BACKROADS • JULY 2021
FR E E W H E EL I N’ BRIAN RATHJEN
MAPS! Ever since the first basic motorcycle GPS units arrived (my Garmin GPS V still sits on the shelf of the “Old but Not Forgotten”) we have watched the gradual shift from the venerable paper maps to digital, and more precise, Global Positioning Systems. These days we jokingly refer to our still beloved charts as Manually Acquired Positioning Systems – or simply MAPS! We still carry these folded relics of this nottoo-distant past along for every ride – and for good reason. They almost always work. They don’t require US Military satellites or an expensive gadget on your handlebar. But mostly they’re fun and a big part of not only the United States but the world’s history and I have often said that my favorite author is Rand McNally. A few weeks back Shira and I had a free Sunday and decided to take a ride to visit the Antique Auto Museum, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We have been there several times and our “always on the go” scribe Pamela Collins had covered the museum’s latest exhibit on Mini Bikes just a few months previous. The museum is always a treat and, in addition to the baby bikes they had an exhibit, there was one on ‘Hemis’ and on Maps called… “They Gave Me a Map! For me, this was a big treat. Years ago, oil companies used road maps to promote their brands of fuel and to assist the traveling public. Billions of road maps were given
Page 3 out at gas and service stations. The “They gave me a Map!” exhibit, guest curated by the Road Map Collectors Association, harkens back to days gone by. The exhibit presents the artistry, destination images, and geographic highlights that made maps glove box-sized resources for travelers. In 1914, Gulf Oil began distributing road maps to their customers, a practice they continued through 1975. Free road maps became more common as years went by, and were a service expected by motorists for decades. A vintage 1934 Gulf Oil advertisement commemorating the distribution of the first free road maps is the exhibit’s featured backdrop and is presented along with a 1912 Cadillac. The exhibition also features an assortment of other road maps from a variety of sources. Today maps from state highway departments, AAA, and other sources are still published. Of course, almost all of us now use electronic maps or in-vehicle navigation systems to get from point A to point B on the bikes and in the car. Here looking through this neat exhibit you can take a great look at how wonderful and serious some of these maps were. Some are true gallery pieces that include: How We Navigate; World of Maps; PA Turnpike at 80; Art Deco/Streamline Moderne in Road Map Art; Gulf Oil Maps; Sinclair Oil Maps; Road Map Oddities; and Collecting Road Maps. Also, in the AACA Museum’s main gallery, enjoy “Women on Map Covers,” a study on how women were portrayed in travel and travel product promotion. The AACA was also giving away old and classic maps from the past and some of these were very cool and found a way back home. On the OBNF shelf, next to my first Garmin, is a 1938 Road Map of New York State from Esso. I searched this map out specifically a few years back for a “Big Mistake on Purpose!” The General Drafting Company, one of the Big Three mapmakers at Continued on Page 6
