Last weekend I was in Auburn Indiana and got to visit some of the neat old car museums there. I thought I would share some of my pictures in kind of a travel log format. Each photo will have a little info attached. I only got to see a small portion of what was there! I plan on going back again. This should be of intrest to other HAMBers and I would suggest seeing it in person if you are able. Here goes... I live in the Central Ohio area. The Family and I took Route # 31 North West out of Columbus toward Auburn IN. There is a great roadside Restraunt in Mount Sterling called the Plaza Inn. This place has been Family run for three generations. It started out as a large Beef Farm and grew into a Pure Oil Truck Stop to tend to all the Truckers hauling cattle. History Pictures of the place hang in the dining room. The food is excellent there... Try the Chicken Fried Steak! One of the neatest things about this place is the gr*** landing field behind the restaraunt! On previous visits we have watched small planes land to get some great road food! No planes landed during this visit. The tall corn obscured the landing field... Earlier in the season or fall after harvest would be optimum viewing time.
Not far beyond the Plaza Inn is a well preserved old Gulf Station. The Station is no longer in business. Too bad... Thankfully someone is lovingly taking good care of it. It would be a super backdrop for photos of your Jalopy. I'll have to bring my Model "T" up here next trip!
In Northern Ohio we rode U.S. Route 30, the old Lincoln Highway, into Indiana. Some of the older two-lane sections of Rt. 30 are marked with special Historic/Senic Highway signs. No good photo opportunities came up to get a pic of the special hi-way markers. Most of this stretch of Rt. 30 is common 4 lane with a median in the middle like a contemporary freeway. The two-lane sections have much more charm. It appears that Indiana is deep into old car culture. I saw a couple of hoppin' Drive-In Restaraunts in Indiana that are perfect destinations for a Hot Rod drive. A really impressive one was seen in Decatur Indiana... It had bright colors & neon and a flamed Coupe suspended on the roof! We were still full from the lunch at Plaza Inn so we didn't stop or get a pic. We will stop for certain next trip! We spotted a "Dog-n-Suds" on the north end of Ft. Wayne too. I haven't seen a "Dog-n-Suds" since I was a kid. I'll be back!
The first Museum I visited was N.A.T.M.U.S. = The National Automotive and Truck Museum of the U.S. I chose this Museum first because it has a wide variety of vehicles on display: Cars, Trucks, Racers, Pedal Cars and all manner of Automotive Toys. This old Racer sat right in front. The Museum welcomes you to sit in it for a picture. "Mater" was on display out front too.
A Tourist Tip... Ask for a "P***port" when you pay admission at any of the Auburn area Museums! This is a neat discount pamphlet that will save you on admission cost at the other museums.
Two Pan-American Racers were on display. If memory serves me right, these Mexican Road Races were featured heavily in Hot Rod Magazine in the 50's. Some modern parts were evident on this one and made us wonder if perhaps this Mercury was still run in vintage races yet today. It was a surprise to me that these racers were a Lincoln and a Mercury. I thought FoMoCo always campaigned only Fords. The graphics on these racers was very stylish. I could see adding similar markings on a more common older car to transform it to something more "Grabbing".
There was far more to N.A.T.M.U.S. than just vehicles... Throughout the Museum was various displays of Auto Businesses and such. This is a nice piece of nostalgia. 2$ Bill.
Two odd cars that caught my eye... A Henry "J". Frankly, the no-frills simplicity and utility of the tinny Henry "J" are a "plus" to my way of thinking. I haven't bought a new car in 23 years because they have become too complicated! Why can't auto engineers build this kind of simplicity again? I would buy one!!! Let's revive the Rambler while we are at it too! I didn't catch the name of this model... Some foreign job I think...
A very impressive variety of "Kiddie Kars"! Didn't the "Little Rascals" race these in one of their old movies? A bike like this will asure your Kid will grow up to ride a Harley. A Space-Age Buck Rogers kind of Wagon. Can you picture Ralphie & Randy of the "Christmas Story" movie playing with this?
Is this Mt Sterling in Ohio. Im from FT Wayne and I am doing home this weekend. If this place was in Indiana might try to run up and see it. I have seen that Diner you talked about on US 27 up in Decatur. They often have cruise ins there. It used to be a Penquin Point restuarant a long time ago. A Indiana based restuarant chain that is car friendly. Thanks for the pics
Finally some Trucks... This is a very rare bird... A Four-Wheel Drive Studebaker: The suspension & undercarrage was extremely heavy-duty while the two tone green paint gave it an aire of elegance. Too sharp! A Police Paddy Wagon. Look closely and you'll see the Mark Brothers locked up in back... This was listed as an "Olds". Ford's "C" Cab must have heavily influenced this design. Speaking of Fords... If I ever build another Model "T" this will be it! One more... a Ford "Depot Hack". You can trust your car to the man who wears the star!
My next stop was the Auburn, Cord, Dusenburg Museum. This was truly a world cl*** museum! It is housed in the former A, C, D, business building and show room. The building itself was well worth the cost of admission. Extremely rich and elegant surroundings and also well preserved offices that show how the company was in its heyday. Unfortunately, my camera began fizzling out at this point... Sorry only a few pics... This appeared in one of Elvis's movies! This is a Crosley "Hot Shot". One portion of the museum featured just Indiana built vehicles. I recognized the Crosleys and Studebakers but some of the other marques were completely unknown to me. The informational signs explained that back in the day there were many many manufactures that made various car parts. Some independent auto makers didn't manufacture their own cars but rather used other makers parts to ***emble their own vehicles. I also learned that in the early 1900's almost all "status" cars were made exclusively in Indiana. My Family and I also stopped by the Visitor Center in Auburn. The Ladies there informed us that the Kruse Auto Auction folks (sort of like the Barrett-Jackson crew in Arizona) had fallen on hard times. Evidently a new investor bought out Kruse and has been injecting huge sums of money into the local economy. I didn't recognize who the new investor was... Their name meant nothing to me... At any rate, they are optomistic that the big car auctions and collector car events Auburn is known for will be bigger & better than ever. I am already making plans to go back and see the other museums at some point in the future. Who knows, maybe I'll drive my "T" Jalopy over for one of the collector car events. Even my Family of all Girls had a good time there and I heartily recommend for other to visit as well!
As we ventured home we p***ed thru Lima Ohio. We drove Route 309 that was another former alignment of the Lincoln Highway. We located another car themed restraunt: The atmosphere, food and service here was first rate! The Chopped Sirloin Steak was top shelf and even the dinner rolls were heavenly.
Awesome pictures Bill. I've been through those museums a couple times over the years. I'll be in Auburn over Labor Day weekend for the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival. They have an open cruise there on Friday around the town square. Talked to my cousin who lives just north of Auburn in Angola In. and she says the festival is on for this year. Re: those old drive in burger joints, NE Indiana was full of them back in the 60's. Was living out there working for my uncle and used to cruise Auburn, Ft. Wayne, Angola and many other little towns. Bought my 41' Ford conv. in Ft. Wayne while I was living out there. Many, many great memories. Thanks again for the pic's
Thanks to all that added some comment and insights! It appears that the Auburn area is a "Gem" to many other HAMBers. Thanks! 2$ Bill
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