October 14, 2025 • 19 mins
Like most of us, William S. Jackson, became involved with automobiles at an early age. During the early 1950’s, he was a member Penn State University’s hot rod club, and in the mid-50’s he was racing in SCCA events with a Jaguar 120-M and some Morgans. After his military service, he completed his degree at Penn State and began a lifelong career in journalism. His editorship of major vintage car clubs magazines during the 1960’s and 70’s gives Bill credit as one the founders who launched the then-fledgling “old car hobby” turning it into the vibrant community and economic powerhouse that it is today.
Bill is a charter member of the Society of Automotive Historians, founded in October of 1969. And during the Annual SAH Awards Banquet in 2023 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bill presented his Auto-Biography to the banquet audience, including his recollections of the early days of the SAH; and the following recording was made by Bill, from that same script, in 2024.
===== (Oo---x---oO) =====
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This episode is sponsored in part by THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS (SAH); The SAH encourages research into any aspect of automotive history, and actively supports the compilation and preservation of papers, organizational records, print ephemera, and images to safe-guard, broaden, and deepen the understanding of motorized, wheeled land transportation through the modern age and into the future. For further information on the SAH visit www.autohistory.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Break Fix Podcast is all about capturingthe living history of people from all
over the autos sphere, from wrench,turners, and racers to artists, authors,
designers, and everything in between.
Our goal is to inspire a new generationof Petrolhead that wonder how did they
get that job or become that person.
The road to success is paved by allof us because everyone has a story.
(00:27):
Like most of us, William S. Jackson becameinvolved with automobiles at an early age.
During the early 1950s, he was a memberof Penn State University's hot rod
club, and in the mid 1950s, he beganracing in SECA events with a Jaguar
one 20 M and later some Morgans.
After his military service, he completedhis degree at Penn State and began
(00:48):
a lifelong career in journalism.
His editorship of major vintage carclubs, magazines during the 1960s
and seventies gives bill credit asone of the founders who launched the
then fledgling old car hobby, turningit into the vibrant community and
economic powerhouse that it is today.
Bill is a charter member of theSociety of Automotive Historians,
(01:08):
founded in October of 1969 and duringthe annual SAH Awards banquet in
2023 held in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Bill presented his autobiography tothe banquet audience, including his
recollections of the early days of theSAH, and the following recording was made
by Bill from that same script in 2024.
(01:28):
When I was approached by SAH pastPresident Bob Barr and friend, and
SAH, board member Dean Nelson, tobe the speaker at our annual awards
center in October, 2023, we ended uphaving a conference phone call and
discussed what I might talk about.
We quickly discarded the idea of aserious automotive history topic, but
(01:50):
rather address my history with the SAH.
As it appears, I am the last oneliving of those who are in attendance
at that October 11th, 1969 gatheringin my office in the then small
national headquarters of the AntiqueAutomobile Club of America, from
(02:10):
which I produced the bimonthly editionof antique automobile for the club.
For historical accuracy.
The photograph taken on that occasion wastaken with all those attending outside the
front doors, which led to both the HersheyMuseum and the A A CA headquarters.
It was located at the western end ofthe old Hershey Arena, an ice hockey
(02:34):
arena that then the home of the HersheyBears American Hockey League team.
How did the founding group get there?
In the spring of 1969, friends and fellowautomotive historians, g Marshall Nall of
Newark, Delaware, and Richard b Brighamof Marietta, Georgia, had corresponded
regularly on various automotive historysubjects and commented on the need for
(02:57):
a national organization, which wouldbring together and expand, as well as
give some organization to the field.
As a result, they decided tomail a questionnaire addressing
the subject to about 75 of theiracquaintances with similar interests.
The results were very positive andeven included the suggested name,
(03:19):
the Society of Automotive Historians.
My own response was printed in thatfirst reorganization newsletter, number
one, in which I ventured quote, Ithink this is an idea, long overdue.
