The car was named after Bob Burns, a highly popular American radio comedian and musical entertainer of the 1930s and 1940s.
Burns was famous for inventing a bizarre, makeshift horn instrument crafted from copper pipes and a funnel, which he dubbed the "bazooka" (the word later used by the military to describe the rocket launcher).
Because Burns was known nationwide for creating functional items out of scrap and household objects, naming a homemade washtub car the "Bob Burns Special" was a fitting tribute to his comedic persona.
Wait was wrote off hitting a lamp post shortly after getting back to England.
See was rebodied at the end of 1926 and sold on as a second hand long chassis 2 seater. It was in use until 1929, but due to wear from the Africa journey, it was put in a garage under a house in London.
During the Second World War, the house was bombed and the car was buried in the underground garage. The area was then cleared to make a car park, and the car lay undiscovered until 1999.
The land was sold during 1999 and the car was discovered whilst the land was being developed. The car was exhumed and then sold to be restored.
The car had a lot of different features to the chassis and upon contacting the DVLA, the cars' original owners were traced and the family contacted, where the story of the car unfolded.
along with a 200-foot loop antenna on the roof, a sign points out that TECLA was providing the radio, they claimed their receiver was able to pick up all American and Ship Stations from New York to Los Angeles.
Rickenbacker automobiles equipped with radio receivers drove across the country, showcasing both the reliability of the cars and the emerging technology of radio broadcasting, though only 20 radio stations broadcast at that time
the best Tecla receiver was installed in the cars, it was the first car radio made for use on automobiles in motion and was available prior to 1922.
It had three stages of radio frequency amplification, three stages of audio frequency amplification, a special tuner for aerial and ground, and a special loop to be used for reception without ground when the automobile was moving.
Two Rickenbackers with advanced motors that minimized vibration were selected for the 2800 mile expedition over a 40-day journey from between June 1 and July 10, 1922.
Where possible, the cars stopped at noon and again every evening to give concerts for the onlookers. This was the first time a radio equipped vehicle crossed the continent and thousands of people were exposed to the experience of broadcast radio for the first time.
Newspapers, especially the San Francisco Chronicle, carried headlines that let people know when the cars were in their city and advertised the event. America's "ace of aces" Eddie Rickenbacker was on hand in Detroit to see the cars off.
Detroit businessmen and radio operators Wallace Blood and William Heinz and their wives were selected to be in charge.
Above they've reached Utah
Below, they were at the orphan's home in Boyle Heights LA
On July 10th in San Francisco Mrs Blood was quoted: "Every night we would tune in, no matter where we were along the Lincoln Highway. One night, when we were nearing Omaha, we listened to Eddie Cantor and Fanny Brice, who are with the Follies in New York. We had a vaudeville star for an entertainer nearly every evening."
While in Nevada alone they stopped in Ely, Eureka, Austin, and Carson City.
Between 1902 and 1925 Racine supplied bodies to Auburn, Buick, Case, Cole, Elgin, E.M.F., Kissel, Lozier, Mitchell, Mitchell-Lewis, Nash, Overland, Pierce-Racine, Piggin, Premier, Rambler, ReVere, W.W. Shaw, Standard, Stearns-Knight, Stephens, and Stutz. Racine also produced a popular line of taxicab bodies for Chicago’s Walden W. Shaw Livery Co, and its successor, the Yellow Cab Mfg Co.
Minnie married the founder of the Racine Novelty Co, Frederick Franklin Blandin. The Racine Novelty Mfg. Co. / Racine Mfg. Co., was one of the nation’s largest production automobile body builders.
They also made storm aprons and curtains, wood and metallic bodies, battery boxes, spark coil boxes, tool boxes, dashes, fenders and automobile tops, piano stools and ironing boards
the company grew from 400 employees to 1200 in 10 years, and by 1917 were manufacturing 80 touring car bodies and 15 closed bodies daily.
In 1918, the company got the contract to make 500 metal life boats to support the WW1 effort, but the other companies in Racine were just as busy, making cots, shoes, guns, tents, and airplane parts
Jelinski left Warsaw on May 30, 1926, in a white Ford that was named “A Scout Is Clean”, paying all expenses of the trip by lecturing and writing articles for Polish newspapers. (That's a long name for a car, but the clean white thing is quite clever)
Jelinski's tour took him through Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Italy where he met with with Benito Mussolini, and Sicily, where he embarked for the North African shore.
