Old "Car Bridge" Village

This weekend we're holding our annual Antique Car gathering at Old Sturbridge Village.

We opened in 1946 as a "drive around" living history museum. Visitors could drive their cars to each of the historic buildings, park, and chat with the costumed historians.

So we invite owners of 1946 and earlier cars to park on the Common, and drive through today's Village.



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In this series, you might see Yours Truly carefully inspecting some machinery that definitely didn't exist in the 1830s!

https://www.osv.org/gallery/antique-car-rally

Tom M.

That is a very good turnout of pre '46 cars!

any events going on at Sturbridge Village week of 7/15-22?

Very nice!

Quite a show you guys put on there Tom, reminds me of my Hershey days with my 32 Chevy rumble seat coupe and the wifes 31 Model A Ford 2 door, both restored to concurs. Sold both of them to put the boys through collage, that's when I defected and started doing British cars. PJ

Guy - 7/15-22 is the one quiet period we have all summer. Week before is Independence Week, and August 5 is our Revolutionary War re-enactment. Lots of things to do and places to see in New England all summer, but 7/15-22 is our normal operating schedule.

Paul - I'd bet most of the cars we had on display have paint jobs more expensive than college these days. That Packard was fantastic - like it just rolled out of the factory.

At 1:30 today we had a presentation by James T.W. Wheary, Charles Williams Nash's great-grandson. He illustrated his talk about Nash's childhood, early jobs, and the development of Nash Motors, with dozens of original family photos and newspaper articles.

Trivia time! Why were sheep so important to Charles Nash's early career?

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Did it have anything to do with lanolin oil?

NutmegCT said:

Trivia time! Why were sheep so important to Charles Nash's early career?

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GTP1960 said:

Did it have anything to do with lanolin oil?

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Good guess, but no cigar.

As a child, Nash was "bound out" (unpaid indentured worker) on various farms. At age 12 he ran away from an abusive family, and earned money working on farms in Michigan. He saved up what little he earned, and bought lambs. He'd sell the adult sheep each year, but then buy twice the same number of lambs, then sell them fully grown. Started with ten, which became 20, which became 40, and he ended up with 80 sheep, which he sold at a huge profit. He had developed a good capitalist business sense before he was 20.

Also interesting - why he often covered up his right hand.

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Here's Nash with Henry Ford, 1946. While still a teen, Nash lost parts of his fingers in a haying machine accident.

Edit: BASIL! For shame! For shame! (should I tell the one about why farmers don't have zippers on their pants?) nah ...

NutmegCT said:

Edit: BASIL! For shame! For shame! (should I tell the one about why farmers don't have zippers on their pants?) nah ...

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I actually remember Lynde using a line like that on Hollywood squares - I just don't remember what the question was. Lynde was the king of the double entendre.

Tom, you tee'd that one up!
....I recall that there was a off color joke about W. Texans:
all I remember is the punch line.
"where men Are MEN & sheep are nervous"

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