We are still in the first generationof the automobile in this country.
Yet if we do not glean this historywithin, at most the next 10 years,
(03:43):
it will be in some part lost forever.
In that letter, I also offered myoffice at Antique Automobile Magazine
as a possible location for a firstmeeting to organize the society.
This during the Antique Automobile Clubof America's Eastern National Fall meet
in Hershey, the second weekend in October,a letter from Marshall Nall followed
(04:06):
first noting I was pleased to receiveyour letter of the application with
check for membership in this society.
Was the first received.
He then went on to say they wereaccepting my invitation and the initial
meeting of the society was set for10:00 AM Saturday, October 11th, 1969.
(04:26):
The meeting was held and resulted inthe photograph being taken outside
the entrance to the Hershey Museum.
Of all those, attending the inauguralevent past President Bob Maher has
asked me to report what I know of each.
I'm going to go from rightto left as I know more about
those on the left of the photo.
(04:47):
First, Glenn r Bachelor, a student ofautomotive history, and one of those
working on what we simply called the listas we tried to identify all of the early
automobile manufacturers in America.
Richard b Brigham with his wifeGrace r Brigham, truly one of
the co-founders of the Society.
(05:07):
Guy p Sealey Jr.
And Charles W. Bishop.
Two more of the early researcherson the American auto industry.
G. Marshall Nall, the other co-founderof the Society, Herman l Smith
from Canada, and a researcher onAmerican cars manufactured in Canada.
Bruce Baldwin, MOS of Madison, Wisconsin,who attended but never joined the society.
(05:32):
Bruce was the builder of the MOS safaricar, but also the mo's ostentatious sedan.
He was there at my invitation showingan early race car at the A-A-C-A-B.
Next John m Peckham automotive artistand graphic artist who designed some
of the early SAH membership brochures.
(05:54):
John paintings, one of a Mack truck,char Blank was included in John
Monte's history of Mack Truck andpaintings of a cord model eight 10
sedan and a Model j Dusenberg BoattailRoadster, which was never built.
Gordon B's design appear inour book Rolling Sculpture.
(06:14):
Then Henry Austin Clark Jr. Creator ofthe Long Island Automotive Museum in
Sandy Hollow, New York, and builder ofone of the largest and most inclusive
automotive libraries and early literaturecollections in the country, two
semi-truck loads when he went to theHenry Ford Museum following his death.
(06:35):
I could regale you with OTE Clarkstories for the entire evening,
but I'll tell you just two.
When OTE built the Long IslandAutomotive Museum, he immediately
applied for fire insurance only to betold by several insurance companies.
His museum was too distant from anyfire company protection to qualify
for coverage not to be deterred.
(06:56):
He applied for and received a statecharter for the Sandy Hollow Fire Company.
Having a red model T Ford Coop chief'scar, an early American France ladder
truck, and an early motorized pumper.
He was immediately in inundated withcalls and catalogs from companies
wishing to sell him equipment, et cetera.
(07:18):
He got his fire insurance and ordered onechief's badge and 50 captain's badges.
He then received a call from thebadge company stating that, aside
from the city of New York and thecity of Los Angeles, it was the
largest order for captain's badges.
And where was Sandy Hollow, New York wife.
Rosemary and I are captains inthe Sandy Hollow Fire Company,
(07:41):
but that's another story.
Secondly, when I was named editor ofAntique Automobile Magazine in 1962, I was
contacting all of the automotive writers,photographers, artists, historians, and
libraries seeking their ideas and help.
One I wanted to meet was Austin Clark.
(08:01):
I knew he was going to attend the aa c annual meeting in Philadelphia
and planned to meet him there.
I was going to wait till after theannual banquet and speak to him.
Then thus, I waited and waited andthey were turning down the banquet room
lights and he still had not emerged.
I went in looking for him.
It was the 50th anniversary year ofDodge and the Chrysler Corporation had
(08:25):
reproduced the first Dodge brochure andone had been placed at every seat at
the banquet I located Austin, making therounds of all the tables, picking up all
the Dodge brochures that had been left.
