago  ·