He drove through Tunisa and Algeria to Casablanca in Morocco, and had traveled about 19,000 miles, the mileage being attested to and verified, by various foreign automobile clubs.
He left Casablanca for America on an export steamer, arriving in Manhattan in August. In Washington he was greeted by President Coolidge in Sept. When he arrived in Detroit, Jelinski was received by the Polish consul for Detroit, who presented him to the Mayor. (Detroit had a large Polish population)
He addressed several Polish-America organizations during his several days' visit here. The Polish Falcons of District 13 raised the funds for a new Buick to replace the light weight Ford model T he had worn out
The happy presentation was made by the owner of Stanley Krajenke Buick, who also presented Jelinski with a membership in the Detroit Automobile Club, the seventeenth organization of its sort which has welcomed him since he left Warsaw.
JFK was photographed in front of Krajenke Buick 30 some years later
Jelinski was also welcomed by James E. West, chief Scout executive of the United States, on behalf of the 870,000 Scouts in the United States. From Detroit his route was through Toledo, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities.
He continued his journey to San Francisco, and left on the ship Taiyo Maru, and on July 13 arrived in Hawaii, then rode to Japan, where he traveled from Yokohama to Kobe, arriving there in mid-August
He planned to return to Poland through China, but there was a civil war going on there, and he gave up the idea of traveling to India at the last moment due to insufficient financial resources. Jeliński left Japan around September after visiting Nagasaki, then set out for Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
a replica of the Ford is in the Museum and Centre of the Scout Movement in Krakow
After his time in the scouts and his round the world tour, he was a sailor and returned to the USA, going to Hollywood to learn to be a cinematographer. He studied modern film techniques and camera operation in Hollywood, becoming a professional cameraman.
Returning to Poland in the mid-1930s, he founded the Laborpat company, which dealt in film processing and production.
During World War II, the Germans confiscated equipment from Laborpat, destroying the company. Jeliński was participant of the Polish-Bolshevik War, and member of the resistance movement during World War II.
After WW2, heestablished a rickshaw and handcart factory.
in a 1927 article, U. S. Boy Scouts trekking through foreign lands were mentioned:
Sixteen Eagle Scouts from Wayne, Pa., were welcomed by the acting Lord Mayor of London.
Eight Sea Scouts from Chicago constitute part of the crew of the John Borden-Field Museum expedition, now collecting fauna in Arctic regions.
Two Scouts from Excelsior, Minn., are officially carrying greetings to Denmark.
In 1926, the following outstanding men were made honorary scouts:
Roy Chapman Andrews
Robert Abram Bartlett
Frederick R. Burnham (horse mounted messenger for Western Union, actual US Cavalry scout, taught by native American Army scouts, fought in the Boer wars, and then taught Baden Powell trail signs and woodcraft, then went gold prospecting in the Yukon, and wrote his excellent biography, that I've read and have a copy of and recommend, Scouting On Two Continents https://www.facebook.com/groups/1491191564434558/posts/1514731728747208)
Lincoln Ellsworth, polar explorer in above airplane, which was once buried by an 8 day blizzard, and he dug it out, with a teacup. The only implement he had at hand
Of the 294 men and women selected to be astronauts since 1959 to 2005, more than 180 have been Scouts and of the 27 men to travel to the moon on the Apollo 9 through Apollo 17 missions, 24 were Scouts, including 11 of the 12 men who physically walked on the moon's surface, and all three members of the crew of Apollo 13 mission, that had it's oxygen tank explode meaning the landing mission had to be aborted.
"Feb. 5, 1896 With kind regards from the Long Distance Champion of the World on a Wager of $10,000, started from San Francisco, Cal, April 5, 1895. Dick Whittington."
By 1894, dozens, if not hundreds of walkers, started to participate in an “around the world on foot” craze. For some it was a legitimate attempt, but for most it was just a scam to travel on other people’s generous contributions.
Some, like the Wanderwell Tour actually went the distance, made movies, used airplanes, etc in the 1920s and 30s. Then gave lectures at colleges etc.
The typical scam went like this: They claimed that they were trying to walk around the world to win thousands of dollars on a wager, but they had to do it without bringing any money. They needed to be funded through the generosity of others, get free room and board, and free travel on ships. Walkers came out of the woodwork and the newspapers were fascinated by these attempts.