When he saw me, he simply saidThey'll be paying me $5 a piece
for these in a year or two.
You're Bill Jackson, andwhat can I do to help you?
(08:48):
That brings me down to the last guyon the left in the picture, yours
Truly, at the time, I was in my eighthyear as editor of Antique Automobile
Magazine for the A-A-C-A-A stretch.
That was to end in June, 1970 whenRosemary and I purchased the nearby
Hummelstown Sun Weekly newspaperand printing firm, changing it to
(09:11):
the sun, quote, covering HersheyHummelstown and lower DA county.
However, it was not the end of myautomotive magazine editing years as
just months after purchasing the Sun.
The Classic Car Club of Americacame calling and I became editor
of their classic car magazine forthe next three and a half years.
In January, 1980, I took over aspublisher and managing editor of
(09:35):
Bullhorn, the magazine for the VeteranMotor Car Club of America, which I
produced for about next two years.
Other automotive publication contributionsinclude my column Old Car World, which
I did for the old competition Press andAuto Week from 1964 to 68, was Vintage
car editor of World Car Guide Magazine,also 1964 to 68, and did articles and
(10:01):
photos over the years and Road and TrackMotor Trend and Automobile quarterly.
Books thanks to Friend andlongtime, SAH Secretary Charlie
Bets, who was series editor.
I did the Lincoln Continental, 1940 to48 for an English publisher in 1967,
was a contributor to the American carsince 1775, published in 1971, did
(10:26):
Rolly Sculpture, a designer, and hiswork with Gordon m Burrick, published
in 1975 with a second edition in 2008.
A chapter on British car manufacturer,auto carrier AC in rural bertia
when British Sports Cars Saved theNation by John Nicholas in 2017.
(10:48):
Activities in SAH.
Due to other obligations I had,I never sought a position on the
board of directors nor officer.
As about the only Hershey area residentmember, myself and wife Rosemary were
responsible for making arrangementsfor the SAH Annual Dinner and Awards
presentation for the first 10 years,taken us from the Hershey Italian
(11:09):
Lodge to the Mill Street Inn, andon to the Hershey Parkview Banner.
As our membership attending grew, alsothe printing division of my newspaper,
the Sun printed some of the early SAHbrochures as designed by John Beckham and
edited by the secretary Charlie Betts.
I could keep you here all day tellingstories about the many SAH contributing
(11:31):
members, but I'll limit it to just two.
In June, 1970, when I was leavingthe editorship of antique automobile
and purchasing this son, a man by thename of Chester Krow visited my office
explaining he was a publisher from Iola,Wisconsin and was planning to start a new
publication dedicated to the auto historyand collecting hub working title old cars.
(11:58):
He offered me the editorship and invitedRosemary and I to visit Iola, giving
us plane tickets to Green Bay where hepicked us up and drove us on to Iola.
We spent two days there meetingthose who would be on my staff and
touring the vast sprinting plan.
We considered it, but the move torural Wisconsin plus the bank's
(12:20):
approval to buy the Hummelstownsun led us to turning it down.
Mr. Raey was disappointed andasked me, where am I going to
find another journalist thatknows old cars and the hobby?
I then told him I had beencorresponding with this young man
in Massachusetts who was producing asmall, regional old car publication,
(12:41):
and I thought he might be the answer.
His name, David Brownell,and the rest is history.
Dave guided the creation of old cars,even enlisting Henry Austin Clark Jr.
To write a column and oh yes, he alsoserved a term as president of SAH.
Secondly, you have to go back to 1960.
When Rosemary and I returned to PennState for our master's degrees in
(13:04):
journalism, we were a small classand all got to know each other.
At the time, I was still active in SportsCar Club of America, hill Climbing,
and the central Pennsylvania region.
One of our class members was agirl who was majoring in theater
arts and minoring in journalism.
