Indianapolis Star 1907 Glidden Tour Coverage

This is a collection of articles covering the 1907 Glidden Tour that were published in the Indianapolis Star. These are listed in chronological order, starting with images of the Glidden and Hower Trophies.
Indianapolis Star 1907 Glidden Tour Coverage

This is a collection of articles covering the 1907 Glidden Tour that were published in the Indianapolis Star. These are listed in chronological order, starting with images of the Glidden and Hower Trophies.
Auto Industry Boom

This is a brief article published in the July 14, 1907 Indianapolis Star about the booming auto industry in Indianapolis at the time. Several managers of automobile dealerships are quoted although interestingly the Fisher Automobile Company was not among them. I include it here however as these men and their companies were competitors to Fisher's establishment.
Portland Debacle

One milestone event in Barney Oldfield's life was his alleged suicide attempt in July 1907. The exact charges are unclear but it appears Oldfield was accused of some kind of fraud in making promises he could not keep. In the end he was exonerated but not before in what I believe was a fit of drunken rage climbed onto the ledge of a Portland, Oregon hotel room at least a few stories up and threatened to jump.
Ollie Savin

This small article published in the July 4, 1906 edition of the Indianapolis Star and concerns a record breaking success by a little known driver of the era - Ollie Savin. Savin is credited with breaking world speed records previously held by Barney Oldfield. Also mentioned in this article is driver A.C. Webb.
Oldfield Wins in Chicago - 1906

This is a brief article that summarizes a race meet at the Hawthorne dirt track near Chicago. Barney Oldfield is credited with winning an event that involved three heats. A.C. Webb is noted as having finished to Oldfield in one of the heats.
 
1906 Hoosier Road Trip

Not unlike computers driving the need for software applications in the 80's or the i-Phone powering the popularity of apps today, automobiles ignited demand for good roads in the early 20th Century. This was particuarly acute in North America as centuries of civilization had produced a superior road system in Europe. The United States had just a few hundred miles of paved roads, much of the rest of the "roads" across the country would be more accurately described as paths or trails today.
East vs. West

These brief articles capture an observation that is a central reality of American politics and society today - the red states versus the blue states. The first has a more cultural bent, the second speaks to the geographic realities of the regions of the country. Keep in mind that when these articles were originally published in 1906 and 1909 respectively the term "west" meant something different than it does today. States in the near midwest such as Ohio, Indiana Illinois and Michigan were considered "western."
 

Five files from the Barney Oldfield scrapbook documenting the 1906 Broadway Play starring Elsie Janis.
The Broadway Play - 1906
Barney Oldfield was also featured as he developed a special effect perfect for the play. It involved a pair of treadmills, two of his race cars, and his longtime partner, Tom Cooper. Oldfield and Cooper drove their cars on the treadmills and together with scenery props rotating on a carousel in the background and bags of dirt kicked up by their wheels; they were able to simulate an auto race. Janis was only 17 years old at the time of the play’s opening.

Elsie Janis Profile

This profile of American theatrical star Elsie Janis was published in the Indianapolis Sun on June 8, 1907. Janis starred in the Broadway play, "The Vanderbilt Cup," which was more than entertainment but a milestone that demonstrated how the automobile had cleared a hurdle of acceptance in popular culture.

This folder has numerous articles on the inaugural auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. These races occurred only days after the Speedway hosted the Federation of American Motorcycles (FAM) race meet. The auto races were a blend of success and tragedy. Most of the major American drivers entered – Barney Oldfield, Ray Harroun, Bob Burman, Tom Kincaid, Lewis Strang, Louis Chevrolet, Jap Clemens, Charlie Merz, Eddie Hearne, Ralph De Palma and Tobin DeHymel among them. With the exception of a Fiat and a Benz, the entries were American, including: Marmon, Marion, Stearns, National, Jackson, Stoddard-Dayton, Buick and Apperson. Tragedy came in the loss of several lives, including Willfred Bourque, who became the first driver to die in a racing accident at the Speedway.

When Speedway History Began

This is an amazing article for its perspective and vision.