Team Blog

Embrace the pace!!

Posted on Jun 18th, 2009 at 12:03 am by The Team

Napoleon, OH to South Bend, IN

We had been invited to showcase the car and the drive at the kick off of the Annual Lincoln Highway Association Conference. Emily had 2 conference calls scheduled so we wanted to get on the road and get to the hotel before that needed to take place. We all put our heads together and decided we would leave at 8.

Howard, Jenny, Bob and Joe (Joe WHO?)(Howard told me to say that, Joe) pulled out their second 1910 Maxwell and set out to caravan with us again. We just LOVED seeing their smiling faces behind us.

We were making great time in the Maxwell and having a blast! When we stopped around 10 we had already made it 46 miles! After a Kaisa feeding and relief stop we hopped back in and headed out on our way. The car was running great.

After about 15 more miles the knocking returned. It was different this time. Each other time the car had backfired before the engine noise occurred. This time it just came out of nowhere. Em and I pulled over. When Rich heard the noise we called Tim and Barb immediately to meet us and talk about what our next move should be.

Sadly, both Maxwell’s did not complete the drive that day. The 1910 Maxwell had a radiator blow out at mile 12 and we both trailer-ed into South Bend. Hopefully that is not the last we will see of the 1910 Maxwell team on the road!

We couldn’t drive the Maxwell in, but the conference was still great. Sally did an amazing job portraying Alice Ramsey and the team got to meet people from all over the country.

It was great to see Jerry Peppers again from the New York Lincoln Highway Association chapter. We met Jerry at 1930 Broadway and now again in South Bend. He told both Emily and I that people all over the country are rooting for us and we needed to make it to San Francisco. At this point we both feel like we could make it on faith alone!

Rochelle,IL

The corn is a little taller…..

12 Comments

  1. The late poet Richard Hugo, who started his writing career working as a technical writer for Boeing, had a poem entitled “What thou lovest well, remains American.”

    If he was still with us, he’d say this journey represents what he meant in that poem. There you are, in South Bend, where the Studebaker brothers started a business building covered wagons, way back in 1853; which then became an electric automobile company and then a major builder of autos and trucks. Too bad you didn’t have time to go to the Studebaker Museum with the car.

    Then too, you met up with folks connected with the old Lincoln Highway. In these times, where so many American institutions - General Motors, Chrysler - are struggling to survive, you give us all hope that things will indeed work out. What we lovest well, does indeed remain American, as Maxwell and Alice showed us, 100 years ago.

    Terry Parkhurst on June 18th, 2009 at 12:15 am #

  2. I know you’ll make it! I’m mentally pushing you along every mile, and quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Please get the Maxwell up and running soon! Thank goodness you have the best mechanics with you.

    Wish I could be there, bumps in the road and all.

    Terry Huston on June 18th, 2009 at 7:24 am #

  3. Hi Team,

    Thinking of you constantly and hoping you can run around the thunderstorms in the area right now.

    What an adventure…………best wishes,

    Franni and Jim Herrgott

    Franni and Jim Herrgott on June 18th, 2009 at 7:40 am #

  4. Thank you to the Alice Ramsey 2009 Team for including us in the festivies and Thank you to the Lincoln Highway Association for the wonderful reception. We are all sorry our journey with you was so short. We set two new records, unfortunately neither was good. The firt record was the shortest distances we have ever traveled on a tour and second; two Maxwells in two days. We know with your determination and fabulous support team you will make it! Keep on driving. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

    Jenny Washburn on June 18th, 2009 at 10:05 am #

  5. I have been following your adventure. A friend and I both have 1912 Maxwell Specials with the same engine design. We have solved the oiling problem by removing the side panels and filling the crankcase with oil until the splash pans have oil in them. In my engine it is about 10 quarts of oil not the 2 1/2 recommended. I have over 10,000 miles of touring on my Maxwell with out any engine problems. The tube in the engine that fills these pans must be calibrated to fill all pans with the same quanity of oil. This means each hole a different size. I wish you the best for you tour.

