Bee
EDITORIAL
AMUSEMENTS
The Omaha
VOL. L NO. 37.
NAPPY
ND MERE'S THAT
AUTO SHOW WITH
SPORTY WAGONsT
WHICH AROUSED
WONOEQ. oP OMAHA
IN IQ06
By A. R. GROH.
You've looked through the old
family album. You got many a
laugh out of it, didn't you?
There was the picture of old
Uncle Eliphalct Bodkins with his
hip boots and whiskers and
smooth-shaven upper lip. Gosh,
but he looked stern.
There was the tintype of Grand
mother Mehitable Grimm when
she was a little girl. She wears
pantalets, gathered in at the an
kle and a dress that fits her form
like the paper on the wall.
And here is Aunt Elvira when
she was a ay and beautiful young'
woman in i hoop-skirts and tight
waist. And there's a whole flock
of little children's photographs of
the long ago, each child with one
arm draped over something. They
couldn't take a child's , picture in
those days unless one arm was
draped over a table or the back of.
a chair. v
Looking Back.
Funny old pictures, aren't they?
And, while you get a laugh, there's
a little lump in your throat some
times as you look at the family -album.
,
Thrc is much the same kind of
feeling in looking back at Oma
ha's first automobile show.
That was only 15 years ago. Yet
the "classy" model of that year
looks funnier today than the pic
ture of your Uncle Eliphalet Bod
kins. The upright 'steering wheel,
. the. funny seats, the queerly shaped
body.
Would you believe it, folks the
Cadillac and numerous other cars
of that day had only one cylinder.
"Double cylinder" cars were con
sidered rather -experimental. One
or two very advanced models had,
four cylinders and a "freak" with
six cylinders wai exhibited.,
Sunnybrook? What's 'At?
In the Bee of that year areauto
ads, contemporary with the nar-row-waisted,
trailing skirted, big
slceved dresscsworn by the wom
en of that day, contemporary with ,
some "nifty" models of young
men's suits, the coats reaching,
nearly to( the knees, contemporary
also with ais of some mysterious
things called "Schlitz Beer," "An
heus'er Bttsch" and "Sunnybrook,
$1.50 quart."
The 16th annual Omaha Auto
show will open soon. A giant has
developed from the little, !timid
venture launched in 1906 by Clarke '
G. Powell, J. J. Deright and J. M.
Gillan. Mr. Powell has been the. chief
dynamo that has driven every
show from the first to the present,
a young man of enthusiasm, vision
and indefatigable energy. The
how ia now one of the .biggest of
its kind.
"That first show was given un1
r the auspices of the Omaha Au
ditorium company and the Omaha
Automobile Dealers' association
wider my management' raid Mr.
Powell. "There were only five x
hibitt and we had a hard time
distributing the cars so the Au
itor:w wouldn't look too empty.
Among exhibitors that year were
R. R. Kimball, Deright Automo
bile company. Oldsmobile Motor
works,' Powell-Bacon company
and H. E. Fredrickson.
"Most of the cars were gaso
line. Several of them were one
cylinder, some two-cylinder, a
very few fours and one six. All
tiie automobile concerns made cx-
;M ff--iv3P 7tse j4c ;
FlfcST
: -
J.M.GILLAN-ONE OF TQlo'
HO LAUNCHED FOST .
SHOW
hibits in their booths of automo
bile sundries also.
No Decorations.
"There was no decorating of
any kind except strips of burlap
spread on the floor and a row of
lights hung on each side of the
hall. The boxes were not re
moved from the Auditorium, nor
were the stage and basementlused
as in later shows.
"Very few of the cars shown
were owned by the dealers. They
were borrowe4 from the owners
and cleaned up for the occasion."
In contrast to this are the great
shows of recent years with every
available foot of space in the Au
ditorium taken, with ' the stage
filled and the basement occupied
and now an annex building to
the south also filled with cars.
At last year's show there were
77 exhibitors, 94 different kind's
of cars and a , total of 284 cars
on display, ranging in price from
$587 to $11,000. Wonderful dec
orations characterize the present
day shows and the crowds surge
through the building for the entire
week.
Those First Ads.
Four little automobile, ads ap
peared in The Bee the Sunday
before that first auto show opened.
Every one of them is a "scream."
