The
Gray
Wills
Goose
Museum
Wills Sainte Claire Automobile Museum 2408 Wills St. Marysville, MI 48040
Newsletter # 46 - March 2017 - Page #1 C. H. Wills Oil Painting Donation: Recently, Virginia Janicki, granddaughter of CH Wills, donated the only known oil painting of Mr. Wills to the Museum. Jenny had recieved the painting from her mother, Virginia Wills Shovan, CH's daughter. The Wills Museum is thrilled to accept this fantastic piece of history into the collection. The oil painting will be on display in the Board room, so that CH may overlook our meetings as we operate the Museum named after him.
News
ÂŽ (810) 987-2854
501c3 non-profit
Editor/Director: Terry Ernest
The oil painting was made when Mr. Wills was an older man. Compare it to the photo (below) when he was younger, in his factory.
Car Show/Museum Fund Raiser: Every year, the Blue Water Region (BWR) of the AACA, puts on a local car show with the proceeds benefitting the Wills Museum. In the past the date in August conflicted with the Woodward Dream Cruise and a local "float down" on the St. Clair River terminating in Marysville. Because of these other events, our local BWR has changed the date to June 10 &
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11, 2017. Please note the date change if you plan to exhibit your car or visit these two fantastic car shows. The Saturday car show is "Rumble in the Park" featuring all types of cool cars including hot rods. The Sunday show is the "Past and It's Wheels" which includes classic and antique cars from 1963 and older, un-modified. You can expect to see Pierce-Arrows, Packards and Wills Sainte Claires, along with other antique autos at this fun event in the beautiful tree lined Marysville park. Book about C. Harold Wills Progressing: Alan Naldrett's new book on C. Harold Wills and the Wills Sainte Claire automobile is progressing nicely. As Alan has previously stated: "I could not believe that there had never been a biography written about C. Harold Wills and his Wills Sainte Claire auto." For all the things that Wills contributed to the early auto industry, including his important work on the Ford Model T, and the backup light on his Wills car for example, it is quite odd that nobody has written a book about him. Until now... Museum Secretary Carl Moss and Director Terry Ernest have been reviewing the manuscript checking for historical accuracy. The book is currently at 30,000 words and will have about 70 photos included. It is estimated that the book will be available later this year. Copies may be purchased directly from the Wills Museum with proceeds benefitting the Museum. We'll let you know when it is ready! 2016 Spirit of Wills Award: The Museum Board of Directors is proud to present the 2016 Spirit of Wills award to Scott Shepley of Kimball, MI. Scott is a Master mechanic who for many years has worked on our local members Wills cars, a project many mechanics would shy away from. Scott, in his very limited spare time, also plows the parking lot at the museum and keeps the sidewalks clean. We appreciate the effort Scott has expended on behalf of the museum. The Spirit of C.H Wills Award is given in
tribute to the spirit that propelled C. Harold Wills and the Wills Sainte Claire automobile to the forefront of automobile quality and engineering. In fact, it might be said that he had “the Right Stuff.� This award is given by the directors of the Wills Sainte Claire Automobile Museum to a member who has reflected this spirit in their service to the Museum over the previous year.
Wills Museum Director Terry Ernest presents Scott Shepley with the Spirit of Wills Award in December at our yearly banquet.
Toboggan Run: C. Harold Wills definitely liked to have fun, and this included his children having fun. In the first photo we see Mr. Wills house on Jefferson, in a suburb of Detroit, during some construction.
In the second photo, we see how Mr. Wills liked to have fun, on a GRAND scale.
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Early touring car interior detail
As you can see in the photos, a giant toboggan run was added to the roof of the house. The stairs are on the left and the on the right is the actual run. Can you imagine being a kid and riding on your own two story house toboggan run? Car Photos from When-They-Were-New: I don't know about you, but I enjoy looking at photos from "back in the day" or "when they were new". Here are a couple of detail shots of an early Wills car photographed at the factory before it was went out for delivery.
