OT - It's true, Model K, car of Presidents......

Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration
Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: OT - It's true, Model K, car of Presidents......
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Friday, October 25, 2013 - 08:07 pm:

I couldn't resist this one. And taking President Taft around would be "no small task". (I believe he was VP in 1907)





Another "Presidential first", ordering in pizza to the White House.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Whelihan on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 06:33 am:

The "K" must have had one beefy suspension. Taft didn't miss too many meals.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 07:11 am:

Kevin,

The back door on K touring s are somewhat narrow, about the same as an early T. I would have "cringed" as he got in and sat down if it were my car.

It appears the "K" withstood the stress, and was still on the road in 1909. Since the car was a Texas panhandle car, I wonder if the car took him from the TX panhandle to Oklahoma City, or just around the city? Hopefully I'll find a photo of Mr. Taft riding in the K.

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mitch Owen on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 08:52 am:

Rob,
Can't tell if this is a Model K or not, but looks like
Taft in the back


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 08:57 am:

Taft was aware and concerned about his weight problem, and sought diet advice for it, see attached link.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/health/president-taft-diet-time/


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 09:41 am:

Mitch, thanks, I believe that is a later photo, and newer "big" car. Thanks for looking, hopefully we'll find a pic.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 09:12 am:

On the trail of future President and Secretary of War Taft......


From St. Louis, August 23, 1907:


At Oklahoma City, Aug 24th:


And on Joplin MO, Aug 25th:


I'm now "hunting"for a photo of Secretary Taft in Oklahoma City riding in an automobile (Model K) on August 24th, 1907.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lance Sorenson, Hector, Minnesota on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 08:18 pm:

Just because Taft rode in a K, doesn't mean it was the "Car of Presidents"! Here is a list of PA owners, including Taft and Wilson! Just for the record! Maybe this winter you can make a similar list.

