The Car That Started It All

Russ is a car guy. Always has been. From his first car—an old ’53 Chevy that he raced as an “N” stock at the local drag strip--to the Corvettes he had until we took off in the motorhome, if it has a motor and four wheels, he’s interested. So it’s only natural that we’d go to the Studebaker museum when we got to South Bend, Indiana. 

What I didn’t realize was that at the museum we’d see The Car That Started It All—a 1953 Studebaker Starlight. But there it was in the museum, as shiny as the one Russ saw when he was five years old. Once he saw the sleek lines of that car, which was way ahead of its time, he was hooked on cars that looked cool and went fast.  The Studebaker Museum turned out to be about more than cars though. The history of the Studebaker company, which started as a wagon and carriage producer, was really about the history of manufacturing in the Midwest and how it related to the history of America. For instance, we saw the carriage that Abraham Lincoln rode in to Ford’s Theater the night he was assassinated. We also toured the Studebaker Mansion which was built at a cost of $500,000 when the average monthly rent for a factory worker was $12.00.

Russ at lunch in the Studebaker Mansion which now houses a restaurant and event facility

The Oliver Mansion

We also toured the Oliver Mansion on the museum grounds. The Oliver family made their fortune from the sale of the Oliver Chilled Plow, a revolutionary design which was the top-selling plow in the world for many years. The mansion is a beautiful Romanesque structure but the thing that really makes it special is that the Oliver grandchildren left it to the Historical Society with all the contents intact so it’s almost exactly like it was in the 1930s. The place is so big it had 34 fireplaces! And there was a doorbell system for the servants just like in one of our favorite classic movies Our Man Godfrey.

And how could we pass up the RV Hall of Fame? Russ is standing by this crazy house on wheels custom made using an old Cadillac El Dorado. The funniest part about it is that the back of the vehicle looks just like the front.  Same grille, same lights. Looks like it's coming and going all at the same time.

I fell for this little trailer I called Cutie

While we're on our trip I'm on a search for the country's best root beer. Wherever we are I buy local root beers to taste test. I got started on this quest after having a Dad's Root Beer with my fried green tomato sandwich at Pig Iron Barbeque in Seattle. After I discovered the selection at the Root Beer Store in Redmond I was hooked. So far my favorites are Dog N Suds and Dang! That's Good but I'm still testing as I find new root beers to try.