Tyrone, this ones for you. (And any other KU fans):
Frank Bales traded a quarter of Kansas farmland for a slightly used Model K in Lawrence Kansas in late 1907:
Bales was also trying to trade farmland for a home in the Lawrence KS area:
Turns out Frank Bales was a student at Kansas U. It also turns out that not long after trading for the Ford K, he was making a name for the car as one of the few that could climb up Mount Oread (well known by KU fans and opponents):
According to the writer, Frank's Ford is one of three or four "of the very highest grade and can climb the steep sides......"
and people think Kansas is flat.
Actually Rob, it is my wife who is the sports nut of the house. I don't mind. When a game comes on I just slip out to the garage and she never misses me. Great stories.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU!
I received my Ph.D. In Economics from KU, and yes there are some formidable hills at KU.
Respectfully Submitted,
Trent Boggess
Trent,
I bet you had no idea a Model K had raced up and down those same campus hills years earlier
Tyrone,
Now you can tie in early Fords with your wife's affection for KU sports. It might get you another car?????
I've been surprised at the early Fords in Lawrence, and also the number of Model Ks that were in Kansas. It looks as though local papers had much more time to allot to printing personal items such as who purchased or made a trip in a car. I seldom if ever see these type of personal articles in the larger regional papers. For example, all the Model K stories I've found in Kansas (over twenty five different cars) were carried in local papers. I'm sure Kansas City had an equal or greater share per capita of large cars, however the large papers didn't seem to carry stories about them.
A couple of more examples. I printed the Lawrence newspaper list of registered car owners before, but now have added the cars they owned (that I was able to find), according to news articles. The other article appeared in the Wichita paper in 1908:
Tyrone, are you familiar with J. W. Metz lumber yards? It looks as if he owned a large chain of yards in Kansas and Colorado during this period. He also owned a Model K from 1908 through 1912, along with an electric and Rambler.
Looks like Stoddard-Dayton beat out the Model K for this time period.
Better price?
Better dealer?
Bigger dealer?
Better car?
Here is a picture of a Stoddard-Dayton.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyJ16Cc_J0gqjT7X6zQ3MpRIyU _3nwKhIzDTmKDAjUhQxErlnn9Q
I suspect the Stoddard's were the models shown below listing at $2500. I also think that, as with the Model K, the price is higher than list due to distance from the factories.
Stoddard models F and K:
The only head to head competition I'm aware of between the two cars occurred in the runabout class at Cleveland's Stucky Hill Climb: