Images from the November Presentations
The November presentations on the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races drew over 250 people, breaking attendance records at all three locations.
Summaries and images from the presentations are as follows:
Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society Meeting, November 16, 2008
Long Island Motor Touring Club Presentation, November 13, 2008
Suffolk County Historical Society Presentation, November 8, 2008
Enjoy the Thanksgiving Weekend,
Howard Kroplick
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For new viewers, this website is your resource for information on the historic Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island and the Long Island Motor Parkway- America's first automobile parkway.
Ongoing Event
-Exhibit "1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race", Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum
Recent Featured Posts:
Help Solve this Mystery Photo
Okay automobile history fans, here is another mystery photo for your review and feedback.
Can you identify the car in this photo? Is it a Vanderbilt Cup racer? This fantastic copyrighted photo was submitted by TL Thousand who would appreciate your help. Please place your comments in the blog.
In a VanderbiltCupRaces.com exclusive, TL Thousand has provided the following clues to the photo:
"The driver (left, in the cap) is my grandfather, Adolph Thousand and that he worked as a chauffeur for the man on the right. That much I can verify with absolute certainty. The driver is definitely my grandfather. Adolph emigrated to America from Germany in 1904 and worked his way across the U.S. as a mechanic and chauffeur until finally settling in Iowa and building his own manufacturing plant. In the mid-1910s, Adolph also raced Indian motorbikes (you should see those photos!), so seeing my grandfather sitting in this beauty of a racer with such a big grin on his face, is a joy!
My father believes that this particular photo was taken in Dubuque, Iowa, sometime between 1916-1918. I can date my grandfather's face and clothes to other dated photos I have and can confirm that those years are about right.
My father also believes that my grandfather's employer owned a brewery in Dubuque. That would make the gentleman on the right (in the bowler) Joseph Rhomberg. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any photos or images of Mr. Rhomberg available to compare against.
However, my father insists that that gentleman on the right is Fred Duesenberg. I can see the similarities, but several historians have flatly stated that it's not Duesenberg.
As for the car, itself, all I know is that it was a racer. Most every expert who's seen this photo believes the car was a Mercedes, similar to the ones that ran in the Vanderbilt Cup. However, Mercedes-Benz's Stuttgart archive says that it is not a Mercedes.
To me, looking at the photos on your Web site, the car looks remarkably like the #7 Locomobile from the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup, or the #16 Locomobile from the 1908 race.
Whatever it is, it's just such a great photo of such a terrific car, I'm dying to know what it is. If your fans can help nail it down, I would be forever grateful! This is one mystery that deserves to be solved. So, yes, you have my permission to post the photo -- with my many thanks."
Radio Interview with Howard Kroplick
On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, Howard Kroplick was interviewed by Bonnie Grice on her "In the Morning" WLIU 88.3 FM radio show. Bonnie and Howard had a fun 10-minute conversation on the new book "The Long Island Motor Parkway" written by Al Velocci and Howard Kroplick. Click here to hear the radio segment.
Antique Cars Scheduled To Appear at Suffolk County Historical Society Presentation This Saturday
The Suffolk County Historical Society has announced that a variety of antique automobiles will appear at this Saturday's event from 1-4:00 PM in Riverhead.
Fox 5-TV Reports Queens Action To Protect Long Island Motor Parkway Greenway
On October 14, 2008, Fox 5-TV of New York continued their investigation of Queens home owners infringing of the Long Island Motor Parkway greenway in Oakland Gardens. In an exclusive VanderbiltCupRaces.com interview, resident Lynn Henry commented: "We were running on the Motor Parkway when we saw John Deutzman from Channel 5 news. He was there to followup on his July report. Letters had been sent out to the residents about their property lines and that their fences/equipment needed to be removed without 30 days or the city would remove it and charge them for it. There were three home owners who were having their fences taken down that day and he interviewed two of them plus tried to interview people who haven't complied and refused to talk. He also interviewed me. " Thanks, Lynn for the report!
Click here to view the newsclip.
Book Signing Draws Large Crowd
On October 30th, almost 100 people attended the book-signing and presentation of "The Long Island Motor Parkway" by Al Velocci and Howard Kroplick at the Book Revue in Huntington. The special presentation featured an interactive discussion of 20 images from the book and unique memorabilia including the plaque awarded to driver George Robertson for winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Publicist Julianne Wernersbach commented it was one of the largest turnouts for local authors in the bookstore's history. Thanks everyone for coming out! Click here to see images from the event.
Interview "Howard K. Talks"
Howard Kroplick was interviewed in August 2008 by North Hempstead Town Clerk Leslie Gross on the Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island and the Long Island Motor Parkway for North Hempstead Television. The discussion is approximately 25 minutes long and presented on this website in three sections. Click here to watch the interview.
Film "Willie K. Talks!"
As a salute to William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., referee for the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race, here is a link to highlights of a film "Over the Seven Seas" featuring Willie K. and his wife on a 1931 journey around the world in the Alva, his beautiful 265-foot yacht. It is the only known recording of Willie K's voice. The complete unedited film is available at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum with all rights reserved. Highlights of the film are shown on this website with permission of the Museum.
Relevant links to the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race:
-George Robertson: Winner of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
-Old 16: The winning car of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
-Old 16 Rides again in Dearborn, Michigan
-The Locomobile Vanderbilt Cup mascot and paperweight
Centennial Celebrations
This month, there have been several wonderful centennial celebrations for the historic Long Island Motor Parkway and the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Here are highlights:
Exhibit "Treasures of the Vanderbilt Cup Races"at the Nassau County Museum of Art
Over the weekend over 750 attended this special exhibit that included; Peter Helck paintings, race memorabilia, and the bronze Tiffany plaque given to driver George Robertson for winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Among the special attendees were George Robertson's grandson Peter Shriver and great-grandson William Shriver.
Click here for a pdf of the exhibit.
5th Vanderbilt Centennial Celebration, Nassau County Museum of Art, Sunday, October 19,2008
This year's Centennial Celebration was celebrated with timed demonstration runs of over 50 cars with a racing heritage and a Concours de Provenance for vehicles with unusual history or significance. An estimated crowd of over 1,500 people enjoyed this wonderful event.Thanks again to the Nassau County Museum of Art for the beautiful location and the 2008 sponsors; Rallye Auto Group, L'Italiano Trattoria, Porsche of Roslyn and the Metropolitan.
Click here for a pdf of the event.
Suffolk County Long Island Motor Parkway Celebration, Bonwit Inn, October 22, 2008
The trustees of Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy hosted a celebration of the Long Island Motor Parkway at the Bonwit Inn on the Vanderbilt Parkway and Commack Road. Over 70 cars and 200 people from Long Island's auto clubs participated in the event. Hats off to the Bonwit Inn for providing a complimentary lunch to participants.
Media was well-represented including News12 and Newsday.
Newsday.com also posted a one-minute video of the event with interviews of Carol Hart, Bruce Adams and Howard Kroplick.
Click here for a pdf of the celebration.
Featured Posts
- Newsday publishes a special pullout section on the Long Island Motor Parkway, Sunday, October 19, 2008.
- New York Times' Automobiles Section's front-page article "First Auto Parkway: From Road to Ruin"
-Arcadia Publishing Issues a press release on "The Long Island Motor Parkway".
-Happy 100th Birthday to the Long Island Motor Parkway
-Eddie Rickenbacker:America's Ace of Aces and Vanderbilt Cup Race Participant
-Roslyn News: “More History on Long Island’s Roadways”- October 2, 2008
-Can you identify this unique 1911 Vanderbilia?
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