"The Spirit of Enka" a Cold War Era 1953 Republic-Fairchild RF-84F Thunderflash aircraft in Candler, North Carolina. Photo by author after restoration in summer/fall 2018

Did you know that there is a Cold War era Reconnaissance Fighter Jet in Candler, North Carolina? It was brought to Enka High School (now Enka Middle School) in 1972 for use by their Airforce ROTC program. Read on to learn about the history of this incredible local icon its journey to the Enka/Candler Community.

"The Spirit of Enka" after transfer to French fighting group. First known RF-84F to be painted in the camouflage paint scheme, rather than polished aluminum finish.

The Spirit of Enka History: Part 1

The year was 1953…

General Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated President of the United States on January 20th. Joseph Stalin, Supreme Ruler of the Soviet Union, died on March 5th, replaced by Georgi Malenkov. The long dark days of the Korean War are winding down, with the armistice signed on July 27th. The Cold War is just beginning to heat up. 

Republic Aviation Corporation manufactures an RF-84F Photo Reconnaissance Jet fighter plane, Serial Number 53-7570, under contract with the United States Air Force in Farmingdale, New York that would later come to be known as “The Spirit of Enka.”

The RF-84F is just one of the family of F-84s manufactured during this time; the original straight wing F-84 Thunderjet, the swept wing F-84 Thunderstreak, the RF-84 Thunderflash, There were a total of 715 of the RF-84F made, to fulfill the duty of a supersonic surveillance jet, that could also double as a fighter Jet if necessary. It houses four wing-root mounted .50 Caliber machine guns, 4 nose mounted cameras for taking surveillance photographs and an in flight audio recording system for the pilot to make surveillance notes. 

Transfer to French Air Reconnaissance Squadron

In 1957 our Jet was transferred to Armée de l'Air, The French Air Force. Of the only 715 RF-84Fs manufactured by Republic Fairchild, most were loaned to our NATO allies; France, Belgium, Germany, and Greece. Model 46RE arrived in squadrons from July 1957 to ERT (Escadron de Reconnaissance Tactique). Enka’s jet, tail number 53-7570 was the first RF84F to change color in the summer of 1960, from all aluminum to camouflage, which was green and blue in a matte finish. This required 247 hours of paint work.

Of the RF-84Fs sent overseas, 88 RF-84F were delivered to the French Air Force.

Key Facts:

-Beginning of use: 1955

-First Air Base in France: COGNAC to replace the F84G Thunderjet.

-15 RF84F were used during the Suez Crisis in November 1956: “Musketeer” or “Mousquetaire” operation in the French Escadron de Reconnaissance Tactique ERT4/33 Squadron, based in CHYPRE AB.

-        From 1957:    The squadron moved from COGNAC to LAHR-HUGSWEIR in RFA for ERT 1/33, 2/33 and 3/33

-        End of September 1959 :

o   ERT 3/33 and 2/33 squadrons moved to the French Air Base BA124 in STRASBOURG-ENTZHEIM,

o   ERT 1/33 stayed in LAHR till june 1961 and moved to French AB Luxeuil till January 1967.

End of use : 1966/67 (RF84F returned to USAF but also sent to Denmark, Turkey and Norway)

RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES

Upon the Jet’s deactivation by the French Air Force, as they upgraded their fleet to the at-the-time modern Mirage III, our Jet made its way back to the States, and was assigned to the 184th TRS of the Arkansas Air National Guard. During its time with the Arkansas Air National Guard (1966-1970), ARANG used these planes in pilot and ground crew training and missions. 

During this time, the Jet was deactivated from active USAF service, and the tail number was changed from 53-7570 (37570 in France) to indicate deactivation, 0-37570. This number has been retained to this date. 

The "Spirit of Enka" being transported by Skycrane Helicopter, photo courtesy of Enka High School yearbook, 1972

History of the “Spirit of Enka” 

Part II – 1970-2014

Around the beginning of 1970, Colonel John Pennstrom and Sergeant Clarence Clark, instructors with the Air Force ROTC chapter located at Enka High School (now Enka Middle), began a letter-writing campaign to the USAF in search of a suitable mascot for the school. Pennstrom and Clark believed the jet would not only serve as a great mascot, but as an educational tool and point of pride for their Junior Air Force ROTC program. They had faced rejection previously as airplanes and other military equipment as static displays are typically only reserved for municipal buildings or VFW halls. They had written the Air Force early in 1968, but were rejected on their first try because of this reason. 

During their second letter writing campaign, their letters came to the attention of Major General Roger K. Rhodarmer, 9th Air Force Commander at Shaw Air Force Base, outside of Columbia, SC.  A native of Canton, North Carolina and a graduate of Canton High School, General Rhodarmer would take a particular interest in these letters being written by Pennstrom and Clark.  The General was a distinguished reconnaissance pilot during WWII and directed USAF Photo Reconnaissance programs his entire post-WWII career. 

The school would need to prepare for the arrival of the jet and construct a display area for it. The Enka High bricklaying class of 1972 was tasked with an important project: create a 30-foot cement pad ringed with brick to accommodate the jet.  Students in this class used this as a project to learn drafting to design the pad and learned how to create a scale drawing with dimensions from the actual jet. 

Approvals are finally obtained from the United States Department of Defense with orders being given to the Alabama Air National Guard transport.  Enka’s Republic RF-84F Thunderflash (minus its engine) would be suspended under an Alabama Air National Guard Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter for delivery and flown from Shaw Airforce base to Candler, North Carolina, with a support crew in another Huey helicopter. 

The delivery day finally arrived on April 18, 1972. The exact date the jet would be delivered was not known by Enka staff, as it was dependent on weather conditions and availability for the crew from Shaw Air Force Base. When the final orders were given to deliver the jet, the school only had a few hours’ notice before the arrival of the RF-84F.  The crew of the Skycrane was accompanied in the mission by another helicopter containing a ground crew, which had anticipated fuel consumption for the mission that included an eleven minute window for lowering and delivering the plane. The mission was not without peril though, as the Skycrane helicopter had to carefully thread high voltage power lines running above the display pad, which extended the delivery window. This caused the Skycrane to barely have enough fuel to make it home back to Shaw AFB, when the delivery stretched to over twenty minutes. Later, a tow truck would be brought in to reposition the jet, due to the rushed delivery. 

"The Spirit of Enka" after being delivered, cables still attached

Two days after the Jet’s arrival at its new home, there was a Dedication at the school for the new arrival.  The main speaker at this dedication was none other than Major General Roger Rhodarmer himself. The pledge of allegiance was led, the Enka High band played several pieces and other dedications were made.  In addition to Maj. General Rhodarmer, other speakers included Colonel Pennstrom and Enka High Principal W.E. McElrath.  

On that sunny afternoon, guest speakers lift their lofty words and step down from the temporary stage while the proud and amazed crowd views the reflections of the Jet in wonder. As the sun sets, everyone drifts home and the RF-84F “Spirit of Enka” begins its last chapter in a long and distinguished military career. Enka High, “Home of the Jets” finally has an actual Jet as its mascot, the only school in the country to make this claim.  Since that wonderful day, the “Spirit of Enka” has been a very real presence in the Enka Community and a major source of pride to the school.

History of the “Spirit of Enka” 

Part III – 2014 and Beyond

Twenty five years after the installation of our Jet to its honored place at the front of Enka High School (Enka Middle School as of 1984), local weather had taken its toll on the exposed aircraft.  Corrosion had created several small holes in the fuselage, while a broken turtle deck window from a student leaning on the aircraft had allowed water and small animals to invade the cockpit and fuselage. The jet had faced adversity and former repainting as before, when it was vandalized by Erwin High School as a homecoming prank in 1986. By 1997, the jet had become a shadow of its former glory with peeling paint and faded insignia. “The Spirit of Enka” needed help. The school Air Force ROTC got in contact with the USAF for help.

Help arrived, in May 1997, in the form of a crew from Shaw AFB. Members of the crew were: T Sgt Small, SRA Simmons, AIC Pelcheck and AIC Bulla. They inspected and repaired the jet, applied new paint, a protective clear coat, new lettering , and gave everything a good cleaning.  This was the first formal restoration of the “Spirit of Enka” since it was delivered in 1972. 

The Spirit of Enka’s Latest Restoration: Community Effort

Seventeen years later, the jet was in need of a restoration from the ravages of time and the elements.  Enka’s principal, Leland Blankenship, reached out to Shaw Air Force base again for assistance in restoring our jet, but sadly the Air Force budget for restoration and maintenance of static display aircraft had been cut, with no assistance being offered. Disappointed but not discouraged, Blankenship would find the answer to his restoration dilemma through several committed members of the community. 

In the Autumn of 2014, a local resident, Carl Raphael, began driving his daughter Holly to her new school, Enka Middle School, as she was just entering sixth grade. Sitting in the drive through line, the jet would catch his eye time and again, wondering what could become of it. After many mornings of imagining this machine soaring over Hominy Valley and one very fitful night of sleep, Raphael approached his co-worker and fellow wrench, Heath Towson to see if he might be interested in helping to restore the aircraft. Towson was all ears and together, the two of them decided to approach Principal Blankenship to see if they could help bring the jet back to her former glory. 

After an initial meeting that included Blankenship, Raphael and Towson, they decided to form a formal committee that would meet semi-regularly. The original committee included Blankenship, Raphael, Towson, employees of Thermo Fisher Scientific, as well as a representative of the Flight Deck Veterans Group. Raphael was appointed the leader of the committee and set about assigning roles and working on a strategy with Blankenship to restore the jet. Heath put together a web page, (www.savethejet.com) which contained history, a photo gallery, donation information, and other documents about the Jet. Carl and Heath put together an informational multimedia presentation, with its first presentation being at the Enka Library in front of the Friends of the Enka Library. That evening, it attracted the attention of Buncombe County Commissioner Joe Belcher, who happened to be in attendance and would go on to be a champion of the fundraising efforts. 

Work on the jet and replacing the canopy

While researching the Jet, Heath came across the F-84 Pilots’ Association. Through this contact, a gentleman by the name of Mark Pharo of Birmingham, Alabama was given to the Committee. Mark, an expert, specializing in restoration and repair of F-84s was able to provide guidance, knowledge on restoring the aircraft to USAF specifications. 

The Thermo Fisher employees were specialists in metal fabrication and did much in the beginning to create aluminum plates to replace panels that had corroded. They also fabricated panels that fit over the broken window behind the canopy. The canopy of the Jet, made with two layers of Plexiglass, had become damaged during previous repair efforts. The outer layer was shattered in a myriad of pieces. This was a disappointing setback to the project, requiring creative thinking of how to fix the canopy in a proper way.

At this point of the restoration, Mark Pharo came through, in a big way. Through his good friend in France, Franck Severine, Mark was able to locate an original replacement canopy. This canopy was nailed up to someone’s wall in the Netherlands, being used as a greenhouse. Franck bought it, shipped it to France, then built a special crate for shipment to Asheville. Several weeks later, the canopy arrived intact and was taken to Enka to be united with our jet. Mark Pharo, Raphael, Blankenship and Towson spent one long, hot day in June 2018 from 8am until 8pm replacing the canopy. Removing the canopy with ordinary tools was out of the question due to rust and corrosion on the mechanism due to various moisture leaks. With a steady hand, Pharo cut through the old canopy and liberally oiled the mechanism to get it back into working condition again. With the replacement canopy sourced and this part of the plane functioning again, the jet committee was edging closer to completion. 

Carl Raphael with the newly arrived canopy for "The Spirit of Enka"

Through the capable assistance of Dana Jones, paint rep of Sherwin-Williams, as well as Henry Holcombe, local commercial painting contractor, and Dean Jones of Sign One, who created all of the graphics, the Jet was sandblasted, primed, painted, and new decals applied, to complete the look of the Jet as you see it today.

Dean Jones completes the installation of the graphics on the Jet.

This iconic airplane has become such an important part of the Enka/Candler community. We hope it will continue to be appreciated for the next 50 years in our community!

During 1971-72, the Jet was finally deactivated for good, after serving nearly twenty years in distinguished service.  One can only guess how many important photos were taken by the high-speed spy cameras mounted in the nose of this airplane during its long career in the Air Forces of two nations and one US State.  After the final deactivation by the AR Air National Guard, the Jet made its last flight to Shaw Air Force Base near Columbia, South Carolina where most of its proprietary military equipment and Wright-Sapphire jet engine would be removed. 

Photo by Camilla Calnan Photography

Being out on tours, we hear a lot of different comments about our dear 1923 Ford Model T Mabeline. Comments range from "I like your car, but I'm not really a car person myself" to "What kind of engine/transmission/rear axle gear ratio does that have?" In this month's blog, I wanted to explore a lighter take on our traditional historical blog and ruminate on the various ways I feel that anyone can relate to antique cars. In all my time with the antique car hobby, I have felt like it is one of the more inclusive groups, evolving much over the last twenty-five to thirty years.

One of the traditional views I would like to dispute is that you have to work on your own cars or be a "gear head" to be a true car enthusiast. I although I personally enjoy working on my cars and do so out of necessity, not everyone does or can. There is more than just mechanical work that defines a car enthusiast! This is just our view and not breaking any new ground, but merely wanting to include more people in the antique car world. Come along and let's explore some of the different ways to be involved with the antique car hobby!

1. Working on your car/being a gear head

   The more traditional school of thought around automotive enthusiasts involves learning to work on your car. For most of us, we started with basic maintenance of our cars. This may have involved learning to wash a car with a parent and later learning basic maintenance like checking tire pressure, changing a flat tire and checking vital fluid levels such as gasoline, coolant and oil. Later, we would learn things like changing oil, spark plugs and air filters. As our interest grew, we may learn how to do a tune up (changing spark plugs, spark plug wires and adjusting engine timing) to make our cars run smoother and perform better. Most of us started with an older car as our first ride, that most likely had deferred maintenance from a previous owner and was not in optimal running condition. These were considered basic life skills when I grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s, being taught in school, Boy Scouts or other after school clubs.

   For those of us that were really into cars (and speaking of my generation - millennials), when Fast and Furious came out, we began to want to learn how to modify our cars. Different wheels, brakes that had more stopping power, items to increase the horsepower of our engines, including louder exhaust, etc. It was all about making your car reflect your personality and having a car that was so unique, any time someone saw it roaming the streets, they knew exactly who was at the wheel. This could be good or bad, depending on if you were doing something you were not supposed to do!

2. Cleaning and Detailing

There are many people that may not enjoy doing mechanical work, but really enjoy the process of cleaning or "detailing" their car. This involves washing your car and cleaning the interior in a very methodical way. On the exterior of the car, this may involve multiple levels of surface preparation to make sure any old grime or environmental contaminants are off of the car. For the interior, it may involve vacuuming, steam cleaning and many different products for cleaning glass, leather and plastic surfaces. For me, this has always provided a sense of calm in the chaos of the world and a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the job. I can get lost in the tedium of polishing trim pieces and cleaning all the surfaces of the car. It can even make the car feel brand new again and greatly extends the life of your car. Typically, if you can keep your car looking good, it also is motivation to keep it in good mechanical shape. Letting little dings, scratches and grime build up over time also tends to make you neglect other areas of your car. When I was growing up, this was a normal task that you typically set aside a weekend afternoon for (cleaning your car) among other tasks. This may be different for other people as time has progressed.

Isaiah Rice Photo Collection, Southern Appalachian Heritage Archive, UNC-Asheville

3. Automotive History and Family Connections

Almost everyone I have met at the Estes-Winn car museum and on tours has a story about a family member or car they remember vividly. It doesn't have to be a car of historical significance and most of the time it is generally something ordinary. Those memories of road trips, a drive to air out our thoughts when working through something difficult or the feeling of accomplishment after we drove it off the lot are something we carry for a long time. Personal transportation is just that - personal.

Over time, these vehicles become more of a time capsule, being covered in stickers from travels, glove boxes filled with mementos or old service records and paint marks/worn off paint that tell a story. They can also become a time machine, where they transport us back to another era with their sounds, smells and view out antique glass. When you can experience one of these cars, it can inspire a sense of reverence and respect for the people that kept them going and used them in everyday life. There aren't many experiences in life, where you can interact with an object, as someone else did, 50, 60 or 100 years ago! It can also be a connection with a family member we never knew, but might have driven the same car. It's a little piece that helps us understand just one aspect of their life.

Interior Harry's Cadillac-Pontiac at 68 Haywood Street, downtown Asheville, North Carolina

4. Automotive Design

Another aspect of antique automobiles that can be appealing to many people is their design. You don't need to know what kind of engine size or tires it has on it, but maybe you just like the color. From a design perspective, these cars are so different than modern cars because they were designed to make you feel a certain way. Many of the designers of these cars were artists at the start of their career and not engineers. That is why there is so much detail on the cars, ranging from the exterior to the interior. They also reflect broader design concepts from their eras like Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern and military styling to conspicuous consumption in later decades. Because of their influence on industrial design, some influential cars have even ended up in art museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Because there was so much more human involvement in their design rather than computers, I feel like they reflect the personality of their designer more. Typically, these designers would make a life size sculpture out of clay to finesse the proportions of a car and every other element of the car may have hundreds of hand drawn figures before a prototype was even created and driven on the street.

Let us know what you think! What are your memories of cars that were special to you? What does being a lover of cars or their history mean to you? Come along on a tour with us and explore Asheville's automotive history through the many communities that have made up our city over time!

Racer Banjo Matthews in "Mr. X" crossing the finish at McCormick Field Speedway

Come along with us on this month's historical journey through Asheville's motoring history as we take a glimpse into competitive motorsports in the city! Did you know there was a brief break in baseball so that racing could take over our local baseball stadium? More and more of Asheville's racing history continues to be revealed as more racers are sharing their stories of the Golden Era of motorsports in the city. Now that we know racers were roaring around this little stadium, it's hard to not try to imagine the sound of V8s echoing through the walls when we are at a Tourist game!

McCormick Field and Memorial Stadium (top), courtesy of the Ball Photo Collection, UNCA Special Collections

McCormick Field has long been known as the home of the Asheville Tourists Baseball Team. The field was constructed in 1924, as part of Asheville’s master plan for revitalization under Mayor John Cathey, using a city master plan designed by noted city planner, John Nolen. It was named for Dr. Lewis McCormick, the city’s only bacteriologist, who started the “Swat That Fly” campaign in 1905, in order to reduce the city’s burgeoning problem with houseflies transmitting disease. McCormick reportedly paid children a nickel for each dead fly they brought to him. 

Professional baseball in Asheville dates back to 1897, with a team called the Moonshiners. The name was changed to the Asheville Skylanders and later the Asheville Tourists, somewhere around 1915. Throughout the history of the team, there would be several disruptions to Tourists baseball in Asheville. While World War II was raging across the globe, Asheville had no white minor league team from 1943 to 1945. The segregated Asheville Black Tourists and Asheville Blues continued to play pro baseball in the Negro League until 1946. By 1955, the Tourists were one of just four teams left in the Tri-State League. The Tri-State league was described by some as “a fly by night operation” and folded by the end of the 1955 season. Longtime Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Bob Terrell noted that attendance had been steadily declining for years. 

With no baseball team and an absent fan base, the city owned facility had to do something to keep the park open and to be able to pay their bills. The stadium was leased to a North Wilkesboro businessman named Jim Lowe in 1956, who would turn it into a NASCAR short race track called McCormick Field Speedway. James Lucius Lowe, known as “Jim” was the son of Lucius Lowe, the founder of Lowe’s Hardware in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Lowe was a WWII veteran and after serving in the war, sold his interest in Lowe’s Hardware to his brother in law, Carl Buchanan Jr. After selling his hardware interest, Jim Lowe founded Lowe’s Foods in 1952: a North Carolina grocery chain with branches in several states. After selling Lowe’s foods, Lowe dabbled in other Wilkesboro businesses including B and L Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealership, Wilkes Bowling Lanes and The Rollercade in North Wilkesboro. 

Local racer Ed Cox, Jack Pike scrapbook

Lowe had a lot of work ahead of him to transform McCormick Field from a baseball stadium into a NASCAR track. He started by paving a quarter mile oval track around the perimeter of the baseball diamond. To transform the rest of the 32 year old stadium, Lowe and his race director, C.F. Powell started construction and renovation on multiple pieces of the ballpark. In addition to paving an oval around the baseball diamond, the high bank behind the stadium known as Hunt Hill was dug back for more seating and a protective fence for spectators. The race pits were placed just behind the track wall, beyond the third base bleachers. 

In addition to the improvements to the stands, new bleacher seats were dug into the bank all the way to the left field fence, below Memorial Stadium. At the time of opening, the Asheville Citizen-Times stated that the park would seat 8,000 fans and if there were larger crowds, it could be stretched to a 10,000 person capacity. For additional safety of the spectators, large metal fencing was erected behind home plate and portable walls were constructed to be placed in front of the dugouts, which were said to be removable for baseball games. Little if any baseball was played while the stadium was a race track. 

In addition to McCormick Field being transformed into a race track, several other sports stadiums around the country would make the same transition. When NASCAR was first organized in late 1947, there was not an abundance of purpose-built tracks around the country. Many of the early tracks were at local fairgrounds, which served many purposes. As the sport grew with the construction of the superspeedway at Darlington, NASCAR continued to search for venues that offered permanent seating and spectator comfort. NASCAR found a home at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, North Carolina in 1950. It has a quarter mile track in the football stadium that hosted 29 cup series races from 1958 to 1971. Soldier Field in Chicago was also famous for auto racing before it became the home for the Chicago Bears. It hosted competitions for “Hot Rods” and Midget class racing cars. 

McCormick Field Speedway opened to the public on June 16th, 1956. McCormick Field Speedway became a featured track on the NASCAR circuit in the Sportsman class. The first race featured 125 laps of Sportsman and amateur racing, bringing along some of NASCAR’s top racers. Ralph Moody (co-founder of Holman-Moody racing with John Holman) from Dania Beach, Florida, local Asheville legend Banjo Matthews and Dink Widenhouse of Concord were in the field for this warm summer night race. 

Other NASCAR notables who raced at McCormick Field included Junior Johnson, Ralph Earnhardt, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts and Joe Lee Johnson became common names at many of these races in Asheville. McCormick Field Speedway provided much entertainment for the city, especially during this seminal period for the growth of the NASCAR organization. Admission was normally $2 per person, although the speedway hosted a “Ladies Night” once a month, where ladies were admitted for free. There was also a “Powder Puff Derby,” where women would drive their husband’s cars for a 10 or 20 lap race in between NASCAR Sportsman car races. This was typically done between race heats as a gimmick to increase attendance. 

How cars got to the track - Jack Pike's "Poison Love II" Race car

McCormick Field Speedway built several local racers up into legendary status. Several of these local racers were Banjo Matthews, Dickie Plemmons and Ed Cox. One of the most prolific racers of McCormick Field Speedway was Edwin “Banjo” Matthews. Matthews earned the nickname “Banjo” from his gold wire rimmed glasses with thick lenses that looked like a banjo instrument. In 1952, a 20 year old Matthews packed up his 1939 Mercury Club Coupe with everything he owned, along with his wife and daughter and made the journey from Miami, Florida to the Carolinas to be closer to the burgeoning NASCAR racing circuit. With an old Snap On toolbox filled with not many tools, Banjo had some mild success in the 1952 Southern 500 at Darlington raceway in South Carolina, finishing fifth. 

Banjo would end up settling in Asheville and set out to open his own race shop. He went to several local banks asking for a $500 loan, which was not granted to him. He ended up driving for Eddie Joyner and Toy Jones, who had a race team and auto shop out on Brevard Road. Eddie Joyner was an Asheville local who owned the Eddie Joyner Speed Shop, selling hot rod speed equipment manufactured in California to Asheville bootleggers, hot rodders and racers. Toy Jones was one of the area's best engine builders, known for building some of the most powerful Ford “Flathead” V8 engines. The cheap and plentiful Ford Flathead engine would become the most common engine in race cars of this era.

Racers on track - Jack Pike photo album

While driving for Joyner and Jones, Banjo counted himself among two other teammates. Local racer Dickie Plemmons and Harry Clay, who all drove for Joyner and Jones’ racing team. Rather than have racing numbers painted on their cars, each of these racers went by a letter on their car. Banjo’s car was known as “Mr. X” while Plemmons and Clay would alternate between “Mr. Y and Mr. Z.” 

Banjo became so dominant racing at McCormick Field, all sorts of stunts were pulled by racing promoters to stop his winning streak. In one race, Banjo was placed at the back of a 36 car field and his car was turned around facing the opposite direction of all the other racers. He ended up catching up and winning the race anyway. In other races, a bounty was put on him by the race promoter for anyone who could knock him out of the race. 

In one race, Banjo Matthews was fined $50 by NASCAR for ramming Ralph Earnhardt at McCormick Field Speedway. He was quoted as saying “It all occurred in the heat of the moment and while I feel Earnhardt was as much at fault as I, I plan to go ahead and pay the fine. I deserved it.” The two racers had gotten caught up in a skirmish and Earnhardt’s car was knocked into the first base dugout, later having to be towed out. Cars crashing into the dugouts would become somewhat commonplace. 

Racers sped around the quarter mile track between 49 and 60 miles an hour or so. Because the track had very short straightaways and sharp turns, it was not known for top speed like today’s modern speedways, where speeds can reach close to 200 miles per hour. The track record of circling the speedway stood at 16.43 seconds for a long time. These homemade race cars would have made a glorious noise, echoing off Hunt Hill behind the stadium with their unmuffled, high compression V8 engines screaming in anger. The noise of thousands of fans yelling for their favorite driver as gasoline vapors wafted over the bright stadium lights would have been quite an experience. 

Banjo Matthews in the shop, Photo courtesy of Jack Pike

Not everyone in Asheville was a fan of the McCormick Field Speedway. Several letters written to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times complained of noise and smoke, while others were greatly in favor of the local track. Shortly after the track opened, 136 residents of the Five Points neighborhood gathered together to hire an attorney and sign a petition to stop racing and return baseball to McCormick Field. 

In response to this complaint, Mrs. D.E. Peebles living at 8 La Rue Street wrote a letter to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times stating the following:

“This is in reference to the 136 residents who have signed a petition to stop Stock Car Races at McCormick Field. It seems that regardless of what kind of entertainment - whether it be for children, adults or both is brought to Asheville there are always a few people who object to its presence in our city. In this case, the main excuse is “we are saving McCormick Field for baseball.” Well, if we haven’t had our chance at baseball since McCormick Field was erected in the twenties, I think it is time to give up and put the field to better use. 

The petition complained of “terrible noises” and said the races produced more noise in one night that ten years of baseball and football in both parks (Memorial Stadium). The reason for this could be that there have hardly been 4,000 fans all totaled in ten years of baseball at McCormick Field. The people living in the vicinity of McCormick Field should be immune to the noise of squeaking and squawling of tires since they hear it seven nights a week at drive-in restaurants near-by. The attorney for these 136 residents said, “the noise of 4,000 people begging racing maniacs to kill themselves” was disturbing to the neighborhood. I think if this attorney and the people opposing these races would give their support to the law enforcement officers and try to break up this speeding on the highways and drag racing (just to name two illegal “entertainments”) that stock car racing - as legal an entertainment as there is would be enjoyed by the majority of the residents of Buncombe and surrounding counties. “

Mrs. Peebles is making reference with “squealing tires and illegal racing” to both the Southland and Five Points drive in restaurants, where many residents of the historically Black neighborhoods of Southside and Five Points would meet up to street race on Southside avenue and modern day South Charlotte street. 

NASCAR Convertible Series Race - Courtesy of Smyle Media

In its first year of operation, McCormick Field Raceway produced a profit, something the Asheville Tourists baseball team had not ever been able to achieve. For many years, the Asheville Tourists baseball organization had been operating on a deficit budget. The deficit would be subsidized by the city of Asheville, who owned the ballpark. After the first season of racing, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported on November 6, 1956 that McCormick Field Speedway had netted a profit of $9,677.17 (around $110,557.27 in 2024 dollars). During this first year of operation, the track grossed ticket sales of $73,247 (around $836,813.68 in 2024 dollars) in only a partial racing season. 

