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On this day in history, July 17, 1916 a Saxon Six automobile came speeding though Marion on the Lincoln Highway. It was one of 38 being driven by Saxon dealers in relay fashion, carrying a message from the mayor of NYC to the mayor of San Francisco. The Saxon Motor Co. stunt was designed to publicize the new model and demonstrate its suitability for carrying military dispatches, but the War Department was not a sponsor or consulted. The trip started July 15 and ended in SF on July 22, in a best-ever coast-to-coast time of 6 days and 18 hours. The record stood for only one week though, then a team of drivers led by S. B. Stevens, a millionaire sportsman from NY, finished one full day faster. That story next week.

Automobile manufacturers staged several transcontinental stunts on the Lincoln Highway in 1916. Claire Rochester drove through Marion on June 29; others came through July 24, July 25 and August 16. There were others too, using different roads, including a record run by Erwin G. ("Cannon Ball") Baker on a southern route through Kansas City and St. Louis. By 1916 the public was getting tired of promotional stunts like these using public roads; there was nothing left to prove about automotive reliability. But pressure to join the war in Europe was increasing and "war preparedness" was on everyone's mind. Police and public mostly tolerated them for now, but protests mounted by the end of the summer. ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago  ·  

Photos from Sunday's Picnic in the Park. A good time had by all! ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago  ·