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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1925)
THE OREGON STATESMAN, SALEM, OREGON SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 22, 1923 fail ( Y i DRIVER OF COVERED WAGON NOW DRIVING NEW-FANGLED GAS RIG The drama of American trans-1 portation has been enacted within the 90-VMr Ufa unnn -.-!.. ' Joel Mulcy HobatJc, one of the few surviving links between the romantic day of the cohered wa gon and the modern automobile. i i Captain Iioback who formerly drove a covered wagon now la an enthusiastic motorist. In 1845 when only 10 years old J ne arove iour yoke of oxen as they plodded slowly westward with a rreaking prairie schooner in which he and his parents mi grated 15fl roiles.jto Winniemac, Indiana, then a frontier town. In crossing the Wabash river the eight oxeft became frightened, got beyond control of the clilld driver andlgnged away through nhoulder-deepj water. They near ily upset the wagon but finally re turned to 'the east bank of the river at the battle ground near I-afayette, Indiana, where Harri son a few yeara before, had de feated a large band of hostile In dians. ...;' Today, 80 years later Captain , Hoback, erect, alert and with the . clear eye of the frontiersman, is I enjoying transportation of a far different type. After hesitating for 10 years. "to tackle the new fangled gasoline rigs,", he has pur chased a Chevrolet touring car. "Goes, like a scalrt rabbit," said - Captain Hoback. "Easy to drive too. I thought a body had to be v pretty good with machinery to handle a car. Mebbe that was true way back when I first started to hanker after a car when I was only 80 years old but It shorely Isn't true now. I missed a lot of fun by waiting so long." Captain Hoback drives f re- What More Could You Ask? Jxng Mileage and Perfection Skid 1'' quently in tne Ticlnity of Britton, Oklahoma, where he now resides. He has bnilt a garage for the car. The Captain rents .out the large farm which he homesteaded after joining te land rush from Okla homa City in 1889. "I had been prosperous and snceessful in Indiana and later Arkansas,", he explained. "I owned two saw mills and a plan ing mill, but lost them during the Cleveland administration, l went to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Learning of the proclamation opening land in Oklahoma, I walk ed from Fort Smith to Oklahoma City. My dogr Old Pal, went with me. I was broke, but that didn't matter to OH Pal. It took us nearly 10 days. We lived off the country. Antelope and deer were1 as thick as crows in a cornfield. "During the excitement of the land rush I lost my Old Pal. A man offered me a ride in a wag on. Old Pal was standing nearby when tne whistle blew as a signal that the rush was on. Guns were fired, everybody shouted and lash ed their horses. The long race over the prairie was very thrill ing. I staked one of the most valuable farms in the state but I lost Old Pal. . "That was long ago and of course he's dead now," the old man added wistfully. " But would give the whole farm to have him back with me now." After living 16 years . on the farm, Captain Hoback moved in 1905 to Dixon, Oklahoma, where he was postmaster, railroad agent. marshal and mayor. He came to Bsitton in 1909. He has been married twice. His second wife -died In 1923. During the Civil War he answered Lincoln's first call and served five years as a Captain of Company H, 57th In diana Volunteers. He was re ported dead at the Battle of Shiloh. The Captain still has the sword which he carried through the war. On the occasion of his 90th birthday recently, Captain Hoback entertained his friend M. E- Trapp governor of Oklahoma, and 100 other guests Including many pio neers and members of Grants Post No. 1, G. A. R., of which he is the only surviving charter mem- McCL AREN CORD 'Biir Smith & Watkins Snappy Service PHONE 44 ber. In the near future Captain Hoback will test his newly-acquired skill as a motorist on a tour to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Louisa Hale, at Heber Springs, Arkansas. SALEM SHOWN S' TO MANY TOURISTS Visitors Always jiager to See Surrounding Country; and MoVo Routes Needed AM SIX WINS IN I 1 1 Trip From Los Angeles to Al buquerque Trims Time From Fastest Train trails. ., The last 60 miles was a sea of water and slippery adobe mud that made going both diffi cult and dangerous. The run was completed without a single motor adjustment, and with only one minor adjustment I to the left rear brake. And in checking over the car In Albu querque before the return trip, it was necessary only to tighten one bolt on the spare tire carrier. The following' interesting dis cussion of the tourist and road problem is taken from a recent issue of ; the Salem Chamber of Commerce bulletin. Hundreds of tourists who stop at the office of the Chamber of Commerce all ask one question: "What is there to. see out in the country?" Tourists, many of whom are looking for locations, want to make a loop drive into the country. For the prune country, tourists are often routed south through Liberty, to Rosedale, thence east to the Pacific Highway and then back to Salem. For the cherry country and a fine view of Salem, tourists are sent across the river,, thence north to the Oak Grove or Orchard Heights road. Thence west swing ing around to the Dallas paved road. Tourists would like to travel out by the Cottage Farm, the State Training School for Boys and then back by the Institution for the Feeble Minded. But it Is not all paved. If there was a loop to Silver Creek Falls by way of Howell Prairie, Silverton, thence to the Bridge at Silver Creek Falls and thence bac to Salem through the Waldo Hills. Marion county would have as guests for several days, thousands of tourists. As it