OLD GOAT AT NEW FOND DU LAC SHOW

An unrestored custom car built in a high school auto shop in 1962 will be on exhibition at the Galloway House and Village in Fond du Lac, Wis., during a car show to be held there on Aug. 15-16. Known as the “Old Goat,” the roadster style sports car — made from pieces of other cars — was built by Fond du Lac High School students for a cost of around $275.

According to Professor Geoffrey Hacker, of Florida State University, the Old Goat is actually what is classified as a “plan car.” Hacker — an expert in early fiberglass cars and other low-production postwar vehicles — says that plans for the car were published in a magazine and it is impossible to say how many people may have actually built the plan. A similar vehicle (identified as an early George Barris hot rod based on a ’41 Ford chassis) is pictured on page 105 of the book Weird Cars, which Krause Publications released in 1993.

The Fond du Lac car will be the star of Galloway House’s Craft Day “Ice Cream Social” Car Show. This show promises family fun. Collector cars from carriages to cars of tomorrow (2010 dealer model) will also be displayed. There will also be a showing of cars that participated in the filming of the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies” about gangster John Dillinger.

Finished in white, with a red interior and a flip-up front end, the “Old Goat” sits on a mid-‘30s Ford chassis and runs a Mercury flathead V-8. It has bucket seats, a single multi-gauge instrument cluster and a “fat man” steering wheel pirated from an early pre-1920s car.

The Galloway House and Village is located at 336 Old Pioneer Rd. in Fond du Lac, between SR 175 and US 45. This historical site allows visitors to see what life was like in the late 1800s. The 30-room Victorian mansion boasts four fireplaces, Italianate details and many pieces of original furniture. It is surrounded by 25 historic buildings such as a church, a photographers' shop, a town hall, a newspaper print shop, and a one-room school. The Blakely Museum contains historical collections from Native American to present day.

The Craft Day “Ice Cream Social” event will also feature kiddie rides, Fond du Lac Police Department K-9 demonstrations and the Fond du Lac Elks D.A.R.E. Trailer. Portrait sessions will be available with vintage clothing supplied by AMBR fashions. Photo sessions in a vintage 1800's carriage will be available. Times will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

To enter a car call Bob Kovacs at (920) 921-8200.For more information contact the Fond du Lac County Historical Society, P. O. Box 1284, Fond du Lac, WI 54936-1284