Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 4, 1911 Anton L. Westgard departed from Denver, Colorado, for what would be a journey of nearly 10 weeks to the west coast. The vehicle that he used for this trip was a 3-ton (2.7-metric ton) motor truck built by the Sauer Motor Car Company of New York and known as the Pioneer Freighter.... Continue Reading →
Antonio Valent, the son of a seaman who immigrated to Texas from Spain, was born in 1884 in the town of Point Isabel (now Port Isabel) in the Lone Star State. He launched a fishing business in that region of the Gulf coast in 1902. The market for the fish he caught was initially restricted... Continue Reading →
April 7, 1911 An early experiment in long-distance truck delivery took place between New York City and Philadelphia. A British-made Commer truck was used for the Friday morning delivery by New York City’s automotive firm Wyckoff, Church & Partridge (WCP), which owned the U.S. rights for promoting and selling those heavy-duty vehicles. As the New York... Continue Reading →
During World War II, Minnie Spotted-Wolf became the first Native American woman to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). She further distinguished herself through her various transportation-oriented duties and accomplishments during her time in service. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe, Spotted-Wolf was born near the community of Heart Butte in western Montana in... Continue Reading →
August 9, 1910 In Cincinnati, the Ahrens Fire Engine Company – a firefighting vehicle manufacturer that had been formed in 1868 from a machine shop bought out by ambitious German immigrant Chris Ahrens – was reorganized as the Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine Company. Chris Ahrens’ son John was designated vice president of this restructured family enterprise. John... Continue Reading →
June 21, 1889 Transportation entrepreneur Harry Alphonse FitzJohn, who played an innovative role in the production of bus and truck bodies, was born in Toledo, Ohio. In 1905, FitzJohn began working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a messenger for its Weather Bureau. He stayed in that job until 1907, when he moved to... Continue Reading →
March 26, 1863 Truck industrialist George Albert Brockway was born in the village of Homer, New York. He was the son of William Northrup Brockway, who manufactured horse-drawn carriages and wagons. After William was stricken with a debilitating illness in 1888 that brought about his death the following year, George stepped in as the company’s business manager.... Continue Reading →
During the final year of World War II, the Red Ball Express proved to be a vital truck convoy system after the Allies broke out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy and steadily advanced towards Germany. The Red Ball Express was formally launched by the U.S. Army Transportation Corps on August 25, 1944, and over... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1962 Five-year-old Robert Patch made both transportation history and playtime history when he submitted a patent application for a toy truck he had designed. The toy, as outlined in the drawings that accompanied his application, could easily be taken apart and put back together by just about any kid. In addition, it was... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 