MEET GWEN
AND PARKER ACKLEY
AND THEIR 1915 DODGE
Gwen and Parker Ackley
of Fairfield, Connecticut, happened upon their 1915 Dodge
in Red Hook, New York, in 1999.
Three months and several visits later, they persuaded its owner to sell.
Click on any photo to enlarge
This photo was used
for promotion for the 2009
Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance Car Show
This is a comemorative painting by artist Lynn Pritchard
of the Dodge's
first long distance drive to Mystic from Fairfield.
Lynn's website is http://fairfieldportraits.com
PORT JEFFERSON HILL CLIMB
Port Jefferson, NY, Sunday, August 23, 2015
Featuring Gwen & Parker Ackley's 1915 Dodge Touring Car
Gwen is not afraid to get her hands dirty
This
is a photo of Parker driving the Dodge
in the Barnum Festival Parade with an antique horn
attached to the windshield frame playing vintage jazz.
Gwen is dancing the Charleston ahead of the car.
They represented the Fairfield Museum and History Center.
Westport News Article 9-16-09
Westport Magazine Article Nov. / Dec. 2009
The two photos above were
used for promotion
for the 2009
Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance Car Show om their web site.
GREENWICH CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE
http://www.greenwichconcours.com/2008Highlights.htm
Best Combination of Car and Costume
1915 Dodge Brothers Touring - Gwen and Parker Ackley
Actor Ed Hermann to the far right admires the Dodge
while Genia Wennerstrom, far left, presents the award.
http://luxuryexperience.com/arts_and_antiques/antiques/greenwich_concours_d'elegance_2007.html
Parker and Gwen Ackley attend the show every year and are always beautifully dressed in period costumes to match their automobiles. This year they entered their 1915 Dodge Brothers Touring Car, "accessorized" with Parker and Gwen Ackley, and Lynn and baby Lili Pritchard dressed in period clothing.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/reader_rides/1267831.html?page=4
Considering the rarity and value of the typical Greenwich Concours automobile,
it was most encouraging to encounter a few entrants who believed their
cars should not be kept at arm's length. Pennsylvania enthusiasts Dennis
and Ann Marie Nash actually had a sign on the windshield of their 1927
Bentley urging spectators to go ahead and touch their car. Meanwhile,
Parker Ackley and his wife Gwen, given the Best Combination of Car and
Costume award two days in a row, generously afforded the PM.Zone an
extended sit behind the thick, solid-wood steering wheel of their 1915
Dodge Brothers touring car. "It's easier to get in if you remember
to stand up while doing it," Parker told us as we squeezed into
the driver's seat, adding that "as far as air conditioning is concerned,
you get a beautiful breeze when you open the bottom half of the windshield."
Ackley also drew our attention to the button for the Klaxon horn, which
is mounted on the door above the driver's left knee. "The reason
that it's there," he explained, "is that it's right under
your left thumb while you're driving and have your left elbow resting
in the curve of the seat. If both of your hands are occupied, you can
even blow the horn with your knee."
Posing their 1915 Dodge with 6-year-old Nicholas Pritchard and a 1925
vintage Victor VV-50 portable phonograph, Gwen and Parker Ackley earned
the 2004 Greenwich Concours' Best Combination of Car and Costume award
(top). They repeated the feat at Sunday's Concours Europa, with Parker
donning a World War I aviator's uniform in honor of the 60th anniversary
of D-Day.
http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/elegance_at_concours_delegance/2009
News
Monday, September 14, 2009
Elegance at Concours d'Elegance
A 1915 Dodge Bros. touring car provided the backdrop for an elegant lunch Sunday at the 2009 Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport. Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
This article and the one from Westport Magazine:
Concours D'elegance, An auto enthusiasts' heaven and much more ...
Full story: Brooks Community Newspapers
For Parker and Gwen Ackley, driving their meticulously maintained 1915
Dodge Brothers 5-Passenger Touring Car to the Fairfield County Concours
d'Elegance is a pleasantly short drive.