McCormick Field Speedway not only hosted NASCAR races and midget race cars, but also foreign sports car racing time trial events through the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Many of these races would attract over 100 sports cars to compete against the clock as they raced around the NASCAR track in time trials. Many of these events were organized by local attorney and sports car dealer Herschel Harkins. Harkins’ owned the foreign car dealer, Manor Motors, selling Fiat, Jaguar, Austin Healey and MG at 192 Coxe avenue. Harkins was a fixture in the foreign sports car enthusiast scene and in addition to organizing events at McCormick Field, organized the inaugural Chimney Rock Sports Car Hill Climb. 

Preparation for SCCA Race - Herschel Harkins Collection

During one of these SCCA time trials, a special celebrity guest appeared. While Robert Mitchum was in Asheville filming the classic, Thunder Road in the fall of 1957, he was invited as an honorary field judge. Mitchum was also known as a car guy and owned a Jaguar XK120 sports car. Local legend has it that his son, Jim Mitchum burst through the gates at the back of McCormick Field and sped around the track in the star car of Thunder Road, character Lucas Doolin’s 1951 Ford. Jim Mitchum was kicked out of the event for his antics, which angered Robert Mitchum, who also left the event.  

By 1959, the city of Asheville was ready for baseball to and was beginning to revive the Asheville Tourists team by enrolling in a new league. Jim Lowe had signed a six year lease agreement with the city of Asheville, which they decided to break in February of 1959 before McCormick Field’s 4th season of racing could begin. Lowe’s company, McCormick Field Speedway Inc. surrendered the lease and the city of Asheville forgave $10,000 of rent that was due from 1958. The Asheville’s tourists had joined the Class A league and the city wanted to begin the process of returning McCormick Field back to a baseball stadium. 

City Manager J. Weldon Weir announced that Lowe’s company had invested around $27,000 in the field and its facilities in 1956, which the city planned to amortize repayment of over a six year period. Weir said in a statement to the Asheville Citizen-Times that the asphalt on the quarter mile race track would be utilized in paving an area behind third base and left field, the section which was the pit area for race cars. The stadium planned to cut a new entrance from Hunt Hill behind the stadium where they could add more parking for another 100 cars. The corporation that owned and managed the Tourist’s baseball club, Community Baseball Inc. had also considered renting these new parking spaces to holders of box seats. 

Over its three years of operation McCormick Field was fairly successful for generating income. In 1956, tickets grossed $73,247 and in 1957, $66,410. The Asheville Citizen-Times was not able to report gross sales for 1958, but it was said that the speedway lost money this year. 1958 was also a nationwide economic recession, which could have also hurt sales. By 1958, admission had risen to $3 per person, which equates to around $35 a ticket in 2024 dollars, more expensive than Tourist tickets at the time of this writing, which start at $9. 

The city’s agreement with McCormick Field Raceway under the terms of their lease was to receive $6,000 or 15% of the gross ticket sales in the first year, and $10,000 or 15% of the gross for the following five years. The city’s share the first year of racing in 1956 was $9,677. In 1957, the 15% percent figure fell $39 short of the $10,000, so the racing group wrote a check for $10,000. 

When the city closed McCormick Field Speedway, the golden era of NASCAR was starting to begin in Asheville and the rest of the South. McCormick Field had led to a rich beginning for the sport. The much larger Asheville-Weaverville racetrack north of the city was still in operation and soon, the New Asheville Motor Speedway at Carrier Field would be constructed in 1962. We plan to write about both of these racetracks as well and their importance to NASCAR history as well! 

Want to wear a piece of Asheville's automotive history? Grab one of our McCormick Field Speedway T-Shirts in the MMT Shop! McCormick Field Speedway T-Shirt | My Site (mountaineermotortours.com)

Sources:

Newspaper Articles:

Asheville Citizen-Times. (May 11, 1958). McCormick Field - Plemmons Wreck . Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mccormick-field/151510541/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (May 18, 1957). McCormick Field Convertible races. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mccormick-field/117292916/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (April 26, 1958). McCormick Field Racers. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mccormick-field/117292879/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (August 2, 1992). McCormick Field Racing. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mccormick-field/120298166/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (April 12, 1959). Closure of McCormick Field Raceway. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-closure-of-mccor/151969676/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (April 20, 1958). Banjo 1958 McCormick Field Line Up. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-banjo-1958-mccor/151970302/

The Asheville Times, February 18, 1959, Page  1. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-mccormick-field-race/151969755/ : accessed July 28, 2024), clip page for McCormick Field Raceway Closure by user towsonhe

Asheville Citizen-Times. (August 22, 1957). Powder Puff Racing McCormick Field. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-powder-puff-raci/120381635/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (November 6, 1956). McCormick Field Raceway - Net Profits 1956. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-mccormick-field/151553962/

Winston-Salem Journal. (June 16, 1956). McCormick Field Speedway Opening. Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/winston-salem-journal-mccormick-field-sp/151554015/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (July 14, 1974) A Toolbox and a Dream, Bob Terrell

Websites:

History of McCormick Field | MiLB.com

A look back at Asheville’s precarious pro baseball history | Mountain Xpress

Lowe’s Companies - North Carolina History

NASCAR has history at stadium venues as it readies for LA Coliseum exhibition opener

NASCAR Grand National Schedule, NASCAR Schedule, Auto Racing Schedule - ESPN

At the twilight of the Gilded Age and the dawn of the Progressive Era, Asheville, North Carolina emerged as a leader in the advancement of automobiles and good roads. George Vanderbilt, an automobile enthusiast, had advocated for better roads in Buncombe County after paving much of his Biltmore Estate. Roads in Asheville became much more traversable by automobiles as they were graded and paved under the Buncombe County good roads act. This started to increase automobile tourism to Asheville, as cars became cheaper and more plentiful to the masses. As the automobile was bringing more people to the city, Asheville started to become known as a medical haven for those suffering from tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments. 

Counted among these tourists were some of the titans of the automotive world: Henry Ford, his son Edsel Ford and Harvey Firestone who made several visits to the Grove Park Inn. On one visit, Henry brought along his Model T convoy of adventurers that were car camping through the East Coast. This group was called “The Vagabonds” and brought along celebrities of the time like Thomas Edison, John Burroughs and other friends of Henry’s to “rough it” in luxury tents. Edsel and Henry Ford made several scouting trips to Asheville, prior to and after this Vagabond expedition.

Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, E.W. Grove Jr., Henry Ford and Fred Seely at the Grove Park Inn C.A. 1918, Courtesy of Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

On March 10th, 1922, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported Henry Ford and Edsel Ford taking a trip out on the old Pisgah Toll Road, owned and operated by George Vanderbilt. The Pisgah Toll was a scenic road that accessed Vanderbilt’s Buck Spring Lodge. While on this trip, Henry Ford visited his good friend Fred Seely, architect and general manager of the Grove Park Inn. The Vagabonds would stay at the Grove Park Inn on their camping trip in 1918. While in Asheville, the Fords most likely saw how popular the automobile was, while driving the city’s higher quality roads. Asheville’s roads were far and above most other towns in the country our size. Word of these visits must have spread through the Ford family to Edsel’s cousin, George Wallace Bryant, who was looking for a new start outside of Detroit.

George Wallace Bryant, the nephew of Clara Bryant Ford and Henry Ford, decided to move to Asheville from Detroit in 1921 to open a Ford dealer. His father, Edward Lewis Bryant was working on the Ford Farms, when he died from Pneumonia when Wallace was only 18 years old. Wallace grew up in Dearborn and would go on to serve in the Navy during WWI. Clara Bryant Ford, one of twelve siblings and Wallace’s aunt, would end up employing many of the Bryant family in the many Ford family businesses. The Bryant family had a farm just five miles from the Ford Family. Clara and Henry would meet at an old fashioned country dance because of this proximity, which began their courtship. 

Wallace and his wife Margaret, along with their two daughters Marjorie and Diana bought a house at 30 Kenilworth road. Edsel Ford, Henry and Clara’s son lent George the money to build their home in Kenilworth and start their own Ford dealer. Wallace intended to build his own building at the intersection of Patton and Coxe avenues as early as 1922. The Asheville Citizen times ran an article that reported Bryant intended to build a three story brick building that would carry Ford and Lincoln automobiles, as well as Fordson tractors. It was to be built by noted Asheville contractor, T.C. Smith. At the time, the construction was expected to cost $105,000, which would equate to roughly $1,948,000 in 2024. It doesn’t appear that the building was ever constructed, or that Wallace Bryant opened a dealer at this location. Fordson Tractors was a separate company formed by Henry and Edsel to manufacture tractors. The name Ford and son was the inspiration behind the name Fordson. 

Wallace ended up opening his Ford dealer in the Haywood Building on Haywood Street, later moving to 17 North Market Street. He created Bryant Motor Sales as his automobile dealer with a partner, Oscar Brown. Edsel Ford loaned Wallace $50,000 that was payable in 15 months. The dealer opened in late 1922 and by 1923, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported Bryant Motor Sales had sold around 1,000 cars, with many more on the way in 1924. Unfortunately around this time, Wallace became sick with Tuberculosis and had a difficult time working. Realizing his health was failing, he sold his interest in Bryant Motors to Oscar Brown, who formed his own dealer, Oscar Brown Motors. 

The Haywood Building - 38-58 Haywood Street, Courtesy of Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

N. Market Street Aerial View - Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Wallace was not able to pay back the loan to Edsel and from there, things went from bad to worse. His home and business were sold on the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar to his business partner, Oscar Brown. It appears that Oscar let the Bryant family live in the house at 30 Kenilworth road for around a year while Wallace Bryant was trying to find work elsewhere. Desperate for work, Wallace was employed by the Kenilworth Land Company as a real estate agent. Oscar Brown would continue selling cars until he retired in 1942. His brothers, Grover and John Brown would form Brown Brothers motor sales, selling Hudson and Essex, then Chevrolet. Their interest in Ford would be sold to John A. Richbourg of the Richbourg Motor Company. Richbourg owned the Richbourg Motor Company selling Ford and Lincoln at 54 Coxe Avenue, as well as the Universal Motor Company, selling Ford on Haywood road in West Asheville. 

As the business slipped out of his grasp, George’s health continued to decline and he entered the Winyah Sanitarium below Sunset Mountain in Asheville to recover from Tuberculosis. While Wallace was undergoing treatment, his wife Margaret began having an affair with Henry Westall, who was author Thomas Wolfe’s cousin and Julia Westall Wolfe’s nephew. Henry Westall was known for flying the first airplane into Asheville at Baird’s Bottom, a large cow pasture in North Asheville. When the Lakeview Park neighborhood was developed, it was flooded by damming Beaver creek and Beaver Lake was created. The plane that Westall flew was purchased at a surplus auction from the Canadian military in 1919 for $2,000 after WWI. Henry flew it for about a year until he decided flying was no longer a good idea. He was said to be the first aviator to take an aerial picture of Asheville. 

Wallace Bryant and Margaret McGowan engagement announcement

Henry and Margaret continued their affair until eventually word got back to Wallace. Wallace, heartbroken and angry, decided to file for custody of his two children. Fearing her children being taken away from her, Margaret decided to kidnap both of the children and run away with them to her family in Philadelphia. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that while Margaret’s maid was out with the children for a walk on Charlotte street, Margaret appeared in her car, stating that she wanted to take them for a quick ride. The maid obliged and sat down on a park bench, where she sat waiting for a car that wasn’t coming back. Shortly after this occurred, the children were reported as being kidnapped. 

On January 4th, 1928, Edsel Ford would send a telegram to Wallace at the Winyah Sanitarium reporting that his children had been found. Margaret was pursued by the Buncombe County sheriff Dick Penland all the way in Philadelphia, arrested and thrown in jail upon their return to Asheville. Her children were taken away and put into protective custody by the state. This drama would continue to play out in the headlines of newspapers across the country for two years, as Wallace and Margaret fought against each other for custody of their children. After the children were brought back to Asheville, Wallace divorced Margaret and Henry Westall would divorce his wife as well. 

While all of this drama was unfolding in the nation's papers, both Wallace and his ex-wife Margaret wrote to Clara Ford asking for her help. Clara was the North Star for the Ford family and also its “fixer.” Margaret wrote to Clara explaining her anguish about her children being taken from her and asking if Clara could use the might of the Ford company and their attorneys to help influence the case in her favor. Whether Clara responded or not is unknown, as there is no reply recorded from her in the Henry Ford archives. Margaret refers to her as “Aunt Clara” in her letter, despite all of the strife between her and Clara’s nephew Wallace. Margaret would sue Wallace for “cruel and barbarous treatment” towards her and the children. The suit was later dropped. 

The letters written to Clara from Wallace are heartbreaking. Wallace, stricken with tuberculosis, wrote to Clara from his bed in the Winyah Sanitarium in 1928 about many things. One letter discusses Clara and Henry’s trip to the British Isles for Henry to research genealogical history related to his family and visit his grandfather’s home in Cork, Ireland. Wallace had been following their trip from the New York Times articles and photos reported regularly. During his time at the sanitarium, two new Ford Model As, a coupe and a roadster had been parked outside his window for him to view. They excited him so much that he wrote “They are so beautiful I could hardly bear from getting out of bed and going for a ride.” He goes on in his letter to say “ I am very glad to tell you in spite of the most horrible mental anguish you must know I have been through that I am sitting up four hours a day and expect to walk in July. My right lung was removed by artificial methods, but I feel good and will soon be a useful citizen again.” He closes the letter to Clara by saying “I hope I will amount to something someday.”

The drama between Wallace and his wife would culminate in a lawsuit against Henry Westall by Wallace -  $100,000 for “alienation of the affections of his wife.” After the trial, the court awarded Wallace $50,000. Henry Westall had to spend 20 days in the Buncombe County Jail, as was required by law upon failure to pay the full sum of the court award in the alienation suit. After the trial for custody of the Bryant children concluded, Wallace was deemed unfit by the court to take care of his children due to his health condition. Margaret was granted custody of their children. In February of 1930, Henry Westall and Margaret Bryant would marry. They considered leaving Asheville, but ended up staying here for many years, living on Westwood avenue in Lakeview Park. Henry Westall was an extremely talented amateur golfer and competed for many years at courses around the country. He would later open a golf course equipment supply company on Merrimon avenue, selling Toro mowers and other premium equipment. 

Wallace’s story, on the other hand, does not have a happy ending. After the papers aired his and Margaret’s dirty laundry for years, he seems to have been able to take his daughters on a short vacation back home in Michigan. In August of 1930, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wallace taking his daughters up to Detroit to spend the summer with his mother. While in Detroit, they took a 10 day cruise of the Great Lakes aboard the Henry Ford II yacht with his aunt and uncle, Henry and Clara Ford. He wrote to Uncle Henry and Aunt Clara that their boat trip had restored his spirits immeasurably. Sadly, he would die at the age of 35 from complications related to his tuberculosis in September of 1930, shortly after this trip with his daughters to Detroit. 

Despite Wallace’s tumultuous decade in Asheville, he truly did enjoy his time here. He wrote to Clara about how lovely the weather is and how she would love the flowers here. Although Wallace did not have the first Ford dealer in Asheville, he did have one of the larger franchises and made a short, but brief mark in the city. He rests in Dearborn to this day. We hope that his soul has found peace after a short, but difficult life. 

Sources:

The Asheville Times. (June 22, 1924). Bryant Motor Sales. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-bryant-motor-sales/140133732/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (February 11, 1930). Bryant-Westall Case. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-bryant-westall-c/148806583/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (November 22, 1922). George Wallace Bryant - Start Business. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-george-wallace-b/142209839/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (September 12, 1930). Obituary for O. Wallace Bryant. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-obituary-for-o/148806606/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (January 9, 1930). George Bryant. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-george-bryant/142538757/

The Asheville Times. (February 9, 1929). Bryant Divorce. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-bryant-divorce/142209999/

Letters between Wallace Bryant and Margaret Bryant to Clara Ford, Telegram from Edsel Ford courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum Archives

Conversation with Debbie Word, 2/23/24

Clara: Mrs. Henry Ford by Ford Bryan, published 2001

On a calm day, crystal clear chimes echo from the top cupola of the Asheville City Hall building. Designed by Beaux Arts architect Douglas Ellington, the building spared little in expense or compromise. This project, championed by Asheville Mayor John Cathey, stood as a symbol of the new Asheville that emerged in the decade of the 1920s and would later stand as a symbol of its revival in the 1990s. This new building was also part of the master city plan of noted planner, John Nolen, who had come from Cambridge, Massachusetts to lay out the new city as it evolved from a small drover’s stop to a true metropolis. Despite how magnificent the new city hall building was, it was still missing the final touch: music to emanate from its ornate cupola. 

Mayor Cathey, wanting to pay tribute to the Asheville soldiers who had perished during World War I, saw a unique opportunity with this new building. Looking at other cities for inspiration, he found that they had installed a carillon in buildings of prominence like city buildings and houses of worship. A carillon or tower chime is an automated and manual contraption that will play melodies on a set of large chimes that can range from 10 tubular bells to 64 depending on the system. Arguably the best tower bell company in the world during the 1920s to purchase one of these systems from was the J.C. Deagan bell company of Chicago, Illinois. Deagan had been founded by John Calhoun Deagan in 1880 and initially made glockenspiels. They were noted for the development of the xylophone, vibraharp (vibraphone), organ chimes, aluminum harp, Swiss handbells, the marimba, orchestra bells and the marimbaphone. 

J.C. Deagan was a professional clarinetist who founded the company in St. Louis Missouri and later moved it to Chicago in the early 20th century. Deagan was unsatisfied with the intonation of glockenspiels used in theater orchestras, in which he performed. He began to experiment with the instrument’s acoustics and tuning and developed the first “scientifically tuned” glockenspiel. To further develop a better glockenspiel, he consulted the publication On the Sensations of Tone by German physician and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. The Deagan company remained in control of his descendants for two generations and beyond. 

Deagan Factory Building - 1770 W. Berteau Ave. Chicago, Illinois. Photo by author

When it came to constructing the set of chimes for Asheville’s City hall, Mayor Cathey chose a 10 chime carillon for the newly minted city hall. Although the city was in the throes of the Great Depression, they began a fundraising campaign around 1927, which involved children depositing coins in a bank at schools in both Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems. It took $5,000 to purchase the chimes, which was fundraised from Cathey’s campaign. The wiring for these massive chimes was completed by local electrical firm, M.B. Haynes. The chimes were installed by Deagan’s master tech for the southeast, Roy Lofink. 

By 1932, Mayor Cathey had collected the money and the Deagan chimes had been ordered. Lofink arrived in Asheville to install the chimes on Monday June 27th 1932 and by Friday July 1, 1932, the chimes were being tested out and heard all over the city. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that the following melodies were played to test out the new chimes: "Lead Kindly Lead," "Rock of Ages," "I Love You Truly," "Moonlight and Roses," "Home, Sweet Home," "My Old Kentucky Home," and other numbers.

It is estimated that the Deagan company produced around 440 tower tube instruments over a span of nearly 40 years. Lofink installed the lionshare of these instruments, with an estimated 155.5 installations in his logbook from 1923 to 1941. Only four of these 10 note municipal tower chimes were ever installed by Deagan, which makes Asheville’s set quite rare. The only municipalities to have these chime systems were the Sacramento Municipal Auditorium, the Seward County, Nebraska Courthouse, the Pretoria in South Africa and Asheville’s City Hall Building. 

Top Rung Tower Chimes working on Asheville's Deagan Chimes

The system’s ten cylindrical brass chimes weigh from 300 to 700 pounds each. The carillon can be played either manually, on a small keyboard or by means of paper rolls with holes marking the notes, similar to player-piano rolls. The keyboard or automatic player device actuate an electric solenoid, which operates a mechanical arm that strikes each chime note with a rawhide mallet. Only 16 Deagan tower chime systems were installed in North Carolina, all at various churches across the state. The fact that Asheville had an automatic playing apparatus is also a unicorn among these chime systems. 

Deagan automatic player unit - Library of Congress

The chimes were played regularly during the 1930s and 1940s to commemorate the old Rhododendron Festival, for conventions and to honor the death of public figures. In addition, regular concerts were performed during the winter holiday season. Asheville Attorney Lucille McInturff, who was also a musician, became the city’s semi-official chimer, playing the bells regularly for about 10 years. McInturff, the first person to ever play the chimes, also trained servicemen from the Air Force’s Weather wing to play the big instrument. The Air Force’s weather wing was headquartered in the Grove Arcade, since World War II. 

December 1959, Asheville Citizen Times - Matoka Wilson, a secretary in Asheville's Public Safety Department plays the carillon chimes, while Albert C. Dunn, assistant manager of the Water Department, watches. They were preparing for a series of Christmas concerts.

The bells stopped being used in the early 1960s, when the BB&T building (now the hotel Arras building) installed a speaker system on their roof to play recorded chime songs. These also became victims of weather and deterioration and stopped playing in the early 1980s. Production of Deagan tower chimes stopped around 1957. 

Today, it is estimated that more than Deagan 230 tower chimes survive, in various conditions. Many of the components of these systems can survive long periods of time in the weather and elements. Typically the parts that deteriorate over time are the wiring and wooden chime rack. There are still companies today that can repair and restore them. When it came time to restore Asheville’s Chimes, they chose William Pugh of Top Rung Tower Chime and Organ Service, which at that time was located in Lawrence, Kansas. In 1995, Pugh estimated the repairs and refurbishment of Asheville’s chimes at around $12,000. 

Pugh visited Asheville as early as 1989 to assess the chimes, but it wasn’t until almost a decade later that he completed the work. Initial restoration of the chimes was started in 1997. This involved constructing a cage around the chimes, so that birds could not damage them. The wiring, originally installed by M.B. Haynes in the 1930s had withstood the test of time and did not need refurbishing. The wooden rack holding the chimes was scraped clean and repainted. Pugh disassembled the chimes, cleaned, polished, painted and replated most of the original parts. The city had to remove asbestos insulation that surrounded some of the wiring for the chime system before Pugh began his work. The chimes were rededicated in a ceremony in 1999 where they played again for the city once again. 

Much like the original effort to raise funds for the purchase of the chimes, the children of Asheville and Buncombe County schools were called along to bring their spare change to help in the effort. When I was a student at Claxton Elementary school as a third grader in 1997, I remember much fanfare about this event. Large brass replica banks of Asheville’s city hall were installed in the lobby of our school. When coins were deposited in the bank, a bell would ring! This was fascinating to a child and made us want to bring in our spare change all the same. Sofa cushions and change jars were raided from our parent’s closets, to make these replica banks sing. 

The chimes are still operational today and have continued to receive regular maintenance to this day. Look up at the tower of city hall and you may see these chimes in a new light!

Special thanks to Jeff Crook at Chime Master for maintenance records on the chimes.

Resources used in this article:

Top Rung Tower Chime (deagan.com)

deagan-tower-chimes-sales-brochure-circa-1930-web (1).pdf - Google Drive

Century Mallet Instrument Service

J. C. Deagan, Inc. - Wikipedia

Deagan Tower Installations (towerbells.org)

The Asheville Times. (June 27, 1932). Roy Lofink Deagan Chimes City Hall. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-roy-lofink-deagan-ch/147427306/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (July 1, 1932). Roy Lofink - Installer of Asheville City Hall Deagan Chimes. Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-roy-lofink-ins/93519634/

Sometimes I cast my mind back to the 1950s and what it must have been like to be an eight year old kid in Asheville. For some kids, it may have been sitting in front of a TV on Saturday morning to watch cartoons with a bowl of Kellogg's cereal. For others, it may have been flipping through a dog eared Hot Rod magazine to see wild creations from Ed Roth or George Barris. On a daily basis, they probably would have seen some of the large sedans from GM’s Pontiac division cruising the streets of Asheville or even in their own driveway. They might have even dreamed of being able to drive one, but how could they? Enter Harry Blomberg and Buddy Patton. 

Harry's Motor Inn - North Market Street

If you were looking for either a new Cadillac or Pontiac in Asheville, North Carolina, you most likely would have paid a visit to Harry’s Cadillac and Pontiac. Harry started his own business in 1923 with his Harry’s Motor Inn service station and secure parking garage down on North Market street behind Julia Wolfe’s Old Kentucky Home boarding house. She knew Harry, who played with her son Thomas Wolfe and grew up close by on Spruce street. Harry ended up leasing the lot to build his Motor Inn from Mrs. Wolfe, who stipulated the size and construction of the building. The success of Harry’s Motor Inn enabled him to expand his growing automotive business in Asheville with two other service station locations. In 1938, he obtained the Cadillac franchise and opened Harry’s Cadillac. By 1955, he had two Harry’s Motor Inns, three Texaco gas stations, his Cadillac and Pontiac dealer and a used car dealer down on Coxe avenue. Harry was one of the top selling Cadillac and Pontiac dealers in the country, which enabled him to participate in several special programs and promotions for General Motors. 

Harry's Cadillac and Pontiac, 68 North Market Street, Courtesy of Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

In 1955, Jack Stuart - a designer with Pontiac’s promotional division came up with the idea to create a scale “junior” Pontiac go kart for children that would promote the 1956 Model lineup of cars to customers. Of particular popularity in this line up was the 1956 Star Chief convertible - a stand out of Harley Earl’s design stable at General Motors. To build these cars, Stuart outsourced the development and manufacturing to the Silvestri Art Manufacturing Studios of Chicago, Illinois. Silvestri was co-owned by George Silvestri and Bernard Gorman, who employed about 200 people. They were known for creating toys, animatronic figures and detailed displays for department store windows. 

The toy they came up with for the Pontiac promotional event was the 1956 Pontiac Junior Star Chief convertible. It was approximately ⅓ the size of a real 1956 Pontiac Star Chief convertible, with a steel frame and a fiberglass body that measured 6 feet long. It was a fully functioning electric go kart, powered by an electric Pontiac starter motor and a 12 volt Delco car battery. It had forward and reverse gears, headlights, horn and semi-pneumatic tires. They were only made in 1956, with the total number of cars produced not known. Harry and his general manager/son in law Buddy Patton were able to obtain one to give away for a promotion at Harry’s Cadillac held in November of 1955. 

 Asheville’s winner of the 1956 Pontiac Junior Star Chief was eight-year-old Judy Davis of 171 Montford Avenue. She must have had a blast running this little Pontiac up and down the sidewalks and side streets of Montford. It must have been a magical day to walk into Harry’s dealer at 68 Haywood street among the gleaming new cars as an eight year old kid and see your very own custom made 1956 Pontiac convertible waiting for you to jump inside! Buddy Patton ended up delivering the car to little Judy and making sure that she knew how to drive it. No doubt while she was being outfitted for her new ride, her parents would have been shown a 1956 Pontiac in full-size. We’d love to see if we could find one of these cars today, maybe even this exact one! If you know where this one is located, drop us a line at mountaineermotortours@gmail.com.

Sources:

Hemmings Find of the Day - 1956 Pontiac Junior Star Chief - Hemmings

Bonhams Cars : 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Junior Promotional Car

Asheville Citizen-Times. (November 6, 1955). Harry's 1956 Pontiac Convertible. Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-harrys-1956-pon/146562195/

1956 Pontiac Junior Star Chief Go-Kart for Sale at Auction - Mecum Auctions

Photo courtesy of Rick Furman - Hugh's brother, Robert Brown's Dodge coupe and Three Mountaineers Traveling Sales Trailer

Occupying the floor above the Three Mountaineers showroom on the ground level was the architect, Samuel Grant Alexander. Alexander had designed many homes in the Lakeview Park neighborhood of North Asheville, prior to the bank crash of 1930. He commissioned Three Mountaineers to provide interior decoration and design for light fixtures in several of the buildings in Asheville. One of Alexander's commissions post economic crash was Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher. The church had suffered from a terrible fire several years prior and needed to be recommissioned. Three Mountaineers were asked to supply light fixtures for the sanctuary - made of hammered wrought iron. These bore resemblance to their earlier light fixtures featured in the earlier Treasure Chest catalogs.

Photos by author - sanctuary and interior of Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, North Carolina

These light fixtures were crafted by two blacksmiths at Three Mountaineers, Tony and Joe Ciccarello. The Ciccarello brothers had moved to North Carolina from Tampa, Florida to secure jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program. There had been no jobs to be had in Tampa after the stock market crash of 1929, so they began the search for employment out of state. They managed to get a job at a CCC camp and studied black smithing with an instructor in their camp. They answered a job ad for Three Mountaineers and began working in the forge in the back of the new building located at 32 College Street.

