Vintage but-always-dependable Dodges
will help celebrate the 16th Annual Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow
Trail Days. Michael P. Jones, the Curator
for the organization, said that historic cars blended well with the Festival
because of the historic Mount Hood Loop Highway that had replaced
the Oregon Trail to accommodate tourists who were
starting to come to the Mountain in increasing numbers during the 1920's. Several members of the
"Dodge Brothers Club" are planning to drop in at the Mount Hood
Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days with their cars and put them on
public display. Over the three days festival rides in these historic vehicles
will be available for a small fee as a benefit to the
Cascade Geographic Society.
This year a few members of the "National
Dodge Brothers Car Club" will even be taking some excursions on various
segments of the National Register-eligible Old Mount Hood Loop Highway, where
they will probably have to back-up the steep grades because their vacuum tanks
will lose too much pressure and prevent the fuel from going into the carburetors.
According to these car owners, "going backwards is the only way that some
of us will be going forward on The Mountain."
At last year's festival visitors got to experience a 1918 Dodge
Touring car, a 1923 Dodge Coupe, a 1925 Dodge Sedan, and others. Terry McAlister,
a member of the Friends of the Cascade Geographic
Society, brought his 1922 Dodge Touring car to the Mount Hood
Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days.
John
and Horace Dodge began building cars in 1914. By 1916 the Dodge Brothers cars
had achieved a reputation for dependability. The company soon began to
capitalize on this reputation and included it in their advertising. An
interesting story from that time period gives extra credence to that reputation.
During the Mexican border campaign against Pancho Villa, a total of 250 Dodge
cars saw rugged duty with General John J. Pershing. The General used a Dodge
touring car as his personal vehicle during his pursuit of the rebel and outlaw.
It was reported that his car ran a full 18 hours each day, with any mechanical
repairs being made in the remaining 6 hours of each day. The General was so
impressed by the performance and dependability of the Dodge cars under his
command that he ordered only Dodges to be used by his staff.
These
same Dodges carved themselves another "nitch" in the history books in
this same campaign against the outlaw. Under the leadership of the then-unknown
officer, Lt. George S. Patton, the first mechanized charge was lead against
Pancho Villa and his army. This was not only an important battle, but it was the
first time that mechanized vehicles had ever been used in a military battle
charge by the U.S. Army.
Today,
these historic old Dodges are still known for their dependability and those who
are lucky enough to own one can testify to this. In July of 1999, the "Dodge
Brothers Automobile Club" held their 13th Annual International Meet in
Bend, Oregon. The Club, which is dedicated to preserving Dodge Brothers cars
built between 1914 and 1938, has 2000 members world wide. Over 50 of these cars
were present at the meet.
The Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail
Days will be bringing back these unique vehicles not only to the Festival, but
to the historic and scenic Old Mount Hood Loop Highway. And, if you see them out
on the road touring, you'll notice that they'll be cruising at an average speed
of 30 miles per hour. You see, moving fast is not the objective when you're
driving one of these great old cars, because when you get there matters far less
than how you got there. Drop by the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow
Trail Days and see for yourself.
For further
information, please contact the Cascade Geographic Society at (503) 622-4798.