1915 Dodge Touring Sedan
If These Bumpers Could Talk
This story comes from the a-101649 issue of AutoWeek magazine. Reading
the magazine is the only way to make sure you don't miss anything. If
you aren't getting the magazine, you can sign up today for a low price.
GET AUTOWEEK MAGAZINE TODAY!
By NICK KURCZEWSKI
Dodge Brothers Inc. built 249 cars in 1914. In 1915 45,000 Dodges were
sold and the company had become the third-largest carmaker in America,
behind Ford and Willys-Overland. But brothers John and Horace Dodge
were hardly new to the industry. Before achieving such quick success
as manufacturers, they had amassed a wealth of experience producing
automobile parts and had already worked with industry legends.
The Dodges honed their mechanical and engineering skills by manufacturing
bicycle components in Windsor, Ontario, before switching gears, circa
1900, to the production of auto parts across the river in Detroit. Ransom
E. Olds contracted the Dodge brothers to build parts for his new car
company. This lucrative arrangement eventually caught the eye of Henry
Ford, who offered the Dodges a 10 percent stake in his new company,
with the condition being the brothers devote their parts business solely
to Ford automobiles. It was a gamble, yet for more than a decade the
partnership flourished.
The first Dodge used the Model T formula: conservative looks, tough
drivetrain, low price and plenty of options. What set Dodge's five-passenger
Touring Sedan apart was its standard equipment-a steel body, electric
start and lights-features then unheard of in a low-priced automobile.
Weighing in at 2200 pounds, the 212-cubic-inch four-cylinder chugged
out 35 hp, ensuring modest but acceptable performance. The car was robust
and reliable, and priced at $785, it proved to be a resounding sales
success.
Gwen and Parker Ackley of Fairfield, Connecticut, happened upon our
featured car in Red Hook, New York, in 1999. Three months and several
visits later, they persuaded its owner to sell, at which point the Ackleys
discovered their conservative-looking classic has a colorful past.
Sheriff Milton Saulpaugh of Hudson, New York, bought the car in 1916
from his brother's Dodge dealership and for more than 20 years used
it for police duty. In 1938 Saulpaugh apprehended two bank robbers in
Hudson. Apparently the sheriff treated the crooks kindly, which inspired
one of them to craft a model of the Dodge while he sat in jail. Upon
his release the ex-con gave the model to Saulpaugh as a thank-you. Saulpaugh
then sold the car back to his brother, who later sold it and the model
of the car to Charles Nichols in 1967. Turns out, Nichols' father-in-law
had been locked in the bank vault during that foiled robbery 29 years
earlier.
The Dodge Touring Sedan is a dream come true for enthusiasts who prefer
cars with a patina rather than a thick coat of polish. We first met
the Ackleys at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Dressed in turn-of-the-century attire, with a gramophone playing on
the back seat, they looked as though they had stepped out of a time
machine.
"We let people in the car and let kids honk the horn," Parker
Ackley says.
The car rides firmly and bounces some, though it's not the pogo-stick-at-four-corners
feeling one might expect. Ackley explains that the three-speed transmission
and its original leather-faced cone clutch needs to be timed right for
smooth shifts. Practice makes perfect, but after several flubbed gear
changes we were happy to leave the driving to Ackley. A wise choice,
since bringing the car to a stop requires even more skill and patience
than getting it up to speed. The rear-only mechanical brakes are useful
for slowing the car, but a complete stop requires great forethought
and a long stretch of empty road ahead.
Driving dynamics aside, the mechanical longevity of the Ackleys' Dodge
is a testament to the strength of the Dodge brothers' first automobile
and the engineering that brought the company instant acclaim.
This photo was taken at
the 2010 Wings & Wheels Show in Stratford, CT
copyright 2010 Warren Disbrow photo
