Several weeks back my brother Paul posted a vintage photo of some young men/boys, a sign, and an old car. He challenged us to identify the people, the car, the sign, and the event. So many responses came in - - some cousins (Clare, Leo, Elois) could easily identify their dads, others of us guessed about identities, and Elois chided the rest for ignoring the little person in the lower left corner.
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| "Down on the Iowa Farm" was Paul's caption. |
As for the sign, it clearly referred to a happy event involving a horse owned by Henri Lefebure [father of all the photographed subjects]. And Elois' son Tom researched the well-known [among family members] mare named Anna du Balcan, who'd been chosen the Grand Champion Mare at the Iowa State Fair in 1914 . . . evidently a great triumph. I blogged about this on December 26th 2012.
So there remained that car, which we thought was the Ford Model T. What about it? Just coincidentally, Joe and I flew into Ft. Myers International Airport earlier this month. On display in the lobby is this car, on loan from the Edison-Ford Winter Estates, a museum in Ft. Myers, Florida.
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| View from the driver's side |
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Two views from passenger's side - roughly the side
that appears in the old family photograph |
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| The identifying plaque: Ford 1914 Model T |
If you cannot read the plaque, here's what it says:
Edison & Ford Winter Estates
Ford 1914 Model T
A crank was used to start this vehicle, which has four cylinders and a maximum speed of 20-25 MPH. Original price: $460
Note the carbide generator on running board for supplying acetyli\ene gas to the headlights.
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