From the I Know You Like a Book Facebook Page: “Set your alarm clock and join us on Friday, April 8th from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. (this is not a typo!—it starts at 4:00 a.m.) for a live broadcast of NPR’s Morning Edition at our store! Yes, I Know You Like A Book is going national with Morning Edition host David Greene. There will be limited seating and floor space for those who would like to stop by to hear live radio. Please check our Facebook page for updates as we receive more information on the event. The host, David Greene, will hang out at the store for a “Meet & Greet” from 6:30 a.m. to approximately 8:00 a.m.”
I Know You like a Book, 4707 N. Prospect, Peoria Heights, IL is now stocking and selling Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls.
“Join us on Saturday, April 16th from 2-4 p.m. for a book signing with local author John G. Butte. He will sign copies of his book, Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls. Butte penned a wonderful book about his mother, aunt, and eighteen of their friends who spent summer vacations traveling in a 1926 Ford Model T. The book and the original car were the featured exhibit at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.”
MTFCA Press Release_Silver Streak 03 28 16
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 28, 2016
Susan Yaeger, Executive Director
Model T Ford Club of America
765-855-5248
susan@mtfca.com
Gypsy Coeds Ride the Silver Streak Exhibit
Coming to Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana
Long before Thelma & Louise rode off in their ’66 Thunderbird convertible, there were the Gypsy Coeds. In the mid 1930s and early 40s, this group of fiercely independent young ladies would pack themselves and a few belongings into Darlene Dorgan’s silver 1926 Model T Touring Car (dubbed the Silver Streak) and set off during the summers in search of adventure.
Darlene and various combinations of 19 other girls made eight trips, logged over 71,500 miles and found adventure at every turn. They met the reclusive Dr. Dafoe and watched the Dionne quintuplets play outside through a one-way screen. They attended the New York and San Francisco World’s Fair; met movie stars and moguls, dignitaries and corporate leaders; slept in parks, schoolyards, jail cells and by the side of the road; and formed a special bond with Henry Ford who hosted and assisted the girls on many occasions.
John Butte had heard stories about these trips from his mother (one of the Gypsy Coeds) and, upon her death in 2011, was determined to find the car. He tracked it to Portland, Oregon where Darlene’s descendants had taken it after it had sat in storage for decades at the Dorgan’s Bradford, Illinois home. John purchased the Silver Streak and brought it back to the Bradford area. Remarkably, the exterior had never been restored…and it still ran. Butte’s desire to preserve the car quickly evolved into preserving its history as well.
An exhibit entitled “Gypsy Coeds Ride the Silver Streak” was created by the Peoria Riverfront Museum and John Butte that tells the stories of the girls’ travels through 44 states, Mexico and Canada at a top speed of about 45 miles an hour. After its highly successful debut at the Peoria, IL museum last fall, the Silver Streak — along with pictures and fascinating information about the Gypsy Coeds and their trips — will be on display at the Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana from April 9 to August 7, 2016.
The Model T Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM and is located at 309 N. 8th St., Richmond, Indiana in the Historic Depot District. It features an impressive collection of vehicles including one of the first Ts and one of the last, a Pietenpol airplane,
T-related memorabilia, reference materials and an extensive gift shop which includes copies of John Butte’s recently released book, “Darlene’s Silver Streak and The Bradford Model T Girls.” For more information call the Model T Museum at 765-488-0026.
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Three Photos attached.
Hi resolution files available upon request.
Please email susan@mtfca.com or phone 765-855-5248
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.
The Silver Streak 