Model T hobbyists enjoy local sites and hospitality

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:29

Ed Hall, 90, of Prairie Village, stands beside his 1927 Model T Touring car Friday in Hillsboro. The four-cylinder engine is original, he said. The average cost of a black, non-brass Model T ranges from $8,000 to $12,000. In brass, the price goes up to $12,000 to $20,000. “It’s a lot cheaper than some hobbies,” Hall said. Sixteen Model T Fords, from Kansas and Missouri car clubs, rolled into Hillsboro Friday as part of a three-day historical tour that included the Santa Fe Trail.

Gary Hylton of Prairie Village, trip organizer and member of the Kansas City Chuggers Club, said the group left Thursday morning from Olathe, stayed overnight in Council Grove and spent Friday touring.

Two members of the Kansas City Chuggers Club take a moment to make sure their Model T was ready for the next leg of their journey while one of the wives bought a new quilt at Quilts and QuiltRacks. “We got as close as we could to the trail,” he said, “traveling from Lost Springs to the Cotton­wood River Crossing.”

Hylton said he was grateful to Steve Schmidt with the Cotton­wood Crossing Chapter and Glenn Shields, Sana Fe Trail Association, in making the trip enjoyable for everyone.

“We ate at Main Street Cafe in Durham and many of us have been at Little Pleasures several times today,” he said.

Other Hillsboro highlights included meeting Diane Claassen, owner of Quilts & QuiltRacks, and visiting with Hillsboro Middle School students.

“She is Miss Entrepreneur,” Hylton said about Claassen. “We were impressed with what a big booster she is for the city of Hills­boro and how she promoted it,” he said.

“The middle school students loved when some of the drivers honked their horns,” he said.

Bob and Colleen Mills of Monett, Mo., close to Spring­field, also with the Kansas City Chuggers, said they have been Model T hobbyists for more than 30 years.

“It’s an incurable disease,” Bob Mills said about their favorite leisure activity.

Driving a 1927 Model T Coupe, Mills said, the group stayed at Cottage House in Council Grove on Thursday.

On the first day of their 376-mile jaunt, it poured down rain, he said, but the sun came out for their historical tour and other Friday events.

Up until he retired, Mills said he was a heavy equipment crane operator and mechanic, which makes it easier for him to work on his cars.

Ed Hall, 90, also of Prairie Village, was driving a 1927 Model T Touring car, complete with the original four-cylinder, 20 horsepower engine.

Hall said he has taken his car to Europe on three different tours. “We were in Austria, Germany and Switzerland,” he said.

Three Model Ts could fit into a shipping container and it took about two months to reach their destination.

He and other hobbyists would set their course and plan for about a three-week trip.

Hall said he believes this Model T keeps him “young and going.”

While in the city of Marion, some of the Model T enthusiasts stayed at the Elgin Hotel and some at the motel east of town, Hylton said.

Before returning to Olathe, the group ate dinner Friday at Country Lakes and heard the singing waiters. They ate at Stone City Cafe on Saturday.

In addition to the host club, the Kansas City Chuggers, Hylton said, Model T owners from the Sunflower Crankers of Hays, East Central Model T Club of Waverly and the Flatlanders Model T Club of Wichita were represented.

Hylton said the group wanted to stop at Florence and see the historic Harvey House, but time wouldn’t allow.

“We will just have to come back for another tour,” he said.