Hon. Charles Francis Adams - Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.
Max Adler - Vice-President, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, Ill.
King Albert of Belgium
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle - Silent Movie Comic
M.H. Aylesworth - President, National Broadcasting Co., New York City
Stephen Baker - President, Bank of Manhattan Co, New York City
W.S. Bartholomew - Vice-President - Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Pittsburgh, Pa
Edward S. Beck - Managing Editor, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.
Max F. Bishop - 2nd Baseman, Philadelphia Athletics Baseball Team
Hon. David H. Blair - Commissioner of United States Internal Revenue
P.D. Block - President, Inland Steel Co., Chicago, Ill.
Mabel T. Boardman - Secretary, American Red Cross, Washington, D.C.
Hon. Wollmar Filip Bostrom - Minister from Sweden, Washington, D.C.
Hon. William F. Broening, Mayor of Baltimore
Dr. Ernest A. Bryant - Fellow the the American College of Surgeons, Los Angeles, Cal.
Adolphus Busch - President, Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis Mo.
E.H. Butler - Editor & Publisher, Buffalo "Evening News", Buffalo, N.Y.
Hon. Pierce Butler - United States Supreme Court Justice
Hon. Johnson M. Camden - United States Senator from Kentucky
Hon. Guy E. Campbell - Congressman from Pennsylvania
Mrs. Andrew Carnegie - New York City
Aloysio Carvalho de Britto - Director of Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro
Charlie Chaplin - Movie Comic
George Christian - Secretary to President Harding
Walter B. Cline - Chairman of the Board, Los Angeles Gas & Electric Corp.
Hon. William F. Colladay - National Republican Committeeman, Washington, D.C.
Hon. Myers Y. Cooper - Governor of Ohio
F.D. Corley - Vice-President, Marshall Field & Co., Chicago. Ill.
Hon. James Michael Curley - Mayor of Boston
Glenn Curtis - Aviaton Pioneer
Hon. Fred Davenport - Congressman from New York
George W. Davison - President, Hanover Central Bank & Trust, New York City
Hon. S. Wallace Dempsey - United States Congressman, Lockport N.Y.
Richard Dix - Movie Star
George W. Childs Drexel - Banker & Philanthropist, Philadelphia Pa.
Hon. George R. Fearson - New York State Senator
Julius Fleischmann - Cincinnati, Ohio
Milton S. Florsheim - Head of Florsheim Shoe Co, Chicago, Ill.
Robert A. Franks - Vice-Chairman & Treasurer, Carnegie Corporation of N.Y.
King C. Gillette - President, Gillette Safety Razor Co., Hollywood, Cal.
Eugene G. Grace - President, Bethlehem Steel Co.
Baroness Roland de Graffenreid-Villars
Ulysses S. Grant IV - Descendent of President U.S. Grant, San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. W.D. Haggard - President, American Medical Association, Nashville, Tenn.
Roland H. Hartley - Governor of Washington
Emperor Hirohito of Japan
Hon. Harold G. Hoffman - United States Congressman from New Jersey
E.N. Hurley - Chairman, United States Shipping Board, Chicago, Ill.
Daniel C. Jackling - President, Utah Copper Co.
Hon. Wm. P. Jackson - United States Senator from Maryland
Alba B. Johnson - President, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce
Hon. F.B. Kellogg - Ambassador to Great Britain & United States Secretary of State
W. Freeland Kendrick - Mayor of Philadelphia
A. Atwater Kent - President, Atwater Kent Mfg. Co, Philadelphia, Pa.
Kenneth R. Kingsbury - President, Standard Oil Company of California
Brig.-Gen. J.A. Koster, San Fransciso, Cal.
Hon. William H. Langdon - Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California
Col. Luke Lea - United States Senator from Tennessee
F.A. Leovy - Executive Vice-President, Gulf Oil Corporation
Charles J. Livingood - President, Cincinnati Art Museum
Breckenridge Long - Assistant Secretary of State
A. Lawrence Lowell, President, Harvard University
Frederick MacDonald - President, New York State National Bank
Hon. Harry A. Mackey - Mayor of Philadelphia
George A. Martin - President, Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland, Ohio
Willie McFarlane - National Open Golf Champion - New York City
Hon. T.H.B. McKnight - Senator from Pennsylvania
John L. McMillan - President, McMillan Book Company
W.L. Mellon - Chairman, Gulf Refining Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
F.A. Miller, Chairman of the Board, Dresser Mfg. Co., Chicago, Ill.
Hon. William DeWitt. Mitchell - Attorney-General of the United States
Tom Mix - Famous Cowboy Movie Star
R.C. Norberg, - President & General Manager, Willard Storage Battery Co.
Wm. Cardinal O'Connell - Archbishop of Boston
Ransom E. Olds - Founder of Oldsmobile and REO automobile companies
Hon. Chauncey G. Parker - General Counsel, U.S. Shipping Board
Hubert T. Parson - President, F.W. Woolworth Co.
John Barton Payne - Chairman, American Red Cross, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Josiah H. Penniman - President & Provost, University of Pennsylvania
Francis Perkins - Secretary to President Franklin Roosevelt
C.W. Post - Post Cereals
Hon. Fred S. Purnell - Congressman from Indiania
George F. Rand - President, Marine Trust Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Fritz Reiner, Conductor, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
John Ringling - Ringling Bros. Circus
Hon. Albert C. Ritchie, Governor of Maryland
J.D. Rockefeller, Philanthropist, New York City
Ginger Rogers - Movie Star
Hon. James Rolph Jr., Governor of California
Babe Ruth - Baseball Legend
Monsignor James Ryan - Rector, The Catholic University of America - Washington, D.C.
Hon. F.M. Sackett, United States Ambassador to Germany
Earl C. Sams - President, J.C. Penney Co., New York City
King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia
The Shah of Persia
Hon. C. Bascom Slemp, Congressman from Virginia and Secretary to President Calvin Coolidge
Matthew S. Sloan, President, New York Edison Co.
Hon. Gale H. Stalker, Congressman from New York
Hon. Ross S. Sterling, - Governor of Texas
Dr. Frederick A. Stock - Director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Hon. Harlan Stone - Associate Justice of United States Supreme Court
Wm. Howard Taft - Former President of the United States
Gen. M.O. Terry - Surgeon General of U.S. Army
Alfred P. Thom - General Counsel for Associated Railways of United States
Hon. Elmer Thomas - Senator from Oklahoma
Hon. Joseph P. Tumulty - Secretary to President Woodrow Wilson.
Rt. Rev. William Turner - Bishop of Buffalo
Alexander Van Rensselar - Philadelphia, Pa.
Hon. Jan Herman Van Royan - Minister from Netherlands, Washington, D.C.
Hon. David I. Walsh - United States Senator from Massachusetts
Hon. James E. Watson, United States Senator from Indiania
Horace White - Governor of New York
Joseph E. Widener - Capitalist, Philadelphia, Pa.
Horace S. Wilkerson, Chairman of the Board, Crucible Steel Company, New York City
Helen Wills - Tennis Champion
W.J. Blake Wilson, Director, Royal Bank of Canada, Director, Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
Sidney S. Wilson - Secretary & Treasurer, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Woodrow Wilson, Former President of the United States
Mrs. Sarah Winchester, Heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune, San Jose, Calif.
Charles S. Woolworth, Chairman of the Board, F.W. Woolworth & Co., Scranton, Pa.
Mrs. F.W. Woolworth
Orville Wright - Aviaton Pioneer


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Thomas Mullin on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 08:49 pm:

All those rich folks don't know the value of a dollar, like us working stiffs. That's why they bought Pierce Arrows instead of Fords. Remember, the rattling you hear in your Model T is the $2,000 you didn't spend jingling in your pocket.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 10:22 pm:

Lance,

Your right, I doubt a well heeled politician would have chosen a Ford (although some "moneyed" families did own K roadsters). I thought it interesting that the Republican Party leaders in OK selected a Model K for Taft. I also thought due to his high profile visit, there would be a good chance of finding a photograph of him in the car.

I did have the privilege to ride in, and drive alongside, a 1909 6 cylinder Pierce at Hershey. It is a wonderful car, and much more "finished" and "appointed" than the Model K. However, for raw speed, I'll take the Model K any day. And, considering the PA cost twice as much, I can see why the K was a good seller (in it's class).

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 10:27 pm:

I should have added, the Model K was produced for just over two years. What I will wager is that the Model K matched or outsold most or all it's six cylinder peers over that short time span.

And, best of all, it's just a big, fast Ford.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lance Sorenson, Hector, Minnesota on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 10:39 pm:

Rob, It's all good! Just wanted add something and keep you on your toes. I love the K and would hope for a ride some day.


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.
Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration