Day Nineteen- July 2, 2010 Tampa to Montreal Tour

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We have another lovely day of touring. The weather is cool, low humidity, just the kind of day anyone takes their old pride and joy out for a spin! We have our good friends from the Hillsborough Region AACA Club, Jim and Judy Briley with us, as we take off for the General George Patton Museum in Fort Knox, KY. The drive is country cute as usual. And the museum is fascinating, with plenty of memorials to the "war to end all wars". I was touched by the irony of General Patton's death. After serving in so many military conflicts, General George S. Patton, Jr. used a 1938 Cadillac in Europe in which he was involved in an accident, ultimately resulting in his death in 1945.

The banquet dinner for the AACA 75th Jubilee was very well organized, with over a thousand people in attendance. We happened to be seated at table number 75 (we thought ironic for the 75th anniversary!) next to the doors, which was quite lucky. First in, first out, and the waiters serve you first while the food is hot as well!

The presentation honored the past presidents of the AACA, and we happened to have one at our table. It was a good evening topped off with a fantastic presentation by Jeff Mahl, great grandson of George Schuster, the driver and chief mechanic of the Thomas Flyer, the winner of the first Great Auto Race NY to Paris in 1908.

This truly world class event included National Teams from France, Italy, Germany and the United States. The New York to Paris Automobile Race was to be driven across the frozen Bering Straits in the dead of winter 1908. All this at a time when horses were considered more reliable than automobiles!

The Race was sponsored by the NEW YORK TIMES and the LA MATIN (a Paris newspaper). The torturous New York to Paris Race route: NYC, Albany, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Valdez Alaska, Japan, Vladivostok, Omsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin and finally Paris. The Thomas Flyer Team covered three continents and over 22,000 miles in 169 days. The Race was ultimately won by the American Thomas Flyer driven by George Schuster Sr. of Buffalo, NY. The feat has never been equaled. They still hold the world record nearly 100 years later!

There is another Great Auto Race " The World Auto Race" planned for 2011, and Jeff Mahl plans on driving another Thomas Flyer replica in it. If it were not for the $27,000 entry fee, Brando and I would love to drive a car in that race!

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Photos

Patton was married and had 3 children
In his diaries to his wife he admits to being jealous of the children getting so much of the wife's attention....hmmm, and he was gone most of the time at war!

Thomas Flyer 1908
George Schuster at the wheel

Great Grandson Jeff Mahl
his great grandfather was George Schuster, driver and chief mechanic of Thomas Flyer

George Schuster tells the tales of his Great Auto Race
showing the great grandchildren the flag they carried from NY to Paris

2011 World Race
any sponsors out there?????

Comments

[Michael Hamm]

Greatest Auto Race
The film of this great event and more pictures are part of The Greatest Auto Race on Earth documentary at www.thegreatestautorace.com Cheers. Michael.

[JPistorius]

Thank you for checking out my blog!
I loved the presentation Jeff Mahl gave in Lousiville on his great-grandfathers adventure with the Thomas Flyer and the Great Auto Race in 1908. The video is excellent on your website. If we had a sponsor, Brando and I would seriousley consider the 2011 Great Race. What a trip!