She had seen my 1957 AC BristolSports car, and it had stirred some
(13:27):
interest, so we invited her to aparty at our resident, which was
mostly for our sports car friends.
She came and was totallyfascinated by the cars.
Fast forward to her graduation witha job lined up in New York City
with a theater publication, whichfolded shortly after she got there.
Thus, she went to the New York Timesclassified ad section and saw ad
(13:50):
for a research assistant at a newautomotive history publication.
Remembering how she hadliked our car friends.
She went for an interview.
The person running the ad was lScott Bailey, and the research
assistant he was seeking was tohelp him at Automobile Quarterly.
The young lady got the job and thusbegan her fabulous career in auto
(14:13):
automotive history writing, including theeditorship of aq, the young lady's name.
Beverly Ray Kimes, who also,like Dave Brownell, served
a term as President of SAH.
Of course, I take full credit fortheir mutual success in the automotive
writing field and leadership of SAH.
(14:33):
But how did I arrive at the positionas Editor of Man Automobile Magazine?
Like most likely all of you,I started as a car guy, booked
on hot rods in the late 1940s.
This turned into a black lowered DROthree quarter race, engine 51 Ford,
which went to Penn State with mewhere I became president of the Penn
(14:54):
State Pacers, the only national HotRod Association chartered club at a
college east of the Mississippi River.
Then I discovered sports cars andwent Sports Car Club of America
Road racing in 1955 with a 54 JaguarXK one 20 M Roadster, and did that
until I got drafted in June, 1957.
(15:16):
I found my career as a journalist inthe Army as sports editor of the Eighth
Infantry Division newspaper, the arrow.
This prompted Rosemary's and mymarriage in 1960 and had our return
to Penn State for master's degrees.
I conned my thesis committee into lettingme do mine on the history of automotive
journalism in the United States.
(15:38):
I did most of my research in the vastlibrary of early publications at the
Swaggart Museum in Huntington, pa. There.
I met William e Swaggart museumowner and a board member of
the Antique Automobile Club ofAmerica, one cold winter afternoon.
When I was doing research in hisarchive, he visited and sent something
(15:59):
like, you really are dedicated.
How would you like to be editorof Antique Automobile magazine?
I answered in the affirmative, andhe just simply said, oh and left.
Fast forward a little over a yearlater when I had been hired as editor
of the Union County Journal weeklynewspaper in Lewisburg, pa. My phone
rang one night, and upon answering, thecaller said, this is William Swagger.
(16:23):
Well, would you.
I replied, would I what Mr. Swaggart?
His irritated response was, would youlike to be editor of antique automobile?
Story was Editor l Scott Bailey had leftthe editorship of antique automobile
to start automobile quarterly.
This without much notice.
As the A A CA board had ponderedwhere they would find an editor.
(16:47):
Mr. Swaggart told him my story,and the board agreed to have then
president Mail and patent andvice president for publications.
Jordan Norton interviewed me.
Long story short, I got the job as apart-time position for the next six years,
growing into a full-time job in 1968 withthe stipulation I moved to Hershey and
(17:08):
work out of a a CA national headquarters.
There you have it.
While Rosemary and I sold the sun in 2007,we both still write for it as to SAH.
My only contribution these daysis providing material for editor
Rubin Verde at the SAH Journal.
Case in point, my article, what's yourautobiography in the March April issue
(17:32):
in which I hope other SAH members willfollow up with stories about a favorite
car or automotive history happening.
So much.
Thanks for listening, and I'd behappy to answer any questions.
This episode is brought to you in partby the Society of Automotive Historians.
(17:55):
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.
The SAH actively supports the compilationand preservation of papers, organizational
records, print ephemera, and images tosafeguard, as well as to broaden and
deepen the understanding of motorizedwheeled land transportation through
(18:16):
the modern age and into the future.
For more information about theSAH, visit www.auto history.org.