The car of that day was a fearful
and wonderful, thing. There were
no foredoors at all. The steering
wheel stood about upright. They
had no self-starters and the cars
cranked at the side. Here is one
ad: .
RAMBLER.
THE FAMILY CAR.
18 Horse' Power. $1,200.
HeTe's another:
DOUBLE CYLINDER BUICK
The Most Remarkable Hill
Climber on Record.
H. E. Frederickson,
Fifteenth and Capitol Avenue.
The first Omaha Automobile
show opened in the Auditorium
Wednesday. April 4, 1906. and
was considered something of a
"freak" and wild idea. The news
papers told about it in half col
ums on inside pages. Some people
said it was just an attempt to
ape New York and Chicago, which
were the only cities that had es
sayed auto shows up to that timet
The promoters themselves.
Messrs.. Powell and Deright and
MOD
IT.STfcWAQT JR. PRCS. Of
1921 Snow
Gillan were rather doubtful. But
thcyvent ahead -with faith. And
behold crowds came to see this
pioneer show I The picture above
shows what a poor thing it was
compared with the great auto
mobile shows that have since gone
into Omaha history.
Automobiles in that day were
almost an unkown quantity,
and thousands of people had never
ridden in one.
The cars at that first" show were
chiefly one and two-cylinder ma
chines. The admiration of the
whole show was N. B. Updike's
wonderful six-cylinder Franklin
which cost $4,000, exclusive of top,
Umps and windshield 1 Cars in
those days came without these
things and you had to pay extra
if you wanted them.
Here is an excerpt from "Notes
of the Show" on its second day,
Letters From Home-Made Father
By ED. STREETER. .
The Question of the Vice Preaident.
Dear Son:
As Chairman of the Town Li
brary Committee I have had an ex
haustin week drawin up the examina
tions fer Librarian. In order to
cut municipple exp'ense it was de
cided to make the examination so
hard this year that nobody could
priss it. We had considerable trouble
over it till" I put in the question
"Who is the Vice President of the
United States?" This arised a
smart discussian, ' a number of the
Committee claimin that the exam
ination should only contain ques
tions on useful information. Our
side finally won on the ground o!
economy.
The more I think of this job of
bein Vice President the less I under
stand it. Accordin to histcry he's
the second ch4ice of the people fer
runnin the Ship of State. By the
rules of sea warfare this ought to
rank him First Mate. As a matter
of fact his place in the Seaman's
Union comes somewhere between
second assistant oiler an stowaway.
There ain't no other job just like
it in the work. In private life if
a man gets to be Vice President
of a big corporation while he's still
walkin without the aid of a wheel
chair he's looked on as an infant
prodigy. His descendant refer to
him jpioudly, wheu trjiu to tatU a
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 6, 1921.
LS
cms inmL
Crowds
CYLINDER
First motoq car seen in city
LESS CARRIAGE
189EF r
Growth or
LEE UUPF
0CECTOC
1921' SWp
taken from The Bee of April 6,
"1906:
Among the most striking of
the new features added to the
show last night was the six
cylinder Franklin. The Powell
Bacon company had this big ma
chine expressed from Syracuse
to get it here in time for the
show. It is the first six-cylinder
car to be brought to this terri
tory and aroused considerable
interest, as engineers predict
that the six-cylinder motor will
be the one, practically univer-s
sally used in the big high-class
touring cars.
The Cadillac exhibit is devot
ed solely to one-cylinder cars.
It includes a runabout, a run
about with convertible body and
a light touring car.
The first show lasted only four
days and by the final hour on Sat-
check as "My granfather, you know,
Vice President of the Iron Biscuit
Company." An relatives that he
never knew he had consider it an
honor to borrow off him.
With the Vice President of the
United States, though, it's different.
There ain't no law against it, of
course. f It's just the sort of thing
that ain't mentioned, like losin your
money or wearin a glass eye. You
achieve the Presidency, but you sub
mit to the Vice Presidency. If a
man is ever overcome with a pressin
desire to hide all he ' has to do is
be Vice President an his own tailor
couldn't find him.