Tony Ciccarello - back of 32 College Street - Courtesy of Ciccarello Family

Joe Ciccarello - Inside of the iron shop at 32 College Street - Courtesy of Ciccarello Family

Iron workers in the back of 32 College Street. Courtesy of Ciccarello Family

Hugh Brown and Bill Lashley would continue trying to grow their new venture through the early 1930s. Sadly, Edwin Brown, Hugh's brother, business partner and confidant would pass from a heart attack in 1932. It was thought by Edwin's doctor and other family members that this was due to overwork and stress. Edwin and Hugh would spend most of the day working together and then in the evening, meet up after dinner at one of their homes in Beaverdam and talk late into the night about business. Edwin's wife Jane would end up taking up a role in the company for a short period and even appeared on the company letterhead as a partner.

In addition to the mountain crafts that were display at 32 College Street, there were many antiques still for sale. The sale of antiques had been mainly taken over by Hugh's wife Lelia, who had a strong business acumen and a good eye for items that would sell well. She would go up to New York City on big buying trips, taking some of their children with her to pick out items for the store. Hugh also visited local estate sales and country auctions to supply items for the store.

By 1936, the Three Mountaineers had gotten back on their feet to finally release their first catalog after four years of operation. The catalog was illustrated by Bill Lashley, who had also done most of the design work for the products they were selling.

Page from 1936 Catalog - Examples of Homespun Woven Items

Blue Ridge Woodcrafters, still supervised by Cecil Clayton was still producing all of the woodcrafted items for Three Mountaineers in his shop down on the Swannanoa River. In addition to the wrought iron being produced in the forge at the back of 32 College Street, Three Mountaineers also had a small production facility of weavers, producing woven wool cloth on fly shuttle looms, in another part of 32 College Street:

Photo by Felmet Jackson titled "Lorena Weaves a Bag" courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections

Hugh Brown had even been able to convince Asheville artist Leah Chiles to come work for Three Mountaineers. Leah Chiles had come to Asheville with her husband Jake Chiles to develop the town of Kenilworth. After Jake's death, she had become the first and last mayor of Kenilworth, also becoming the first woman mayor in the state of North Carolina. After the depression exacted its toll on Asheville, Leah negotiated the sale of Kenilworth to the city of Asheville, to be annexed into the city. She was the daughter of a famous sculptor and had formal training in multiple mediums of artistry. With two young boys and need for money after the 1929 stock market crash, she came to work for Three Mountaineers, where she repaired antique fine China and did design work for many of their wood products.

By the late 1930s, Three Mountaineers was beginning to gain momentum as the Asheville economy was starting to rebound. But there was more in store for this mountain company with World War II on the horizon, while trouble was brewing in Europe. Hugh Brown, also suffering from a family genetic flaw of weak hearts, died from a heart attack in 1938. Bill Lashley, along with Hugh's wife Lelia stepped up to move the company forward and keep mountain people working.

There's more to the story and if you want to learn further, please join us for a program in conjunction with the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County this month!

On Thursday, April 25th at 5:30pm, we'll be giving an hour long presentation on the complete history of Three Mountaineers. The program has a suggested donation of $10 which goes to the Preservation Society, but is free to attend. Details are:

From Cottage Industry to Mass Production: The History of the Three Mountaineers Company

Thursday, April 25th at 5:30pm

Central United Methodist Church

27 Church Street

Downtown Asheville

This month, we’re going to explore a little bit lesser known area of Asheville’s history. Mountaineer Motor Tours doesn’t just cover automotive history, we are interested in all of Asheville’s history! Our tours are focused on the transition of Asheville from a small mountain town to a prominent metropolitan destination by the end of the 1920s decade. Although the 1920s were a decade that saw Asheville transform itself and its infrastructure into a tourist mecca, it still had firm roots in its history dating back several centuries. In the city’s 1922 master plan drafted by city planner John Nolen, Nolen stated that mountain crafts were the city’s greatest and most important industry. Nolen stated that greater emphasis should be placed on the development of mountain crafts over other types of manufacturing. One of the more well known manufacturers to develop during this time period was the Three Mountaineers. 

Three Mountaineers is a name you may have heard a time or two in Asheville. There is no relation to the Mountaineer Inn or Appalachian State University - they are a company with a history all of their own. Their logo, three older mountain men and a dog roaming the hills appeared on many small pieces of furniture, as well as vibrant screen printed spice cabinets in the 1960s and 1970s. Although Three Mountaineers was known for mass manufacturing very high quality ponderosa pine furniture and occasional giftware pieces, they began by manufacturing small wood gift items in a very simple fashion. 

Our story begins with a man named Hugh Brown - an Asheville native and lover of mountain crafts. Hugh was born in 1884 in Asheville and at a young age, started his working career at the Asheville Hardware Company. By 1900, he was a traveling salesman for the company and continued to rise through the ranks of the company, until an opportunity came his way. There was a slight economic crash that occurred in Asheville in 1911, which caused the Asheville Hardware Company to go bankrupt. Hugh looked to his older brother Edwin Brown, owner of the Brown Book Company for financial capital and guidance. The Brown Book Company was one of Asheville’s largest suppliers of office supplies, books and tourist post cards, with several locations throughout the city. Edwin, Hugh and Frank Weaver, a leading businessman and co-founder of Weaver College in Weaverville all became business partners in the Hardware Business. The Asheville Hardware Company became Brown Hardware Company. 

Hugh Brown

Hugh became the owner of his own business, Brown Hardware Company on North Main Street in downtown Asheville. He primarily made his living selling tools, hardware, guns, wood stoves, fly swatters and any other darn thing an Asheville resident might need. Although Hugh knew the hardware business inside and out from a young age, his heart was drawn to Colonial Revival craftsmanship and antiques. Around 1923, he met a carpenter in Asheville named Cecil Clayton. Cecil Clayton was a master woodworker, who could carve out ornate detail on furniture by hand. He worked with high quality hardwoods like cherry, mahogany, walnut and maple to make exquisite furniture and other small home goods. 

Cecil Clayton in his woodshop on the banks of the Swannanoa River

Hugh Brown and Cecil Clayton formed their own partnership called Blue Ridge Woodcrafters that would make lovely wood pieces to be sold in Brown’s hardware store. Clayton had a small, ragtag workshop down on the banks on the Swannanoa River, just outside of Bilmore Village. Some of their first items were candlesticks, trays, small boxes, nut bowls, nut crackers, checker boards and more. These were mostly marketed to tourists of Asheville who might be passing Hugh’s hardware store. 

With Blue Ridge Woodcrafters starting to build up their success, Hugh decided to take another step towards expanding his craft business. He desired to sell his own line of giftwares that would include antiques, woodcraft items, pottery and more. In the back of Brown Hardware Company, he cleared out a small space, started decorating it and filling it with these gift wares. He decided to call his new business, The Treasure Chest. The Treasure Chest first opened its doors to customers on December 1, 1924. The evening was one that was memorable, with demonstrations by mountain craftspeople demonstrating a spinning wheel and weaving on a fly shuttle loom. The newspaper reported the Treasure Chest’s cozy sales room that had a square fireplace, outfitted with a revolving spit, goose-cage and a lark-roaster made of hand-wrought iron in the 18th century. It was the center of the crowd all evening!

Hugh would continue to build up the business of the Treasure Chest for a number of years, before they produced their first catalog in 1926. This was sent out to many of the major giftware sales centers, which included Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. Every year, Hugh and his brother Edwin would make the rounds to each of these cities for their major giftware shows during the fall. It was at one of these shows where they would meet a man who would become a future long-term partner and key to their success: Stephen J. Anderson. 

Anderson had his own large giftware display room in New York City. He was attending the trade show in New York City, along with his daughter Roxanne, who was helping him set up and work in his booth. As he saw Hugh and Edwin Brown unwrapping their items for sale at the show, he was immediately struck with the sales potential of their products. He wandered over and saw them unwrapping beautiful carved wooden bowls, mountain pottery, hooked rugs and more from brown waxy paper, with little pine cones covering it. He stopped to ask them if they would be interested in having him market some of their products, to which they mumbled something about being fine on their own. Dejected, but not discouraged, Anderson wandered back to his booth. He mentioned this to Roxanne, who asked her father if she could take a try at asking the Brown brothers about their products. Anderson figured his daughter, who was cute and charming, may have a better chance. 

Early wood carved items, photo courtesy of Joyce Clayton-Plank

Roxanne strolled over to the Brown brothers and asked if she could try selling some of their mountain crafts. With the gleam of her smile, they agreed to let her take a small sample of goods back to the Anderson booth. As soon as the show started, the buzz around the Anderson booth was electric. While Hugh and Edwin sat patiently at their booth, the Andersons had already sold out of their mountain crafts and were back at the Brown brothers booth asking for more products to sell. This began the partnership of S.J. Anderson, later Anderson and Romaine as Three Mountaineers largest northeast distribution company. Roxanne Anderson would go on to marry Will Romaine, a representative for the Seth Thomas Clock Company who would join the family business and form Anderson and Romaine, headquartered at 225 Fifth Avenue in New York City. 

Stephen J. Anderson

Buoyed by their success at the New York show with S.J. Anderson, Hugh and Edwin began to sell more items across the country. They started advertising their products in House Beautiful magazine, where they began to ship them all over the country. One of Hugh’s employees at the Brown Hardware Company began to take great interest in the Treasure Chest and was a skilled carpenter himself - William “Bill” Lashley. Bill Lashley had started working at the Brown Hardware Company as a young man and has risen through the ranks as one of the more valued employees. He would later go on to be a partner in the next evolution of the company, Three Mountaineers. Hugh would also meet someone very crucial to his success in the hardware store: Lelia E. Mitchell who would become his wife and business confidant. Leila, as a skilled business person in her own rite, would be crucial to Three Mountaineers success beyond Hugh’s years with the company. 

The Treasure Chest and the Brown Hardware Company continued to grow and thrive in the booming Asheville economy. By 1927, the Brown Hardware company had reached sales of $167,460 ($2,698,756 in 2022 dollars) and the Treasure Chest had reached $130,311 in sales ($2,100,056 in 2022 dollars). Hugh had received several lucrative hardware sales contracts, which included providing much of the hardware for the Douglas Ellington designed Asheville City Hall. His brother in law, John Cathey (married to Ida Mitchell, Lelia’s sister) who was the mayor of Asheville at the time had connected him with Ellington and several other artists that included the architect, William Waldo Dodge Jr. At the time Asheville had heavily leveraged all of their development through one bank in town, the Central Bank and Trust headquartered in Pack Square. Suffering from a minor real estate market crash in 1927, Asheville was already beginning to sense that something was amiss. 

The Asheville-Citizen times published an article that detailed what they considered John Cathey’s reckless spending in Asheville. Cathay was then run out of town by angry citizens who harassed him and his family after his term as mayor ended. Mayor Gallatin Roberts, who had served as mayor prior to Mayor Cathey’s term from 1923-1927 was elected again and immediately had an audit done on the Central Bank and Trust. By 1928, the results of the audit concluded that the bank was insolvent and in serious financial trouble. Mayor Roberts did not publish the results of the audit and instead made the financial statements look a little bit better than they were, in hopes that the market might catch up and the bank would recover. Things went from bad to worse as the stock market crashed in 1929 and the Central Bank and Trust closed in 1930, never to re-open. 

Mayor John Cathey and Ida Mitchell

Hugh Brown was one of many casualties of the Central Bank and Trust’s unregulated lending. He lost both the Brown Hardware Company and The Treasure Chest. The Treasure Chest was sold to the Farmer’s Federation, a local farmers cooperative to help sell and market agricultural goods from Western North Carolina far and wide. The Farmer’s Federation called Hugh Brown in one day for a meeting to discuss the possibility of him running the company. Hugh, normally a soft spoken, kind man was visibly annoyed by this and told them “you bought it, you run it” and quietly walked out. 

In a letter to Mrs. Anderson, Stephen J. Anderson’s wife, Hugh Brown discussed what happened and their plan moving forward. He wrote: 

“My dear Mrs. Anderson:

You were no doubt surprised to receive the request attached to your commission check, although I know that you have been more or less familiar with conditions in Asheville during the last year. I have hesitated to write you until I knew something definite, but as the matter has been delayed from day to day, I have decided to acquaint you with the exact conditions.

A few months before the Central Bank & Trust Company failed, they were most anxious to get as much of their paper as possible in liquid assets. For this reason, we consented to a loan on our building at 25 Broadway for $50,000.00. This loan was held by a Baltimore Trust Company and the first payment is not due until next May. The day before the bank closed, we have them our interest check for $1,500 which they did not deposit and they are setting up a claim now that we have made no effort to take care of this interest on the loan, and as real estate values have depreciated so much the building is not worth over $35,000.00. This is made without regard that their own appraiser appraised the building for $85,000.

They have asked that a receiver be appointed for the Brown Hardware Company and as the Treasure Chest is owned by the Brown Hardware, it will naturally affect the Treasure Chest. This matter comes up at 9:30 tomorrow morning and I have decided to fight it for the reason that the Brown Hardware Company has never been insolvent, they have always had a surplus and have some $65,000 over and above their liabilities.

The Treasure Chest on the first day of January this year, after overcoming the fact that all their assets were tied up on November 20th in a closed bank, wound up the year without owing a penny to a soul in the world. If there are any businesses in Asheville that made this record, I don’t know them. I would be able to have done the same thing this year. I am only mentioning this as I wanted you to know that you have been connected all along with a business that has been prosperous and going and only the circumstances described in this letter could have brought about a possibility of a receiver being appointed. 

Now getting down to what I am most concerned in, I want to first tell you not to worry. Keep your chin up and go ahead as if nothing had happened, as I cannot conceive of a receiver being appointed and not continuing the business right on. Although should one be appointed, I naturally am putting on my hat and walking out, and I know that this applies to Mr. Lashley also, and possibly it might mean a more or less reorganization of the personnel of the Treasure Chest, although I asked the bookkeeper to handle your account in the same way as a salary account so there would be no possibility of the receiver holding up your checks. 

Should I step out tomorrow, it is going to more or less dry clean me, and mean that I will have to start from the bottom round of the ladder again. This does not worry me for a moment, as I started this way twenty-one years ago with by far less experience that I have today, and I have no worry whatever as to making a living. I am not looking for a job, I am going to make one, and I am still as deeply interested in Mountain Handicrafts as ever, and you will see me bob up again before many moons. 

I want to take this occasion to tell you that I have enjoyed my association with you and Mr. Anderson as much as anything connected with the Treasure Chest, and it has worried me as much to have to write you this letter as anything else in connection with this business.

If we lose tomorrow, I am going to make a desperate effort to get Mr. F.M. Weaver appointed receiver, and if I am successful, you will have a mighty fine man to deal with, otherwise, I do not know who the receiver will be, but you do have my every wish that he will be a pleasant one, as far as his dealing with the New York office goes. 

I believe if I were you, I would have nothing to say outside of your family as to this situation, as it would mean nothing but a handicap in going after your business. I am telling you this in all good faith, for you may find me in a position where I am going to have to be a competitor to some extent, though as you may know it will have to be in a most limited way for sometime to come.

I again want to tell you as I told my sister in the Chicago office, don’t worry, it gets no one anything. Things are coming out O.K. and good business is just around the corner for all of us. If I can be of assistance to you in any way, I want you to know that my services are at your disposal, and if you have any problems that you feel would like to have advice on before coming to a decision, you may rest assured that it you want to ask my advice, I will tell you to the very best of my ability. Please remember me to Will and Mrs. Roxanne most kindly, kiss the baby, and remember that things never get better until the darkest hour, so you may look for things to begin to improve, I feel sure. 

With every good wish, I remain, most cordially yours, Hugh C. Brown.” 

Looking for a way forward, Hugh Brown decided that he would found another company with his brother Edwin and his associate, William “Bill” Lashley. They would call it: Three Mountaineers in honor of their mountain heritage. There was virtually no money to open this business, with the total starting capital being $500, however only $275 was ever paid in cash. The $275 of cash was contributed by Edwin and Hugh. Hugh contributed $200 to purchase an old used metal-working machine; and Edwin Brown contributed $75 cash and $125 worth of wooden shelving and showcases taken from the basement of his book store. Lashley’s interest was represented by part of one month’s labor, valued at $100. It was said that to actually turn the lights on, four loads of J.B. Cole pottery was obtained on consignment and had to be sold before the utility deposit could be paid and the lights and water were turned on in the building.

Stay tuned for more on the Three Mountaineers later this month in our next blog!

Mountaineer Motor Tours will be giving a presentation for the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County on Three Mountaineers:

Thursday, April 25th 2024

5:30pm

Central United Methodist Church, downtown Asheville

We also have Three Mountaineers T-Shirts, the first installment in our Asheville Collection of shirts here: 

Three Mountaineers T-Shirt | My Site (mountaineermotortours.com)

DeLorean DMC-12 at Grove Park Inn Asheville NC - Thanks to Alvan Judson (owner) photo by author

Over Asheville’s history, it has been host to many unique and high-end car brands. These have ranged from Rolls Royce and Auburn in the 1920s to Peugeot and Renault later in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the brands that left a short, but measured mark on the Asheville car scene is Delorean. Delorean, a company shrouded in mystery and intrigue seems like a unique, but out of place product for the Western North Carolina market. Asheville was home to the only Delorean dealer in Western North Carolina throughout the company’s history. There were only 10 Delorean dealers in North Carolina in 1981, which included cities such as Asheville, Charlotte, Concord, Conover, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Jacksonville, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. 

To understand how the DeLorean Motor Company made its way to Asheville, let’s examine John Delorean a little bit further….

John DeLorean, the company’s namesake and founder, had a long history in the automotive industry. Starting from a young age, he was enamored with automobiles. John was born January 6, 1925 as the first of four sons to Zachary and Kathryn DeLorean. His father, a Romanian immigrant, had immigrated to the United States when he was 20. He found employment as a union organizer at the Ford Motor Company. His poor English skills and lack of education prevented him from higher-paid work. John’s mother Kathryn was a Hungarian immigrant who had found work at Carboloy Products of General Electric, which made carbide tool and die products. Zachary struggled with alcoholism and his erratic behavior eventually drove Kathryn to take the DeLorean boys to Los Angeles to live with her sister for various periods. DeLorean’s parents eventually divorced in 1942. 

John was a talented student and ended up at Cass Technical High School -  a technical high school for Detroit honor students. While at Cass, he was enrolled in the electrical curriculum. His excellent academic record and musical talent on the saxophone landed him a scholarship at Lawrence Institute of Technology in Highland Park, Michigan. His studies at Lawrence were disrupted by World War II, where he served in the Army for three years. Delorean was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to Detroit to find his mother and siblings in economic difficulty. DeLorean found employment as a draftsman for the Public Lighting Commission for a year and a half to help improve his family’s economic situation. After things stabilized, he returned to Lawrence College to finish his degree. While enrolled in college, he worked part-time for Chrysler and a local body shop. John’s brothers Jack, George and Charles became prolific in the post-war hot rod scene in Detroit, building several noteworthy Ford hotrods. 

John DeLorean CA 1941

Rather than enter the engineering workforce immediately, DeLorean began his working career selling life insurance. This helped him develop an analytical sales pitch aimed at engineers. DeLorean claimed that he sold about $850,000 worth of policies in ten months. Although he was quite successful, he found the work very dull and moved on to a job with the Factory Equipment Corporation. John would later credit his time selling life insurance as great training for becoming a good communicator and salesperson. He later would connect with a foreman at Chrysler’s engineering garage, who recommended that he apply for a job with Chrysler. One perk of Chrysler was that they ran a post-graduate educational facility called the Chrysler Institute of Engineering. This allowed DeLorean to advance his education while gaining real-world experience in automotive engineering. 

DeLorean briefly attended Detroit College of Law, but did not graduate. In 1952, he graduated from the Chrysler Institute with a master’s degree in Automotive Engineering and joined Chrysler’s engineering team. While working full-time at Chrysler, he attended night classes at University of Michigan’s Ross School of business to earn credits for his MBA degree, which he completed in 1957. 

DeLorean worked for Chrysler for less than a year, when he was offered a job with Packard as an engineer. While at Packard, he designed several improvements to the Ultramatic automatic transmission, which gave it an improved torque converter and dual-drive ranges. It was rebranded as the Twin-Ultramatic transmission. Unfortunately at this time, Packard was experiencing financial difficulties because of the rapidly changing post war automobile market. Many of the other large automobile companies like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had begun producing affordable, mainstream products designed to cater to the rising postwar middle class. Unlike its competitors, Packard had retained its prewar notions of producing high-end, precisely engineered luxury cars for affluent buyers. For DeLorean, this company mindset had a positive effect on his work, specifically his attention to engineering detail while working under the engineering supervisor, Forest McFarland. After four years at Packard, DeLorean became McFarland’s successor as head of research and development. 

By the mid 1950s, Packard was still profitable, but struggling compared to its competitors. Packard’s president, James Nance, decided to merge the company with the Studebaker Corporation in 1954. John was considering keeping his job and moving to Studebaker headquarters in South Bend, Indiana when he got a call from Oliver Kelley, the vice president of engineering at General Motors, whom DeLorean greatly admired. Kelley offered DeLorean his choice of a job in any of GM’s five divisions: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile. 

Around 1956, DeLorean decided to leave Packard and accepted a position at GM’s Pontiac division as an assistant to chief engineer Pete Estes and general manager, Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. Pete Estes had an Asheville connection, as he was close friends with Asheville Cadillac and Pontiac dealer, Harry Blomberg. After Estes’ first wife Cathryn passed away from cancer, Harry opened his own antique car museum in 1966, naming it the Estes-Winn antique car museum in her honor. The “Winn” part of the museum naming was a tribute to Pontiac president Lonnine Holmes’ granddaughter, Barbara Winn who died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 15. The Estes-Winn antique car museum is still open to the public today in historic Grovewood Village, in Asheville, North Carolina. 

Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum CA mid 1990s , Asheville NC

While at Pontiac, John DeLorean rose through the ranks, working closely with Bunkie Knudsen. Knudsen was the son of the former president of GM, William Knudsen, who had been called away from his post at GM to head the war mobilization production effort at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Knudsen Knudsen was an MIT engineering graduate and at age 42, was the youngest man to head a GM division. DeLorean and Knudsen became fast friends and DeLorean would later cite Knudsen as a major influence and mentor. While at Pontiac, DeLorean produced dozens of patented innovations for the company and in 1961 was promoted to division chief engineer. 

DeLorean received public notoriety and acclaim at Pontiac in 1964, when he created the Pontiac GTO. The GTO’s name was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO - GTO standing for Gran Turismo Omologato. Gran Turismo Omologato was a classification for automobiles that certified that they conformed to certain specifications, such as fuel capacity and engine displacement for a standard class of automobiles, that were qualified to engage in various types of competitions. The Pontiac GTO started life as the Tempest/LeMans,which included an optional engine package that shoehorned a high performance 389 cubic inch V8 into the smaller Tempest body, which created the GTO. This combination dominated the automotive market for many years. John DeLorean received almost total credit for its success, which included its conception, engineering and marketing. His reward for the success of the GTO was a promotion to the head of the Pontiac division in 1965. 

1964 Pontiac GTO

By 1965, DeLorean was 40 years old and had broken the record for youngest division head at General Motors. He was determined to continue his string of successes with more new models. During his time at Pontiac, DeLorean had begun to enjoy the freedom and celebrity that came with his position. He spent a good deal of his time traveling to locations around the world to support promotional events. DeLorean made frequent public appearances and his edgy appearance helped solidify his image as a rebel corporate businessman. 

By the early 1970s, General Motors revenue had begun to decline, but Pontiac continued to be highly profitable under DeLorean. Despite his growing reputation as a corporate maverick, Delorean was promoted in 1969 to head the Chevrolet division, GM’s flagship marque. He had become more of a celebrity by this time and in a controversial decision, invited Ford president Lee Iacocca to serve as the best man at his second wedding to model Kelly Harmon, who was around half his age. He was invested in several major league sports teams including the San Diego Chargers and New York Yankees. DeLorean had also spearheaded the 1970 Chevrolet Nova and Vega designs. 

John DeLorean and 3rd wife, Christina Ferrare

Friction between DeLorean and other GM executives continued to cause problems for his career. DeLorean was committed to quality products, while many executives were looking to cut costs. He was so different from them in his demeanor and appearance that he never could quite fit in. By 1973, DeLorean decided to leave General Motors. Some thought that he was fired while others said that he decided to leave. GM gave DeLorean a Florida Cadillac franchise as a retirement gift and DeLorean took over the presidency of the National Alliance of Businessmen, a charitable organization with the mission of employing Americans in need founded by Lyndon Johnson and Henry Ford II. 

Despite leaving General Motors, DeLorean was by no means ready to leave the automotive industry. He decided to form his own company: The DeLorean Motor Company in 1975. 

When DeLorean set about creating his own sports car, the DeLorean DMC-12, he wanted a product that was of high quality, efficient and a good value to the customer. He chose a stainless steel body because it would never rust and be unique looking. With these qualities in mind, he was striving to develop “an ethical sports car.” When it came time to design the DMC-12, he turned to Italian designer Giorgetto Giugaro. Giugaro was a noted industrial designer who was known for a string of iconic designs in the 1970s such as the Bizzarrini Manta, VW Golf, BMW M1, Saab 9000 and Lotus Esprit. He was also noted for designing a number of Nikon Cameras such as the D800 and several Seiko wrist watches. 

John DeLorean had developed a concept car, but it was not fully formed yet. He began looking for places where he could produce the car, but by this time in history, it was very difficult to start a car company from scratch. Without any incentives or potential financing in the United States, he turned to other countries for financing, land and a workforce to produce the DMC-12. One of the better offers that came his way was presented by the British government. The British government was trying to figure out how to solve the religious clash in Northern Ireland between the Protestants and the Catholics. Many of the people of Northern Ireland had been jobless for years without any major industry in Belfast. Ireland offered DeLorean a piece of land to construct a plant in Dunmurry that was basically in a swamp, a generous subsidy of around $136 million dollars to start his car company. According to reports of the time, DeLorean invested around $390,000 of his own money to get the company off the ground. 

DeLorean Motor Company, in an incredibly short time frame, began to construct their factory, hire a workforce that was very inexperienced in addition to having no automotive background and set up procedures and processes. DeLorean began reaching out to all of the Chevrolet dealers he had established relationships with while at General Motors to start forming a dealer network. In addition to all of the work of setting up the company, there were still issues with the car. Although DeLorean had a working prototype, he didn’t have a functional car that could be used for producing saleable cars. There were issues with sourcing an engine for the car, as well as suspension and handling issues. He turned to Colin Chapman of Lotus to help him resolve these issues. This resulted in completely redesigning the chassis and suspension from the original prototype vehicle.

The final vehicle they ended up producing was longer, more expensive and had a much more underpowered engine than originally planned. The DeLorean was equipped with a six cylinder 2.85 liter PRV (Peugot Renault Volvo) engine that produced 130 horsepower and 153 pounds of torque. The car was of moderate weight with a stainless steel body, yet it was still able to achieve close to 30 miles per gallon on the highway, which was competitive with and higher than many other sports cars in its class. The engine was mounted in the rear of the car and because of the weight distribution between the front of the car and the rear mounted engine, it did not require power steering. 

Newspapers of the time reported that DeLorean was having trouble producing enough cars to get to market and that the initial cars produced were not of good quality. Considering the hurdles he had to jump and how quickly the company was put together and the rushed development of the car, things were going considerably better than many other car companies that started and failed in the past 40 years. 

DeLorean’s network of Chevrolet dealers would end up bringing the DMC-12 to the masses. General Motors credit or GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation) was the only company that would agree to finance the DeLorean. In 1981 when DeLoreans began making their way to the US market, Motor Trend reported that there were around 350 DMC dealers across the United States. Despite being produced in the United Kingdom, DeLoreans were not sold or marketed to the European market. This was in DeLorean’s master plan, but never came to fruition. This network would end up bringing the DeLorean to Asheville, North Carolina.

 Asheville’s Delorean Dealer was Apple Tree Chevrolet, Inc. - located at 205 Smoky Park Highway. This site is the current day location of Asheville Chevrolet. Apple Tree Chevrolet was founded by Richard Taylor “Dick” Lowe. Dick Lowe was born in Low Gap, Surrey County in north-central North Carolina, the eldest son of Dixie and Ruth Galyean Lowe. He had enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17, in 1943 and was discharged in June 1946 with the rank of yeoman second class V6 at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, the Philippines. 

After the war, Mr. Lowe enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill and graduated in 1952 with a BSBA degree. After graduating, Lowe started a career in the automobile dealership business that spanned 50 years, beginning when he joined a group of dealerships in West Virginia owned principally by an uncle, Tag Galyean. He came to Asheville in the late 1970s when he and members of the Galyean family purchased the well-known Parkland Chevrolet dealership. He renamed it Apple Tree Chevrolet, hoping to capitalize on the well known apple trade in western North Carolina. He then went on to add Honda and Acura franchises to the dealer. 

Lowe was one of the early adopters of Delorean, starting his franchise in 1981. The first DeLorean DMC-12 was produced on January 21, 1981. Months later, the first DeLoreans would be shipped to Asheville. The Asheville Citizen times reported on September 2nd, 1981 that the “Dream Sports Car Rolls into Asheville.” It was unveiled at the Grove Park Inn on Monday, August 31st, 1981. The particular car that was unveiled to the public at Grove Park Inn was owned by Asheville restauranteur Burney Burke. Apple Tree displayed Burke’s car for an entire week at their showroom before delivering it to him. 

Lowe purchased $25,000 worth of stock, according to the Citizen-Times in order to become a Delorean Franchisee. The Citizen-Times reported that Lowe had orders for several more cars and expected to sell 25 to 50 vehicles he had ordered from Delorean’s factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At the time, Lowe believed that the Delorean would be competitive with Mercedes, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Porsche 928. 

Several of Lowe’s mechanics at Apple Tree had to go to special training to be able to work on the Deloreans. The sole mechanic who attended training for servicing the DeLorean DMC-12 was Ernest Baldwin. Baldwin had previously been the head Corvette tech at Apple Tree Chevrolet. In addition to the mechanical training, staff in the body shop and parts department had to learn special body work techniques to be able to repair the stainless steel body panels of the Delorean. Because these were the most expensive parts of the car, Delorean preferred that dents and dings were massaged out of the body panels, rather than replacing them. General manager Krafton Locke was lucky to obtain a DMC-12 for his demonstrator car, which he was able to use as personal transportation. 

Recreation of DeLorean DMC-12 at the Omni Grove Park Inn, photo by author

Many Ashevillians were interested in the car, but there were few serious buyers. One buyer that was serious was Rex Ballard, of Ballard Appliances in South Asheville. Rex entered the Apple Tree Chevrolet late one afternoon in his older work clothes. He had seen a picture of a DeLorean while visiting a friend of his who was a top Cadillac and Chevrolet dealer while on a trip to Florida. He knew at that moment that he had to have one! During the same visit, Rex and his dealer friend had the opportunity to eat lunch with John DeLorean. He remembered John as being very tall, yet approachable and down to earth. When he returned to Asheville, he set about getting one. Unfortunately, his visit to the dealer did not go as planned. As he approached the DeLorean in the showroom at Apple Tree, it was roped off and being watched by a bored salesman sitting next to it. Rex asked if he could sit in the car and the salesman told him it was “for serious customers only” and that he didn’t look serious. Rex quietly walked out of the dealer, fuming after his experience. He decided while on a shopping trip with his wife to Atlanta that he would set about finding a DeLorean while down there. He ultimately ended up buying a DeLorean at Hub Motor Company, which was strangely a Ford dealer and ended up keeping it for many years, only driving it sparingly.

Sadly, the DeLorean company continued to have significant financial struggles, which left it short on cash to continue operations and expansion. This led John DeLorean to look around for other investors and financing opportunities as the British government refused to provide any other financing for the fledgling car company. John ended up seeking assistance from a friend, who was working secretly with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. This investor seemingly was a banker that could help provide financing. As conversations went on with this friend, things started to go sideways. The investor mentioned that the financing would come from the sale of narcotics, rather than a bank. DeLorean claimed that when he tried to back out, his friend/investor threatened the life of DeLorean and his family. When DeLorean reached out to his attorney, he advised him to play along with it until he could safely stay away. DeLorean was called to attend a meeting in a Las Angeles hotel room with these financiers. The meeting was actually a set up, coordinated by the FBI. The room was bugged with microphones and cameras. A suitcase full of cocaine was brought out to John DeLorean and the wannabe gangsters asked DeLorean what he thought of his new financing, to which he replied “it’s as good as gold.” At that moment, Federal agents rushed into the hotel room and put DeLorean in handcuffs, taking him away. 

On October 19, 1982 DeLorean was charged by the US Government with trafficking cocaine. DeLorean went to jail, but was released on bond. He would later be acquitted of these charges as it was ruled that the Federal government had entrapped him. On Wednesday, October 27th, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Lowe’s dealer in the wake of the DeLorean drug smuggling scandal. Lowe was optimistic that the remaining cars he had would sell and that things might level out after the scandal blew over. Because of the scandal and the Lowe production numbers of DeLoreans, Lowe predicted that they would someday become collector cars. This prediction would one day come to fruition. Sadly, DeLorean’s legal troubles had caused harm to his personal and the company’s reputation. With a political change in the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher was not willing to extend any more of the government’s money to the failing car company. 

The Delorean Motor company ended up filing for receivership and was bankrupt by October of 1982. According to Delorean Museum records, Apple Tree Chevrolet only sold 8 cars in Asheville. According to the museum records, when these 8 cars were sold, Apple Tree did not send the required paperwork back to the Delorean Motor Company for their warranties, so it is not known who their original owners were. DeLorean’s records are not entirely complete, as many of the Delorean records were destroyed at the time of the company closing so it is not known approximately how many Deloreans were sold at Apple Tree Chevrolet. At the time they debuted, the cars were priced at $25,000 to $26,000, which is equivalent to around $90,000 in 2024 dollars. At this time, auto finance rates were hovering between 17-18% APR. Although there were many wealthy buyers in Asheville at this time, this was a very niche market for this car and price range. The remaining stock of DeLoreans and parts were sold off shortly after from Apple Tree. Apple Tree would later move from their Smoky Park Highway location after selling the Chevrolet franchise. They built their current location on airport road in 1986 and focused solely on Honda and Acura going forward. 

Three years after the DeLorean Motor Company ceased operations, the movie Back to the Future would be released, cementing the DeLorean DMC-12 into popular culture. Sadly, this portrayal of the DeLorean if it had come sooner, could have potentially saved the company. The DeLorean had also cemented its legacy in Asheville’s culture with a unique board game. In 1982, the Asheville Chamber of Commerce created a board game called “All About Asheville,” which included local businesses as stops and coupons to patronize them. One of these businesses was Apple Tree DeLorean. 

All about Asheville Board Game, Chamber of Commerce 1982

Pieces for Apple Tree DeLorean and Apple Tree Chevrolet in "All About Asheville"

If you have any other information on DeLoreans in Asheville or if you purchased a DMC-12 brand new from Apple Tree Honda, please contact us at mountaineermotortours@gmail.com. We continue to search for pictures of DeLoreans and stories of their owners in Asheville. We are also looking for pictures of the Apple Tree Chevrolet and DeLorean at this location.

Note: This blog is not meant to serve as a comprehensive history of John DeLorean, but to give context and history about the company to support the history of DeLorean in Asheville. 

Sources:

-Conversation with Rex Ballard - 1/30/24

-Conversation with Kenny Roberts - 1/5/24

-Conversation with Krafton Locke - 1/5/24

-Conversation with Tommy Bell - 1/29/24

DeLorean Auto History: What Happened to the Company | TIME  (Gold plated Delorean in the American Express Catalog)

Britain gave DeLorean millions - UPI Archives

Giorgetto Giugiaro: 10 of his most impressive designs : DesignWanted

DMC DeLorean - Wikipedia

DeLorean Dealer Listing, 1981

Asheville Citizen-Times. (September 2, 1981). Delorean Debut in Asheville. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-delorean-debut-i/138434632/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (October 27, 1982). Delorean in Asheville. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-delorean-in-ashe/131760495/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (February 28, 1982). Delorean Asheville. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-delorean-ashevil/131760550/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (March 21, 2005). John DeLorean Obituary. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-john-delorean-ob/139880495/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (July 13, 2003). Obituary for Richard Taylor Lowe. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-obituary-for-ric/137959593/

Kip, Reid and Heath return to the origin of our story, 101 Coxe Avenue.

Photo by Franzi Charen

When we left off in last week's installment, the car was really starting to come together! We had a new set of tires, our radiator and gas tank had been sent off to McKinney Radiator in Forest City for refurbishment as we anxiously awaited their return....

While we waited on our items from McKinney, Reid, Kip and I all began speculating about whether or not the car would run. Reid had begun rebuilding the carburetors, which he said were in excellent shape and appeared to have been rebuilt, but never run. Before buying the car, we checked both the engine oil and transmission fluid, which both appeared bright and clean, as well as full. Between tax deadlines, Kip and I plotted a return trip to Forest City to retrieve the radiator and gas tank, which we had just been notified were ready. We loaded up in my trusty 1972 Chevy C10 I affectionately refer to as “Waylon” and headed down I-26, which was amazingly clear to Forest City. We arrived at McKinney Radiator and leapt out of the truck to see our newly refinished radiator and gas tank after stopping to look at another 1965 ¾ ton C10 in the parking lot.

Upon entering the radiator shop, we were greeted by the shop owner, as well as an older man who looked like he was in his 80s and a young man who appeared to be fresh out of high school. They helped us box up the radiator, which was now sporting gloss black paint and our gas tank, which was clean and shiny. We loaded both in the back of the truck and after talking cars for a while, headed back up the mountain to Asheville. After arriving back in Asheville at Kip’s house, we headed up to his workshop in his 1962 Cadillac sedan and eased back into the luxurious seats as we cruised up the road. We were going to clear out space to store the 300 after it finished its rejuvenation at Reid’s garage. Something about the day proved to be very therapeutic for both of us. Kip and I had both been facing some difficulties in work and our personal lives. Something about getting out in old cars and working on them as a couple of friends proved to be just the medicine we needed to stay motivated. We spoke of the old Hot Rod Magazines we had read growing up that featured articles on car clubs full of guys like us and the camaraderie they would form building a hot rod or dragster together. After daydreaming about this for years and finding good friends in the car hobby, we were out creating these kinds of memories!

As the days turned into weeks, Reid, Kip and I tried to align our schedules to install the new radiator and gas tank to see if the car would run. We agreed to meet late on a Sunday evening, September 17th to be exact and almost 4 months since we had purchased the car. Over the preceding weeks, Reid had installed the radiator and had the car ready to run. He had left the original mechanical fuel pump on but intended to replace this later in the week when he completed the rest of the fuel system. We all met early to munch on pizza from Strada provided by Kip and jaw about old car memories and movies from our collective memory. With hands dripping with pizza grease and excitement building, we headed towards the 300. Reid connected an electric fuel pump and an external gas can to the carburetors and installed a fresh battery. We were amazed to find that all of the external lights on the car were working and almost all of the interior lights were working inside of the car!

Reid had primed the motor several days earlier with fresh oil, so there was no potential of causing damage to the top end of the engine and to make sure the oil pump was primed. As the fuel started filling the carburetors, we were almost ready to start the car. Reid closely monitored the carburetor fuel level as Kip and I stood by ready to document this momentous occasion. At last, the carburetors were filled and we were ready to try to starting the engine. We all let out a deep breath as Reid climbed into the car to start it. At the first turn of the key, the engine caught immediately and ran momentarily. After a couple of adjustments to the electric fuel pump and carburetors, Reid climbed aboard and started it again and the car immediately ran again! After a couple of revs from the gas pedal, the car settled into a steady, smooth idle and began to rumble away. The car continued to run smoothly, although one exhaust pipe was slightly clogged with a mouse nest. We decided that we could dislodge this nest and after Reid let the “Fire Power” Hemi rev in anger several times, nest materials flew out and the exhaust pipe started to flow again. The old girl was alive! I couldn’t stop smiling on the way home and had to wipe away a couple of tears reflecting on our journey. After 6 tough years, we finally had the car in our possession and tonight it was running as smooth as silk.

First start of the 300B, video by Franzi Charen

Pulling into my driveway, I sat for a while in silence and just let the moment sink in, processing the significance of this event. Three regular guys, with some persistence and grit had chased down a barn find 1956 Chrysler 300B, with an incredible pedigree and local Asheville history. Now, that car was running and was going to return to the road, where it could be shared again. A Chrysler 300B is hardly ever seen out in public, with most of them having been treated to six-figure restorations and hidden away in private collections. Our car, although in great shape, bore scars of its age and looked perfect in a wabi-sabi kind of way. It is an everyman’s 300 that is meant to be out driving and spreading joy, not socked away in a museum or a private collection where it may never be fully enjoyed.

Now that we had the car running, there was a small list of items to get the car road worthy and ready for a test drive. We had discussed setting a goal of trying to get the car ready in time for the Old North State Invitational car show down in Winston-Salem, but that seemed like a pipe dream now. With busy schedules and delays in getting parts, it was possible but seemed like it might take some late nights and a mad dash to make it to this event. Old North State is an incredible traditional hot rod show held in downtown Winston-Salem at one of the first Ford Dealerships in the city and is a rite of passage for any true gearhead.

Kip had purchased an entry in the Old North State show for us, which further motivated us not to give up. We looked at the calendar and with the car running, we determined it was possible to make the show. Reid and Kip set about finishing the brake system, fuel system and giving the car a good shake down ride around town. The next day, Kip called me at work and said he was rolling down Coxe avenue in the 300 and would I want to take a ride. “HELL YES!” I exclaimed and proceeded to wait at the window like an expectant dog looking for its owner to return home. As Kip gracefully eased the big, black sedan into the parking lot, I ran outside. Several  of my co-workers approached the car with hesitation, not sure what to make of it. They asked if it was a Cadillac or Chevy, while Kip proceeded to school them on the history of our car and the Chrysler 300 in general.

Chrysler 300, the last brake bleed on Reid's lift

After a brief look at the car and two quick pumps of the gas pedal, Kip started the 300. We proceeded to make several loops around Coxe avenue and downtown Asheville as people waved and gave us the thumbs up. The car was running smoothly and cool - all the gauges telling us she was happy. We stopped to talk to several people along the way as the car idled with its signature mellow rumble. As we made our way back to my office, Kip announced that they had decided to take the car to Winston-Salem for the Old North State Invitational. I was ecstatic and sadly couldn’t go along due to another tax deadline. I was so proud of all of us together – here was a car that had sat for 42 years and within one week of getting it running and roadworthy, Kip and Reid, along with their significant others Anna and Franzi were about to take the car on a 300-mile round trip tomorrow!

The next day, I was on pins and needles waiting to hear how the car had done and if they had made it to Winston without any mechanical troubles. Kip gave me a rolling play by play of how things were going by text message, with many great pictures. I then forwarded these on to the original owner’s niece, who was amazed to see it back on the road and showcased in a car show. Reid and Kip had filled the car up the night before, bled the brakes one more time and took one final test drive in the dark before declaring the car fit for the road. They made it to the Old North State show in the late morning with no mechanical issues. After parking in the show line up, the 300 drew a small crowd quickly with Kip and Reid happy to share the history of the car and its resuscitation with the eager onlookers. As the show drew to a close a close, they took the 300 to the Old North State after party, where it glowed in the evening light.

Chrysler 300 at Old North State Invitational

With night descending and everyone starting to fade, Reid, Kip, Anna and Franzi made their way to their motel, which turned out to be not as advertised. As the motel started to come into view, it was apparent its current use was more as a long term stay for drug addicts. The parking lot was riddled with strange folks, exposing what seemed like an undesirable place to stay. Not feeling comfortable, Reid made the point that it was only 8pm and two hours to home. The group knuckled down for the drive back and decided given the current circumstance it would be better to head back to Asheville. Mid-way through the journey and after a quick break at a rest stop, Reid raised the hood to check the 300’s fluids and the other mechanical components of the car. Not hearing anything from Reid and sensing something was amiss, Kip called out to Reid to make sure everything was OK. Reid emerged from the engine bay pale and distraught. He barked to Kip to call ahead to the nearest auto parts store to pull a couple of drive belts, as the original 50-year-old belts still on the car had begun to start shredding themselves apart due to the dry rotted rubber.

After a ten mile drive down the highway to the nearest auto parts store and a belt change in the parking lot, the group was off again.

Reid and Kip relaxing after a long day's journey, photo by Franzi Charen

Making their way down the highway, they hit a large pothole and immediately a terrible dragging sound came from under the car. During our first start of the car, we noted that part of the driver’s side exhaust pipe joint was very rusty and leaking, but thought it would continue to function. The shock of the pothole had broken the rusty junction and was now dragging on the highway, shooting sparks everywhere. Cars honked and flashed their lights as the group pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the damage. The broken pipe hadn’t caused any damage to the car, but there was no way that they could continue driving with the pipe dragging. Reid had hastily packed his toolbox in the dark the night before and forgot one important mechanic’s tool: bailing wire. Kip and Reid scrounged around by the roadside and were able to find some discarded wire to temporarily tie the exhaust up so that it would not drag on the ground.

With the exhaust secured, the group was off again down the road. With the dashboard lights not operational, Reid had been periodically shining a flashlight on the gauges to monitor the car’s vital signs. Within 30 minutes of the last roadside repair, Reid noticed that the generator was no longer charging the battery. Knowing the battery was losing its charge with every mile they drove; Reid and Kip began searching for a nearby Wal-Mart or auto Parts store. Arriving in Morganton, they found a Wal-Mart that was about to close in the next 20 minutes. They ran to the automotive aisle and grabbed an Econo-Craft truck battery and installed it in the car. With less than an hour to go, they were fairly confident a fully charged battery would continue to power the vital mechanical systems of the car.

Headed into Old Fort, the exhaust again broke loose from its temporary hold and began dragging onto the ground. They pulled off at an old Citgo gas station at the base of Old Fort Mountain.

As the evening crept towards 10pm, the stations attracted its usually “odd” customers. These regulars happened to be skulking around in the shadows of the fluorescent lights of the gas station, muttering odd things to themselves. Kip, Franzi and Reid all scrounged around looking for wire or an old coat hanger to tie up the exhaust on the car. After finding a couple of scrap pieces and once again rigging it, they made their way home after a long, adventurous day. At 11:30pm, the 300 made it back to Kip’s driveway. The car had performed admirably, without any major mechanical malfunctions. In his haste to get the car ready, Reid had forgotten to fill his own car with gas and had to siphon a gallon of gas from Kip’s lawn mower to make his way home.

Maiden Voyage to the Old North State Invitational

After this epic journey the 300 needed to have its generator rebuilt and exhaust mended, as well as a good wash. At this point, I still hadn’t had a chance to drive the car. I volunteered to take it to the exhaust shop to have a brand-new pair of Smithy’s 22” length glass pack mufflers and new matching exhaust pipes installed at Mason Muffler on Haywood Road. As part of a rite of passage of an Asheville automotive enthusiast, I always dream of having Mason craft an exhaust system for me. Mason Muffler, housed in an old Esso gas station building from the 1940s is something out of another time. As soon as you enter the inside of the building, you are greeted by a pressed tin ceiling, pale gray walls and an old wooden desk mounded over with papers and vintage automotive repair manuals. They only take cash or check and guarantee a quick turnaround time, if you have booked an appointment several weeks in advance.

On a Wednesday morning, I drove my Model T with the top down through 30-degree weather to Reid’s house to get the Chrysler. I dropped my 1923 Ford Model T off at Reid’s house for some repair work and made my way to the Chrysler in his driveway. I slid behind the driver’s seat and closed the enormous door. I cracked the window as I always do so I can hear the engine start up and monitor for any signs of mechanical warning. With two pumps of the gas pedal, she fired right up and instantly I could hear the uneven rumble from the broken exhaust. I released the parking brake, mashed the large “D” push transmission selector button for drive on the dashboard. Reid shouted, “Good luck and have fun!” as I crept down his driveway, unsure of the throttle response or braking of the car.

As I cruised down Johnston School Road, the car seemed responsive and had plenty of torque. I could feel the race spec camshaft, that gave the car a lumpy idle while I sat at the Johnston School Road traffic light, waiting to cross Patton Avenue to Haywood Road. Onlookers in traffic seemed to be puzzled by this old beauty and others were oblivious, deeply engaged with their phones and nothing else. All systems seemed to be “go” and everything on the dashboard was telling me the car was happy. I pulled into the parking lot of Mason Muffler, where I was greeted by a soft-spoken older gentleman, who listened carefully as we discussed the layout of the exhaust system and that we wanted to keep one of the mufflers he pulled off the car, which was original to the car and had the Chrysler “Fratzog” logo embossed in the muffler casing.

300 getting her new exhaust at Mason Muffler

A co-worker picked me up at Mason’s and as I turned around to look out the window, I saw the owner of Mason Muffler carefully pointing the nose of the 300 into the shop, which looked like it barely fit into the old service bay. The one thing about driving old cars is that you need a couple of good friends who are willing to give you rides occasionally and you also need to have a couple of old cars, especially if they serve as your primary source of transportation. If one breaks down, you have another waiting in the wings ready to go.

That afternoon, it was hard to concentrate on my work thinking of the sound of the new exhaust system and getting to drive the car again. Our concern with a custom exhaust system is getting mufflers that are too loud and drone on at an irritating decibel level. We wanted the exhaust to accentuate the rumble and deep burble of the Hemi V8, but not be obnoxious. The 300 is a sophisticated, elegant car that needs to have just the right amount of exhaust note without bordering into full blown hot rod sound.

After bumming a ride to West Asheville, we saw the Chrysler parked out in front of the exhaust shop. As we made our way around the car for me to show my co-worker Rebecca all the features of this car, a young man approached who was driving a late model Chrysler 300C. He exclaimed that he had just had a new set of Flow Master mufflers installed on his 300 and loved our 300B. He was curious as to how old the car was, what type of engine it had and how long I owned it. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old and seemed engaged in the stories I told him about our 300B. His enthusiasm about the 300B was affirmation that we were doing what was right for the car by sharing this classic with others.

After paying the gentlemen at Mason, I rolled down the windows despite the cold and started it up. The engine settled into a smooth rumble and I couldn’t help but chuckle at how perfect it sounded! It reminded me of the sound of the old V8s in the movie Thunder Road with Robert Mitchum. Not too loud, not too quiet, just right. I finessed the gas pedal and slunk out onto Haywood to make my way home. People smiled and waved, several even knew that it was a Chrysler 300! I pulled it into my driveway, with only a slight scrape on the exhaust pipe as it drove up the sharp incline.

I then set about cleaning the car and giving it a deep wash. As the famous Hot Rod Magazine editor David Freiburger says, “A car is not truly yours until you wash it.” With this sentiment in mind, I pulled out all of my detailing supplies and started by cleaning the whitewalls. After washing off the dirt and grime, they absolutely glowed with brilliance. I began by washing the car from the top down and gave it a thorough clean to get the windows brighter and dried it carefully. After standing back to admire my progress for a minute or two and let my arms rest after running down the length of all 18 feet of the car, I finished out cleaning the car by working my way through the interior. While I was washing the car, several neighbors edged up my driveway to talk to me about it, not sure what to make of it. Between gasps as my tired arms finished the ritual of washing the large sides, I shared trivia about the car and our journey to acquire it.

Two icons of the Coxe Avenue: 1956 Chrysler 300B and the Sawyer Motor Building - the avenue's second built auto dealer, c.a. 1926

Photo by Franzi Charen

In the morning, she needed a little extra persuasion to start with the temperature drop from the night before. After the V8 lit off, I let her sit and warm up for several minutes before taking off to work. I decided to give the defroster a try, which worked great and cleared the windshield faster than I would have ever imagined. The engine purred through the new glass pack mufflers and she just seemed happy. As I pulled into the parking lot of the Sawyer Motor Building for work, several curious co-workers approached the car, commenting on the sound of the engine and the size of the trunk! I ended up giving about 10 people a tour of the car that day and we all smiled and laughed as we made our way around the car.

The feeling from people seeing this car out in the wild, calling out and waving to me was incredible. As I made my way home down Lyman Street, I gazed across the road at the sparkle of the French Broad River in the late afternoon sun. I thought about how Jack Jones must have felt the same pride in ownership I did as he gripped the large steering wheel driving this car through Bristol. Many times in life, people say “don’t meet your heroes” or you will be disappointed. Driving this car was everything I expected and so much more. It felt tight, powerful and smooth, which seemed amazing for a car that is 67 years old and had been off the road for 42 years. It seems unlikely that a car from our current era that is so dependent on proprietary technology rather than mechanical systems could pull off a similar feat.

The last leg of my commute requires merging on the highway momentarily before getting to the exit for my house. The on ramp is short and I decided to put the pedal down to the floor to make the merge. The engine emitted a low, angry battle cry and made the merge with ease as lesser plastic clad econo-boxes moved over for their safety. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation just made me grin and laugh as I made my way to the exit ramp. Here was a 67-year-old car, running smoothly and fast and propelling me past people completely unengaged in their drive home. I returned the car back to Reid to get my Model T, so he could make a couple of minor adjustments to the 300. The drive over the last two days of caring for the car had left quite an impression on me and it was running better than ever with the new exhaust system. This moment of driving a piece of automotive history from Asheville’s original automotive motor mile, Coxe Avenue, was incredibly meaningful.

Our smiles say it all - Photo by Franzi Charen

Earlier that day, Kip, Reid, Franzi and I all sat down to share the story of the 300 and our friendship with the editor and founder of Ashvegas, Jason Sandford. Jason’s interview gave us a chance to reflect on why we love old cars and why they give our lives so much meaning. Some of the things that came up during the interview were how the 300 had brought us together as friends, served as a gateway to connect with other people and gave us a unique mechanical and driving experience.

Franzi, who drives a 1955 Chevy Bel Air daily mentioned something extremely poignant during our interview. She related how many people are so cynical about things that are unique or special. When she is out in her Bel Air, someone might yell something ignorant like “I bet that thing gets terrible gas mileage” or “how much is that thing worth?” As society has moved towards a collective consciousness that does not involve making choices for ourselves, but rather relies on a corporation or algorithm. We have become more obtuse and less aware of our surroundings. Most people do not choose to exert the effort to dress nicely, interact with others when their smartphone can supply them with entertainment or drive a car that requires them to be aware.

The reward of choosing to wear quality clothes with style, observing others and driving an older car can be that you feel more present and rewarded. The absolute value of economy or practicality fades as these cars get older, but the personality and history they develop grows. None of this can be quantified, but driving the Chrysler has helped all of us reaffirm these values.

Rather than mourn the loss of automotive style or personality in new cars, we all choose to use old cars in our daily commutes and lives because in a small way, they are a thorn in the side of the future. It is our mission to enjoy them, work on them and share them with others. The 300 wants to be shared and after a 42-year slumber, that is what we intend to do as we close out the rest of the year. This car has shown us how an automobile that is created with the intention of being special by its designer, can go on and live an incredible life and make a significant mark in the automotive world, as well as the lives of 3 ordinary guys in Asheville, North Carolina.

Just three guys and a 1956 Chrysler 300B, Photo by Franzi Charen

Chrysler 300 B Owners Manual Cover - Courtesy Stellantis Archives

Last week when we left off in part I, we had just begun researching the history of our 1956 Chrysler 300 and the beginnings of its life with its first owner, Jack Jones. I just had to know more...

I went down the history rabbit hole further, researching Mr. Jones and Page-Davis Motors. Typically, when I start researching a person and their history, I’ll go to newspapers.com to see if there are any mentions of them in the local paper. Searching Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee, I came up with a couple of false leads on another Lewis Edward Jones that had been a pharmacist. On a chance news clipping, I found that the Lewis Edward Jones who owned our 300 had gone by the nickname “Jack” Jones and this was how many newspaper articles referred to him. I was then able to find his obituary, which also referred to him as “Jack” Jones. He had never married or had children, with only a couple of surviving family members, one of whom was his brother. His brother had also passed prior to our owning the 300 but had left a significant endowment to the Bristol Public Library in the Jones family name. I then called the library to ask about this fund and special part of the library that was endowed by the Jones family fund. The library was willing to connect me with the family’s attorney who passed my contact information on to one of the Jones family members. One of the family members, who will not be named for their privacy, then called me and remembered the car from her childhood when she would visit Jack.

Jack’s niece began to tell me about Jack and how much he loved cars. She remembered when he bought the 300, seeing it in the driveway at 800 Glenway Avenue in Bristol and even riding in it. I sent her some pictures of our 300 and confirmed that it was in fact the car that Jack had all those years ago. She remembered stacks of car magazines at his house and that he was always reading and talking about cars. When I asked about what kind of cars Jack typically liked, she mentioned that after he sold the 300, he had a string of British sports cars like MGs and several Corvettes. She emphasized that Jack took extremely good care of his cars and made sure that they were always in tip-top condition. At Jack’s house, she remembered the 300 parked on the left-hand side of the three stall carport at 800 Glenway avenue, just like we had imagined when looking at the pictures of the house months ago after finding the original title.

Her father, Jack’s brother Homer owned a Corvette which she learned to drive in. She mentioned that Jack also loved to take photographs, as did his brother Homer and they would both develop their own photographs. After speaking with his niece and using some of the information she provided, I was able to find out much more about Jack. Lewis E. “Jack” Jones was born in Bristol, Tennessee on March 26th, 1924. He was an architect and a partner in the firm of Kearfott and Jones. He served for many years as a director of the First National Bank of Sullivan County and its successor, First American Bank. He attended Virginia Military Institute and received his B.S. in building construction and M.S. in architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II, serving in Germany and England. He was a long-time member of State Street United Methodist Church.

Lewis "Jack" Jones - 1957 Bristol Herald Courrier

Jack had designed the house at 800 Glenway for his parents, Homer Augustus and Bessie Cox Jones, where he lived with them. He would have been 33 years old at the time he purchased the Chrysler 300B in 1956. He became director of the First National Bank of Bristol in January of 1957. His father Homer was president of the Washington Trust and Savings bank. His grandfather, Homer E. Jones, came to Bristol from Bainbridge, Ohio in 1888 and with his brother-in- law H.E. McCory, organized what was at the time the Dominion National Bank and later the Washington Trust and Savings Bank. It was looking like the Jones family had a long and significant history in Bristol, Tennessee!

The dealer where he purchased the Chrysler 300, Page-Davis Motors in Bristol, also had an interesting history. Page-Davis was founded by Holt W. Page Sr. and Norrid S. “Buddy” Davis in Bristol, Virginia. They moved locations several times to different places in Bristol. From the records I found researching the history of the dealer, it looks like our 300 was sold at their location at 421 Cumberland Street in Bristol, Virginia. Holt Page Sr. was Buddy Norrid’s father-in-law. He was a native of Norfolk, Virginia and moved to Bristol in 1941. Before he retired, he was president of Universal Moulded Products Company and was the former president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the Bristol Rotary Club and the Bristol Country Club.

Norrid “Buddy” Davis started off his career as an industrial engineer at the Universal Moulded Products Corporation. He was born in Kingsport, Tennessee and attended Virginia High School. After high school, he served with the Army Air Force in Europe during World War II. He served in the Eight Air Force bomber station in England at the B-17 flying fortress base. He was the top turret gunner on a B-17 bomber, flying in the lead plane over Berlin, Germany on Christmas Day of 1944, when the Battle of the Bulge was raging. His title at Page-Davis Motors was vice president and general manager. He became family when he married Holt Page’s daughter Peggy. Presumably, Page and Davis had become connected at Universal Moulded Products. Universal Moulded Products Corporation came to Bristol in 1941 and bought out Bristol Aircraft and Monocoupe Operations. UMP was engaged in the business of molded plastic compounds for the construction of aircraft bodies, as well as complete aircraft, marine and industrial structures. After Page-Davis closed, Buddy sold Cadillacs and Chevrolets for 34 years at Bill Gatton Chevrolet in Bristol, Tennessee.

At this point in our journey with the Chrysler 300, she had revealed quite a history to us about where she had been delivered and who her original owner was. She taught us a lot of interesting history about Bristol and some of the individuals there that contributed a significant legacy to the twin cities. As Reid, Kip and I learned more about the history of our car, we wondered more about the origins of the 1956 Chrysler 300B and its history with the Chrysler Corporation. Why were they so rare and how had it even come into existence?

The Chrysler 300 was introduced for model year 1955 as the Chrysler 300C. It was designed by noted Chrysler designer, Virgil Exner as part of Chrysler’s design campaign dubbed as “The Forward Look.” The 1955 Chrysler boasted one of the largest V8 engines of its time with the 331 cubic inch Hemi engine. It started to gain notoriety in NASCAR racing during this time due to its tremendous speed. The founder of Mercury Outboard engines, Carl Kiekhaefer, started a NASCAR team in 1955 using all Chrysler and Dodge products to race in NASCAR. Kiekhaefer had made a small fortune selling Mercury outboard engines and decided to outfit his racing team with only the best equipment money could buy. In 1955, he arrived at Daytona raceway without a driver and just one car.

His driver of choice was Tim Flock and his car of choice was the 1955 Chrysler 300-C, which proved to be a tough combination to beat. Flock and the 300 won their first race together at the famous Daytona beach/road course, which combined a sprint down the compacted sand of the beach and portion of the course running down highway A1A. During the 1955 NASCAR season, there were 45 events and Kiekhaefer entered 40 of these events. Through this season he amassed 22 wins, 18 of which were won by Flock who drove away with his second national title and an end of season paycheck around $38,000.

Kiekhaefer expanded the team, adding the other two Flock brothers, Bob and Fonty, as well as Norm Nelson and Speedy Thompson. Kiekhaefer’s other team winners during 1955 were Fonty (two), Speedy (one), and Norm (one), and brothers Tim and Fonty finished 1-2 in team 300s four times. Fonty Flock would later be known for having a monkey ride in his car named "Jocko Flock" as a NASCAR PR stunt. Chrysler sales quickly eclipsed Ford and Chevy without the Chrysler company investing a single dollar into the sport. In 1955, Chrysler sold 1,725 Chrysler 300Cs.

Carl Kiekhaefer's Race Team, Daytona Beach 1956, Photo from Getty Images

In 1956, Virgil Exner and his team were at it again – making subtle mechanical and design improvements to the Chrysler 300. For 1956, the model had been designated as the 1956 Chrysler 300B. The Hemi’s engine size had been increased from 331 cubic inches to 354 cubic inches topped with two four-barrel carburetors. It boasted 355 horsepower and was one of the first cars to have one horsepower per cubic inch. The opening line in the owner’s manual states “You have just purchased the most powerful production car in America… thoroughbred of the Road. Just as the owner of a thoroughbred race horse knows his steed… its needs, its high-strung nature.. you, too, will want to know your car. By doing so, you will help yourself derive the ultimate in driving pleasure. Your 300B stands apart from his highway brothers in three significant ways… performance, ride and beauty.”

354 Cubic Inch Hemi in our 1956 Chrysler 300 B

Like the 1955 model, the second generation 300 was a mix of the best Chrysler had to offer in terms of design and engineering. The 300B body was that of the 2-door Chrysler Windsor hardtop, onto which the front panel and pot metal grille from the Imperial were adapted. As in 1956, there was no hood ornament on the 300B. Many historians comment on the 300B exhibiting a restrained hand on the part of its designers. All models in the 1956 line up had new rear “Flight Swept” rear fenders that contained a more integrated taillight that looked more natural than the 1955 300 taillight, which seemed to be more of an add on.

Only three paint colors were available in 1956: Cloud White, Regimental Red and Raven Black, which is the color of our car. Crunching the numbers on the three paint colors: 663 were produced in Cloud White, 262 in Raven Black and 158 in Regimental Red per the Chrysler letter car registry. There were some special-order colors counting 2 in Geranium Red, one in Hunter Green, one in Mediterranean Blue and one in Nugget Gold. There was even a build sheet that included a two tone 300B in Black and Nugget Gold. Most of the side and rear trim on the car is very minimal and when compared to other makes of 1956 like Chevrolet, Ford, Studebaker, Packard, Cadillac and Pontiac, appears more minimalistic in terms of chrome usage.

Cloud White 1956 300B

Raven Black - Our 1956 300B

Regimental Red 1956 Chrysler 300B

Only 1,102 300Bs were manufactured in 1956. Out of the 1,102, 33 were built for export to foreign countries. 13 of these cars went to Paris, 10 went to Rotterdam, 3 to Cuba, 3 to Casablanca, 1 to London, 1 to Italy and 1 to Kuwait. The Kuwait car was ordered with air conditioning and had no heater installed. These cars also were available with a power antenna and a great stereo. For the customer that wanted the best audio, there even was the option to add a “Highway HiFi” record player to the car. It is estimated that only 232 1956 300Bs survive to this day, with only 150 being roadworthy.

The 300B was priced at close to $5,000 depending on the options chosen.  This would be about $57,401 in 2023 dollars. The 300 would have fallen into the middle to upper price range for a passenger car at the time when compared to Cadillac or Lincoln which would have run in the $6,500 range in 1956. Our 1956 300B is equipped with steel wheels, although Chrysler did offer a Kesley Hayes wire wheel, which was a more expensive option. It has a two speed Powerflite push button automatic transmission. It uses large buttons mounted on the driver’s side dashboard to select drive, neutral, reverse or low gear. There is no “park,” rather the driver must select neutral and apply the parking brake. The 1956 Chrysler 300 could run 0-60 miles per hour in 8.2 seconds and had a top speed of 140 miles per hour plus. It weighs 4,360 pounds and is 18 feet in length. For comparison’s sake, a 2022 Chevrolet Suburban is 18.8 feet in length and weighs 5,600 to 6,000 pounds. This is a large car! It had a fuel consumption rating of somewhere around 11 miles per gallon with a 20-gallon tank.

The 1956 racing season for Chrysler and the Kiekhaefer race team would also be a standout in the NASCAR organization. Beginning in Florida on February 26th and continuing until November 18 in North Carolina, the 300B won 19 of the 38 Grand National Races it was entered in. The 1956 NASCAR season began on November 13, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina. Tim Flock and the Kiekhaefer organization picked up where they left off in the 1955 season and won the 200-lap race at Hickory easily. Kiekhaefer kept a three-car team with primary drivers Tim Flock, Buck Baker and Speedy Thompson. Several other drivers piloted his Chryslers and Dodges, including Fonty Flock, Frank Mundy, Charlie Scott (one of the first African American drivers in NASCAR history), Junior Johnson and Jack Smith. Kiekhaefer entered six cars at the Daytona event and again, Tim Flock took the checkered flag while debuting the 1956 300-B.

Kiekhaefer’s teams were unlike any of the other racers that showed up at the tracks. All his cars were transported in large car hauler trucks, with a neatly uniformed team of mechanics and pit crew. They carried spare engines and lots of parts to fix anything their cars would need during one of these grueling races. The 300-B would have been seen locally in Asheville when it was raced at the Asheville-Weaverville speedway and the McCormick Field Raceway during the 1956 season, no doubt awing fans. Eventually NASCAR fans began to tire of Kiekhaefer’s dominance and started to boo him at many races. The 1956 race season was Kiekhaefer’s last race season and he decided to head back to Wisconsin and focus on Mercury Outboard engines. This short-lived racing dominance is another element that adds to the mystique and heritage of the 1956 Chrysler 300B.

Carl Kiekhaefer 1956 Chrysler 300B at the Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Photo Courtesy of Smyle Media

Carl Kiekhaefer 1956 300B racing at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway. Photo courtesty of Smyle Media. Note the Chrysler 300 watching the race in the upper right hand corner

One other standout of the Chrysler 300 during Daytona Speed Week was the setting of several standing mile speed records. One of Kiekhaefer’s drivers, Tim Flock of Atlanta, Georgia drove a 1956 Chrysler 300B at an average of 139.91 miles an hour during the 1956 Daytona speed week, which was the best passenger car time of his class. In the women’s division, Vicki Wood, driving the Chrysler 300B Flock had driven set the record at 136.28 miles per hour. Vicki Wood had been a dirt track driver in and around Detroit Michigan. She would go on to set many standing mile records and competed against men in their racing classes, when most women only competed against each other in the “Powder Puff Derby” events. “Powder Puff” derbies were an exhibition race held at local racetracks, where a field of women drivers would compete in a race for 10-20 laps, commonly in their husband’s race cars between the NASCAR sanctioned races. Wood began entering standing mile races because many men would intentionally try to spin or wreck her car during many of the dirt track races. Because standing mile events are a race against the driver and the clock, she was able to showcase her talent without poor sportsmanship of fellow male drivers interfering.

Vicki Wood in her 1956 Chrysler 300B, Getty Images

With all this history flashing through our heads, we could only imagine what the future might hold for our Chrysler 300B. Kip, Reid and I decided to make a game plan together for the car to get it roadworthy. Our idea was not to perform a complete restoration on the car, but to preserve it more in its current state and make it roadworthy and reliable. Because it had sat for 42 years, we needed to flush the fuel system and check all components for possible rebuild or replacement. The gas tank was full of stinky, bad gasoline and varnish that would quickly clog up the fuel system if we tried to run it as-is. The radiator had several holes in it and would undoubtedly leak and overheat the car if we didn’t fix that too. Not knowing the state of the carburetors and the brakes, we ordered rebuild kits and new parts for both systems.

The interior of the car was mostly complete, other than being dirty and needing replacement of the driver’s bench seat, that had exploding orange foam falling out of the cushions. The leather was dirty and dried out as well. Reid set about draining and removing the gas tank, radiator and finding a shop that could recondition them. He and Kip then began scouring Facebook marketplace to find some new interior pieces like seats and some missing trim. They ended up finding a newly recovered front and rear bench seat set from a DeSoto, as well as many extra chrome trim pieces for the interior and exterior for $300 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Reid set about on a hero’s journey to recover them in his trusty maroon Volvo 240 wagon. The Volvo was able to retrieve the seat and parts, but not without its own drama. The fuel pump of the Volvo died in downtown Louisville, leaving Reid and his girlfriend Anna stranded in a parking lot. They called friends and parts houses, only to have a friend drive up and bring them a fuel pump that could not be sourced locally. After several days of mechanical toil and with the new fuel pump installed, they headed back, only to have the car die again two hours later. This left them stranded again and forced them to get a rental car (in Reid’s words a “penalty box”). They then drove back to Asheville, where Reid attempted to find another fuel pump, drove back to Kentucky and fixed the car again on the side of the road. He was able to limp the car a little further in range of a AAA tow. Only having 100 miles of free towing, the truck driver dropped him within two hours of home, where his neighbor was able to come rescue him with his trailer. After this harrowing journey, it would be a while until we unloaded the dejected Volvo and installed our new interior.

Several weeks later, Reid and I met to install our new seats, which would give the car a complete interior again. I began by unbolting and removing the bench seat from the Chrysler, to vacuum the woven loop carpet, which was in remarkably good condition. Most old cars will have trash and other items that have fallen below the seats over the years, but ours had relatively none other than a bank envelope and some S&H Green stamps. The carpet cleaned up easily and I wiped the dust from the dashboard and door panels. Reid and I spent the rest of the afternoon dodging an approaching thunderstorm and installing the new interior pieces, once his Volvo sputtered to life and made the trip around his yard to the 300. To get the full effect of our work, we put all of the windows down on the 300, installed the vintage Rubber Maid car floor mats, which have a mid-century diamond pattern on them in the car and sat down on the new to us and now functioning bench seat. A collective sigh was uttered - both of us smiling like kids, imagining getting this car back on the road. We found that we had been missing the chrome ash trays from the back seat, which we found in the parts bin that had been part of the sale of the seats and they were a perfect fit!

Interior - Before

Interior after installation of the new seats and vintage Rubber Maid "Kar Mats" that were in the trunk of the car when we got it.

Our next stop in making the car roadworthy was a good set of tires. We went back and forth over purchasing a newer set of black wall tires or going to Coker Tire in Chattanooga for an authentic set of 3-inch-wide whitewall tires, which the car would have come with originally. My good friend and ace mechanic Bruce always says the car will tell you what it wants. After many years of patiently waiting to stretch her legs, the Chrysler was telling me she wanted nothing but the best for new shoes and ultimately Kip and I were able to persuade Reid into agreeing on a set of wide whitewall tires from Coker. As a self-described “inveterate cheapskate,” we’re not sure he ever came to terms with the cost, but he relented in the end. We called up Coker the next day, agreed to eat Ramen noodles for the next month and ordered a set of beautiful 3-inch-wide whitewall tires for the Chrysler.

After an agonizing two days of waiting in anticipation, the tires arrived from Coker’s Chattanooga headquarters to my front door. I then heaved them in my 1972 Chevy C10 pickup to make the trip to JJ’s Tire in downtown Asheville. I had gone up to Reid’s house the day before to get the original steel wheels and clean the grit and grime before the trip to JJ’s. After dropping them off at JJ’s, I received a call that because the car sat so long, it was discovered the wheels had some bad corrosion on them after they removed the 55-year-old tires. They took the wheels next door to Whitco welding, where Asheville legend Tommy Whitmire did some minor straightening on them and resealed the wheels so they would hold air and not damage the new tires when mounted. Despite Tommy’s work, one of the wheels was still largely out of balance and needed several wheel weights to keep it from vibrating. Tommy suggested to me that I mount this wheel at the rear of the car, so it did not cause vibration on the front of the car.

I dropped the wheels and tires at Reid’s house on my way home from work and was so excited to see how it would look, we mounted two of the wheels and tires up. I could feel the car smiling and hoped she felt like she was in good hands. Kip and I then started planning a trip down to McKinney Radiator in Forest City to get the radiator re-cored and the gas tank flushed. One of my co-workers happened to be doing some work down in Forest City and kindly offered to take the radiator and gas tank down to Forest City for me, so I could save a trip. I received a call later that afternoon from McKinney that they had received both the radiator and gas tank, which they thought could be saved. This was an enormous relief to me, although it would be about a 5-week wait as it was going to be difficult to source a radiator core, which would have to be custom made. Thankfully, the gas tank had no pinholes in it and the shop owner thought he could get most of the varnish and other deposits out of it. Ironically, the old sludge inside of the tank had prevented rust from forming and with the car being stored inside of the Motor Parts warehouse for years, she had never been exposed to much moisture.

The 300 looking as she should with new 3" wide whitewall tires from Coker Tire. Photo by Franzi Charen

Stay tuned for the final installment next week as we get the 300 running and back on the road to its first car show in almost four decades!

Sources:

Websites:

http://www.chrysler300club.com/newsletter/63/bdata/2.html

The Origins Of Charlie Scott - RacersReunion!!Emoji!!4!!Emoji!! Forum | racersreunion.com

Carl's 1956 300-B | Hemmings

chrysler300club.com/letterhistory/History.htm

Vicki Wood: The Fastest Woman in Racing | NASCAR Hall of Fame | Curators' Corner

Books:

Ackerson, Robert C. (1996) Chrysler 300, America’s Most Powerful Car

Pages 34 – 45

Articles:

Asheville Citizen-Times. (February 23, 1956). 1956 Chrysler 300B Time Trial winners - Daytona. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-1956-chrysler-30/135899773/

Bristol Herald Courier. (December 28, 1975). Lewis E. Jack Jones. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/bristol-herald-courier-lewis-e-jack-jon/130063084/

Bristol Herald Courier. (January 9, 1957). Lewis E. "Jack" Jones . Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/bristol-herald-courier-lewis-e-jack-j/130062814/

Richmond Times-Dispatch. (January 21, 1972). Obituary for Holt W Page Sr. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-obituary-for-hol/130087155/

Bristol Herald Courier. (July 20, 2007). Obituary for Norrid Stratton Buddy Davis. Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/bristol-herald-courier-obituary-for-norr/130071577/

Evening Herald Courier. (January 30, 1945). Norrid S. Davis . Newspapers.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-herald-courier-norrid-s-davis/130071459/

Other: Conversation with Jack Jones’ Family member – 8/30/23

Photo by Franzi Charen - 1956 Chrysler 300B

There are certain feelings that come along in our lives that are intrinsically special. These can be inspired by a person, object or even a song that transforms us in ways that we can’t explain. If we are lucky, truly lucky, we create memories with these experiences that sustain us through both good and bad times. These memories become encased in a glass globe, hidden away in the back of our sock drawer where we can pull them out from time to time and admire them. This is the story of chasing an uncommon dream car, which ended up changing the lives of all who interacted with it.

I would be fortunate to create one of these memories, starting back in the summer of 2017. One of my managers and a partner in our accounting firm, Harold Cole, who was more sympathetic to my automotive obsession than most, called me into his office one afternoon. As I sat down, he mentioned that a long-time client of his had several old cars in her warehouse across the street from our office on Coxe Avenue, in downtown Asheville. Harold asked me if I would like to go look at them and thought there were maybe about 8 or so in her collection. He wasn’t sure of the makes or models but said “there were some of those big 1940s and 1950s cars up there.” Immediately my mind started racing and he could see my eyes start to glaze over as we finished the rest of our discussion. For the next several weeks, I pestered Harold about getting me up there and with a slight chuckle, he’d promise to as soon as the owner would allow. At long last, his call finally came. I was sitting at my desk with my head buried in a tax return when my cell phone rang. It was Harold and he said if I wanted to see the cars, I needed to come over right now. I jumped up from my desk and ran out the front doors of the Sawyer Motor Building across the street to Motor Parts.

101 Coxe Avenue, Motor Parts of Asheville, C.A. late 1970s, courtesy of Pack Memorial Library

Harold, his bright blue eyes sparkling, greeted me at the door with a smile and introduced me to Barbara Ayers and David King, who owned Motor Parts of Asheville. Harold, Barbara, David and I all climbed the narrow steel staircase to the upper warehouse of Motor Parts to go see this mysterious collection of classic cars. As we all trudged upstairs, Barbara began to tell us how some of the cars belonged to her as well as her father, Hugh Ayers. Hugh founded Motor Parts in 1965 as a franchised accessory parts supplier for Chrysler Motor Parts, also known as MoPar, where he began selling parts and automotive paint refinishing supplies. Ayers later dropped the MoPar accessory and aftermarket parts sales to focus on just automotive paint and supplies. Before the Ayers started to rent and later purchase the building, it had been owned by a man named John Deppe. 101 Coxe avenue began its life as home to his dealer, Deppe Motors. Mr. Deppe had patented a hydraulic clutch master cylinder in 1924 and been part of Asheville’s early burgeoning auto scene. At Deppe Motors, he sold a variety of automobile brands such as Hupmobile, Chrysler and DeSoto. He retired in the early 1950s and came out of retirement in 1957 to sell the brand-new Edsel, where it was sold from 1957 to 1961. One other notable thing David mentioned was that the movie star Robert Mitchum purchased two Edsels at Deppe Motors in September of 1957 when he was in town filming the cult classic, Thunder Road.

Motor Parts, in its Edsel dealer days, Asheville Citizen Times

With all of this build up climbing the stairs, my nerves were at fever pitch. As soon as we made it to the top of the stairs, I saw 8 cars intermingled with old car parts, mopeds, furniture and vintage advertising as far as the eye could see. There was a 1940 Plymouth Road King, two 1980s Fox Body Mustangs, a 1969 Chevrolet Impala that had been sold new on Coxe Avenue at Parkland Chevrolet, a 1970 Plymouth Sport Fury that had been Barbara’s daily driver for many years and sported vintage Asheville High School parking stickers from when she taught English and Literature in the late 1970s. But at the back was the crown jewel of this collection: a 1956 Chrysler 300B. Barbara and David were not as familiar with the history of this car and remembered Barbara’s dad Hugh Ayers purchasing it and driving it into the warehouse during the 1970s and just parking it there. Hugh’s health would later suffer and many of his cars ended up sitting a long time through the 1980s until his passing.

The warehouse - my first view! Personal photo

After chatting with everyone for a while, it was time to explore this car! I fumbled around in the dim light for the hood release and lifted the hood. Housed inside this giant “power barn” of much horsepower was a 354 Cubic Inch Hemi engine with dual four-barrel carburetors and gold painted valve covers emblazoned with “Chrysler Fire Power.” The legendary Hemi I had only seen in magazines, books and videos was right here in front of me! I closed my eyes for a minute and cast my mind back to the Race of Gentlemen event in Wildwood New Jersey where I had heard this mighty beast of an engine rumble the ground months earlier. Laughing to myself at the sheer ridiculousness of this car being in this place covered in dust, I closed the hood with an enormous thud. I moved around to the passenger door and the smell of dusty leather wafted out. Using a small flashlight to explore the car, I found that almost everything was complete and in remarkably good shape. There was no evidence of mice or other critters and it just smelled like an old car that had been tucked away for a 42-year nap. The trunk didn’t have much in it, other than the jack and some old Rubbermaid car floormats. I couldn’t see the back of the car due to it being parked tightly in the rear corner of the warehouse, so I was not able to tell if there was a license plate or old dealer tag.

The first time we met - personal photo, 1956 Chrysler 300B

I tried not to let the excitement show on my face as I asked if any of the cars were for sale. Barbara and David looked at each other and threw out some very high prices and mentioned that several other people had been interested in these cars. I tried to smile politely and thanked them for their time and for letting me come and look through all of the cars. Harold and I walked back to the office, not saying much and finally he said, “so what’d you think?” I told him about the significance of the Chrysler and how from what I knew they were very rare and that it had a unique V8 engine. Harold told me about some of the old car dealers on Coxe avenue like Ledford’s auto sales, where he bought a six-cylinder 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. He accessorized it with custom wheels and tires and put air shocks in the back to give it a raked stance. He then had a zebra stripe interior added to the car to further customize it. He would laugh remembering driving the car, as would be street racers would approach him on Patton Avenue revving their engines to race him. They’d roll up next to him at a late-night red light, only to leave him in their dust as Harold would laugh, turn up the radio and chug away slowly with his tired six-cylinder engine.

I was not that productive at work that afternoon, with my mind on the Chrysler 300 and the mystery surrounding it. I began researching the car and found it was only one of 1,102 produced during 1956 and had been a dominating force in the 1956 NASCAR race season. When I got home, I flashed dusty pictures of the 300 from my phone to my wife, who at this point had seen me show her many different cars that could “potentially” be for sale. She just smiled and sighed as I rambled off facts and figures.

Wanting to learn more, I went online and ordered several books on the 300, knowing that it was something special. I was drawn to this car – feeling a kinship with it I had never felt before and could not explain. Feeling something very special and significant about this car, it seemed to radiate a warmth and desire to get back on the road. If someone could just give it a chance and figure out how to get it out of this warehouse where it had been trapped for 42 years, it would reward them with an incredibly special driving experience.

As the months went by, I would periodically call Barbara and check in to see if she had thought any more about selling the car. With each call, we would end up talking about Asheville history and what these old cars meant to society.

Barbara, seemingly dismayed with the current state of society would describe the state of popular culture as “vapid,” which seemed to be fitting when you saw the state of tourists coming to visit the Coxe avenue breweries. She mentioned that the 1956 Chrysler 300B was significant to her because it was part of a group of cars that no longer exists: large, solid framed, high torque V8 automobiles that were built like a battleship. Whenever she bought a car, she always sought out the model with the strongest frame and biggest V8 engine she could buy. When I met her, she was driving a 1995 Mercedes S Class with the largest V8 available, painted in a beautiful non-metallic white. Barbara would typically emerge from this car in a floral-patterned dress, adorned with high heels, and lots of pearl accessories.

The car continued to consume my thoughts through the rest of the year before a couple things changed. I was very glad to have been able to share this time with Harold, as he passed away from brain and lung cancer in November of 2017. Harold had been my little league baseball coach and had given me a chance to work at our accounting firm. When I think about this car, I think of Harold and the many good stories and Asheville history he would relate to me in casual conversations.

The interior of the 300B

Not much changed over the next couple of years with me or the car. I would call Barbara to check in on her and the car. We’d laugh about changes in Asheville and haggle, but she wouldn’t ever commit to a price and there was just too much in the way to get the car out of the warehouse. As 2019 moved to 2020, we were all feeling hopeful about making some changes in our lives and maybe even achieving some balance. The last couple of tax seasons had been tough for me and felt empty without Harold around. We heard rumblings about COVID-19 and thought maybe it was far enough away that maybe it might not affect us. As March 2020 descended upon us, one day everyone was at the office and the next day, we had just a fraction of our staff as everyone went home to work remotely.