We hope you enjoyed another awesomeepisode of Break Fix Podcasts, brought
to you by Grand Tour Motorsports.
If you'd like to be a guest onthe show or get involved, be sure
to follow us on all social mediaplatforms at Grand Touring Motorsports.
(18:40):
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(19:03):
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So consider signing up for Patreontoday at www.patreon.com/gt motorsports.
And remember, without you,none of this would be possible.
Break Fix Podcast is all about capturingthe living history of people from all
over the autos sphere, from wrench,turners, and racers to artists, authors,
designers, and everything in between.
Our goal is to inspire a new generationof Petrolhead that wonder how did they
get that job or become that person.
The road to success is paved by allof us because everyone has a story.
(00:27):
Like most of us, William S. Jackson becameinvolved with automobiles at an early age.
During the early 1950s, he was a memberof Penn State University's hot rod
club, and in the mid 1950s, he beganracing in SECA events with a Jaguar
one 20 M and later some Morgans.
After his military service, he completedhis degree at Penn State and began
(00:48):
a lifelong career in journalism.
His editorship of major vintage carclubs, magazines during the 1960s
and seventies gives bill credit asone of the founders who launched the
then fledgling old car hobby, turningit into the vibrant community and
economic powerhouse that it is today.
Bill is a charter member of theSociety of Automotive Historians,
(01:08):
founded in October of 1969 and duringthe annual SAH Awards banquet in
2023 held in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Bill presented his autobiography tothe banquet audience, including his
recollections of the early days of theSAH, and the following recording was made
by Bill from that same script in 2024.
(01:28):
When I was approached by SAH pastPresident Bob Barr and friend, and
SAH, board member Dean Nelson, tobe the speaker at our annual awards
center in October, 2023, we ended uphaving a conference phone call and
discussed what I might talk about.
We quickly discarded the idea of aserious automotive history topic, but
(01:50):
rather address my history with the SAH.
As it appears, I am the last oneliving of those who are in attendance
at that October 11th, 1969 gatheringin my office in the then small
national headquarters of the AntiqueAutomobile Club of America, from
(02:10):
which I produced the bimonthly editionof antique automobile for the club.
For historical accuracy.
The photograph taken on that occasion wastaken with all those attending outside the
front doors, which led to both the HersheyMuseum and the A A CA headquarters.
It was located at the western end ofthe old Hershey Arena, an ice hockey
(02:34):
arena that then the home of the HersheyBears American Hockey League team.
How did the founding group get there?
In the spring of 1969, friends and fellowautomotive historians, g Marshall Nall of
Newark, Delaware, and Richard b Brighamof Marietta, Georgia, had corresponded
regularly on various automotive historysubjects and commented on the need for
(02:57):
a national organization, which wouldbring together and expand, as well as
give some organization to the field.
As a result, they decided tomail a questionnaire addressing
the subject to about 75 of theiracquaintances with similar interests.
The results were very positive andeven included the suggested name,
(03:19):
the Society of Automotive Historians.
My own response was printed in thatfirst reorganization newsletter, number
one, in which I ventured quote, Ithink this is an idea, long overdue.
We are still in the first generationof the automobile in this country.
Yet if we do not glean this historywithin, at most the next 10 years,
(03:43):
it will be in some part lost forever.
In that letter, I also offered myoffice at Antique Automobile Magazine
as a possible location for a firstmeeting to organize the society.
This during the Antique Automobile Clubof America's Eastern National Fall meet
in Hershey, the second weekend in October,a letter from Marshall Nall followed
(04:06):
first noting I was pleased to receiveyour letter of the application with
check for membership in this society.
Was the first received.
He then went on to say they wereaccepting my invitation and the initial
meeting of the society was set for10:00 AM Saturday, October 11th, 1969.
(04:26):
The meeting was held and resulted inthe photograph being taken outside
the entrance to the Hershey Museum.
Of all those, attending the inauguralevent past President Bob Maher has
asked me to report what I know of each.
I'm going to go from rightto left as I know more about
those on the left of the photo.
(04:47):
First, Glenn r Bachelor, a student ofautomotive history, and one of those
working on what we simply called the listas we tried to identify all of the early
automobile manufacturers in America.
Richard b Brigham with his wifeGrace r Brigham, truly one of
the co-founders of the Society.
(05:07):
Guy p Sealey Jr.
And Charles W. Bishop.
Two more of the early researcherson the American auto industry.
G. Marshall Nall, the other co-founderof the Society, Herman l Smith
from Canada, and a researcher onAmerican cars manufactured in Canada.
Bruce Baldwin, MOS of Madison, Wisconsin,who attended but never joined the society.
(05:32):
Bruce was the builder of the MOS safaricar, but also the mo's ostentatious sedan.
He was there at my invitation showingan early race car at the A-A-C-A-B.
Next John m Peckham automotive artistand graphic artist who designed some
of the early SAH membership brochures.
(05:54):
John paintings, one of a Mack truck,char Blank was included in John
Monte's history of Mack Truck andpaintings of a cord model eight 10
sedan and a Model j Dusenberg BoattailRoadster, which was never built.
Gordon B's design appear inour book Rolling Sculpture.
(06:14):
Then Henry Austin Clark Jr. Creator ofthe Long Island Automotive Museum in
Sandy Hollow, New York, and builder ofone of the largest and most inclusive
automotive libraries and early literaturecollections in the country, two
semi-truck loads when he went to theHenry Ford Museum following his death.
(06:35):
I could regale you with OTE Clarkstories for the entire evening,
but I'll tell you just two.
When OTE built the Long IslandAutomotive Museum, he immediately
applied for fire insurance only to betold by several insurance companies.
His museum was too distant from anyfire company protection to qualify
for coverage not to be deterred.
(06:56):
He applied for and received a statecharter for the Sandy Hollow Fire Company.
Having a red model T Ford Coop chief'scar, an early American France ladder
truck, and an early motorized pumper.
He was immediately in inundated withcalls and catalogs from companies
wishing to sell him equipment, et cetera.
(07:18):
He got his fire insurance and ordered onechief's badge and 50 captain's badges.
He then received a call from thebadge company stating that, aside
from the city of New York and thecity of Los Angeles, it was the
largest order for captain's badges.
And where was Sandy Hollow, New York wife.
Rosemary and I are captains inthe Sandy Hollow Fire Company,
(07:41):
but that's another story.
Secondly, when I was named editor ofAntique Automobile Magazine in 1962, I was
contacting all of the automotive writers,photographers, artists, historians, and
libraries seeking their ideas and help.
One I wanted to meet was Austin Clark.
(08:01):
I knew he was going to attend the aa c annual meeting in Philadelphia
and planned to meet him there.
I was going to wait till after theannual banquet and speak to him.
Then thus, I waited and waited andthey were turning down the banquet room
lights and he still had not emerged.
I went in looking for him.
It was the 50th anniversary year ofDodge and the Chrysler Corporation had
(08:25):
reproduced the first Dodge brochure andone had been placed at every seat at
the banquet I located Austin, making therounds of all the tables, picking up all
the Dodge brochures that had been left.
When he saw me, he simply saidThey'll be paying me $5 a piece
for these in a year or two.
You're Bill Jackson, andwhat can I do to help you?
(08:48):
That brings me down to the last guyon the left in the picture, yours
Truly, at the time, I was in my eighthyear as editor of Antique Automobile
Magazine for the A-A-C-A-A stretch.
That was to end in June, 1970 whenRosemary and I purchased the nearby
Hummelstown Sun Weekly newspaperand printing firm, changing it to
(09:11):
the sun, quote, covering HersheyHummelstown and lower DA county.
However, it was not the end of myautomotive magazine editing years as
just months after purchasing the Sun.
The Classic Car Club of Americacame calling and I became editor
of their classic car magazine forthe next three and a half years.
In January, 1980, I took over aspublisher and managing editor of
(09:35):
Bullhorn, the magazine for the VeteranMotor Car Club of America, which I
produced for about next two years.
Other automotive publication contributionsinclude my column Old Car World, which
I did for the old competition Press andAuto Week from 1964 to 68, was Vintage
car editor of World Car Guide Magazine,also 1964 to 68, and did articles and
(10:01):
photos over the years and Road and TrackMotor Trend and Automobile quarterly.
Books thanks to Friend andlongtime, SAH Secretary Charlie
Bets, who was series editor.
I did the Lincoln Continental, 1940 to48 for an English publisher in 1967,
was a contributor to the American carsince 1775, published in 1971, did
(10:26):
Rolly Sculpture, a designer, and hiswork with Gordon m Burrick, published
in 1975 with a second edition in 2008.
A chapter on British car manufacturer,auto carrier AC in rural bertia
when British Sports Cars Saved theNation by John Nicholas in 2017.
(10:48):
Activities in SAH.
Due to other obligations I had,I never sought a position on the
board of directors nor officer.
As about the only Hershey area residentmember, myself and wife Rosemary were
responsible for making arrangementsfor the SAH Annual Dinner and Awards
presentation for the first 10 years,taken us from the Hershey Italian
(11:09):
Lodge to the Mill Street Inn, andon to the Hershey Parkview Banner.
As our membership attending grew, alsothe printing division of my newspaper,
the Sun printed some of the early SAHbrochures as designed by John Beckham and
edited by the secretary Charlie Betts.
I could keep you here all day tellingstories about the many SAH contributing
(11:31):
members, but I'll limit it to just two.
In June, 1970, when I was leavingthe editorship of antique automobile
and purchasing this son, a man by thename of Chester Krow visited my office
explaining he was a publisher from Iola,Wisconsin and was planning to start a new
publication dedicated to the auto historyand collecting hub working title old cars.
(11:58):
He offered me the editorship and invitedRosemary and I to visit Iola, giving
us plane tickets to Green Bay where hepicked us up and drove us on to Iola.
We spent two days there meetingthose who would be on my staff and
touring the vast sprinting plan.
We considered it, but the move torural Wisconsin plus the bank's
(12:20):
approval to buy the Hummelstownsun led us to turning it down.
Mr. Raey was disappointed andasked me, where am I going to
find another journalist thatknows old cars and the hobby?
I then told him I had beencorresponding with this young man
in Massachusetts who was producing asmall, regional old car publication,
(12:41):
and I thought he might be the answer.
His name, David Brownell,and the rest is history.
Dave guided the creation of old cars,even enlisting Henry Austin Clark Jr.
To write a column and oh yes, he alsoserved a term as president of SAH.
Secondly, you have to go back to 1960.
When Rosemary and I returned to PennState for our master's degrees in
(13:04):
journalism, we were a small classand all got to know each other.
At the time, I was still active in SportsCar Club of America, hill Climbing,
and the central Pennsylvania region.
One of our class members was agirl who was majoring in theater
arts and minoring in journalism.
She had seen my 1957 AC BristolSports car, and it had stirred some
(13:27):
interest, so we invited her to aparty at our resident, which was
mostly for our sports car friends.
She came and was totallyfascinated by the cars.
Fast forward to her graduation witha job lined up in New York City
with a theater publication, whichfolded shortly after she got there.
Thus, she went to the New York Timesclassified ad section and saw ad
(13:50):
for a research assistant at a newautomotive history publication.
Remembering how she hadliked our car friends.
She went for an interview.
The person running the ad was lScott Bailey, and the research
assistant he was seeking was tohelp him at Automobile Quarterly.
The young lady got the job and thusbegan her fabulous career in auto
(14:13):
automotive history writing, including theeditorship of aq, the young lady's name.
Beverly Ray Kimes, who also,like Dave Brownell, served
a term as President of SAH.
