4 August 1977
Summer Nebraskan
Page Five
st
or
the tale of a: Model T
Arizona
bu
Today, an intrepid, CB-equipped traveller can drive
from Nebraska to Arizona in a little over a day. In 1919,
that same trip took Emil Johnson six weeks.
The automobile has dominated transportation since
World War I. In the modern world of domed motels and
two hundred horsepower engines, the Model T age seems
almost as removed as the covered-wagon days.
; Johnson, a retired farmer living in Wahoo, summed
up the changes:
"In those days a trip was a real adventure. You
couldn't just jump into your car and drive off."
His own adventure started as a matter of necessity.
Emil and his new bride Helen hoped to homestead near
Casa Grande, Arizona. In September 1919 they loaded
their Model T.Ford with tools, food and their dog Jack
and set out on a combination permanent move and
vacation.
, Whatever name you give your expedition, one thing is
certain. It was slow. The Model T was not the fastest of
Mr
i-r
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it '
"7
ft
The house that Johnson built.
cars, and the roads prevented even that slow vehicle
from reaching top speed. Except for certain city streets,
the roads were unpaved and barely improved dirk tracks
in some places.
"The worst roads were in the petrified-forst area.
They seemed to be made of big rocks and old, petrified
tree chunks which really tore up tires," Johnson said.
Even when the roads were passable, the complete lack
of directional road signs (Nebraska erected its first' in
1924) made choosing a route hit or miss. A wrong turn
often led to embarrassing encounters with irate bulls and
painful meetings with local mudholes.
Fortunately, a company based in New York and
Chicago published the Official Automobile Blue Book,
which offered aid to the lost. The book contained road
maps plus detailed instructions for finding routes, much
like the directions used in sports-car rallies today.
Here, for example, is the Blue Book route from
Omaha to the outskirts of Council Bluffs:
Mileage
Total
0.0
4.5
7.1 1.6 Leaf-hand diagonal road; bear left
with double line of poles.
'9.2 2.1 Fork; bear right with travel and
poles.
11.0 1.8 Fork; bear slightly right with travel
- and poles. .
The Blue Book also noted that Omaha was the largest
producer of butter in , the United States and that it
hosted the government's only balloon school.
In the far west, the directions often became less
specific. Near Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Blue Book
calmly advised: y
"La Bajeda, end of road. Turn right with travel!"
"I just followed the tracks to Domingo," said
Johnson of this cryptic notation.
The Blue Book also listed garages in each town, a
good thing, considering the frequency of breakdowns.
In the mountain passes of Colorado, the steep grades
kept oil from reaching the front connecting rod (oil
pumps were not used on Model Ts). So the Johnson's
connecting rod burned out.
Luckily, a small post office at the top of the pass
carried Ford parts. The Model T was so common, and
breakdowns so frequent, that many small businessmen
kept parts on hand. Other problems developed so often
that Johnson simply carried replacements alorg with his
tools.
The Johnsons camped near a mountain stream the
night of the breakdown. The next morning Emil woke
up at sunrise, replaced the rod and ate lunch. They were
back on the road by noon.
The Model T used a planetary transmission, in which
a miniature solar system of sunwheels, planet wheels and
ring gears shifted speeds controlled by three small pedals
on the floor. There was no conventional clutch. Felt
brake bands contracted to lock the appropriate gears to
their shafts, transmitting power to the rear wheels.
Friction caused the felt bands to wear down every
300 miles or so. Johnson frequently replaced the bands,
an annoying job but cheaper than rebuilding a modern
clutch. .,- w ,
Bands and rods took time and energy to replace, but
some breakdowns created greater hazards.
In the Colorado Rockies, Johnson met a wealthy
California vineyard owner and his wife. They sat
stranded on the roadside in their Cadillac, victims of a
sheared rear wheel hub. Emil rose to the occasion, and
wired the wheel back onto the axle.
"It worked just fine," Johnson recalls, "Except that
the driver couldn't use the brakes on the downhill
slopes."
At least the repair worked well enough to see the
couple into the first garage along the rocky road.
Near Casa Grande, Johnson's Ford sheared a hub so
badly that no baling wire miracle would repair it. Emil
walked into town for a mechanic, but it was Sunday and
no service stations were open. Emil found a mechanic in
a cafe. He drove Johnson back to the car, drank a cup of
coffee, and fixed the damage. Total cost for parts and
labor: $10.
.-4 -w
..'-'' " ":' '
5.5
Intermed
0.0 OMAHA, NEB., Douglas & 16th
Sts. Go east on Douglas St. Cross
long iron bridge over the Missouri
River 0.5.
4.5 COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA., Broadway
& Pearl St. Straight thru with
trolley on Broadway. Avoid road to
... . t f. d n
right at targe oriCK cnurcn :
1.0 Fork, where trolley goes to right; T'W
bear left.
Changing a tire.
Johnson travelled from Coloraod and Pyoenix with
the vineyard owner. The Cadillac, even then an
expensive car, had a better carburetor and a stronger
frame than the Model T. At Raton Pass in northern New
Mexico, it towed the Ford up the steep grade and saved
another connecting rod. v
In those days travellers often banded together.
Friends helped with repairs and at the end of the day
theyset up roadside camps. Along southwestern
highways, campfire singalongs, cards and gossip lessened
homesickness.
Scenery also enlivened the trip. The Johnsons. drove
and walked to the top of Pike's Peak. Of course, some
members of the expedition felt differently. On a cold,
. rainy night in the mountains, while wild animals howled
in the distance, the Johnson's dog Jack crawled onto
their cot and speni the night there shivering.
In New Mexico the scenery changed from pine tree to
' cactus and mesquite. The Johnsons visited Indian ruins
I and stopped at the Petrified Forest in Arizona, at least
long enough to change tires.
The trip ended near Casa Grande in early November.
The Johnson said goodbye to their companions, who
travelled on to find California, and incidentally, a
divorce. But for the Johnsons, the vacation was over and
the work of building a new home began.
Emil returned to Nebraska in 1920. Since then he has
returned to Arizona by car and plane. In spite of the
grueling 50-mile days and amputated rear wheels, he
remembers the 1919 trip fondly.
I enjoyed it," he said, "and the only night we were
scared was the night our dog jumped into bed with us.
By Mark Young
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