1915: Ivan starts winning!

Above is the first photo following the 1915 Indy 500, in what I'm going to call scrapbook #2.  This scrapbook mostly contains Ivan's early flying photographs.  I used the photo above in my introductory post since it's such a great picture of Ivan, and you immediately associate the goggles with racing.  Is this the Vite car that was featured in the handbill of the match race with Gotier which I placed with the last post?  I'm making this assumption based on the photos in this post, and on the newspaper articles.  If someone has some information about the car, please post it in the comments.  Better photos of it are coming, however.

The newspaper article starting this section has a pretty encouraging headline... Ivan won the fifteen mile race, and came a very close (11 seconds) second place in the ten mile race due to a blown tire.  Apparently he made pretty good time to have caught back up within 11 seconds after a tire change.  Keep this in mind for later...

We're racing at Berkshire Park in Gloversville at this event, which is about 10 or so miles north of Fonda, as the crow flies.  From the maps of the area, it looks like all of Ivan's racing career took place within about twenty miles of his home in Amsterdam, New York.

The first photo and this next photo appear one above the other, with the newspaper article to the left of them. I get the feeling that this photo is for the sponsors, somehow.  I love the guy with his hat off.  Is he proposing, or something?

The next old photo is pretty pretty fun.  I believe this is Ivan in the second car, but I've never seen a car like this one in the albums.  It does have a number on it, and he sports a 7 in the photo above as well, but I don't think this is the same car.  He has bounced around from Chalmers, to Hudson, to Vite, and raced in a Stearns once; so who knows what circumstances led to him being in this car?

Here's another photo just prior to the start of this race, and I have to say that I don't know what race this is from. It's clear from an article in my next post that Ivan raced all summer, but there are only a few articles about the races in the scrapbooks.  It's pretty cool news, too.  This disproves my belief that he was self-absorbed and saved everything ever published about himself in the papers, though.

Now, the first race in this article stated that Ivan had regained a bit of distance after his blown tire.  This second article (actually third, I didn't post the second one since it's the same news from another paper)  gives a bit of a hint of the interplay between Ivan and Mr. Jones after the ten-mile race. There obviously was an argument that led to this wager.  The article details a match race (a one on one race) between Wheaton and Jones.  I like to put myself at the scene and try and fill in details based on facts that I've read, and human nature.  I imagine that Ivan got in Jones' face after the race and told him that he would have won that race if he had one more lap to go, or something like... "If I hadn't blown that tire, you'd have lost".  Jones then puts down the wager that we read in this article...  The headline seems a bit slanted to me, don't you think?  Why isn't Jones' name in the headline?

Unfortunately there's nothing to indicate whether the race took place, or if it did, what the outcome was.  I've been curious for a while about these races after reading that so and so didn't finish "in the money".  It would be very interesting to know what the purse was for these races.

Next up: more 1915 racing!  BUT!!  Stay tuned if you're looking for the aviation stories.  They're right around the corner.

-kpw

Fourth race, back at Fonda

I'm trying something new with this post.  I've begun placing the collection on Smugmug.com and I'll be linking the photos from there.  I think you'll see a pretty vast improvement in image quality.  Let me know what you think, please.  The newspaper clippings are fairly low resolution images so they will still be housed on Picasa/Blogger.

I chose Smugmug since a prominent photographer (Trey Ratcliff) whose work I enjoy has said great things about the company.  He also mentioned how secure his photos were there, and I've been thinking that it would be a horrible loss if anything happened to the collection.  With the photos on Smugmug, my family will have a digital repository of the collection and I won't have to worry about maintaining it.  It actually makes it possible for you to print some of the photos if you'd like a copy for your own collection, but I'll address that later.

So, this newspaper article concludes the first scrapbook which contained mostly auto racing, auto makers, some circus photos that didn't pass the interest test, and a smattering of family members that also didn't pass.  There are two or three pages after the photos for this post in the scrapbook.  Some interesting automobile photos and some disaster photos, which are very interesting.

This article goes into a little pre-race near-catastrophe.  One of the drivers apparently mistook a signal and went plowing through the pack, thinking the race had started.  That must have been quite a sight.  As with the last couple of posts, I'll skip the motorcycle races.

Ivan put this clip of the race results on the next page, too.  The news behind the news, right?  The article didn't include the times of the other finishers other than first, and Ivan has written them in.  I think this is significant.

Here's a little story relating to Ivan's propensity to write stuff down.  I had been going through the collection around eight years ago, and I found some letters relating to a project that he and a well-known aviation restoration guy had collaborated on.  I called the museum which they donated these items to, and was connected to the curator!  I described the project and he told me about how (I'll save the details til later, sorry) it all worked out.  He wondered how I knew about it, and I told him about Ivan.  "You're Ivan P. Wheaton's grandson?" he said.  "Your grandfather's flight suit, goggles, gloves, boots, and helmet were on prominent display here until just last month!"  He went on to tell me that many books on early Marine Corps aviation benefited from Ivan's input.  Ivan apparently loved writing all this stuff down, and he really loved keeping it.  I still have a couple of books to which he contributed.  For some reason, he was obsessed with keeping a record of his life.  (by the way, I used to play aviator in that suit when I was about 12, when he was out of town)

Anyway, no actual photos of this race, but I do have a few really wonderful pictures of the Hudson he was driving. We saw a photo of the Hudson factory a few posts back, which makes me wonder how his sales of Chalmers, and perhaps his sales of Hudson tie into his racing career.

There is also this portrait of Ivan at the age of what must be 20 or 21.  Also, if you examine the first of the photos above, you'll see that Ivan used photos of this Hudson, but the license plate reads "NY 1915".  The race was held on Oct 14, 1914 (there's another article substantially the same as the one I posted, but with a date).  I'll stay true to my goal not to rearrange the photos due to the actual dates.  I figured I'd mention it so you knew I was paying attention.

The next little batch of photos are a bit curious.  They are not racing related, but are transportation related, and... interesting.

-kpw

Filling in - Race three

Ballston Spa, New York is the site of Ivan's next race, in which it appears he was not actually scheduled to race.  Ballston Spa today appears to be a very small village, situated twenty miles east and a little north of where Ivan grew up in Amsterdam, New York.  I found the following information interesting:

The community was named in honor of one of its earliest settlers, Reverend Eliphalet Ball. Ballston Spa was officially incorporated as a village in 1807. This area was once famous for its mineral water spring, which was believed to have healing powers. Ballston Spa was also known as the site of the Souci Hotel, which was one of the largest hotels in the world in the 1800s. This village was also the birthplace of the supposed creator of baseball, Abner Doubleday.

I've only included the text that pertains to Ivan's event from the newspaper clipping, this time.  The papers seemed mostly interested in the motorcycle races at Ballston Spa, and gave it a good three quarters of the article.  It seems that Ivan wasn't driving his Chalmers at this race in October of 1914, and we'll understand why, soon.  Ivan did not participate in the ten mile race, so I also passed over that event.

This photo is the best of the bunch for the racing at Ballston Spa, but it's difficult to tell which race this is.  Race one lists seven starters, and I count eight cars here.  Race two lists ten starters, but it's possible that some cars didn't race.  Like the last post, who knows, and who cares?  It's just fun that there are photos of the event at all.  It doesn't appear that the race was very well attended, though.  I see a lot of empty seats in the grandstands.

So, Ivan is racing a "Stearns car owned in Saratoga" according to the article, and he finishes a familiar third out of perhaps ten starters.  I'm making the assumption that this is his third race, since he was pretty avid about posting these clips and photos of his racing.  It is possible that he has raced more, and we just don't have record of it.  He's not doing badly if this is the extent of his experience, since there are considerably more cars which are starting these races.  Seems like Jones and Stewart have local racing pretty securely tied up with their Fords.

This handbill from the race is tucked in between the pages of the scrapbook with the press clippings.  This provides the answer to why Ivan wasn't racing his Chalmers; he wasn't even there to race!  He came to serve as "Assistant Starter".

And the back of the handbill shows that Ivan raced in the place of a Mr. Hamm, for reasons that are not known.  Did Ivan charm his way into a driving spot at the last moment?  Maybe this was a customer of Wheaton Automobile Company, or perhaps a family friend.

I'll finish up this post with a photo of one of the motorcycle racers, just since it's such a fun photograph.  Next up will be another race at Fonda.

-kpw
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Wheaton Wins!

So, we're back with race number two, and the results of the race are very interesting.  Ivan wins his second race, but as the headline of September 14, 1914 reads, "Three cars mixed up on race track".  Mixed up indeed!

This second race of Ivan's career takes place at Fonda Fairgrounds again.  An interesting description of the race indicates that the track is located on the river, which supports a view from a previous post that the Fonda speedway of today may well have been the same location as in Ivan's day.  This race also attracted another large crowd, by one account it was double (3000 people!) the size of the first race!

The twenty mile race is the focus of the headline, and the mix up occurs at lap 17.  According to the first article, it was obvious to the writer that there was an attempt to keep Ivan from passing during some portion of the race.  Seems to me like Ivan was getting a little testy about this and decided to make a bold move on the back straight.  Somehow while he was passing Stewart, he caught the guy's rear wheel, taking him out of the race.  The other Ford apparently had some engine trouble, and Ivan won the race.  Ivan placed third in the 10 mile race.  (this clipping is readable at full size, but Lightbox sometimes doesn't let you view it full size. Try right-clicking this if you can't see it full size and either "view image" or "open in new window)

This next set of newspaper articles is taken directly from the scrapbook.  They're all interesting reads, but especially the last clipping, which is a direct response to the article above.  Stewart answers the writer's accusation that he and Jones were attempting to keep Ivan from passing them.  I'm reminded of the quote from the Marx Brothers movie, Duck Soup.

Mrs. Teasdale: But I saw you with my own eyes!

Chicolini: Well, who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?