With a schedule a little bit less crowded and more time to think, I still had thoughts about this 1956 Chrysler 300B.

Through all the chaos of this time, Barbara and I didn’t speak much but she wasn’t ever far from my thoughts, and I’d occasionally see her Mercedes pull up in front of Motor Parts and I’d think I should give her a call. With no car shows to go to or the ability to host events, we kept going the best we could. I decided to clean out my garage at this time and sell off a couple of old carburetors gathering dust. I got a message on Facebook Marketplace from a guy named Reid Moffitt about buying one of the Quadrajet carburetors that I had listed. At the time, my late model BMW 3 series had broken down and was stranded in the shop for months while I was daily driving my 1972 Chevrolet C10 Super Cheyenne truck. When we agreed on a place to meet, I mentioned that I would be in a green 1972 Chevy Truck and Reid replied, “I will be in something old and Mopar.” I met Reid in the parking lot of the west Asheville Lowe’s hardware to sell him the carburetor and was immediately struck by his refrigerator white Plymouth Valiant, which was in excellent condition. He graciously showed me the Valiant inside and out and this act of kindness was a bright spot in what had been a tenuous year. After meeting, we stayed in touch on Facebook, as he had just started his own vintage car repair service, Preservation Auto in Leicester.

After another two years of sorting through the fallout from COVID and rebuilding several other old cars, the Chrysler was on my mind again, this time with a vengeance that wouldn’t let up. Reid had helped me work through several tuning issues on my 1923 Ford Model T as I was beginning Mountaineer Motor Tours. One day while we were working on the Model T, I showed him a couple of pictures of the Chrysler 300B from Barbara’s warehouse, figuring he would appreciate them. He seemed to be just as excited as I was, and I mentioned setting up a tour to look at the 300 to see if he thought it would be something that might take major work to be revived. Being the optimists we are, the only hesitation both of us had was that the engine parts for these early Hemi’s could be expensive if it needed any machine work or an engine rebuild.

Six months went by, until I called Reid for some help with a suspension issue on the Model T. He brought his friend, Kip Veno along with him who I had seen from afar from many years. Kip has a unique collection of vintage cars he drives every day and typically I would see them parked on Lexington Avenue outside of his clothing store, Hip Replacements. The most recognizable car I would see him in was a customized 1965 Chrysler Newport with Cragar 25th anniversary mag wheels, curb feelers, venetian blinds in the rear window and bellflower exhaust tips. The car had a warm rumble when he passed, made by a set of vintage glass pack mufflers. Kip and I immediately started talking a million miles an hour about Asheville history, legendary locals and how the city had changed in our lifetimes. Reid had shown Kip the 1956 Chrysler and we all began to speak about it and if there was a possibility for the three of us to own it in a partnership.

Later that year as I slogged through the remnants of another difficult tax season with the thought of rescuing the car gnawing away at me. Barbara and David had begun selling off several of the cars and David mentioned to me on a phone call that maybe he would just sell the 1956 Chrysler 300 for parts, being overwhelmed with clearing out their warehouse where the car was stored. I called Reid in a panic saying that we needed to go look at the car again as soon as we could. We ended up meeting on a rare day off for both of us and taking the tour I had promised months ago. I hadn’t seen the car since 2017 and its presence was just as imposing in 2023 as it was in 2017. Reid also seemed to be stunned by the beauty and style of the car as we crawled over and under it. We both tried to keep our best poker faces with David in earshot, knowing that the car is valuable and could command a high price that might be out of reach for us.

We arranged a meeting on my front porch with Kip to talk about buying the car in partnership with the three of us, where we could all work on it and enjoy it for a while. We all agreed on the details of the purchase and started to work on convincing Barbara to sell it to us. She finally agreed to sell it to us after several weeks of negotiation. Several weeks later and after helping to move items in the warehouse, we were finally able to bring the car home. I had first seen the car on June 16th, 2017 and she finally came home with us May 23rd, 2023. After six years of thinking about the car and concluding it may never come home with me, I was awash with emotion. The moment that David handed the keys to me and I slid behind the wheel, I felt my face flush with excitement. Reid and I had spent days preparing for the extraction of the car, arranging a tow truck and inflating the 50 plus year old tires, which amazingly still held air despite sitting flat for 42 years! The brakes were not locked on the car and it rolled with ease towards the doorway. I had a sly smile on my face because I knew this car wanted to be a car again.

The rescue of the 300 - credit to Kip Veno and Franzi Charen, music by Kip's band Pleasure Chest

The 300 Emerging from Motor Parts

The 300 seeing daylight for the first time since 1975

As the car was winched up on the tow truck, Barbara, David and the rest of our crew all chatted. We were covered in sweat, dirt and grime but we didn’t care. Kip hadn’t actually seen the car in person until the day we bought it. His partner Franzi was able to photograph and video this incredible moment. Awestruck by the 300 in full view, I stepped closed and muttered under my breath that we’d get her running again, patting her fender. As David stood in the middle of Hilliard Avenue to block traffic for the tow truck driver, we all stood on the sidewalk to see her off as she went to Reid’s house for us to begin making her run again. With the tow truck headed west towards Patton Avenue with the 300 on its back, Barbara gave the car a wistful wave and looked back at me with a half-smile.

Barbara says goodbye to the 300

As soon as we got the car out into daylight and gave it a chance to breathe some fresh air, we began crawling through it looking for any clues from its past. The only relics we found in the car were a roll of S&H green stamps, a bottle of water pump lubricant and a business card tucked in the passenger side sun visor for Cannon Motors, the Volkswagen and Porsche dealer in Asheville located on Tunnel Road during the 1950s and 60s at the site of the current day Prestige Subaru. On the back of the car, I did see an old dealer badge on the lower part of the trunk that said Page-Davis, Bristol VA. – Tenn. I immediately went to Newspapers.com to search through the newspaper archive to see if I could find any information on this dealer. It appeared that this car had been sold at Page-Davis when it was new and thankfully no other used car dealer had removed this tag as it would be an important part of trying to verify the history of the car.

Part of buying any old car is doing your due diligence on this car. Because the paperwork had been lost on the car, I submitted the vehicle identification number to the license and theft bureau of the North Carolina DMV to make sure that the vehicle had not been stolen. The investigator we were working with was able to track down a copy of the original title when the Chrysler was sold brand new at Page-Davis Motors in Bristol, Tennessee to Lewis Edward Jones on June 27th, 1956. After searching the Chrysler 300B registry records for more information on our vehicle identification number, we found that our car, based on serial numbers was the fourth from last 1956 Chrysler 300 B ever produced in May of 1956. Mr. Jones lived at 800 Glenway Avenue in Bristol, Virginia which we found was a stunning mid-century modern ranch house that had also been built in 1956. We were able to seek out some images of the house he lived in on Zillow and Google Maps. At the end of the house was a stylish mid-century modern carport, where we imagined the car being sheltered from the elements.

The original dealer tag still intact on the car

Being a historian, I had to learn more about the history of the car and Mr. Jones. How long did he own the car? What did he do for a living? What made him initially attracted to this car? Was he a car enthusiast? These were all questions I considered as the car began to reveal its history to us. One other bread crumb of information the investigator from the DMV was able to find was that our 300B had been traded in at Deal Buick across the street from Motor Parts at 94 Coxe avenue in 1960. This gave us a start to our timeline, knowing that Mr. Jones had purchased the 300 in 1956, it had been traded in at Deal Buick in 1960 and that Hugh Ayers had purchased the car in the early 1970s. The inspection sticker in the window of the car last showed the car being on the road in November of 1975 to be inspected. When David started working at Motor Parts in 1978, he remembered the car being parked in the warehouse, but did not remember it running or driving. We weren’t sure who had owned the car and what history it had between 1960 and 1975, but we knew it had been parked from 1975-2023.

Check in next week for the next installment of this story!

Douglas Ellington - Source Douglas Dobell Ellington - Douglas Ellington - Wikipedia

If you have been in Asheville long enough, at some point in your travels the name Douglas Ellington will come up. Ellington is known for the design of many of Asheville's Art Deco treasures including First Baptist Church, The Asheville City Hall Building, Asheville High School, The S&W Building and the Merrimon Avenue Fire Station. Ellington came to Asheville in the 1920s to design First Baptist Church as his first architectural commission.

Ellington designed Asheville City Hall - Southern Appalachian Digital Collection, UNCA and WCU

Ellington also did many other residential projects in Asheville which included the C.C. Peek house at 128 Windsor Road, the Dalton House at 103 Wembley Road, Kells Castle at 24 Kimberly Ave., The Starnes House at 2 Clarendon Road, the Stribling House at 500 Elk Mountain Scenic Highway, The Cazel House at 131 Shelburne Road in Candler - just to name a few. He is also known for the design of the office at Lewis Memorial Cemetery in Beaverdam, as well as the Chimney Rock Park Gateway - if you would like to make a list of Ellington places to visit!

Douglas Ellington was born in Clayton, North Carolina on June 26th, 1886 to Jesse and Sally Ellington. He was educated at Randolph-Macon College, Drexel Institute, The University of Pennsylvania and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. While studying in Paris, he became the first Southerner to win the coveted Prix de Paris and the only American at that time to be awarded the Prix Rougevin. The Rougevin is a traditional festival of architectural students of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris, which took place from 1891 to 1966. Along with the Bal des Quat'a'Arts and the Gala de la Grande Masse, it is one of the three most important traditional celebrations for Fine Arts Students of the Ecole in Paris. He concluded his studies at the Ecole just prior to the outbreak of the first World War. During World War I, Mr. Ellington supervised the development of camouflage for ships that helped them blend in with waves called "dazzle" camouflage.

Dazzle Camouflage ship - Source: When the British Wanted to Camouflage Their Warships, They Made Them Dazzle | History| Smithsonian Magazine

After World War I, Ellington secured several consecutive teaching positions which included Drexel, Columbia University and finally Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was in Pittsburgh, that he began his own architectural practice in 1920 with his younger brother Kenneth Ellington serving as his office manager, who was a full-time lawyer.

Not only was Ellington a highly skilled architect, he was also a fine watercolor painter and was known for painting landscapes in oil. He went on to author a collection of watercolor paintings of the Virgin Islands shown by the American Government in the Intercolonial Exhibition in Paris. Many of his paintings are in the collection of the Asheville Art Museum today. His architecture practice extended throughout the entire Eastern Seaboard and ranged from the architectural design and approaches of the famous system of steel bridges at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Charleston.

When it came time for a man of his background in design to construct his own residence in Chunns Cove, he decided to take a more rustic, old-world approach. Douglas would start to construct his own residence in Chunns Cove in 1926, out of surplus building materials from other architectural commissions in Asheville. Ellington had relocated his practice to Asheville in 1926 when he was awarded the commission for First Baptist Church. Ellington, who had strong artistic talents, was also very hands on and sensible in his design. He was said to often join the workmen on site to demonstrate how he wanted to place a stone or other element in a building. His house was said to be made of stone and brick with pieces left from city hall, Asheville High School and other projects. He did not allow any machinery on the property during the construction of the house and built it by hand.

Douglas Ellington Home, Chunns Cove - Photo by Camilla Calnan, Asheville NC

After the Great Depression exacted its toll on Asheville, Ellington was forced to move back to Washington, D.C. to secure work. He would continue to come and visit Asheville and his family has held on to his home in Chunns Cove all this time. Douglas Ellington died August 28, 1960 at the age of 74.

Ellington's Chunns Cove home is now available on a limited basis for weddings and special events. As part of these offerings, Mountaineer Motor Tours was invited out to the Ellington house in Chunns Cove for a styled photo shoot with other wedding vendors. We were chosen as the "get away" car for a period correct wedding! Below are some of the stunning images that were captured by Asheville photographer, Camilla Calnan:

Photo Gallery from Exploring the Douglas Ellington House, Chunns Cove

For more information on the house or booking an event, visit:

Douglas Ellington House | Asheville, NC Wedding & Event Venue

Sources of Historical Information:

Asheville Citizen-Times. (August 28, 1960). Douglas D. Ellington Obituary. Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-douglas-d-ellin/31199491/

Asheville’s Master of the Art Deco: Douglas Ellington | The Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County (psabc.org)

Ellington, Douglas D. (1886-1960) (ncsu.edu)

Rougevin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It all started off innocently enough, with a simple question. I was getting ready to head out on a tour a couple of weeks ago, when a gentlemen stopped to talk to me and Mabeline the Model T. He asked me "have you ever heard that Asheville had a Rolls Royce dealership? I heard that Asheville was the smallest town to have a Rolls Royce dealer." He wasn't sure of the time period it existed or where it had been located, only that someone, somewhere had told him this. It certainly seemed possible with all of the wild and roaring times of the 1920s in Asheville. There were many high-end car sellers in Asheville like Lincoln, Auburn, Essex, Hudson, Stevens-Duryea and many more. After the tour, I immediately started researching Rolls Royce in Asheville and was amazed by what I found.

As it turns out, Asheville did have its own Rolls Royce dealership during the 1920s! The Weaver Motor Company, located at 31 Spruce Street in downtown Asheville had begun selling them as early as March of 1925. The Weaver Motor Company had been in business for a number of years selling Hudson and Essex motorcars. The Rolls Royce brand was brought to Asheville by their North Carolina sales representative, Dr. Walter S. Martin.

Asheville Citizen-Times, March 29, 1925, Page 17. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-rolls-royce-deal/130777514/ : accessed September 12, 2023), clip page for Rolls Royce Dealer - Weaver Motor Co. by user towsonhe

Dr. Walter S. Martin had come to Canton, North Carolina around 1911 from Hickory, North Carolina to work at the Champion Fibre Company when it was in its infancy. At the time he arrived, the town was not much more than a manufacturing village. During this time, Champion and the town continued to grow by leaps and bounds. He had left his drug store in Hickory and opened up what was said to be the first real drug store in the town. In 1917, he opened a tea room called Martin's Tea room, which was said to be quite popular. In addition to his drug store and team room, Dr. Martin decided in 1918 to open a Buick dealer and garage in town.

Owing to a strong lineage in Hickory, Dr. Martin was the son of the late Colonel Nick Martin. Dr. Martin was born and raised in Hickory and attended the Hickory grade schools, the old Hickory Military Academy and then received his A.B. degree from Lenoir College. After this, he went to the old Simpson school of pharmacy at Raleigh. During this time, he worked in his brother's clothing store to pay for his schooling expenses. From his first small drug store in Hickory to what was then one of the larger drug stores in the state located in Canton, Dr. Martin had come a long way. He even patented his own pills, Martin's Capsules. His tea room was said to attract hundreds of tourists annually. With the advent of car travel becoming more regular at this time, his tearoom and "unique gift shop" were a point of interest for weary travelers.

Dr. Martin had quite the penchant for salesmanship and what better man to represent Rolls Royce in North Carolina? His first two customers were also characters and men of means in their own right. Dr. Edward (sometimes spelled Edouard) E. Reed and Julius T. Horney were his first two customers at the Asheville showroom of Weaver Motors at 31 Spruce Street. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported on April 01, 1925 that Reed and Horney had just purchased two gleaming Rolls Royce automobiles.

Dr. Edward Reed, of the Kenilworth Development Company purchased a Pickwick Model Sedan in Lie Green with a lemon stripe outlining the body. It was mounted on a stock chassis, equipped with four wheel brakes, drum lamps and was right-hand drive.

Julius T. Horney of Horneyhurst Developments, purchased his Rolls Royce in a tan and buff two tone. Horney's Rolls Royce was also a Pickwick model sedan, in what was said to be "A slightly larger size."

Example of an early Rolls Royce Pickwick Sedan

Rolls Royce factory, Springfield MA - Photo Courtesy of Rolls Royce archive

At this time, Rolls Royce had an American factory in Springfield, Massachusetts that was in operation from 1921 to 1931, where these cars would have been built. Their goal was to capitalize on the affluent American market, but they were not quite able to make a healthy profit. The 1929 stock market crash signaled the slow end of this factory.

Dr. Reed had been a resident of Asheville from around 1925 to 1933. He first resided on Merrimon Avenue, then moved to the Grove Park neighborhood until finally settling in Kenilworth, where he was involved with developing and selling many fine homes there. He later moved to Clearwater, Florida in 1933 because of ill health and became mayor of Ballair, Florida.

Born in Texas, he lived there until he joined the army as a physician during the Spanish-American war. In Cuba, he was attached to Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and was in his battalion, according to his obituary. Growing up in Texas and knowing Cattle, Dr. Reed remained in Cuba after the war and imported cattle from Venezuela, making a fortune in the cattle business. He would later become involved in the sugar business in Cuba and made another fortune. In addition to these two industries, he was a vice-president of the Royal Canadian bank in Cuba. He died in 1942 in Clearwater, Florida.

Julius T. Horney had made his fortune developing several towns in Florida, one of which was Lakeland, Florida. Lake Horney is still named after him to this day. He came to Asheville in the 1920s and developed a number of properties. He was said to have come to Canton, North Carolina and was listed as a lawyer and real estate developer. He bought the William Jennings Bryan house on Evelyn Place (in the Grove Park neighborhood) in 1920 for $30,000. In Florida, Horney gained some fame in the 1920s for co-writing a song "Lakeland: City of Heats Desire," that was written to promote real estate, according to the Lakeland Ledger newspaper.

His first development in West Asheville, "Horneyhurst," was touted as "West Asheville's Beauty Spot. In an April 1925 article from the Asheville Citizen about the Horney Heights development states in a photo caption that "J.T. Horney is the South's youngest and largest residential subdivision developer, financing all his own projects. A man of vision and daring, concentrating his energies in developing Western North Carolina and Florida Properties." Horney Hills is known as Malvern Hills today. According to the Citizen Times, Horney consummated at least half a dozen subdivisions in West Asheville before the stock market crash of 1929. Horney donated land for two parks in West Asheville before "he was just plum worn out."

After the stock market crash, he started a chain of livestock markets throughout the south. This was his main occupation until his retirement in 1940. At this time, he and his wife moved to Lakeland Highlands, an upscale neighborhood in Lakeland, Florida until his death in 1959 at the age of 70.

Original advertisement for Horney Hills in West Asheville

With the Asheville real estate and economic market as wild as it was, a Rolls Royce even showed up at a local used car dealer during the 1920s:

The site of the Weaver Motor Company at 31 Spruce street is a city parking lot today, located next to Pack's Tavern:

If you know any more about the Weaver Motor Company, Rolls Royce owners or ownership in Asheville during the 1920s, please send us an email at mountaineermotortours@gmail.com. Dr. Martin was the distributor of Rolls Royce in Asheville and North Carolina from 1925, until his death in 1929. After 1929, there seems to be no more articles or mentions about Rolls Royce sales or activity in the Asheville Citizen or Asheville Times newspaper archive. In the meantime, we'll keep researching and see what other information we can dig up!

We hope to see you out on the open road in beautiful downtown Asheville!

Sources:

The Asheville Times. (November 25, 1928). Dr. Martin - Rolls Royce Representative in Asheville. Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-dr-martin-rolls-r/130778107/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (November 11, 2014). J.T. Horney Info . Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-jt-horney-info/131031337/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (June 13, 1926). Horney Hills and Eugene Rankin School. Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-horney-hills-and/131031042/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (April 1, 1925). J.T. Horney - Rolls Royce. Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-jt-horney-ro/131030923/

Asheville Citizen-Times. (October 28, 1942). Obituary for E. REED. Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-obituary-for-e/131322767/

The Tampa Tribune. (January 30, 1959). Julius Teague Horney Obituary. Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-julius-teague-horney-o/131031557/

When we left off last week, Robert Mitchum had made his way through most of the filming of Thunder Road in Asheville and left behind quite a legacy! But what did local Ashevillian's and people who made the movie think? What was its long term impact? Let's take a look at what people ultimately thought:

In Lee Server’s book about Robert Michum, Baby I Don’t Care, he described the lasting effects of Thunder Road in the following way:

“Thunder Road would foster a rabid underground following, a cross-cultural group of enthusiasts that included southern teenagers, vintage car buffs, films scholars and an otherwise unclassifiable demographic that desired to watch over and over the cool way Mitchum, while tearing down Thunder Road, flicks a cigarette through the window of a pursuing bad guy’s car. Pop culture critics would be inspired to flights of Rhapsody about the film and its delirious allure, most notably Richard Thompson in an ode published in a 1969 issue of December Magazine. ‘Thunder Road’ he wrote ‘is a private myth irradiating the secret corners of a lost existence with the savor of true existentialism…. Thunder Road disciples envy those who saw it exactly right: at a drive-in, sitting in their customized Fords and Chevs, just after leaving the high school dance and just before juking on down to Shakey’s Pizza Parlor.” Thunder Road was also very popular in Tennessee, because of the moonshine and bootlegging history of that state.

After Thunder Road was made, Bob Mitchum bought a sports car garage for Jim called Engine Masters Inc. in Santa Monica. He wanted to provide a safe place where Jim and his friends could work on their hot rods under the supervision of two master mechanics. He allowed Jim to buy into the ownership of the garage with his earnings from the movie. Bob thought the shop could even be used as a space for a technical school in the future, according to press releases from the time.

Jim Mitchum would go on to star in several other cult automotive classic films like Two Lane Blacktop starring the singer James Taylor and the drummer of the Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson as the two existential characters traveling the backroads of the US in a primer gray 1955 Chevy. He would also star in a modern update of Thunder Road, Moonrunners which was the origin for the Dukes of Hazzard TV series. Robert Mitchum continued to further his interest in cars, flying to Germany to buy a brand new Porsche 911 while he was working on another film location and went through several other Porsches and BMWs.

After all of these years, Thunder Road is still shown once a year at the Wedge Brewery and the Fine Arts Theater in downtown Asheville. That hasn’t stopped locals and researchers from wondering about what happened during the filming of the movie and the legacy that it has left behind.

The Mountain Xpress wrote an article an article on May 4, 2016 by Joe Elliot that quoted many notable Asheville locals as saying the following about the lasting legacy of the movie:

“Perhaps the most exciting event ever to take place at the Sky Club was when Robert Mitchum came to town to star in Thunder Road. The whole town was star-struck, and one scene in the movie was shot in the restaurant. A couple of my friends took the entire week off from work just to be extras in the nightclub scene. Mitchum cut a wide swath [in Asheville]. He and his wife stayed at the Battery Park Hotel, and it was widely rumored that his mistress was staying down the street at the Vanderbilt. Mitchum spent most evenings at the Sky Club, though, drinking, dining and dancing with the ladies who absolutely threw themselves at this tall, handsome movie star. I witnessed more than one violent confrontation precipitated by a husband’s or boyfriend’s jealous rage, but Mitchum was big enough to take care of himself — and, after all, all he was doing was dancing.

— Jerry Sternberg

“I was probably 12 or 13 when the movie was made in Asheville. I remember that some local folks got some bit parts, like the well-known WWNC radio announcer Farmer Russ (Offhaus). I also remember a fellow Boy Scout I met at summer camp who was wearing a neckerchief slide carved from a piece of scrap balsa wood that he said was from some of the debris of a wreck scene in the movie where the car crashed through some rail posts. His dad had some connection with the location shot, I think. A classmate of my older brother at Owen High crashed his ’52 Ford trying to duplicate that 180-degree spin in the scene at the bridge.”

— Steve Norwood, Asheville

“I was an 18–year-old high schooler who ran into Robert Mitchum one night. As teenagers, we ended many of our nights at the Hot Shot Café in Biltmore Village for a late-night grilled cheese sandwich, Coke and a good bull session. All of a sudden, the doors opened wide and in walked Robert Mitchum and his posse. We were all stunned. They said nothing but strolled to a large table. They were a rough-looking crowd and probably had a bit too much to drink. We continued to stare, not saying anything.”

— Stan Cocke, Asheville

“I was present when the sports car club had an autocross event at McCormick Field and Robert Mitchum’s son drove the ’50 Ford being used in the movie through the gate in right field and around the track, causing them to halt the event. The announcer made a very sarcastic remark, and Robert Mitchum left.”

— Jerry King, Asheville

“My uncle was Howard Penland, who was raised north of Weaverville on Ox Creek Road. His wife, Clara, told me years ago that that there was a time when the folks who lived on Ox Creek Road and Reems Creek Road were concerned that there might be an illegal moonshine operation near the Beech community. The reason was that they would occasionally see a hot rod car headed toward Weaverville at a very fast rate of speed. They were relieved when they later learned a movie called Thunder Road was being filmed in the area.”

— Danny Starnes, Black Mountain

“My great-uncle Joe Gouge was a moonshiner out of Mitchell County. Our family surname is used in the movie with the character Stacey Gouge, but the actor mispronounces it. Our name isn’t spoken like it’s spelled, but rhymes with Baton Rouge.”

— Michael Gouge, Asheville

“NASCAR pioneers Fireball Roberts and Banjo Matthews of Asheville and all the guys that were there to build the cars were on the set. There were also a lot of active moonshiners around all the time.”

— Jim Mitchum

Joe Elliott was able to interview musician Randy Sparks, who recorded The Ballad of Thunder Road theme song for the movie soundtrack when he was just 25 years old and fresh out of the Navy. He would go on to found the popular 1960s folk-pop group The New Christy Minstrels. Sparks shared his memories with Elliott of making the film:

Robert Mitchum saw me on “The Bob Crosby Show” on TV, in uniform, and told his agent, ‘That’s the guy I want to play my kid brother in Thunder Road. I learned many years later that he had probably pulled strings with the secretary of the Navy to get me an early release, and I went from Washington, D.C., to Asheville on my first day as a civilian. I had also been contracted to write and sing songs for the movie, and I had my lead sheets in hand upon arrival. But at the Battery Park Hotel, headquarters of Mitchum’s film company on location, I was told by Bob himself that my assignment had been significantly altered. His 16-year-old son, Jim, had lobbied him to play the acting role, and in the time between when I was contracted and my arrival on location, the title song had already been crafted by veteran songwriter Don Ray, with Mitchum’s collaboration, but I would still be the one to sing it. Bob politely refused to listen to my song titled ‘Thunder Road,’ but he wanted to hear ‘Whippoorwill’ (the alternative title), and he allowed that they might make use of it in a scene later in the film (Keely Smith sings it at the close of the film). I was disappointed, of course, and I had a right to be angry, but maintained a positive attitude. I was, after all, a nobody with zero movie credits, an outsider fully unprepared to combat nepotism, hardly a bona fide actor, so if anything, I probably felt somewhat relieved.

The social ambiance with the cast and crew in the lobby of the Battery Park reminded me of a meat market, and this was terribly disappointing. I had for 18 months in uniform refused to stoop to the level of the traditional image of sailors on liberty in a seaport, and I now felt like walking away. I spied a pretty girl about my age standing in one corner of the sprawling room and looking very much out of place, so I walked over to her and said, “You don’t look pleased to be here.” “I think I’m in the wrong place for the wrong reason,” she replied. “Bob just told me that I would be having a private dinner with him in his room, so that we could go over the script together, and I’m not that kind of girl.” “How would you like to have dinner with me?” I asked. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” she said, and I led the way to the hotel’s dining room. Mitchum shortly came along, overtly expressing his dismay, and I thereafter faithfully served as her chaperone. I can assure you that she was untarnished by the evils of Hollywood in the coming weeks, but I had instantly forfeited my billing in the picture. Of course, I didn’t learn this sad fact until much later, and I’m still somewhat amazed that they left in place my vocal performance over the credits, which, by the way, wasn’t necessarily a boon to my musical career. Jack Marshall, the orchestrator, had written the instrumental track two or three keys too high for my voice, and I sound like a castrate. I begged for a change of key, but he refused. ‘We’re already over budget,’ he grumbled.

It would be easy to dismiss Thunder Road as just another “B” movie but when you look at all of the energy and craft that Mitchum put into this project, it seems to be anything but just another movie. To the people of Asheville, it means everything and for people that are automotive enthusiasts, it is something we can hold up as a point of pride. Asheville has a natural creative energy that has brought about many deep and meaningful creations, of which this is one. Many locals remember Robert Mitchum here and many interacted with him. While some have shared tales of Mitchum’s drunken debauchery, others remembered a very thoughtful and kind man, who would send them Christmas cards for years after his visit to Asheville.

