SRHS
Steamboat Rock Historical Society
MOVING BEYOND THE OLD LIMITS
THE AUTOMOBILE
Nothing since the train did so much to change things as the automobile. Now people were able to go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. They were no longer restrained by the schedule of the train. Because it was so important it would seem that more would have been written on the automobile coming to Steamboat Rock. It was certainly as important as the railroad. Very little can be found about those who ran auto businesses in Steamboat prior to Ernest Gellhorn, and Harold Luiken in the ‘40s and ‘50s.
Gust Kluger’s Car
Ben Jaspers First Car
A hundred or more different makes of automobiles have been on our roads at one time or another. But none made its mark in history like the famed Model-T, 1909 -1927. It was, of course, the first car to be mass produced.
I don’t know who was the first to go into the auto business in Steamboat Rock.
Claassen’s Car
Russell Holmes car
Clara Briggs Car. Riders are Meta Mae & Angie Gellhorn
In June 1916, partners Gilham and Johnson secured the building formerly used by Geerdes and Eckhoff and were fixing it up as a garage. They seemed to have been selling Fords without a proper place of business for some time, but how long it was is not known. According to an article in the Eldora Herald, they were expecting another carload of Fords soon and planned to have the building ready when they arrived.
Steamboat Rock Auto Company is believed to have resulted from the Gilham, Johnson partnership and sold Ford cars. In May of 1917 the Steamboat Rock auto company installed a new gas pump in order to supply gasoline to it’s customers.
By present-day standards, or almost any standards, the Model-T rattled, vibrated, shook, and shimmied. Those who now prefer the stick shift so that they will have the experience of “really driving” would have been totally enamored with the Model T; the driver and the machine were as one.
The driver clutched the wheel with both hands, only giving up the grip on the right hand briefly to adjust the hand throttle which was a lever protruding much as the turn lever protrudes on modern cars. The car was light, quick, and high. The slightest turn of the steering wheel seemed to be transmitted tenfold and instantly to the front wheels.
Women immediately took the wheel. Esther Daleske
Helen Devries
Mike Daleske’s Car
The Model T was famous for “kicking” and breaking the arms of those who were not experienced, as well as some who were. The cautious and the smart usually satisfied themselves with a simple upstroke. If this failed to do the job, and it frequently did, the temptation was to “spin it.” Then at some point in the effort there was a tendency for the engine to backfire and drive the crank suddenly counterclockwise. A broken arm was the frequent result. Also, if the beast was particularly stubborn, it sometimes helped to jack up one hind wheel. As you cranked, the wheel would swing into action and add some momentum to the cranking effort.
Fords were especially susceptible to stalling when going up hills. Something about the relation of the gas tank, which was under the front seat, and the motor. They had no fuel pump. This could be overcome by backing up the hills. This was a practice followed by many Ford owners. Somewhat the same effect could be had by simply putting some air pressure on the gas tank. Some folks had an arrangement where they would hook the tire pump to the gas tank and build up some pressure if they couldn’t make it over the hill.
The lights on the Model T were a strictly magneto job, no battery. The intensity of the lights was in relation to the speed of the car, the faster you went the better the lights. Mr. Nader would not have considered this ideal from a safety standpoint. But it could be nicely overcome by simply driving in low gear: slow car speed; high engine speed; better lights.
Ben & Julia Johnson.
John & George Potgeter.
Kurt Cable’s car. Driver unknown, Gust Kluger rider.
We have come a long way and have made a great many improvements in the automobile.