On August 17, 1915, Charles F. Kettering received his patent for the electric self-starter. When many early car owners wanted to go for a drive, they had to pull a hand crank to initiate engine rotation. These cranks were heavy and sometimes dangerous, even deadly, if not timed correctly. To solve this problem, Henry Leland, who was running Cadillac at the time, called upon Kettering’s help. A man named Clyde Coleman received a patent for an electric self-starter in 1903, but it was too large. Coleman sold his patent to Delco, which was co-founded by Kettering. As a result, Kettering began his project looking to improve on Coleman’s design. In 1911, Kettering completed a working starter small enough to fit in the car while providing enough power for the engine, and it was introduced in the 1912 Cadillac. (Pictured: Kettering in his workshop) #ThisDayInAutoHeritage
Hello, Rosamond was a stop over prior to making the trek to the desert motorcycle racing courses. It was in the middle of the dry portion, just over the local So Cal mountain range. We stopped in this town for supplies prior to making the trek on the dirt roads leading to the white chalk markings for the directions to the race course out on the Mojave Desert area. The town was very small and the structure reminded us of our own Westside of Long Beach neighborhood business sections. A few blocks away from our home, were these similar small, stand alone storefronts. A small pool hall, a bait and tackle shop, several auto parts suppliers and shops, a very popular butcher’s shop with a yard in back and of course, small markets. This was after all, the 1950s and we did not have huge major grocery stores chains like we do today. The family proceedings all had their own itinerary. Our dad would go to the liquor store for his supplies and multiple newspapers. Then head for the local bait/tackle shop and next door pool hall where his friends were always hanging around. Our mom would take us to the butcher’s shop where we would pick out our items, including chickens and a turkey at Thanksgiving. She would then shop at the Italian small grocery store/deli for some extra supplies, too. Jnaki Even some speed shops during the late 50s and early 60s took over some of these small storefront places. But, similar small storefronts were also found elsewhere in all of So Cal small towns and parts of bigger cities. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