now stands; according to the five year program laid out by the county court, there will be no good road3 into Silver Creek Falls unless the road district in which the Falls are. located will vote a millage road tax. EIKER'S GUARANTEED tf j USED. FORDS -EBICED RIGHT THE BLUE FRONT, .Iferta cad Vmjj 1 Before buying any automobile in the thousand dollar field, ask yourself these five questions 3 Is it as beautiful and comfortable as the new Oakland Six? ? Has it mechanical Four Wheel Brakes? Does it combine such advanced features as Air Cleaner, j Oil Filter, Full Pressure Oiling, and The Harmonic Balancer an exclusive Oakland feature imparting - unmatched freedom from vibration? . Can it duplicate Oakland speed, power, acceleration, flexibility and year-in-and-year-out dependability ? And can it equal Oakland's amazing value at the new prices 70 to 350 lower? Because no car in the field can answer these questions satis factorily becauseno caf combines these features atanywhere near Oakland's new low prices this is the car for you. $ 97f (CM Price $1095) s LaU Cmmp fllSf (Old Price T $1295) Gtt 1MI (Old Price . 1095) SccUm . . (Old Price 1545) . . (Old Price 1215) Uadaa Mm lf (Old Price 1645) AO price fcmj -'- 'Gmcre! Mrtort Tfau Fipai Koto, tmucftn & Umum te du mdmtrksmim mail jnhmm,Ymcnw$mHamuskM$49$tQlm9mmtima$a9mimt tmm, ' 4 VICK BROTHERS 4 High Street at Trade WINNING AND. HOLDING GOOD WILL OAftlAND SIX PRODUCT OF CENERAL MOTORS From Los Anseles to Albu querque in 26 hours and 8 min utes! That is the record Just es tablished by a strictly stock Ajax touring car. The time of the fastest train be tween the two cities is 28 hours and minutes. Two hours langer than it took the Ajax, and the distance by rail is shorter by 14 miles. The Ajax left Los Angeles with two members of the local Ajax dealer organization as drivers, and a newspaper man as observer. The party traveled through Vic torville, Barstow, Ludlow and Amboy, reaching Needles, 300 miles in 7 hours and 45 minutes. From there the car sped on through Kingkman, Seligman, Flagstaff, Winslow, Holbrook, and Gallop to a point just 836 miles from Los Angeles, where the 24 hour part of the run was completed. Then it crossed the Continental Divide, and ploughed on through the mud to Albu querque. The total distance of 906 miles vas covered in an elapsed time of 26 hours and S minutes. The fastest limited train was beaten by exactly 2 hours and 1 minute. - The car was an Ajax touring which had done a little over 2000 miles as a demonstrator and was absolutely stock mechanically, its only extra equipment being a spotlight, bumpers, motometer. stabilators and two spare wheels (with tires mounted) instead of the one which is regular equip ment. The tires were those which were on the car when ship ped from the factory. In adition to the three passengers, it carried considerable baggage in fact an average tourist load. The run was performed 'under the most trying conditions. All sorts of bad roads were encoun tered deep heavy sand, rutty rocky roads and steep winding Fl Bull PI! T IB UK IITI1 Expenditure of Over Half ion Dollars Is Found to Be Necessary PONTIAC, Mich., Nov. 21. In order to meet the demand for an increasing number of bodies tor the Oakland Motor Car Co., and to provide adequate facilities for producing bodies for the new six cylinder car to be Introduced early next year as a companion to the Oakland Six, the Fisher Body Cor poration Is expending approxi mately a half million dollars in aditional building and equipment j at its Pontiac plant. The present Fisher Bo'dy Cor poration's $2,000,000 plant has been devoted exclusively, begin ning two months ago, to building Oakland bodies, due to the tre mendous demand that followed the appearance of the new Oakland and the monthly breaking of sales records since that time. The build ing additions will add 60,000 more feet of floor space. This enlargement for body building requirements follows closely the appropriation of three quarters of a million dollars for equipment in the Oakland factor ies to increase production on the Oakland Six and three million dol lars for tools and equipment to build the new six cylinder car which will be produced and dis tributed by the Oakland organi zation. All additions and equipment at the body building plant will have been installed before the end of this year. 7i liiMS 1 ill " WVJUi i w ' -s - V-s- ;v - i Reductions rC ii in 1 ii i up tp Nash has reduced the price of this Special Six 4-Door Sedan to $1445 f. cx b. fac tory without sacrificing one iota of QUALITY, It's exactly the same car with the same fine features including luxuri ous mohair upholstery, silver-finished fit tings, heater, Nash-design 4-vvheel brakes, full balloon tires and 5 disc wheels. Kirkwood Motor Co. 311 North Commercial Telephone ail O mmii i ii ii W im n- i i i - ' ' . "M Iwater1 III iiiii" II It I VM VJ S RJ2!1 till I 1 1 SiWeStv! 66, ill You'll find him all about ydu, close to your home and handy to your place of business. You can spot him by his attractive green and white service station or garage and by the famous green-and -white signs that announce his products, T He's the Authorized Iridependent GENERAL Dealer and his name is legion. Wherever you find him it will pay you to know him because he's a fellow townsman of yours and he "aims to please." His business is his own arid he is selling old-fashioned, modern-process GENERAL Gasoline because he believes in it. 'He knows that it starts quick, burns clean, ; imparts full power and gives maximum mileage. Ask him about it, GENERAL Products Are Sold Only by ' Authorized ; Independent Dealers at the Green - and -White Sign. Till Up Your TaiJc and Let Your ENGINE Decide!" T T D V W. R. SPECK, Distributor Telephone 2102 Salem, Oregon ' S3