Wills Frame rails at the Factory
Surviving WSC Automobiles: Previous issues of the newsletter had lists of surviving Wills cars, first for vehicles 1921 thru 1923, and the second issue covering cars from 1924 and 1925. This Gray Goose News contains part 3, a listing of 1926 cars and those not found on previous lists. Again, any additions or corrections are welcomed. (see page 4) ~ Carl Moss, Museum Secretary Wills Sainte Claire Museum Board of Directors:
Detail shot of early touring car showing gas tank and spare tire
Terry Ernest – Director 3546 Conger Street Port Huron, MI 48060 (810) 987-2854
Sally Achatz – Fundraising RD 523 N 3 St St Clair, MI 48079 (810) 329-9520
Pete Cangemi – Vice President 6621 Trillium Trail Jeddo, MI 48032 (810) 327-2327
Paul Pawlosky – Merchandising 904 Lake Rd Otisville, MI 48463 (810) 496-1948
Scott Metzner – Treasurer 2211 River Rd Marysville, MI 48040 (810) 989-7950
John Porter– Facilities 137 Brown St St Clair, MI 48079 (810) 329-3192
Carl Moss – Secretary 1617 Military Street Port Huron, MI 48060 (810) 982-4771
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Condition Key 1 New Restoration
2 Older Restoration
3 Excellent Original
4 Unrestored
5 Condition Unknown
6 Incomplete
KNOWN WILLS SAINTE CLAIRE MOTOR CARS YEAR
MODEL
CAR NO.
ENGINE NO.
BODY TYPE
CONDITION
LAST KNOWN OWNER& DATE OF OWNERSHIP
1926
T-6
23195
22618
Roadster
1
Sylvia June
Texas
1926
T-6
23254
22738
Roadster
3
Henry Ford Museum
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
23275
22759
Roadster
3
AACA Museum
Pennsylvania
2016
1926
T-6
23332
22766
5 Passanger Sedan
1
Tom Kleinschmidt
Illinois
2016
1926
T-6
23487
22890
5 Passanger Sedan
4
Carl A. Moss
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
23507
22049
Roadster
2
Bruce Frumveller
California
2016
1926
T-6
23548
22981
7 Passanger Sedan
1
Merke Norman Collection
California
2016
1926
T-6
22425
Roadster
2
Imperial Palace
Nevada
1986
1926
T-6
23676
23122
Traveler
2
CCCA Museum
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
23707
23138
Cab Roadster
1
Karl Krouch
Pennsylvania
2016
1926
T-6
23761
22083
Roadster
1
Peter Landsbergen
California
2006
1926
T-6
23881
23553
Roadster
2
Gary Smith
Maine
2006
23347
1926
T-6
23897
1926
T-6
24074
2015
Traveler
2
Albert Meyers
Connecticut
1986
Traveler
1
Richard Coulombe
Quebec
2016 2016
1926
T-6
24115
23552
Roadster
1
Paul Pawlowsky
Michigan
1926
T-6
24119
21664
Roadster
6
Tom Lieb
California
2000
1926
T-6
24147
23147
Roadster
4
Malcolm David
Florida
2006
1926
T-6
24148
23607
Roadster
2
Terry Ernest
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
24306
22890
Roadster
2
Jeff Kellogg
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
24429
23907
5 Passanger Sedan
3
Walter Rosch
Virginia
1990
1926
T-6
24439
23845
Roadster
6
James Caldwell
Florida
1986
1926
T-6
24686
24105
Cab Roadster
1
Ray Burgess
Michigan
2016
1926
T-6
23427
1926
T-6
1926
T-6
24814
24125
Traveler
2
Climax Molyenon
Michigan
2006
24201
5 Passanger Sedan
4
W.H. McLain
Missouri
2006
24814
7 Passanger Sedan
2
Gary Wurmlinger
Florida
2016
Following are Wills Cars not included on the original 1980 list compiled by Bill McKeand. These vehicles were donated to the Museum by Tom Lieb and are currently either on display or in storage at the museum.
Condition Key 1 New Restoration
2 Older Restoration
3 Excellent Original
4 Unrestored
5 Condition Unknown
6 Incomplete
CONDITION
LAST KNOWN OWNER& DATE OF OWNERSHIP
KNOWN WILLS SAINTE CLAIRE MOTOR CARS YEAR
MODEL
1922
A-68
1924
B-68
1926
T-6
1926
T-6
CAR NO.
1243?
#Ground off
ENGINE NO.
BODY TYPE Roadster
4
3853
Touring
4
20620
Roadster
Cab Roadster
4 ~ 4 ~
80% Restored