On Sunday, June 4th, eight Model A Fords are leaving from the Amana Colonies and traveling quiet Iowa roads in route to Omaha, NE for a regional Model A Ford meet. The Model A Ford was produced for 4 years, 1928 – 1931. The Model A followed many years of Henry Ford’s famous Model T, and preceded the introduction of the amazing V-8 engine line of Fords in 1932.
These adventurers are members of the Hawk A Model A Ford Club of Cedar Rapids Iowa. The Hawk A Club was organized in January 1971. Members making up this group of travelers are from the Cedar Rapids, Amana and Muscatine areas.
Traveling the lesser traveled roads at speeds close to 45mph allows you to observe and appreciate the countryside in a manner not possible in air-conditioned modern cars traveling in excess of 70mph. The Model A was the car that was affordable for most, costing in the $450 range depending on the model. Building an affordable car did not allow for a heater and of course it was a little early in history for air conditioning. You can hear it said that the Model A heater works well from June through August and the air conditioning works equally well from November through March.
This particular group of hearty Model A travelers has made trips to Kalamazoo, Michigan, St Charles, Missouri, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and this year heading to Omaha. Traveling in 86 to 89 year old cars is both enjoyable and challenging.
As a route to Omaha was developed to utilize less traveled roads, we were checking on towns that might have a park for the group to eat a sack lunch. Fate is an amazing thing; in checking with the library in Rippey to inquire about a park, we were put in touch with Mary Weaver of the Friends of Rippey. Conversations and new friendships lead to wonderful opportunities, as our band of Model A travelers are now looking forward to a fun lunch at the Rippey Community Center and the opportunity to share our love of Henry Ford’s piece of history.
The Friends of Rippey will be feeding lunch to the Hawk A Model A Ford Club with all proceeds going to the Rippey Library to give financial aide to the Summer Library Reading program. Individuals are welcome to join us, looking and the vehicles and interacting with the drivers. Lunch is a free will donation to help the library.