Gilmore Museum takes trip back in time

HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. _ On Saturday May 20, The Gilmore Car Museum, near Kalamazoo, will hold its second annual “Donald Gilmore Pre-1942 Showcase,” a one-day event which welcomes original vehicles 75 to 125 years old to spend the day driving within its historic campus.

“You’ll feel like you just traveled back in time,” says museum spokesperson Jay Follis, “when something you would expect to see only sitting static in a museum actually drives by.”

The public can experience free antique car rides, enjoy seeing a representation of the world’s very first automobile—the 1886 Benz decades before Henry Ford’s first car—being driven, and discover several owners wearing the period fashions that match the vehicles.

A 1903 Columbia Electric, the first type of auto driven by a U.S. President, as well as a 1916 Detroit Electric, a favorite of Mrs. Thomas Edison, will also be on hand.

A rare group of highwheelers will include a Sears vehicle that was ordered new directly from the mail order catalog, shipped to Wisconsin, and used by the same family for decades before it was given to a local historical society.

Demonstrations will highlight the hand-crank starting of the popular Ford Model T “Tin Lizzy,” the lighting of a fire to start a steam-powered Stanley, and revealing the mammoth 522-cubic inch engine of a 1909 Thomas Flyer.

This special event will also include a swap meet area for pre-1942 car parts, tools, vintage attire, and antiques.

Those who enter a vehicle built prior to 1942 into the show at $10 each are also invited to take part in a free driving tour on Friday.

Public admission to the show is reduced to $12 and includes access to the the entire Gilmore Car Museum campus and all exhibits. Children under 11 are free.

The Gilmore Car Museum is located just 20 minutes northeast of Kalamazoo on M-43 and Hickory Road. You can learn more about the Museum and its events at GilmoreCarMuseum.org or call 269-671-5089 for more information.