March is Womens History Month, a most appropriate time to recognize the Silver Streak and those wonderful and adventurous Gypsy Coeds who in so many ways were ahead of their times. The Historical Vehicle Association (HVA) has recognized the Silver Streak. Check out their “This Car Matters” site, Cars of the period 1920-1929.
https://historicvehicle.org/this-car-matters/stories-photos/stories-from-the-1920s/
Hemmings Motor Week carried an article honoring the Silver Streak as one of the “Drivable Dreams” in their online magazine February 9. The article references the successful exhibit at the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the planned exhibit at the Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana starting in April, and includes excerpts from the book, Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls covering the 1940 trip from Bradford, Illinois to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The girls measured the California trip in weeks (7) and in flats (13)! The Model T Museum is currently selling the book. Visit http://modeltstore.myshopify.com/collections/ The book is also available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com
The book, Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls, by John G. Butte is now available at the Model T Museum online store and at the Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana. The book is a non-fictional account of the hilarious escapades of a group of Coeds from Bradford, Illinois who crisscrossed the nation on summer vacations in the 1930’s and 1940’s in their faithful 1926 Model T dubbed, the Silver Streak. They were seeking adventure and seemingly found it at every turn, meeting Henry Ford twice and communicating with him regularly via letter and telegram from 1938 thru 1943. The author’s mother and aunt were among the girls who made these trips. After searching for the car in 2011, the author found it in Portland, Oregon purchased it and returned it to Central Illinois in early 2012. It looks very much like it did after returning from the 1942 trip and still runs. You can find the book listed in the Model T Museum store under “New Arrivals” and “Books.”
Remember that purchasing a book from the Model T Ford Club of America helps to support the MTFCA programs and the Model T Ford Museum.
The exhibit, “Gypsy Coeds Ride The Silver Streak,” ended a highly successful three month run at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Sunday, January 17, 2016. We are pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached that will place the Silver Streak and much of the exhibit from the Peoria Riverfront Museum on display at the Model T Museum, in Richmond, Indiana from April 7, 2016 through August 7, 2016. Representatives of the Model T Museum visited the Peoria Riverfront Museum in early January. “It would be an understatement to say that the Museum Committee and MTFCA Board members are excited about the Silver Streak coming to the Model T Museum!” said Susan Yaeger, Executive Director of the Model T Ford Museum. “I have shared the information with all and we are so honored to be able to host this venerable vehicle in Richmond. I know that our community will also be equally enamored with the car and the story.”
The Model T Museum is operated by the Model T Ford Club of America. The Silver Streak exhibit will be on display in the Model T Museum for four months and will be a featured exhibit at the large early June annual event, “Model T Homecoming”, sponsored by the Model T Ford Club of America. The Homecoming festivities are June 2-4, and will see Model T enthusiasts from across the United States converge on Richmond’s Depot District and the Model T Museum for a Swap Meet, Model T driving tours and other activities. Included in the festivities at the museum during Homecoming will be a book signing of Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls by author John G. Butte. For more information about the Model T Museum, the Model T Ford Club of America and the June 2-4 Homecoming event in Richmond, Indiana go to their website, http://www.mtfca.com/index.htm . Check out the Homecoming page and also “Event Details” tab on the Homecoming page.
WCBU, 89.9 FM aired an interview this morning at 7:45, which will play again at 12:33pm and 4:45pm today. Daryl Scott of WCBU conducted the interview at the museum on December 10, 2015. Joan McNulty Heinzemann, who grew up in Bradford in the 1930’s and 1940’s was visiting the exhibit at the time of the interview and is included in the spot. Here is a link to their website which has the audio link to the interview, a slide show and links to other related sites, including the Peoria Riverfront Museum where the Silver Streak is in its last week of its 3 month exhibition. The exhibition’s last day is Sunday, January 17.
http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/gypsy-coeds-and-silver-streaks-long-journey-home#stream/1
The NPR interview regarding the exhibit at the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the book, Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls ran today on WGLT on the campus of Illinois State University. You can listen to the interview and see a slide show from the museum exhibit at this link: http://www.wglt.org click on the tab for Sound Ideas, then ‘recent stories’
An interview will air on the show, “Sound Ideas”, at 11 AM and 6 PM on Monday, January 4, 2016 with local affiliate WGLT in Normal, IL. Just click on “Listen Live”. The Peoria Riverfront Museum exhibition closes January 17, 2016.
Front page of the Strk County News, October 29, 2015
Page 03 Click here for readable pdf
Page 3 Book Review
The Silver Streak 