Wisconsin Motorist
This article originally appeared in Exchange,
a newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
(Volume 33, Number 3, Summer 1991) It is the 14th
in a series of articles titled Researching
Community History. The series highlights
the Society's resources available to local
historians. It was written by Tom McKay,
retired local history coordinator for the
Wisconsin Historical Society.
The last column in this series explored the use of automobile tour
guide books to investigate the coming of the automobile
age to local communities. Researchers who use the tour
books may find valuable complementary information in
the Wisconsin
Motorist magazine, a resource held on microfilm at the Wisconsin
Historical Society. This Milwaukee-based
publication reported a miscellany of motoring news
from throughout the state. The magazine began publication
in 1909 and continued until 1928. The Wisconsin Historical
Society collections include only a partial run of the
magazines published, but the issues held contain a
surprising variety of information from all parts of
Wisconsin.
The issues of Wisconsin Motorist from 1919 through 1928
exist on microfilm as a nearly complete run. Prior
to 1919 only a few issues from 1910 represent the magazine's
early years. However, researchers may find those few
early issues to be especially useful. At the opening of the automobile
age, many local companies entered the market supplying automotive
products. In the early issues of Wisconsin
Motorist,
researchers may discover advertisements for local manufacturing
companies making long forgotten products for the automotive
trade. For example, the O.C. Hansen Manufacturing Company
of Milwaukee advertised Hansen's Auto Gauntlets, or
driving gloves, in the pages of Wisconsin
Motorist. Harvey Spring Company of Racine ran advertisements
promoting automobile springs. The Wisconsin Motor Car
Company of Janesville purchased a full page spread
for its car, the Wisco. In addition to such spots for
manufacturing companies, the magazine's pages included a host of advertisements
for automobile dealers, traveling accommodations, and
other services related to the motoring public. Milwaukee-area businesses
predominate, but local historians from many other areas of the state
will find information about businesses in their communities.
The Wisconsin Motorist magazines from 1910 featured a column
about new automobile clubs forming in the state. These
columns reported the names of club officers and highlighted goals
established by the groups. One new club in Manitowoc set out to promote
a lake shore drive from Manitowoc to Two Rivers. The magazine also
provided news briefs from around the state announcing new automotive
businesses, motoring accidents and road improvements. While larger
communities such as Beloit, Kenosha and Eau Claire received much of
the attention, notice also appears of activities in smaller towns.
In 1910, the magazine reported completion of a new gravel road leading
from Sparta to the Little Creek schoolhouse. News from Sauk City indicated
that an experiment in the community had inmates of the county workhouse
crushing rock for road improvements.
Wisconsin Motorist attempted to promote travel through
descriptions of scenic and historic sites to visit. One issue printed
a lengthy article about the Indian mounds at Carroll College in Waukesha.
Another month's magazine told readers about scenic Door County and
described the excellent meals and rooms in such establishments as
The Cove and the Eagle Inn. The magazine also published tour routes
like those in the automobile guide books. Some local historians may
find mention of special events, such as the automobile endurance test
that passed through Elroy, Chippewa Falls, Merrill and other communities
on a great loop beginning and ending in Milwaukee.
The later issues of Wisconsin Motorist reflect the consolidation of the automobile industry on a national level. Fewer advertisements appear for manufacturers serving a local market with automotive products. Articles emphasized more general concerns about maintenance and operation of automobiles. Nonetheless, a selection of items of local interest continue to appear. Many businesses providing automotive services continue to advertise and receive mention. For example, a photograph and description in a 1923 issue extol the efficient new service station of Hoaglin Tire and Battery Company in Oshkosh. Each year during the 1920s, the magazine ran a table of automotive registrations for each county in the state. Another yearly table listed the exhibitors at the large Milwaukee Automobile Show.
Wisconsin Motorist provides a context in which to understand
local issues related to the automobile. A 1923 article about the state
automobile club summarized its legislative agenda. Items of concern
included mandating lights on all vehicles at night, enforcing the
headlight law, and increasing speed limits. During the 1920s, northern
states such as Wisconsin saw a lively debate about the practicality
of plowing and maintaining roads for winter driving. Readers from
Westby, Shullsburg, Plymouth and other communities wrote to the editor
with opinions on this subject. The magazine also reported that the
bus line from Ashland to Park Falls maintained a winter schedule by
leasing its own snowplow and tractor.
News from motor bus companies represented a portion of the range
of interests in the Wisconsin Motorist that extended beyond
private automobiles. The magazine regularly offered sections or articles
on motorcycling, motor boating and the motor truck industry. Frequent
advertisements for Wisconsin-made Harley-Davidson and Italian motorcycles
appeared. Notes in the motor boating section varied from a new boat
motor invented by John Cremer of Cashton to the motor launch service
started by William Campbell in Argyle to give pleasure rides on the
Pecatonica River.
Historical miscellany most accurately describes the information that
a researcher may draw from the pages of Wisconsin Motorist.
The examples cited above represent only a sampling
of articles that covered the gamut from used car prices
in Milwaukee to the opening of state parks in Douglas,
Buffalo and Trempealeau counties. No local historian
should expect to develop an overview of automobile
history in a community entirely from Wisconsin
Motorist.
However, anyone planning a book, article or exhibit
on the topic of local automotive history could invest
a few productive hours scanning the publication for
advertising, articles and notes that will add depth
to their study. The Wisconsin Motorist microfilms
can be borrowed from the Wisconsin Historical Society
through interlibrary
loan.
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