News Release
BAHCC Pumpkin Tour
Oct. 17, 2010
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| Seagrave Model 66 fire engine, serial number 25055, as it left the factory for delivery to Livermore in 1920. The oldest continuous manufacturer of fire apparatus in North America, Seagrave Fire Apparatus LLC was founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1881 by Fredric Seagrave, moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1891, and is currently headquartered in Clintonville, Wisconsin. |
HORSELESS CARRIAGES SCARE UP DONATIONS FOR SEAGRAVE
Century Old Vehicles Promote Antique Fire Engine Restoration Efforts
The annual Halloween tour of the Bay Area Horseless Carriage Club may not spook as many horses as it would have in 1910, but it hopes to scare up donations to help complete the restoration of a 1920 Seagrave fire engine at the Duarte Garage in Livermore. On Sunday, October 17, 2010, about ten vehicles approximately 100-year-old will complete a 60-mile loop with two stops in Livermore.
Traveling from Walnut Creek, the tour will first stop at G&M Farms in Livermore (located at 487 East Airway near the Airway exit off I-580). The farm offers a full day of good old-fashioned family fun. Parking near the cornfield maze and pumpkin patch, the horseless carriages will arrive about 10:30 am and depart at noon. Families are invited to see the antique cars and enjoy the activities at the farm.
Shortly after noon until 3 pm, the tour moves on First Steet through the renovated Livermore downtown to the Duarte Garage and Lincoln Highway Museum (located at the corner of Pine and North L). Operated by the Livermore Heritage Guild, the garage was built in 1915 on the original Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental US Highway. The garage helps preserve and interpret Livermore’s rich heritage with a variety of displays and restoration projects. The horseless carriages will pause for a picnic lunch while exploring the garage and inspecting progress on the restoration of a magnificent 1920 Seagrave Model 66 fire engine.
| Some vehicles owned by BAHCC Members... | ||
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| 1906 Locomobile Model H, 7-passenger Touring owned by Ed and Karen Archer, Hayward, California. The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899 and manufactured automobiles in Bridgeport, Connecticut, until 1929. | 1908 Reo Model C, Gentlemans Roadster owned by Joe and Esther Sernach, Pleasanton, California. The Reo Manufacturing Company was started by Ransom Eli Olds in Lansing, Michigan in 1905, producing cars and commercial vehicles until 1936. | Annie, the 1914 KisselKar Model 4-40 Touring owned by Lynn and Jeanne Kissel, Livermore, California. From 1906 to 1930 the Kissel Motor Car Company hand built 26,000 cars, trucks, ambulances, hearses, taxis and other vehicles in Hartford, Wisconsin. |
The public is invited to the Duarte Garage open house, to view the antique cars and make a donation to assure completion of the Seagrave restoration effort. Livermore’s first pumper truck, it fought major area fires through the mid-1950s. A frame-up restoration started in 2008 has made substantial progress through the efforts of a dedicated work crew and generous donations from local businesses. A first public start of the Seagrave motor in 50 years will be attempted for the visit of the horseless carriages.
Horseless carriages are pioneer vehicles manufactured from the 1890s through 1915. The original owners required a pioneering spirit, inventiveness and superior mechanical ability to keep these early automobiles functioning, skills also needed by their modern counterparts. Horseless carriages are from a period where hundreds of independent manufacturers experimented with a variety of designs until recognizable and standardized automobiles were created.
The BAHCC strives to conserve the historic value of these unique vehicles through preservation and restoration to their original condition, and by using them for their original purpose of driving and touring. An affiliate of the Horseless Carriage Club of America, more information on the BAHCC is available on the club’s website at www.bahcc.org .
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Copyright © 2018 Lynn Kissel
Last updated: October 14, 2010