Of course, I take full credit fortheir mutual success in the automotive
writing field and leadership of SAH.
(14:33):
But how did I arrive at the positionas Editor of Man Automobile Magazine?
Like most likely all of you,I started as a car guy, booked
on hot rods in the late 1940s.
This turned into a black lowered DROthree quarter race, engine 51 Ford,
which went to Penn State with mewhere I became president of the Penn
(14:54):
State Pacers, the only national HotRod Association chartered club at a
college east of the Mississippi River.
Then I discovered sports cars andwent Sports Car Club of America
Road racing in 1955 with a 54 JaguarXK one 20 M Roadster, and did that
until I got drafted in June, 1957.
(15:16):
I found my career as a journalist inthe Army as sports editor of the Eighth
Infantry Division newspaper, the arrow.
This prompted Rosemary's and mymarriage in 1960 and had our return
to Penn State for master's degrees.
I conned my thesis committee into lettingme do mine on the history of automotive
journalism in the United States.
(15:38):
I did most of my research in the vastlibrary of early publications at the
Swaggart Museum in Huntington, pa. There.
I met William e Swaggart museumowner and a board member of
the Antique Automobile Club ofAmerica, one cold winter afternoon.
When I was doing research in hisarchive, he visited and sent something
(15:59):
like, you really are dedicated.
How would you like to be editorof Antique Automobile magazine?
I answered in the affirmative, andhe just simply said, oh and left.
Fast forward a little over a yearlater when I had been hired as editor
of the Union County Journal weeklynewspaper in Lewisburg, pa. My phone
rang one night, and upon answering, thecaller said, this is William Swagger.
(16:23):
Well, would you.
I replied, would I what Mr. Swaggart?
His irritated response was, would youlike to be editor of antique automobile?
Story was Editor l Scott Bailey had leftthe editorship of antique automobile
to start automobile quarterly.
This without much notice.
As the A A CA board had ponderedwhere they would find an editor.
(16:47):
Mr. Swaggart told him my story,and the board agreed to have then
president Mail and patent andvice president for publications.
Jordan Norton interviewed me.
Long story short, I got the job as apart-time position for the next six years,
growing into a full-time job in 1968 withthe stipulation I moved to Hershey and
(17:08):
work out of a a CA national headquarters.
There you have it.
While Rosemary and I sold the sun in 2007,we both still write for it as to SAH.
My only contribution these daysis providing material for editor
Rubin Verde at the SAH Journal.
Case in point, my article, what's yourautobiography in the March April issue
(17:32):
in which I hope other SAH members willfollow up with stories about a favorite
car or automotive history happening.
So much.
Thanks for listening, and I'd behappy to answer any questions.
This episode is brought to you in partby the Society of Automotive Historians.
(17:55):
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.
The SAH actively supports the compilationand preservation of papers, organizational
records, print ephemera, and images tosafeguard, as well as to broaden and
deepen the understanding of motorizedwheeled land transportation through
(18:16):
the modern age and into the future.
For more information about theSAH, visit www.auto history.org.
We hope you enjoyed another awesomeepisode of Break Fix Podcasts, brought
to you by Grand Tour Motorsports.
If you'd like to be a guest onthe show or get involved, be sure
to follow us on all social mediaplatforms at Grand Touring Motorsports.
(18:40):
And if you'd like to learn moreabout the content of this episode,
be sure to check out the followon article@gtmotorsports.org.
We remain a commercial free and noannual fees organization through
our sponsors, but also throughthe generous support of our fans,
families, and friends through Patreon.
For as little as $2 and 50 cents a month,you can get access to more behind the
(19:03):
scenes action, additional pit stop,mini SOS and other VIP goodies, as
well as keeping our team of creators.
Fed on their strict diet of figNewton's, Gumby bears, and monster.
So consider signing up for Patreontoday at www.patreon.com/gt motorsports.
And remember, without you,none of this would be possible.
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