Stewart accuses Ivan of passing on a "dangerous curve", and states that he should have been disqualified.  He finishes up the post with some classic 1914 trash talking.  The first article answers a question that I've had while viewing these old photos... who is the other guy?  Charles Vollmer.

Here's a photo from Fonda, probably Stewart.  Notice the amount of spectators lining the infield rail this time.  You can also see a number of shadows from spectators to the left of the photographer.

Another vantage point from the race at Fonda.  Very difficult to tell much through the dust, but just having a photograph of this event nearly 100 years ago is, to me, really amazing.

More 1914 racing coming up.  Next we'll be racing at Ballson Spa, and unfortunately, I don't see much in the way of Ivan taking up Mr. Steward on the rematch.  We have some really, really excellent photos of this event as well.

-kpw

Ivan's first race!

I have some questions regarding how I should proceed with the project when it comes to the subject of newspaper clippings.  There are quite a few of them, and not everything in them is completely pertinent to Ivan's career.  They are very interesting to me for two reasons.  1) Since the whole story paints a picture of the day and age, and 2) I love to read.  But, not everyone loves to read, and sometimes the newspaper clipping is pretty much the whole focus of a blog post. My comments on the story would hinge on you having read the story.  Problem is, some of them are long stories!

I suppose that I'll try doing this in the best way I can, and let you get me some feedback either plus or minus.  The comments are moderated and anyone may post.  I'm pretty close by the computer all day.  And, yes, thank-you, I do have a life.  Here we go!

Here's another photo of Ivan in his 30-whopping-horsepower Chalmers.  Ivan has written in one of the clippings, correcting the paper which assumed it was a 40 hp engine.  As we saw in the last post, Ivan and Van B. may have sold a number of Chalmers, so it's easy to understand his decision to use this automobile.  But why, if there were larger motors available, would he use a four cylinder?

I did a little research into this first article to see if I could find any supporting historical references, and found that the speedway actually still exists in this village!  I'm not certain whether this is the exact location that it always has been, but the Fonda Speedway is still operating at the Fonda Fairgrounds or perhaps vice versa.  The horse racing track that was used for many decades in this little town gave way to automobile racing as the automobile gained in popularity.  Fonda was, and is still, an agricultural area, and these races brought contestants from nearby villages, drawing 1,500 folks!  Quite a crowd!

I'm uncertain of the date of these articles, but next article in the scrapbooks is dated September 14, 1914, and the one following is in October.  I think it's okay to assume this was sometime in 1914.  I'm falling back on two facts from the article(s); 1) the weather was perfect, and 2) he's in a Chalmers.

Ivan did not win, but came in third out of three in the first race of five miles, and third out of four in the second.  If my math is correct, they were averaging around 40 mph in these races!

click 'Show Original' to view full size image

This photo is pasted on the same spread as these two newspaper clippings, but I don't think it's Ivan.  The radiator is squared across the top, and photo of his Chalmers doesn't match it.  There isn't a load of dust in the air, so perhaps this is Stewart.  I think it's reasonable to conclude that it is at the Fonda fairgrounds.

More racing at Fonda in the next few posts!  Will Wheaton recover from his early loss?

-kpw
 

Auto Polo?

Okay, this is just funny.  I mean, how many of you have ever heard of a sport called Auto Polo?  I never had either, but as I'm preparing to start the actual biographical section of the blog, this is what I found leading up to it.

I found a few hits on this fascinating sport via Google search, but then I came across these incredible photos, completely by accident while looking for some info on an unrelated car.  Don't read any further, seriously go get a good laugh.  Cars, men, giant polo balls, and giant polo mallets flying!  Safety apparently hadn't yet been invented.

There are also a few photos of family friends scattered across the pages in between the Indy 500 of 1913, and the racing photos and newspaper clippings which are coming soon.  Since I have no biographical details on these photos (other than my grandmother and great-aunt Corinne), they'll be passed over, and none of them is particularly interesting in composition.  I'll post some family photos, since family is reading this as well, but in a future post.  However, we do have a couple of photos of Ivan in wonderful automobiles.  

This car was what I was attempting to research when I stumbled on the Auto Polo photos. My first car was a 1964 Dodge Lancer, affectionately known as "The Kurtmobile".  Ivan's apparently was a Chalmers, if my research is correct.  They paid more for that car in 1914 than I did for my first two cars starting in 1976.  Isn't it gorgeous?  My Dodge was not.

I also found Ivan in this Chalmers racer, in all it's muddy glory, just prior to the racing photos.  They will be coming very soon!  I'm not sure how often we'll see this, but the Wheaton family garage can be seen in the background with another automobile in it.  Considering that automobiles are so new, I suppose garages are as well.  There must have been stables nearby.  I see horses in quite a few photos at this home as well.  The photography business must have been very kind to Van Benschotten Wheaton.

I've never seen, nor heard any family history regarding Ivan or Van B. having been in the automobile business, but this letterhead is tucked away in the collection, and I have another letterhead of the Wheaton Automobile Company with a Pierce Arrow header.  Actually, Ivan wrote in his journal of 1920 that he had taken a position as a used car salesman, in southern California.

-kpw