Eventually some in the press started to get wise. These walkers started to be referred derisively as tramps, globetrotters, cranks, fools, or “around the world freaks.” One reporter wrote, “A great majority of these wanderers upon the face of the earth are men who would rather do anything than work.” Another astute reporter identified many of these walkers as “frauds, traveling over the country practicing a smooth game in order to be wined and dined.”
An Englishman in his early 20s, who had previously attempted to bicycle around the world, agreed to a wager of $10,000 to walk around the world in three years, with the stipulations that he push a wheelbarrow that would hold his possessions, travel with a dog and a cat, and that he not cut his hair the entire time; if either dog or cat died he would have to forfeit $500 per each pet from his winnings.
He based his pseudonym on a figure from English folklore (who actually existed), whose cat was skilled at reducing the rodent population.
His wheelbarrow weighed over 150 lbs when loaded, and was specially built to work on railroads with flanged wooden wheels.
To no surprise, walking across America pushing a wheelbarrow was not successful.
By July he was broke and planned on making money by selling photos (like everyone else I've posted about who biked across the country), selling advertising on his barrow, and lecturing.
He arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in October. “He went in the evening to the exposition, where his quaint costume of sombrero, black sweater, and canvas leggings attracted much attention. He had a large rattlesnake skin wrapped around his hat and several large rattles dangling from the hat buckle.He showed the book in which he collected all the official stamps of the post offices along the route.”
His travels across the plains to St. Louis and Chicago were hard and exhausting, but he kept up a pace of over 20 miles a day. By early February 1896 (when this picture was inscribed) he had reached Pittsburgh, after months of winter weather, where he had a prolonged stay due to flu-like symptoms, respiratory problems and hemorrhages.
After two months he left for Philadelphia, arriving there in June, 1896, so worn out and sick that he died in a Philadelphia hospital on June 12.
Tragic ending to someone who was far likelier to live a long healthy life, if they had a boring hobby, and stayed home.
Horace G. Yorke, an American, left England, in 1894 to walk around the world, got to Canada, realized it's a lot easier if you stick to railways, and seems to have simply hitched rides from one railroad section house to the next, to a depot, stopping by police stations and collecting buttons.
Once he got to Seattle, the war between Japan and China put a stop to that Westward route, and he planned to ride the rails using a railroad handcar to San Francisco, then catch a steamer to Hawaii, then Singapore, etc, but by San Francisco he gave up, the railroad took pity on him, and astutely offered him a job utilizing his expertise as a railroad traveler, the railroad inspector position
Four young men in two dune buggies took the 577-mile off-road trek as a promotional stunt for Del Webb Corp hotels The Mint and the Sahara Lake Tahoe.
The drivers set out from Las Vegas on September 7, 1967, and completed the route in 99 hours, 22 minutes.
The following Spring ‘68, Del Webb Corp expanded the desert race into the competitive, The Mint 400, which has continued ever since.
The Las Vegas group made their own roads as they went along, cutting wildly over the 600-foot dunes in the Armagosa Valley, pushing through streams and over desert flats and, finally, up the precipitous Sierra foothills to the shore of Lake Tahoe.
A 1929 Dodge Model DA four-door sedan, a right-hand-drive export model, with a six-cylinder flathead engine, wire wheels, dual side-mount spares, and a trunk mounted on the rear bumper used as a taxi in Montevideo, Uruguay, was driven up the Pan-American Highway to the United States in 1967 or ’68.
after arriving in California, it was driven around the U.S. before settling in Brooklyn, New York.
The owner painted a white map on the dark blue car, and at most major stops he added the places he visited. In New York, everyone he encountered marveled at the accomplishment. Once established in Brooklyn, he started R.S. Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Company.
Classic car collector Fritz Burkhard from Switzerland had the car restored by Sargent Metal Works in Vermont, before picking it up at the Audrain Auto Museum, and then promptly driving the rare classic across America for it to take part in the Pebble Beach Car Week.
Burkard did have a bit more support than most of us would have when making a cross-continent journey.
His mechanic/restorer, and a crew member from the Audrain Automobile Museum supported the journey and documented it on Instagram, helping the Bugatti make the trip, along with going to war against an oil leak.
Burkard and the team from the Audrain Auto Museum in Rhode Island are driving about 300 miles each day.
Miles Taylor and Jackson Betz set out from San Ysidro, California, the southernmost point of the Golden State, armed with a detailed spreadsheet containing 50 rows of carefully planned connections.
