‘Old, original vehicles’: Cars from early 1900s roll into York, Chester counties
A wide-eyed 13-year-old boy spied a vintage red Ford truck. It was his favorite.
He figured his father, Bert Calhoun of York, would know what it was.
“I really liked coming out here,” the teen, Henry Eldridge, said. “My dad has always fascinated me with the fact that he just sees a car and he’s like ‘I know what that car is,’ so I wanted to see how many he could name.”
The Ford truck was one of 138 antique and vintage cars that rolled into Rock Hill Tuesday for the oldest and largest antique auto tour in the country, Revival AAA Glidden Tour.
The tour includes vehicles manufactured from 1908 through 1942. Rows of the old-fashioned cars dotted the lawn of the historic White Home Tuesday.
Among the cars were Studebakers from the 1930s, Ford models A and T, Hupmobiles, a blue 1910 Overland with red rims, a vintage taxi from Beverly Hills and hand-cranked cars. Several had old plates identifying them as members of the Horseless Carriage Club.
The tour also displayed the Anderson Automobile manufactured by Rock Hill’s Anderson Motor Co. from 1915.
Participating cars and drivers come from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, Utah and Canada.
Rob Spofford drove his 1928 Ford Model A station wagon more than 4,100 miles from Boise, Idaho to Rock Hill. The vehicle has a wooden frame and leather drapes that fold down as windows.
Spofford bought the car about four years ago “in a bunch of parts,” some of which he put together, he said.
“We found it in a pretty tough state in a garage,” he said. “It’s running pretty good right now.”
Other cars and carriages had headlamps that were lit by oil or gas before electric headlights were added. The oldest featured car in the tour is a 1908 Lozier from Canton, Ga.
“Most of the car shows have souped-up hot rods,” Calhoun said. “I like the old, original vehicles.”
The event is hosted by the Hornets Nest Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America.
The tour made its way through several towns and cities throughout York, Lancaster, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Kershaw and Union counties this week.
It continues Thursday in Chester with a parade past the elementary and high school, through Chester State Park and into the downtown area with a public display starting at 2:30 p.m.
The vehicles also will be on display 9-11 a.m. Friday at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, N.C.
This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 4:45 PM.
