By ERIC C. RODENBERG
Associate Editor AUBURN, Ind. — This year it will be all “Glitz and Glam” within this northern Indiana town, which calls itself the “Home of the Classics.”
“The Classics,” of course, refer to a gilded automotive age that once produced the Duesenberg, Auburn and Cord that were the choices among earlier 20th century industrial tycoons, movie stars and sports celebrities.
And glamour and glitz is what it’s all about.
“We were just looking for a fun and different theme,” said Kendra Klink, operations director of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum. “We themed it after the old car shows; and the old advertisements with celebrities and the beautiful ladies who stood by the cars and showed them. We have a lot of images in our photography exhibit, and it just seemed fun and fitting.”
One of the vintage advertising displays, showing off a Duesenberg in a showplace setting, will be auctioned off at the museum on Sept. 1, along with 10 true classic cars.
This will be the sixth year for the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum Benefit Extravaganza, according to Klink. “It’s sort of a kick off to our whole Labor Day weekend here in Auburn,” she said. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. We have people coming from all over the world, and nearly every state in the United States.”
The 2011 Extravaganza will include a silent auction, gourmet dinner, drinks, hors d’oeuvres and an after-hours museum tour. A limit of 400 tickets, at $125 each, is sold for the event. At press time, there were still tickets available.
More than 100,000 classic car aficionados pour into this small town of 13,000 each Labor Day weekend, turning it upside down with special museum events, auctions, a parade and vintage car shows.
Some of the classiest cars of the world compete in downtown Auburn.
“I remember, maybe eight years ago or so, the competition for the Cord best of show came down to whether the original cheesecloth was underneath the front seat of the car,” recalled Auburn Mayor Norman E. Yoder. “They were all rated in the top 90s (from a possible 100); but these two Cords were scored at 99, and were so close. They finally had to pull the seats out of them. The one that had the small piece of cloth won - it was right down to a fine wire.”
Such Labor Day festivities are welcome to those who live around Auburn, Ind.
“I call it our little window to the world,” Yoder said. “Each year, it gives us our 15 seconds of fame - people from all over the world are here.”
Yoder estimates that the weekend, packed with simultaneous events, brings in “millions of dollars. It’s obviously a great boost for our economy, and those communities within 25 miles radius of us.”
The Duesenberg - or “Duesy,” among elite insiders - was American-made in Auburn in various forms from 1913 to 1937, rapidly becoming renowned for its high-quality passenger cars and record-breaking racing cars.
In the 1920s and 1930s - when Americans were seeking relief from their own economic struggles - the Duesenberg became a symbol of wealth and fame. Among the “A-list” of Duesy owners were Clark Gable, Al Capone, Howard Hughes, Gary Cooper, William Randolph Hearst and Greta Garbo. In Europe, the royal posteriors of the Duke of Windsor, Prince Nicholas of Romania, Alfonso XIII of Spain and Queen Marie of Yugoslavia found plush roosts in the rear seats of the Duesenberg.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Aubomobile Museum, located in the historical Art Deco national headquarters of the Auburn Automotive Company, has more than 120 classic, antique, vintage and special interest cars displayed on three floors.
On Sept. 1, the museum will offer 10 classic cars - including a 1948 Chevrolet Woodie, a 1955 Rolls Royce (with a factory-order card reading, “Duke of Kent”), a 1969 Jaguar E-type Roadster - for auction.
Each of the cars is consigned to the museum’s Benefit Extravaganza with an agreement that both the buyer and seller pledge an 8 percent donation to the museum.
The cars being sold are not part of the museum collection.
For more details, call 260-925-1444 or visit www.automobilemuseum.org |