For Taylor, the trip represented a natural extension of his long-standing passion for public transportation. He began blogging about transit systems at age 13, reviewing every bus route and train station in New York's transit system.
The journey, which began on a Monday from Southern California, took the two college friends through Oregon, where they encountered both scenic vistas and unexpected challenges.
"A lot of these buses have been jolting us out of our seats, but the scenery makes it all worthwhile," the duo told ABC News during their Oregon leg of the trip.
The pair utilized various forms of public transportation throughout their journey, including light rail systems and regional bus services, demonstrating the possibilities of long-distance travel using only local transit options.
She estimates that she has spent over $50,000 on the renovations.
Costs included purchasing a camper, adding solar power, replacing the truck bed, upgrading the suspension, new tires, customizing a bumper, and installing an electric cooler.
When the truck was ready, Kaye decided to journey the Pan-American Highway, starting in Denver. The highway stretches from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.
Since living and traveling in the truck full-time, Kaye has visited Mexico, every country in Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and parts of Argentina. In total, she’s been to over 20 countries so far.
“Ever since I started traveling, [I learned] life is just too short. You don’t have to go and quit your career to travel the world but whatever your dreams and goals are in life just start now and everything else is just figuring out a goal,” she says.
Kaye says when she was younger, it was her dad who taught her that she was capable of anything.
“I grew up with my dad raising me and telling me every day ‘You can be anything you want when you grow up and you can do anything,’” she says. “He was 57 when he passed away, so he never even got to retire. His passing taught me how to live life because you never know how much time you have in life.”
The ten-millionth Ford Car left the Highland Park factories of The Ford Motor Company on June 4th, 1924
Frank Kulick, who attained fame and broke many records as the pilot of Ford racing cars, was at the wheel during the trans-continental trip on the Lincoln Highway from New York to San Francisco,
and a recreation of that same vehicle is on display at the Museum of American Speed after it was donated by the family of the late Dr. Hathaway, who made the same exact trip a total of two times – to mark 50 years since Ford’s own road trip, as well as 75 years.
“Our team is excited to be part of a third trip in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ten-millionth Model T Ford,” said Tim Matthews curator of the Museum of American Speed.
“The Model T Ford changed the world’s landscape and way of life forever. We are excited to take this 100 year old car out of its Museum display and prove it can make this monumental voyage once again.”
Annie was just a kid who hated life on the Maine farm she was born on, so when she got old enough, she ran away from home and joined the circus as a bareback rider. She went home when she got a letter that her mom was sick.
She was 63 when her doctor told her she had 2 years to live. She’d just recovered from pneumonia when they found a spot on her lung. The doctor wasn’t sure if it was cancer or tuberculosis, but either way the prognosis wasn’t good.
Annie mortgaged her farm and used the money to buy a beautiful retired race horse named Tarzan. In November 1954, she pulled on men’s dungarees, packed a few clothes and set out for California with her horse and her little doggie.
She had nothing but a bedroll and some clothes. She hung pails of feed from the horse using twine and hoped people across America would be good to an old woman travelling by herself to fulfill her dead mother’s only wish.
She got sick of what life handed her, went on a 7000 mile journey and wrote a book about it.
Between 1954 and 1956, she pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by at speed.
Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns.
Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities—from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers—a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher.
The Model F Packard set out from San Francisco on June 20, 1903, it had been modified only slightly---the fenders had been removed, and it had been fitted with extra gasoline tanks and an additional low gear for negotiating mountains.
In addition to the canvas---to roll out and lay under the wheels to allow the car to traverse the most inhospitable tracts of soft sand---Fetch took along a pick and shovel and log chains to get the car through ruts.
More than once in the early weeks of the trip, Fetch found what appeared to be a well-groomed main road, only to learn after following it, sometimes for miles, that it led only to the entrance of a mine or some wealthy rancher’s spread.
East of Chicago there were more roads available to use, which helped the Packard conquer the second two thirds of America in the same amount of time as the first.
"The Journey for a Cure: Todd & his family set forth across the country in a 103-year-old car to raise money for hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that effects his daughter, and 1M individuals across the U.S." -
The Touchberry's are on a family journey to spread awareness on the condition. Their daughter, Elizabeth, lives with hydrocephalus and the most common form of treatment requires brain surgery or surgeries.
Elizabeth's family worked over the course of a year to prepare for their cross country journey in the 1920 Model T and raised money for custom, spare parts
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