    Don Van Atta on June 18th, 2009 at 10:20 am #

  6. Special shout out from Woodinville to Emily and her Mom and Dad - Hi Margie and Rich! Sounds like you are all having the time of your lives!! I just today got all caught up on your journey. What you are doing is just incredible - keep up the good work and enjoy all the wonderful places and people you are encountering. You are so fortunate to have such a great group of friends and helpers on your team. Hang in there, Em and may the road continue to rise to meet you! (not literally, of course!) Take care, God Bless and Happy Trails!

    Mary Akiyama on June 18th, 2009 at 1:15 pm #

  7. To everyone on the Alice Ramsey 2009 Team, thanks for bringing an important part of American history to light. Alice was clearly ahead of her time and, like so many other women before her, determined to live life to the fullest while breaking down social barriers.

    As the director of the Huntsville Museum of Art, I wonder was Alice’s great adventure ever depicted in a work of art? Also, how extensive is the photo documentation? If anyone on the team has any info to share I would love to know. Our museum recently acquired the Sellars Colletion: Art by American Women 1850-1940. Certainly Alice’s accomplishment falls within the Sellars period of years.

    Finally, major kudos for Huntsville’s own Sally Barnett for being a part of the Team and taking place in this historic event. Here’s wishing the Team safe driving, and enjoy every mile!

    Clayton Bass
    Huntsville Museum of Art
    President and CEO

    Clayton Bass on June 18th, 2009 at 5:39 pm #

  8. My mom has read about your trip in the Cedar Rapids Gazette and kept me posted. She would love to see you when you are in our area. I’m trying to figure out when and where that will be. Originally it looked like you would be in CR on the 17th, but by your blog, it sounds like you are in IND. When can we expect you in Eastern or Central Iowa? Highway 30? I think that is the old Lincoln Highway. Any local contacts?
    GOOD LUCK!

    Kim Kleinschmidt on June 18th, 2009 at 11:10 pm #

  9. We’re following the blog and twitter every day and loving it - wish we could have tagged along, although the 1996 and 2001 cars we drive would have seemed a bit anachronistic! Have you had any flat tires yet? I thought I read somewhere that Alice went through something like 26 tires on her trip.

    Peter Eckman on June 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm #

  10. You write:
    “people all over the country are rooting for us”; I just want to let you know that at least one Dutch woman is rooting for you too, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This is a project that fires hearts not only in the USA.
    All the best!

    Grada

    Grada Schadee on June 20th, 2009 at 2:24 pm #

  11. Clayton Bass asked if Alice’s great adventure has ever been depicted in a work of art. As a matter of fact, back in November of 2004, my husband, John Ton (the muralist) began painting a mural depicting Alice and her traveling companions crossing the Nevada desert. The mural is on the side of a former coffee house here in Reno, Nevada and, in theory, it will be included in the film! If you want to read more about the mural, here is a link to the newspaper article about it: http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=24481

    I, too, have been following the blog, viewing the photostream, and reading the tweets with *intense* interest and profound joy. Almost every day Emily or Christie says something that makes me burst into tears, or someone’s comment does the same because ever since my husband first contacted Rich during the early planning stages of this project, we have both been SOOOOoooo looking forward to this event and now it’s REALLY happening! We can hardly wait to meet you all when you make it to Nevada. EVERYONE across the globe has our fingers crossed for “Babbs”. We’re **ALL** in that vehicle with you (and Alice), and we are overcome with pride for the team and awe in the wonder of it all.

    Glee Willis on June 20th, 2009 at 11:49 pm #

  12. Jane enjoyed traveling in the Maxwell with Emily from Aurora, Ohio to Bowling Green, Ohio. Jane absolutely admires Emily’s pluck and determination. The entire “Alice Ramsey crew” is a delight-friendly folks who are committed to make the drive a success. We are delighted to have been a small part in this historic trip and wish everyone the best as they continue on to San Francisco. David

    David and Jane Schultz on June 21st, 2009 at 5:39 pm #