Instead of being the second highest
gift of the people it seems to be
the lowest trick a man's enemies can
play on him. If Brown, who's
looked oh as an up an comin leader,
gets in wrong with' the powers
there's a mcet.in in a room upstairs
to decide the best way to get rid
of him. Somebody suggests stickin
a marked bill in his pocket and
callin the police. That scheme has
to be gave up cause, nobody will
risk the bill. Poison, blackjackin
an kidnappin is all turned dowu
as not jure enough. "Let's make
him Vice President," says the
Chairman, a bold an unscrupulous
man. A shudder runs round the
room. The more conservative shake
their heads. He must be got rid of.
but he haiii'l deserved that. After
VNE -CYLINDER,
am
CHUG-CHUGS WERE CLASSY
at exhibit viewed only six
in THIS TERRITORY
".OPERATED at EXPOSITION in
industry here remarkable.
UAQkE
tOMPfift
DiAMccD
DTr OCA
MANAGER OF
urday, the success of the new idea
was assured. The Bee of that date
says:
All Omaha seems to be inter
ested in the automobile show in
progress at the Auditorium and
the attendance has been far in
excess of anything which was
anticipated by the promoters of
the show.
- Buick Wing.
A feature of the final day was
a hill-climbing contest between
a Buick and a Reo. Both nego
tiated the Cass street hill from
Seventeenth street, west, the
Buick winning the thrilling con
test "by nearly a block."
, Today when it is a rare thing
to see a horse and buggy on the
streets it is hard to realize that
only 20 years ago an automobile
was' such a rarity on Omaha
streets that people stopped to look
a stormy discussion the radicals
win. .
Stampede Out of Danger.
The followin day the President is
nominated by the National Conven
tion with great inthusiasm. Imme
diately all but the more seriously
wounded dclygates rush from the
hall fer fear somebody'!! put up
their name fer Vice President. Our
friends of the previous evenin
spritig to their feet an nominate
Brown. The motion is seconded an
unaninimoiisly carried by the door
man an three porters who are en
gaged ii rcmovin peanut shells.
The next mornin the voters grab
their" papers to sec who they have
chose fer President. "If thex have
time to read down to the last para
graph they find Brown is to be Vice
President. Most of cm have a feeliu
they've heard the name before an
turn to the sportin page.
At the home of the successful cau
dydate the scene is heart-rendin. A
crowd, attracted by morbid curios
ity, is waitin at the station. As the
traip pulls in the band, bavin stuck
hankerchiefs in ' the horns, strikes
up a slow waltz. The President of
the Board of Trade advances an
shakes hands solcmy. "We wont
ferget you anyways," he .shys, an
then retires overcome.
From the time of the Vice Presi
dent' conviction to office lilt he be
gun t eive hi Icnu Ik is ivcu 4
1 D
with AWQ
was "horse-
POWELL TWE 5TBEET -A UOPSE WOULD PflOPAPLY DO
OF OMAHA TUE! SAME TUING TODAY-. '
nc OMAHA
CDC Anri
FIRST A0TO SHO
and smile when one appeared.
Today, with rows of splendid
automobile salesrooms, with auto-
'mobile factories and assembling
plants, it is hard to realize that
20 years ago there "wasn't a sin
gle automobile dealer in Omaha.
Twenty; years ago there wasn't
a solitary garage in Omaha!
Even IS years ago it was still
something of a distinction to "have
a ride in an automobeel." The cars
of those days were ungainly,
chugging little things. Their one
or two-cylinder engines panted
and rattled, threatening to stop on
every hill. There was no such
thing as a self-starter and if folks
xtook a drive of a dozen miles
without trouble of some, kind they
felt they had a license to boast
about it. And probably they had.
The first automobile ever seen
in Omaha, was the "horseless car-
to His Son
final taste of active life. It is his
duty to travel from place to place
ma ki n speeches so as to find if it's
safe fer the President-elect ,to stop
there later. It's rough work as he
must be a man of parts; partly for
evcrythin an partly against; equally
quick to doge a question or a brick.
He must be able to talk fer hours
without committin hisself; to lay a
corner stone with one hand an raise
a flag with the other to spring out
of bed at any hour of the night to
shake hands with the engineer; an
durin his spare time he writes inter
estin articles fer the magyzines.
If he lives through four months of
this lie is allowed 24 hours to wind
up his affairs before rctirin from ac
tive life. On the day of inaugura
tion, or as soon after as the goy
ernniint clerks an get around, to it,
he is notified by post-card (Form
10063) to report" fer duty. Assurin
his former well-wishers he doesn't
hold em responsible,-he buys a ticket
fer Washington an starts life as the
Second Assistent Gentleman in the
Land.
The last time his name appears in
print is when .he finally succeeds, in
gettin it in the Washington tele
phone book. He is now launched on
the peaceful current of his official
1'fc. Fer a man rcquirin an uncom
mon amcjiit of sleep it aint an un
pleasant voyage. Each mornin he-
U'iub to '' Xulvuui t'itc.)
4 XTOBAft
HORSES USEO TO SUY WUtU THESE CAME'DOWNJ
riagc" operated by Montgomery
Ward & Co. at the Transmis
issippi exposition in 1898. They
charged 25 cents for a short ride
and some of the more venture
some took a" chance.
Horses Shy.
Otto Baysdorfer, seeing this
strange machine, decided to build
one for himself. He started in
the fall of 1898 and had the "crit
ter" finished the next spring and
drove it out on" the streets of
Onlaha, causing the horses to
"shy" and the people to shake
their heads and wonder "what will
- 1 lie lirst lactory car sola in
Omaha was a one-cylinder Win
ton gasoline car, owned by Dr.
Cameron Anderson in 1900 and
folks told each other that he was
actually visiting patients in his
automobile. What was the world
coming to?
Along in 1900, also, Harry
Sharp started building himself a
steam automobile which he fin
ished four years later. He drove
it downtown nd brought it to a
graceful stop in front of Ed
Maurer's restaurant. While Harry
was in Maurer's eating dinner,
there was a loud report and he
joked out just in time to see
most. of his Car flying toward the
sk.v. It had blown up.
It Wouldn't Run. ( '
Di. Fred Conner had on ot the
early cars. It was a Darling, built
in Shelby, O., and delivered here
L in 1901. The doctor was wont to
remark, "That was a mighty fine
car only I couldn't get it to run."
George Patterson had a steam car
in the early days and Dick Stewart
of Council Bluffs owned a Loco
mobile steamer.
The Oldsmobile Motor works,
selling stationary engines, began
handling Oldsmobile curved-dash
cars here in 1901, selling one once
in a while. The first car sent out
from Omaha was shipped to Frank
Young, a banker at Broken Bow,
Neb.
H. E. Fredrickson, who sold bug
gies and bicycles, and J. J. Deright
who handled safes, began telling
TEN CENTS
automobiles as a side line in 1901.
They merely held the agency fof"
cars, but did not keep any in stock.
Clarke Powell was the first
honest-to-goodness automobile
dealer in Omaha. He started in
1902 at Fifteenth and Capitol ave
nue, handling one-cylinder Cadil
lacs and one-cylinder Packards.
First Auto Race.
R. R. Kimball followed Mr.
Powell into the new business and
soon it began to gain momentum.
Among the cars sold here in early
days were Winton, Darling, Buf
falo, Cadillac, Packard, Friedman,
Toledo, White, Locomobile Steam-
. er, Mobile Steamer, Oldsmobile,
Autocar and Stanley.
The first automobile, race meet
in Ompha was held in 1904 on the
old Transmississippi track on
North Twentieth street. Nels Up
dike and Frank Colpetzer were
leading spirits in bringing the meet
here.
Barney Oldtield in his Green
Dragon and A. C. Webb in his
Tope-Toledo-Cyclone were the star
attractions. The Powell automo
bile company entered a one-cylinder
Cadillac which Guy L. Smith
drove to victory against a one
cylinder Oldsmobile. i
City's Largest Industry.
The automobile business has
gro'wn from nothing, less than
20 years ago, to the largest indus
try in the city today.
The present officers of the Oma
ha Automobile Trade association
which gives the auto show, are: J.
T. Stewart, 2d, president; Guy L.
Smith, vice president; Clarke G.
Powell, secretary; Lee Huff and
John Opper, directors.
Let us close with a beautiful,
little verse of philosophopoetry
composed by the author as fol
lows: Oh, the models of 1906
Now look to us like "nix,"
(Because we're now in 19-21.
Tint in 19.6
The cars thatjook liki "hicks''
Will be our classy cafs of '21.
The world do move, folks. It '
it not the truth? It it np tha
truth?. v;