Mitchum at the Asheville Airport signing autographs

Robert Mitchum in the Hendersonville Apple Festival Parade

Thank you for reading through this four part installment of our blog! Stay tuned for more Asheville automotive history!

When we left off last week, Robert Mitchum had assembled an all star movie cast, found the ultimate stunt driver in Carey Loftin to perform incredible feats behind the wheel and a fleet of real bootleg cars. Let's travel further into the making of Thunder Road and follow Mitchum as he tramps around Western North Carolina to find just the right locations to tell his story....

With the crew, cast and a fleet of automobiles assembled, Mitchum and his directors began scouting locations for filming. Al Dowtin, who had been helping Mitchum with his research in Asheville took Mitchum from the ABC office to Hoyle’s Office Supply Store, which had been a former car dealership (Brown Brothers Hudson dealer at 21 N. Market street) that included its own parking garage, where they made an arrangement with the owner, Red Hoyle to use the garage and part of his outdoor parking lot. They also built an office set in the back of his store. Hoyle remembered Mitchum walking into his store and saying “We’d like to film a movin’ picture in your parking area,” with Red giving his seal of approval. They made the Hoyle’s parking garage into the set for the speed and hot rod shop belonging to gang kingpin, Carl Kogan. This is where the famous scene was filmed of Mitchum jumping out of the building onto a dump truck full of sand, where he then reaches street level. Both the Hoyle’s neon sign and the neon sign of Sam’s Lincoln Mercury burn brightly and reflected their glow onto the dimly lit North Market Street in downtown Asheville, during several scenes in the movie.

Strangely, Hoyle’s Office Supplies remained open while they were filming and people would come in to buy their pencils and stationary while Mitchum and the others walked in and out making the picture. Red Hoyle seemed to have fond memories of Robert Mitchum and remembered him treating him well. Hoyle was quoted as saying “He was a fine fellow Robert Mitchum. He treated me fine. They were there for some weeks and he brought a lot of people to the store ‘cause he would come on in when he took a break, and walk around, sit down on the office furniture and say hello to people, so forth and so on. And people came around, two three hundred women there all the time. Those ladies would come up and see him shoot scenes. I thought they were coming to see me, but they really came to see him.”

After a couple of weeks of filming, DRM Productions began to settle into Asheville. Mitchum encouraged the actors and crew to mix and mingle with locals to get to know them better. It was said that it was the locals that had trouble acting naturally, as they gathered in crowds for hours at a time watching the filming or just froze in place, mouth agape as they saw Mitchum and Keely Smith breeze past them down Broadway in an open convertible. At night, it was said that most of the movie actors were to be found at the infamous nightclub and prohibition hot spot, The Sky Club. The Sky Club was located inside an old manor home on the top of Beaucatcher Mountain and was known for liquor, easy women and good jazz music. Part of the movie was filmed there too, when Mitchum was said to be visiting his girlfriend, Francie (Keely Smith) while she tries to make it through singing a set of jazz music, before being interrupted by a rude and drunk patron.

Mitchum with Emma Adler at The Sky Club

The Sky Club was run by locals, Emma and Gus Adler. It served as the set for “The Hi-Hat club” scenes in the movie as well as the gathering place for much after work socializing of the cast and crew. When Mitchum walks into the club to see Keely Smith singing “Won’t You Come home Bill Bailey,” a group of local Asheville musicians are the house band backing her up. The band on stage consists of local Asheville musicians Frank Jackson on piano, Robert E. Lee (Bob) on the upright bass (who was a Biltmore Dairy milkman and a salesman at Dunham's Music House), Sam Butera on Sax, Louis Prima on trumpet, Woody Rhodes on guitar and what is believed to be Tom Wrenn on drums. Woody Rhodes played guitar on the recording of “The Ballad of Thunder Road” that was recorded with Randy Sparks and featured in the opening sequence of the movie. Woody was not star struck by Mitchum and found him to be condescending to mountain people, believing them to be “hillbillies.”

The Sky Club has an interesting history that only added more color to the movie. It was constructed as the Oliver Cromwell Hamilton Estate, also called “Ardimon” in the 1890s. O.C. Hamilton died in 1916 from pulmonary issues and his family continued to use it occasionally until the Great Depression hit Asheville particularly hard and it was auctioned off on the courthouse steps in 1935. It was purchased by Gus and Emma Alder who had moved up from Florida. They had a restaurant in East Asheville called the Old Heidelberg after Gus’s hometown in Germany. After buying the Hamilton manor, they closed their original restaurant and opened a new Old Heidelberg in the mansion. Emma was known as a “hostess with the mostess” and Gus was the “genius in the kitchen” according to his stepson John Hunter. Old Heidelberg’s reputation started to grow a reputation for its fine dining, dancing, spectacular mountain views and great atmosphere. When WWII broke, the restaurant’s sign became a target for anti-Nazi graffiti, which caused them to change the name of the restaurant to The Sky Club in 1942. The Adlers lived in Beau Castle, which was thought to be the former estate stables that were converted to a residence near the former mansion. Sadly, Gus died there in a fire in 1952, when his cigarette ignited the bed he was sleeping on. Although Emma was devastated, she kept the Sky Club going and while charming, ruled it with an iron fist.

At this time, Buncombe County did not allow sales of liquor, so patrons of the Sky Club would bring their own bottles and pay a storage fee to keep their liquor at the club. The restaurant charged a dollar for a bucket of ice and drink mixers like Coke and 7 Up. These were called “setups” and were a cover for sales of illegal liquor, for which Emma was busted several times. This probably added to the allure for Mitchum, who adored Emma Adler and invited her to come visit him in Hollywood, with Adler taking him up on his offer. In addition to Thunder Road, The Sky Club and Adlers hosted the crews from movies that were filmed in Asheville during the 1940s and 50s including Tap Roots, The Swan, The Great Locomotive Chase that had scenes filmed around the city. Emma catered the on-location meals for Thunder Road and later hosted the cast and crews for nightlife at the Sky Club. Besides Mitchum, some of the other stars that visited were Fess Parker, Grace Kelly, Louis Jordan and Ward Bond. It was said that Susan Hayward (Stars of the Swan) would dine early on the first floor terrace dining room to avoid the crowd. Ward Bond was said to never drink alcohol, just iced coffee. Thunder Road actors also visited the nightclubs Casa Loma above the Plaza Theater in Pack Square, in downtown Asheville and Chez Paul on Merrimon avenue.

Emma sold the Sky Club in November of 1957 after filming had wrapped for Thunder Road to Castle in the Sky Corporation for $65,000. It would go through several different iterations of night club and restaurants before closing down in the late 1960s and sitting vacant for a number of years. It was remodeled in 1983 by Pat Whalen and Steven Brady into luxury condos, which it still exists as today. The property is also said to have a lot of supernatural activity.

Thunder Road Film Crew and vehicles at The Sky Club

With the actors fed and entertained daily, progress still needed to be made on the film. What was supposed to be a somewhat compressed filming schedule unraveled fairly quickly. The director Arthur Ripley would certainly not be making Thunder Road in his proposed 4 days. The working pace of the movie was very relaxed and Mitchum ran a very loose ship. Gene Barry who played Treasury Agent Troy Barrett arrived at the set thinking he would have a 3 week stay and discovered that it would last much longer. Barry was quoted as saying “I got there and - it was a nice little town, Asheville - I found they were making it up as they went along. Arthur Ripley was an elderly man, very intelligent, very articulate, knew camera angles, all the technical aspects. But he was very slow. And Jim Phillips would say to me, ‘Don’t Go, I’ve written a great scene for you.’ And my three weeks came and went and they kept me for another six weeks. And my wife would call and say, ‘when are you coming home?’ And I said, ‘Don’t complain, they’re changing my role!”

Mitchum encouraged his actors to go out and really soak up the mountain culture to better fit into their roles. Mitchum sent Gene Barry out to go with some of the real Treasury agents to go on a raid into the hills. Barry remembered “this group of tough-looking guys came up to the hotel, said ‘OK we’re here.’ And first they gave me a pair of boots to wear. Then they shoved a gun in my hand. I said, ‘What’s this for?’ They said, ‘you may have to protect yourself where we’re going.’ And we drove around the back roads up above Hendersonville, and then we went into the woods on foot. And then we came charging into this still someone had built there in the woods. But the moonshiners had been tipped off and got away with their goods. Somebody told them we were coming. It was very clannish around there. Or maybe Mitchum tipped them off, you never know!”

Filming took the crews out to Reems Creek, where they filmed many of the driving sequences. While there, they also filmed all of the scenes at the old farm homestead (Rillow Valley) where Mitchum is seen on the old farm. He also spends the night at the Log Cabin Motor Court on Weaverville Highway, while he is waiting on repairs to his 1957 Ford after smashing through the police barricade. Other chase scenes were filmed off of Clingman avenue, where there is a roundabout that fronts the former Famer’s Federation building, now the Wedge Brewery, as well as the Phil Mechanic construction building. The crew also went north of downtown Asheville to a small Esso station, which is now the site of the EnMark gas station close to Harris Teeter. The location of the former Play World pool hall adjacent to City Foreign auto supply appears as an A&P grocery store adjoining the gas station, which is blown up in the movie when they find that Lucas Doolin’s car has been rigged with explosives that detonate when the car is started with another bootlegger and a treasury agent take the car away.

For the exploding gas station scene, the movie crew worked with local man Lee Trent at his Merrimon avenue Atlantic gas station. The movie crew built a mock up Atlantic station that exactly duplicated Trent’s station to be blown up with TNT. Live scenes were shot at Trent’s station, which was selected by Mitchum. While filming occurred, police detoured traffic from Merrimon and had to keep curious onlookers back. The film crew turned Trent’s sales office into a make-up room where actors were rouged, mascaraed and powdered for their roles. The 38 year old actor/dealer was reimbursed by DRM productions for the time that was needed to film the scenes at the station. Lee Trent was also on the payroll for his role in the scene before the explosion. After the filming, Trent reported a sharp increase in business from folks who were anxious to buy from a station that appeared on the nation’s movie screens. The movie crew were also customers of Trent’s too. Atlantic issued them all temporary credit cards so they could do business with Trent while on location in Asheville. He did all of the service work on some 15 trucks the company used during production. Trent was quoted in an Atlantic monthly newsletter about the film, saying “I didn’t get excited - nothing excited me, although just about everybody in town pulled into the station to ask if I was going to be in the picture.” He went on to say about Mitchum “Bob is a regular, down to earth fellow. In fact, the entire cast, producers and directors were wonderful to work with.” The site of this former gas station is not the EnMark gas station at 203 Merrimon avenue.

The set used for the exploding gas station scene in Thunder Road

Filming even went out to Transylvania county, where one of the crash scenes was filmed at Toxaway Falls. Interior scenes of the ATU office were filmed in the Asheville Federal Building on O’Henry Avenue. Many scenes were also filmed in the Mundy Cove area of Reems Creek.

Mitchum, although distracted by much attention from adoring female fans until his wife showed up, still managed to work hard and show up for filming every day. He could be out all night partying up at the Sky Club, show up and put a little bit of makeup on his face and turn it on for the movie. He also was known to sample his share of moonshine while making the film. While the movie was going on, he also made appearances at local events like the Hendersonville Apple Festival parade, riding in the back of a convertible. After the movie had concluded its filming in Asheville, Mitchum had his secretary Reva Frederick post an ad in the Asheville Citizen Times, thanking all of the locals for their hospitality and making his production crew feel so welcome. He even listed several of the cars for sale after the filming had concluded which included the following:

-1951 Ford 2 door with Thunderbird engine

-1950 Ford six cylinder, two door

-1950 Ford V-8, two door

One of the local mysteries that persists to this day is what actually happened to the 1951 Ford with the Thunderbird engine that served as the hero car of the movie. Many including Jim Mitchum say that he took it back to Hollywood with him and drove it to high school for several years and then kept it for another twenty or thirty years, before selling it to another hot rodder in the 1980s or 1990s that turned it into a drag racing car and painted it candy apple red. Some say the car exists in a garage over in West Asheville, rotting away and waiting to be discovered. It was also rumored that the Edsels that Mitchum purchased down on Coxe at Deppe Motors avenue still exist in Asheville, but no one knows for sure. Many remembered that the 1957 Ford that Carey Loftin wrecked during the infamous crash scene remained in Asheville, on display as a showpiece above Jerry Sternberg’s junkyard, Edaco down on Amboy road in the River Arts District, close to the New Asheville Motor Speedway.

After filming was completed on the movie, reviewers had choice words about Thunder Road and what they termed “B movie dramatics.” Some reviewers were quoted as saying it had “certain zombielike performances and flat, even primitive visuals (of which they did not discount director Arthur Ripley’s random moments of surrealism and poetic images, including the final short cutaway shot of the nocturnal road, with distant car beams dancing like fireflies at the absolute edge of the screen). Many people don’t remember Thunder Road as one of Robert Mitchum’s greatest works of film, but its real distinction is more personal than that. Taking into account Mitchum’s bohemian life and vagabond upbringing, the movie simply contains more of Robert Mitchum - more of his actual creative participation along with his heart, soul and mind than any other movie. Arthur Ripley was asked to comment on the film, but declined as he said he was too busy grading papers and setting up exams for his students at UCLA. He said no one would want to hear what his opinion was as he had nothing good to say about the film and that “they” wouldn’t let him make it how he wanted to.

There are many elements that parallel Mitchum’s own life which include high octane alcohol, fast cars and an existential character that doesn’t care if he lives or dies because he feels most alive when he is doing what he loves. There are many parallels to beat writers like Jack Kerouac that are in search of meaning by going through moments in life as quickly and intensely as possible. Prior to Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Mitchum embodies the anti-hero character: someone alienated, outside the law who feels without a home, even in his mother’s kitchen. There are glimpses in the movie of a close, yet dysfunctional family along with the film’s almost religious belief in a certain rugged individualism. Mitchum entertained an obsession with the Deep South, along with a fetish for high speed cars and lonely open roads where they could be wrung out for all of the punishment their V8 engines could take. Whereas other movies contained a diluted Mitchum character, this movie contained the most pure and high proof version of Mitchum’s brooding, fatalistic character that he poured out of himself onto the screen.

Thunder Road made its premiere in London on April 10, 1958, which was prior to the US opening in May of 1958. The movie made its way to other countries like Germany and Japan, where it became a cult classic. In Asheville, it played in movie theaters like the Plaza Theatre in Pack Square to an enthusiastic and crowded audience for many years after the movie was filmed. It was also a popular movie at drive-in theaters like the Dreamland Theatre off of Tunnel Road. It premiered in Asheville in May of 1958, where it smashed previous attendance records and was said to draw over 20,000 patrons at the Imperial Theater in downtown Asheville. Jim Mitchum may have helped boost these numbers, as he was in attendance at the Imperial Theater premier. In the movie's first 4 days of showing, it brought in $7,451 in ticket sales at the Imperial Theater. It was later confirmed that between the opening day of Thunder Road’s release at the Imperial Theater on May 9th and its closing on May 23 1958, a record 23,000 people bought tickets to see it. Asheville’s total population in 1958 was only around 65,000, so this represented around 34% of the local population alone at this one theater! It then went on to premier in over 600 different openings throughout the southeast.

Last week when we left off, Robert Mitchum was discovering his co-start, Keely Smith. Her voice was wafting through his car radio, singing the songs of her new album. Mitchum was enchanted and knew that she had to star in his movie!

The publicized story recalled Mitchum stuck in heavy LA Freeway traffic, where his mind had drifted off to the thoughts of salmon fighting their way upstream in one of his favorite fishing holes. All of a sudden, Louis Prima’s new recorded version of Autumn Leaves featuring Prima and Keely Smith came over the radio. He loved her phrasing, which reminded him of his good pal, Frank Sinatra. His theory was that anyone that could phrase that well would be a great actor. He went out and bought a copy of the record the next day and arranged a meeting with Keely Smith in San Francisco. Smith had been between shows and without adequate time to change, arrived at the meeting in canvas sneakers and ordinary clothes. Mitchum recalled being “absolutely knocked out by her."

This would be Keely’s acting debut and one of only several acting parts in movies. Smith would play his girlfriend, nightclub singer Francie Wymore, who he would visit when he was in Memphis and he cast Sandra Knight to play his girlfriend in Rillow Valley, “Roxanna.” This would be 19 year old Sandra Knight’s acting debut. Her father had been a security guard at MGM for many years, so she was familiar with Hollywood. Just like in real life, Mitchum couldn’t have just one woman by his side. He decided that he would cast many Asheville locals for extra and smaller parts when he descended on the town with his large crew in tow.

Before departing for filming, Mitchum wanted to get the music in order for the film. He was a big jazz aficionado and had a couple of ideas himself of songs that he wanted to write. He co-wrote two songs for the film, “The Whippoorwill” (which was the original working title of the movie before Thunder Road) and the title theme, “The Ballad of Thunder Road.” While he was writing “The Ballad of Thunder Road,” he struggled to find a melody he could match the lyrics to, until his mother tried the words against an old Norwegian dancing tune of that she knew, that was sort of a polka in nature. Mitchum himself recorded a version of “The Ballad'' for Capitol records, which in September 1957 rose to number 62 on the pop-rock charts.

It is an interesting song that combines rockabilly tones, but also alternates between minor and major keys. Robert’s version has more of an outlaw rockabilly sound to it than the version that was used for the movie, which was recorded by Randy Sparks. Mitchum had co-written the song with noted guitar player, composer and jazz musician, Jack Marshall. Robert’s version of “The Ballad” emphasizes his sonorous, basso-baritone voice. He later would go on to record “The Ballad of Thunder Road” on his own album, “Calypso is like so…” that featured Mitchum singing traditional Caribbean calypso music. The Ballad of Thunder Road also appeared on another Capitol record called “Shut Down” that was a 1963 compilation of Hot Rod songs with artists like Jan and Dean, as well as the Beach Boys. The song was later said to influence Bruce Springsteen in his song “Thunder Road.” The lyrics that Mitchum wrote and most notably remembered are:

“Let me tell the story, I can tell it all

About the mountain boy who ran illegal alcohol

His daddy made the whiskey, son, he drove the load

When his engine roared, they called the highway Thunder Road.

Sometimes into Asheville, sometimes Memphis town

The revenoors chased him but they couldn’t run him down

Each time they thought they had him, his engine would explode

He’d go by like they were standin’ still on that Thunder Road…”

— “The Ballad of Thunder Road,” words & music by Robert Mitchum, Don Ray & Jack Marshall

In autumn of 1957, Mitchum and his band of merrymakers stormed the little mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina. Just like when the U.S. Military took hold of the town during WWII, Mitchum and his team rented the entire Battery Park Hotel, as well as several other motels close by. Interestingly enough, Mitchum had arrived on the same plane as TV stars George “Superman” Reeves and Noel “Lois Lane” Neill, who were in town to do a personal appearance at City Auditorium. Bob knew he would need to cast many locals as extras, assemble a fleet of authentic moonshine hotrods and scout filming locations. First, Mitchum would start with assembling Asheville locals, outlaws, revenuers and moonshine men. According to a November 1957 issue of the Asheville Citizen Times, close to 500 people were hired for temporary employment in the movie, according to the local Employment Security Commission office.

One of these actors was Charles Elledge, principal of Marion High School and a veteran actor of the drama based around Daniel Boone, in Boone, North Carolina titled “Horn in the West.” Local ABC agent, Charles Giglia also played a bit part as one of the henchmen that worked for the villain, Carl Kogan. Giglia set the all time record for most moonshine stills captured in North Carolina: 1,297 backwoods stills. Giglia could have given Mitchum a run for his money with the times that he was shot and the thrilling chases he went on after moonshiners. He was known for having specially constructed boots that contained a holster for a small pistol. Giglia ended up having an incredible 26 year career working for the Alcohol Beverage Control Law Enforcement Team, which started in 1947, as soon as the state referendum was passed, allowing ABC stores in the city and county. For the role of Mitchum’s mother in Thunder Road, he chose Fairview local, Francis Koon. This was her only acting role and she went on to be a bookkeeper and accountant for Groce Funeral Home. She also was a long time member and director of music at East Asheville United Methodist Church. She was discovered by Mitchum, as she was a founding member of Asheville Community Theater. One of the other well known extras was local celebrity Farmer Russ, a popular radio disc jockey who would play the loud mouthed bozo in the nightclub sequence of the movie, while Keely Smith’s character is trying to just make it through her set.

Next on Mitchum’s list was lining up his fleet of Moonshine Hot Rods. The lead car in the movie, a 1951 Ford is one of the most memorable cars from the movie. The car has the body of a 1951 Ford, with a 1949 hood, grill and fenders on it. It had a high performance racing engine in it that was built by Canton native, Pender Fox - an accomplished racer in his own right. Fox was known for dominating the Smoky Mountain Speedway in Waynesville. The engine seen in the movie is the actual engine in the car - a 312 cubic inch Ford Y block V8 engine with 3 two barrel Holley carburetors on it. What is interesting about the lead car in the script is how detailed Mitchum is in describing the engine in this scene. He describes it as an “Offenhauser racing motor, with three carburetors, twin exhaust pipes, a supercharger, gear ratio change, an auxiliary fuel pump and aluminum pistons.” When he wrote the script, he was thinking the car would be a 1953 Mercury, which evolved when he arrived in Asheville and found actual bootlegger cars. Mitchum’s script calls for a wrenching session on the 1957 Ford that is purchased later, as well as the installation of two four barrel carburetors, but this never seemed to make it to the movie. Mitchum and his production crew had a hard time purchasing bootlegger cars because they changed hands so frequently as bootleggers with a little extra cash in their pockets frequently upgraded their cars.

At the beginning of the movie in the opening garage scene, Robert and Jim Mitchum (Lucas and Robin Doolin) review all the maintenance and special features of the car that included a special dump valve to lose all of the moonshine and oil sprayers to slick the road, as well as a rear bumper that could be rigged to fall off if a revenuer clamped onto it with a special attachment on their car. The scene is almost reminiscent of a scene at Q Branch in a James Bond movie. Local native Bill Parris was quoted as saying “I remember the producers coming to buy some of their cars from my dad and uncle. I also remember both my dad and uncle having to go to Sandy Bottoms to teach them how to spin the cars without running them in the river. A federal agent came to our house a few times looking for moonshine, as my family were moonshine runners after World War II.” Sandy Bottoms is an area off of road 191, on lower Brevard road, leading to highway 280 west that runs along the French Broad River and is very scenic.

The 1951 Ford and the 1957 Fords used in the movie were serviced during the evening at the Sawyer Motor Building, which was the home of Matthews Ford at 100 Coxe avenue in downtown Asheville. Although it only made a cameo appearance, there is a beautiful 1936 Ford Coupe Hot Rod that is one of the special cars belonging to Carl Kogan and his henchmen working in his garage. This car later came to be owned by long-time Asheville native John Bell, who turned the car into more of a modern day street rod, powered by a small block Chevy. The car in the movie featured a supercharged Ford Flathead V8.

While Mitchum’s movie cars were being serviced at the Sawyer Motor Building, Mitchum found himself across the street at Deppe Motors speaking to Mr. John Deppe, Asheville’s Edsel dealer where he bought two 1958 Edsel Citation, 4 door sedans, according to film records. Some locals remember seeing him riding around in an Edsel convertible as well. In early press releases, it was said that these would be used in the movie, but it seems that they served more of a support vehicle role than a “star car.” There is an Edsel pictured on one of the early movie posters, but there are no Edsels actually in the film.

Mitchum was said to make contact with some of Asheville’s other racing community members, including Banjo Matthews, aka “Mr. X” where Mitchum was said to have bought a race prepped Ford Flathead V8 engine to take back to California with him. Although the two most memorable cars in the movie are the 1951 Ford and the 1957 Fords driven by Mitchum, there are many other standard issue bootlegger cars like the 1940 Ford coupe scattered throughout the movie. Asheville Police officers are seen driving 1957 Chevrolet 210 post sedans throughout.

Robert and Jim Mitchum seemed to soak up as much of the Asheville automotive culture as they could during their stay. Locals remember seeing them attend the NASCAR races and late model sportsman auto races at McCormick Field. One local Asheville resident, whose father was the flagman at McCormick Field, remembered seeing them at several races while they were in town. On September 22nd 1957, The Sports Car Club of America’s Central Carolina chapter in collaboration with the Asheville Optimist Club hosted a car show and Gymkhana time trial driving event at McCormick Field that drew over 100 sports cars of all makes and models. Robert Mitchum was asked to be the honorary field marshal, which was heavily publicized in the Asheville Citizen Times paper. Another local tall tale is that Jim Mitchum entered the 1951 modified Ford sedan from Thunder Road in the gymkhana event and caused mischief and mayhem with his driving.

Although Robert Mitchum and some of his fellow actors were decent stunt drivers for blazing around the streets of Asheville, they needed someone more accomplished for the difficult and dangerous stunts. They hired veteran stunt driver Carey Loftin to pilot these muscular Fords to their demise and doom. Mitchum knew there would be many dangerous scenes in the movie that involved high speed turn-arounds, crash-throughs and flip-overs - as well as driving on dark and dangerous mountain roads.

A 1958 Motor Trend article on the movie mentioned that “The toughest stunt of the picture came when Robert Mitchum speeds along a deserted mountain road at night, wheels around a gradual curve and suddenly comes upon a barricade made of two cars set face to face in the middle of the road. In a split second, he has to decide whether to stop and face the hi-jackers’ guns or attempt to get through. Spotting daylight between the two cars he bends low over the wheel, presses the accelerator to the floor and heads for the opening.” To pull off this scene, Loftin hired out a garage and had a roll cage installed in the interior of the 1957 Ford, as well as a larger, wider and thicker front bumper made so that he could crash through both cars. The reinforced front bumper was said to be made out of a piece of railroad track. Loftin also had an emergency grab bar installed on the back of the passenger seat, right where his hand would be to stabilize himself during the roll and installed double seatbelts. To help stabilize the car, 300 pounds of extra weights were strapped down in the trunk of the car and the hood was wired shut, so as to not fly up if the factory latch broke. The car only was filled with a gallon of gas, so as to reduce fire risk if the gas tank should become punctured.

Loftin and Mitchum came up a month before filming began and scouted the area for some of the best roads. Loftin prepared for all of his driving in a very methodical way, mapping out roads, preparing the cars and thoroughly inspecting them carefully, leaving nothing to chance. He also required at least 24 hours notice to give him time to lie in bed the night before, mentally solving any potential hazards. Just like Mitchum, Loftin also liked to party hard. One night when he was out drinking, a group of actors bought 6 dozen baby chicks from a farmers convention being held in the lobby of the Battery Park Hotel and put them into Carey’s hotel room. Then, everyone waited for Carey to stumble home after having a good deal of liquor. Loftin came and the chicks were all over his room and so were their droppings with Loftin flopping and floundering in the dark through the middle of all of this. This remained a recurring joke on the set for weeks.

Carey Loftin was the stuff legends are made of and many people in Hollywood remembered him as such. Carey had been doing automotive stunts in Hollywood for decades and would continue to do so for another 40 years. Loftin had grown up on a farm in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and earned his living as a touring motorcycle daredevil crashing into brick walls, before becoming a Hollywood stuntman in 1936. Many said that he had superhuman abilities at the wheel and extraordinary eyesight. His wife remembered that he could see through the fog and things that would be just a blur to you or me. Loftin’s widow remembered that “It was like everything moved slower for him and gave him more time to adjust to it. His reactions were so fast that he could catch a flying bug between two fingers just putting his hand up - just two fingers.” Prior to arriving in Asheville, he had doubled in a motorcycle stunt for Marlon Brando in The Young Lions. He had to bleach his hair blonde for that movie and Mitchum made a big production out of having him dye it into a darker color to mimic his hair at a local beauty parlor, with the locals watching.

Many of the crew remembered Loftin as a dashing and exuberant fellow who liked to impress people with his driving skills. Thunder Road’s final, climactic scene involved Mitchum’s character Lucas Doolin sliding off the road to his demise after his car hits a revenuer’s “wampus trap” or as we know it today a “spike strip” and rolls his car into an electrical transformer. Loftin approached the cameraman and asked him for his “mark.” The camera man responded with a confused look. Loftin again asked “where do you want the car to come to a stop?” The 1957 Ford was supposed to roll over out of control and spin until it got to the jerry rigged electrical transformer.

The cameraman and crew hadn’t really thought about the precision involved in the stunt. When Carey asked him where the car should land, the cameraman shrugged his shoulders and just pointed to a spot on the ground close by. Carey had been smoking a cigarette under a tree while waiting for them to set up the shot. He took one last puff on his cigarette and placed the smoldering butt on the ground, where the cameraman had pointed to. He then got in the car, drove down the road and spun around, waiting for the signal before moving out. Loftin raced the engine up to a roar, screeching in a control slide, skidded, flipped into a barrel roll and came to an abrupt stop into the transformer. Carey, unhurt, climbed out of the car, to the applause of the cast and crew. As they moved towards the front of the car, they saw Carey’s cigarette butt lying dead center below the front of the fender. Although Loftin wasn’t hurt, Mitchum was hurt during the scene. In his excitement to congratulate Carey, Robert tripped in a hole in the ground near the car and broke a small bone in his ankle. Loftin would later go on to work on other legendary automotive movies like The French Connection, Grand Prix, Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Duel and Days of Thunder.

Tune in next week for part 3 of our 4 part series on the history of Thunder Road while it was filmed in Asheville!

On a quiet, nondescript late summer day in 1957, a man wandered into the town of Asheville, North Carolina. He decided to check into a room at the Battery Park Hotel and tramp around town. His family, on his father’s side, traced some of their roots to a small town outside of Charleston, South Carolina called “Lane”, so he was somewhat familiar with the area. He was trying to sell his wife Dorothy on a vacation home in the Carolinas, but wasn’t sure if she would bite (she didn’t). He had an idea to make his first movie in the Carolinas, a movie about bootleggers but didn’t know where to start. In his head, he pictured being crouched down in the woods, listening to the sound of his own breath, inhaling the smell of hickory smoke and sour mash as his path was lit by sparkling stars and moonlight.

Day by day, he would transform himself into his main character - bootlegger, Lucas Doolan. This man was Robert Mitchum, a larger than life actor, poet, singer and part time beatnik who was trying to strike out on his own in his debut as director/actor/producer with his production company, DRM Productions (DRM stood for Dorothy and Robert Mitchum) to produce a movie that would go down in local lore and become a cult classic, Thunder Road. The movie was originally titled “Jack O’ Diamonds” then "The Whippoorwill" based on songs that were being written for the movie before finally landing on Thunder Road.

In his journey to produce his first movie, Robert Mitchum had traveled a long road. He started his career acting in B movies and half bit westerns. Living in California, Robert had observed some of the car culture that was being created out west through his son Jim. He had even bought an old service station and hired a mechanic to help Jim work on his 1955 Ford Thunderbird and his Hot Rod. Robert himself owned many unique cars, including a 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark and a 1955 Jaguar XK120. He’d pal’d around with Sinatra and other men of great stature and style. He’d spent most of his life living out a Jack Kerouac type lifestyle reminiscent of Kerouac’s book, On The Road. Mitchum had caused a stir, running from one place to another, from one woman to another and seeking out music and culture along the way. He started his career with the eccentric and off putting inventor, Howard Hughes at RKO studios in what turned out to be an excruciatingly difficult career, when finally his contract ended. He made his way to United Artists, where he would find a home for his own production company, DRM Productions.

Mitchum had been stewing on the idea of a bootlegger movie for several years. Thunder Road was his first personal production with DRM Productions. He wrote an article for the Hollywood Reporter that had his usual flair and swagger stating “You got problems? Well, climb on the pad and tell old Dad. I don’t have any. Or, I didn’t have any until producing a picture messed me up. As the man said, It all started with a cloud in the sky no bigger than a man’s fist. Home crouched on the couch one night, it occurred to me that we might get a motion picture out of moonshiners and government tax men trying to outwit each other in the southeastern area of these United States.”

For years, Mitchum had been asked to help write some dialogue and clean up wording on scripts that he had worked on, but never written a full length movie. He also was a voracious reader and would often write poetry in his downtime while filming. He knew he would need a true screenwriter to complete this project though. Mitchum met a smart, affable writer who was working for Batjac, John Wayne’s production company named James Atlee Phillips. Phillips was a Texas newspaperman turned mystery novelist who had written The Case of the Shivering Chorus Girls and Suitable for Framing. He was described as “a tyro scenarist and footloose character with a fertile imagination.” Mitchum and Phillips hit it off immediately and began discussing the actor’s idea for a movie about the southern moonshine business. Mitchum had been tinkering with a storyline about an ex-soldier who had returned to his Smoky Mountain home, running illegal liquor across the state, that outwits and outran the authorities. Another writer, Walter Wise, had done a draft of this story, but it needed a lot of work. Mitchum wanted the movie to have a more gritty, insiders feel, which would inspire a research trip for him and Phillips.

Mitchum and Jim Phillips decided they would take a research trip to visit his brother, CIA Agent David Atlee Phillips in Washington, D.C. David Atlee Phillips was a rising star in the CIA and would later be connected with the Bay of Pigs invasion and “numerous other attention-getting CIA operations in North and Central America.” Some conspiracy buffs even later claimed that he had a part in the assassination of President Kennedy. Mitchum recalled that when he and Jim Phillips came to see David at his office, it was located behind a false front wall, with the facade of a brewery. Jim’s brother David made a couple of phone calls, which helped smooth the way for them to meet with officials at the Treasury Department.

Robert did what he did best and began to charm officers of the department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division, explaining his desire to make a film documenting the battle against the evil moonshine empire in the American South. Mitchum and Phillips walked away from their meeting with a promise of full cooperation for his project. The week went by quickly as he and Jim Phillips flipped through Alcohol and Tobacco’s criminal files and case histories. The two then decided to carry on their research at the Library of Congress, learning more about the ancestry of southern mountain families and spending some time listening to the library’s collection of regional folk music and rare “hillbilly” recordings.

At some point after this research trip, Mitchum decided to just show up in Asheville, North Carolina, “The Land of the Sky,” a popular vacation destination in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville also happens to be the birthplace of Thomas Wolfe, who was a writer that Mitchum had always greatly admired. Asheville itself had a large moonshine trade that did a lot of business with Newport, Tennessee: the source of liquor for many bootleggers and runners for Asheville. Asheville was also a hotbed of automobile racing activity at the time and was a stop on the NASCAR circuit, with two local race tracks and many good mechanics in the surrounding area. Many of these NASCAR mechanics serviced bootlegger cars, to modify them for more speed.

Mitchum checked in at the Battery Park Hotel and with his introduction and authorization from Washington, he phoned the treasury’s man in Asheville, John Corbin to arrange a meeting. When Mitchum called Corbin, Corbin thought it was a crank call and replied “are you some kinda joker?” “Robert Mitchum the movie man?” After their phone call, they set up a meeting and Corbin brought along Al Dowtin, “a respected local legend and overachiever, former sports hero, former FBI agent and champion golfer, who was now head of the local ABC Board. Dowtin recalled “I was chief of the law enforcement for the Asheville ABC. The Liquor stores had just been voted in, in North Carolina and so liquor sales had just become legal in Asheville at the ABC Store; but prior to that, the only liquor we had coming in to Asheville, which is a town of fifty-six thousand people, well, it was illegal.”

Weighed down with armloads of information from his and Phillips’ research and meetings, Mitchum still needed inspiration on who was going to be the character and leading man role he would play. According to research done by noted historian Kate Clabough and ATG agent Grant McGarity, the man who would inspire the leading character of Lucas Doolin was from Cocke County Tennessee. Kate found in her research and a phone call to Cocke County Circuit Court Judge Ben Hooper not only the origin of the driver, but his name as well. Hooper said “Thunder Road” was based on the life of a man named Rufus Gunter. He didn’t die like Mitchum’s character, but he certainly lived like him.” Gunter was a legendary whiskey runner from Cocke County, who died in 1953 after running his car off the J. Will Taylor Bridge that crosses the Holston River in East Knox County. Before his death, Gunter raced stock cars and Hooper got to ride with him when he was a young boy.

Hooper remembered “I remember my Uncle George Poe taking me to see Rufus Gunter race in Knoxville. He talked him into giving me a ride. He drove a ‘37 or ‘38 Ford. I remember the car had no passenger seat so I sat down low on the floor. The car bounced all over. I was scared to death. I wouldn’t say it was a good experience.”

In Kate’s investigation into the true identity of Thunder Road’s inspiration for its main character, Lucas Doolin (played by Robert Mitchum), she came across a couple other sources that pointed the finger at Gunter. Ronnie Moore, son of east Tennessee racing hall of fame legend Ralph Burdette “Duck” Moore said his dad knew Gunter well. The two of them raced against one another at various tracks in the South throughout the early 50’s until Gunter’s death took him out of the circuit. They both ran a little moonshine, which had been known as a “training program” for racers like Junior Johnson. Clabough also received two anonymous letters that claimed Gunter was the inspiration for the character, Lucas Doolin. One of the letters stated that Rufus’ father, Pinkney Gunter, made moonshine in a place called Mountain Rest in upper Cosby, in Cocke County. After Rufus’ death, his family was approached by Mitchum’s people about making a movie based on their son’s exploits. At first, Rufus’ father refused, but eventually they were able to get his mother to sign the release.

In the second letter that Kate received, the 84 year old author also confirmed Gunter’s identity and added “The revenuers chased him so fast that he ran off the highway into the lake under the bridge at Swan’s Boat Dock. I went to the lake to watch when they were dragging it for his body.” The writer also claimed that Gunter was born about 1920, which would have made him about 33 years old when his life ended during his last moonshine run. The name Thunder Road was a term coined by the Feds that denoted an ongoing pursuit of any moonshiner worth chasing.

Even with this information for the foundation of a character based on Gunter, Mitchum was also continuing to develop his character, Lucas Doolin. Doolin, a brooding recent Korean War Veteran who had served in the 32nd Regiment 7th Army Division (seen hanging on a battle pennon when he entered his room at his mother’s house) was conflicted between two worlds. He had seen the horrors of war and experienced the sights and sounds of an entire world away. This particular military unit was sent in to stop the invasion of South Korea under Lieutenant Colonel Don Faith. Despite Doolin’s experiences in the war, his heart still belongs in Rillow Valley and yet has an unrequited feeling of wanting more out of life. He seems to not care about anything except hauling moonshine and living in the moment, not getting close to anyone or forming any true intimate relationships.

After all of their field work and research, Mitchum and Phillips returned to Hollywood, to set about putting together a cast and crew for Thunder Road. Mitchum’s choice for a director was described as “unconventional, yet emblematic.” He chose sixty two year old Arthur Ripley, who was known as “an eccentric and mysterious figure in American film circles.” For all of the people that had worked with him over the past forty years, there were many stories about his behavior and appearance that had generated as many stories as his unquestionable talent. Many actors and crew commented about his gloomy demeanor, shouting and poor hygiene. He was known to hardly change clothes or bathe and according to one story, while filming a movie for Walter Wanger in the 1930s, Ripley looked so dreadful that the crew hid him under blankets when the producer visited the sets. Although he was not a conventional choice, he was the obvious choice for Mitchum, as he was typically drawn to eccentrics and oddballs. Mitchum was quoted as saying “he was a very gifted man and a drinking fellow. A tall, sonorous, big-nose character from Brooklyn teaching at UCLA when we nailed him.” Robert’s assistant, Reva Frederick had other ideas saying “We found Arthur Ripley. Oh boy. He was one hundred and ninety years old or looked it. He liked to drink, and when he drank he didn’t know where he was, where he lived or how to get back home. Robert liked him.”

Arthur Ripley also had a connection to Asheville as well. He had previously adapted a screenplay of Thomas Wolfe’s “Look Homeward Angel” in 1945. While filming Thunder Road, he gifted his copy of the screenplay to the Pack Memorial Library, in a ceremony held at Julia Wolfe’s boarding house, “The Old Kentucky Home.” Although the movie was never made, Ripley did shoot some scenes around Asheville and Chapel to try to find other supporters of the project after friends of his had invested a fair amount of their money in it. At one point, American film producer and director David O. Selznick formed a releasing organization and wanted to do “Look Homeward Angel,” but his organization went broke before Ripley could get the script ready. He was later forced to sell the script to Paramount, who did not ever do anything with it because they did not believe it would be a commercial success. Thomas Wolfe’s nephews were invited to hang out during filming of Thunder Road. During a break, they asked Ripley if he thought their Uncle was a good writer to which Ripley replied “he was one of the best I ever knew.”

Robert had even bigger ideas about casting the part of his younger brother, Robin in Thunder Road. Mitchum decided he wanted Elvis Presley to co-star alongside him. Elvis had just appeared in his first movie, Love Me Tender and apparently stole the show from Mitchum’s friend Richard Egan. Robert showed up at Elvis’ hotel suite one day with the screenplay and a fifth of scotch. Some members of the Memphis Mafia were hanging around and escorted Robert into the hotel suite. Elvis was a fan of Robert’s work and was said that the inspiration for his high, upswept pompadour hairstyle came from Mitchum. This seemed to amuse Mitchum as he poured drinks and laid out the script while they made small talk. Elvis was said to love his stories of escaping a change gang as a troubled youth, outrunning police bloodhounds during his escape and other tall tales. After feeling like they had established some friendly rapport, Mitchum supposedly said “Here’s the fuckin’ script - let’s get together and do it.” Elvis told Mitchum that he would have to run it past his manager, the infamous Colonel Tom Parker. Mitchum, obviously annoyed by this statement said “Fuck, I’m talking to you. I don’t need to talk to your manager. Let’s do the picture.” “Well, I can’t,” said Elvis. “Not unless the Colonel says I can.”

For Asheville residents, Thunder Road is something of a legend but the thought of having Elvis and Mitchum invade their town is beyond comprehension. This missed opportunity, stymied by Col. Parker was tragic, as his main priority was cold, hard cash and nothing more. Although no documentation exists of Parker’s correspondence with Mitchum, the story goes that the price for Presley in Thunder Road was most of the movie’s estimated budget, which stopped any discussion right in its tracks. Despite not accepting the role, Presley still accepted an invitation to Mitchum’s house in Mandeville Canyon, outside of Hollywood one weekend. Mitchum’s younger son, Chris Mitchum remembered being stunned by the visit. He was used to seeing people like Gregory Peck, Jane Russell and other neighbors on a regular basis. To him they were just “neighbors” but here was a real star sitting on their piano bench with his dad! Robert and Elvis sang and laughed, playing the piano and then sat down for a meal of roast beef at the Mitchum family dinner table.

After being turned down by Elvis, Robert decided to look for someone a little closer to him to play the part of his kid brother Robin: his sixteen year old son Jim. Jim had grown up to be the size of his father already and kept getting bigger. Robert thought, why not give him a taste of the family business and cast him for the part, offering him a salary of $280 a week. Mitchum hired his other young son, Chris to play an extra in the movie. In the scene where there is a bluegrass band, Chris can be seen playing the washboard. It was his first acting gig and reportedly paid him $10.

Robert Mitchum assembled an inspired cast of other rising Hollywood stars like Gene Barry (the Federal lawman who later starred in Burke’s Law and the Twilight Zone), Jacques Aubuchon (the gangster villain Carl Kogan), Mitch Ryan and Peter Breck (young gangster punks) and the singer and Las Vegas lounge sensation, Keely Smith. Smith was married to the singer and entertainer Louis Prima who had rising in popularity quickly. Robert saw her as playing the part of his night club singing girlfriend Francie. Robert’s manager Reva Frederick remembered Mitchum running into the office one day and saying “I have heard the greatest record of all time!” referring to Smith’s 1957 recording of “Autumn Leaves.”

**Tune in for our next segment on how Mitchum assemble his all-star cast and more trivia in part 2 of Thunder Road!

When a new model year turned over for the automotive industry, it was an event that was not to be missed! No matter what far flung corner of the country you lived in, the car dealers would be building anticipation in your town for months. The showroom windows would be covered with paper and the new model cars would be delivered to the back of the dealer under the cloak of darkness. Families would make reservations at the best steakhouse in town and get dressed up in their very best finery. Locals in Asheville would have preferred the S&W Cafeteria or the Peddler Steakhouse - maybe even Buck's restaurant in the famous "Red Room." Many of these events would feature an entertainer or some kind of gimmick to draw more people into the showroom. Coxe avenue and the Asheville Motor Mile were no different. Parkland Chevrolet was bringing in Dinah Shore to sing "See the USA in your Chevrolet!" while other dealers in town were bringing in local bands and Beatles Imitators.

Despite all of the individual dealer efforts, the Asheville Dealer's association had one event that would bring everyone to one central location: the 1963 Asheville Motorama. It was held in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which prior to the addition of the Civic Center addition in the 1970s, hosted many civic functions and meetings, in addition to being a concert venue and public auditorium.

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (center) next to the George Vanderbilt hotel (right)

The Motorama would feature the local band, Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks, as well as the headliner of the event, Mrs. Maria Beale Fletcher - Asheville native and winner of the Miss America Pageant n 1962. Her parents, Robert and Daisy Fletcher were talented dancers and were founders of the long running Fletcher School of Dance in Asheville.

The lovely Maria Beale Fletcher pictured with a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville from Harry's Cadillac and Pontiac of Asheville, North Carolina.

Looking through the program, one of the highlights is of course the beautiful American classic cars, as well as the many foreign car brands. Although Asheville was a smaller mountain town during the 1960s, it was very cosmopolitan and on the cusp of change that was gripping the rest of the nation with the change in the presidency. Kennedy was in office and the youth movement was really taking off! Younger car buyers wanted cars that were fast, colorful and most importantly fun! The muscle car movement was just beginning, with smaller cars with large engines.

Some of the car makes on display were:

-Rambler

-Pontiac

-Cadillac

-Ford

-Plymouth

-Chrysler

-Volkswagen and Porsche

-Buick

-Dodge

-Chevrolet

-Lincoln/Mercury

-Oldsmobile.

If you close your eyes and let your imagination go wild, you can smell the faint linger of gasoline, fried corn dogs and popcorn filling the auditorium as the public milled about the show. As your freshly polished loafers slid across the basketball floor in the hall at the time, you would have been blinded by the overhead lighting reflecting the glow of gallons of chrome. Climbing aboard one of these magnificent machines, you would have sunken into a beautiful brocade or silk lined interior. These type of events and these cars were designed to make you feel a certain way, some might describe as sophistication or elegance. It wasn't about the price of the car, no that would come later.

Take a look through an actual copy of the program! Were you at the show then? What do you remember?

View from near Church Street, looking towards the future Coxe avenue, circa late 1800s. The Ravenscroft School for Boys is situated on the hill in the right. Photo courtesy of Dale Slusser.

Many people that are new to Asheville or first-time visitors probably do not know; Asheville was a serious car town. Asheville had developed some of the highest quality roads in the area, thanks to George Vanderbilt. George Vanderbilt had first been exposed to automobiles while traveling in France in 1906 and fell in love with automobiles, taking his first road trip throughout the countryside there. When he got back to his Biltmore Estate in Asheville, he became involved with the Buncombe County Good Roads commission to improve the roads in Asheville. This involved leveling out many steeper roads and paving them with macadam paving. Macadam paving is a process that involves compressing crushed stone into pavement, which was first developed in Scotland. The commission had started as early as 1899 when bicycles were becoming very popular.

First automobile dealers association meeting, 1907, picture in Pack Square

As more wealthy tourists came to Asheville to visit, they increasingly brought their cars with them. Several men in town became more aware of this and started dealers to supply cars and service for them. It was decided that with the increase in cars in Buncombe County, Asheville needed its own automotive district. An area in Asheville that was known as Buxton Hill became this spot almost accidentally. A man named Edwin Wiley Grove, who had made his fortune in patent medicine called “Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic,” which was mostly alcohol but contained quinine, which cured Malaria. Grove amassed a large fortune with this medicine and began to look elsewhere to invest his money. His medicine company was based in St. Louis, Missouri, which was full of factories belching smoke into the sky. Whether it was too much work, poor air quality or both. Grove began to develop some respiratory ailments. Like many others, he had been sent to Asheville by his doctor to cure his respiratory ailments by breathing fresh mountain air. When he arrived in Asheville, he was amazed by the natural beauty and open land ready to be developed. He purchased a large tract below Sunset Mountain and began to build the Grove Park Inn, a high end lodge style inn that would be “Built for the Ages.” It mainly catered to wealthy business travelers that wanted to rest and recuperate with fine dining and quiet surroundings.

Construction of Coxe Avenue, demolition of Buxton Hill and newly constructed Battery Park hotel off in the distance.

Looking to further expand his land holdings, Grove looked towards downtown Asheville. In 1923, E.W. Grove began demolishing the original Battery Park hotel that was owned by Frank and Tench Coxe. It was perched atop Battery Hill, which was an original battery garrison and lookout point during the Civil War. Not only did Grove demolish the Battery Park hotel, he leveled the entire hill, dramatically changing the landscape of downtown Asheville. He had to move all of the dirt somewhere and it was decided that the land south of Broadway (now modern day Coxe avenue) would receive all of this dirt, to fill in the ravine that ran through this area. The dirt was excavated by steam shovel and moved by wagon cart to fill in the ravine and create an extra-wide avenue for commercial and vehicle traffic. This job was said to have been taken up by John Bohannon of the Catawba Construction Company of Hickory, who later made Asheville his home.

A newly constructed Coxe Avenue, beginning to take shape

Starting in 1923, Coxe Avenue began to take shape as Asheville’s first zoned “motor mile”. To further flatten the area, demolition of some of the surrounding hills like Buxton Hill started to take place. Buxton Hill was named for Reverend Jarvis Buxton, who along with his wife ran the North State Fitting school, where a young Thomas Wolfe, author of Look Homeward Angel attended school as a young man. The area was also home to the Ravenscroft School for Boys, which was funded and staffed by the Episcopal Diocese of Trinity Episcopal, on Church street.

One of the first car dealers that was constructed was the Richbourg Motor Building, which started by selling Ford and Lincoln Products. It was constructed like a parking garage, with circular ramps connecting all three floors of the building. At the time, they even parked cars on the roof. Many auto dealers were constructed like this in Asheville, as there was more vertical space to be used, than flat, level land, being in the mountains. This building was first constructed in 1926, by J.A. Richbourg. It later became Parkland Chevrolet, when it was purchased by Robert Hunter and the Ford Franchise was sold from J.A. Richbourgh and transferred to Raymond Matthews, at Matthews Motors.

Richbourg Motor Building in later years, burned in the 1980s. Formerly located at 51 Coxe Avenue

The next building to pop up on the Coxe avenue motor mile was the Sawyer Motor Building, also constructed in 1926. It was designed by the architect, Victor W. Breeze from Charlotte, North Carolina, who was said to have briefly lived in Asheville. It was built by L.L. Merchant, who was famous for much of the work that he did on the Oakley subdivision in East Asheville. The man behind the dealer, Eugene Coston Sawyer would go on to influence Asheville and leave more of a lasting automotive legacy than almost any of the other automobile men of this time period. Eugene Sawyer was the son of James Pinckney (known as Captain Sawyer for his service in the Civil War) and Nancy Coston Sawyer and the grandson of Asheville’s first mayor, Isaac B. Sawyer. He would have been familiar with the land of Coxe avenue, as he was a graduate of the Ravenscroft School of Asheville, located just above where he would build the Sawyer Motor Building.

Various Images of the Sawyer Motor Building, constructed 1925-1926

Sawyer was said to bring the first automobile to Asheville that anyone had seen. He brought a 1900 Locomobile steam-powered car to his brother Clarence’s grocery store on Pack Square to advertise Colgate Octagon Soap. He owned his own bicycle shop and was an avid rider, starting several bike riding clubs that would hold events in town. He went on to build his own car, powered by a 2 cylinder internal combustion Brennan Motor and built with spare parts from his bike shop. He was said to later sell this car to Rutherford P. Hayes, the son of president Rutherford B. Hayes who developed much of West Asheville. Hayes turned the car into a powered tractor/mower for his farm. It was said that one day the speed control unit or governor failed, took off and crashed the machine into a tree on his farm.

A young Eugene Sawyer

Eugene Sawyer (far left) and a 1915 Hudson race car

Sawyer’s original car dealer, Asheville Cycle and Automobile Company, started around 1906. It was located at 15 Lexington Avenue, selling bicycles and used cars. He had started selling bicycles as early as 1890. He began selling automobiles in 1901 and sold one of the first one cylinder Cadillacs to Tench Coxe in 1901. Soon after, he began selling Hudson automobiles as early as 1910.

Later on, Sawyer moved his dealer to Church Street, still under the name of the Asheville Cycle and Automobile company. In 1904, he sold a Chalmers-Detroit automobile to George Vanderbilt. He would go on to sell him 5 more cars, as well as help him find a chauffeur to maintain and drive these cars for him around the estate. One of the last cars he sold him was a 1913 Stevens Duryea, which was Edith Vanderbilt’s personal car and is still owned by the Biltmore Estate. It was one of the first cars to feature electric headlights, when most cars used gas powered lights or carbide lanterns.

As the Coxe motor mile was being developed, Sawyer moved into a brand new, state of the art building at 100 Coxe avenue that would become the Sawyer Motor building. It started out as a two story building in 1925. Then, realizing he needed more space, he added two additional stories in 1926. At this time, he was no longer selling Hudson, but had moved on to Dodge, Plymouth, Studebaker and Graham Brothers Trucks. Graham Brothers was an early commercial truck manufacturer that had a Dodge Engine and driveline - that was marketed by Dodge. In an early attempt to recycle, Sawyer developed an oil stove that burned used motor oil to heat the building. He would go on to occupy this building until 1940, when he leased it to Raymond Matthews of the Matthews Motor Company, one of the largest Ford dealers in town. Matthews Motors would occupy the building until the early 1960s, when Skyland Motor Company moved in - selling Oldsmobile and later adding Mercedes and Jeep vehicles to the franchise. Skyland would stay for about 10 years, when they moved to Smokey Park highway. During the 1970s many other car dealers and businesses were moving out of downtown Asheville. The Sawyer building would go on to become the Coleman Tire Factory, which performed some mechanical service work and manufactured retread tires inside the building. In the 1990s, it became Precision International, a foreign car repair service run by Randy Richards until it was re-developed in 2003 by Harry Pilos and turned into condominiums and office space, which it still is to this day.

Matthews Motors, Corner of Coxe and Hilliard Avenue. Homes visible on Asheland Avenue behind.

Some of the streets that adjoined the motor mile of Coxe avenue at this time were mostly residential. Today, they have all become commercial or residential. The streets of Asheland Avenue and Hilliard avenue contained homes, boarding houses and small businesses. Almost all of this has been demolished in the present day, with almost none of these large Queen Anne style boarding houses still existing. Further south of Coxe Avenue, was the Southside neighborhood, which was the majority black neighborhood. This area encompassed all of the land from Southside Avenue to Depot Street in the River Arts District. Like many other cities at the time, many businesses in downtown Asheville were segregated. Black citizens of Asheville were not legally allowed to buy cars from white owned car dealers, but had many other avenues other than walking through the front door to buy a car. Black citizens would sometimes hire a white car broker to pay cash and purchase a car for them from the motor mile. There were also off-times, when they could sneak to the back entrance of one of these dealers and purchase a car for cash. At this time, there were not any black owned car dealers in this area during the 1920s, but there were several black owned taxi services, like Glenn Cab company, that was owned by a man named Southside Glenn, who was black and employed an entire staff of white chauffeurs, that drove only Packard sedans.

There were many different car related businesses in this area, but the main focus of this article was to cover the dealers that lined Coxe avenue and to describe the overall development of this area, which is now known as the South Slope neighborhood of Asheville and is home to many breweries, restaurants and businesses. As we go forward with this series, we’ll highlight many of these individuals in depth that were fixtures of the motor mile and later changed Asheville in many ways.

Stayed tuned for part two of the Coxe Avenue Motor Mile series. There is more history, people and car dealers to explore in this area. So much history happened on this corridor. There were several other areas in downtown Asheville that sold cars to wealthy and famous tourists that we will explore as well. As we continue to explore Asheville’s automotive history, we’ll look at automotive racing in Asheville, airplane history, trains and streetcars that went through town and much more.