[frame30]

The full size running replicas of the Thomas Flyer and the German Protos were donated to the Reynolds Auto Museum in Alberta. They also received all of the original photos we found in attics in Buffalo, shoeboxes in Las Vegas, bombed out archives in Germany, and personal donations from around the world. In the end they received 23 lineal feet of research and hundreds of discs, all of our research. The reason for giving it to a Canadian archives is that they are not allowed to sell, trade, or give away the collection. It must be kept together for future researchers and posterity. We are still adding to it, hopefully soon the loving cup that was given to the Thomas when they reached San Francisco. We also found the cup that Koeppen won in Moscow. It is a wonderful collection of original photos that do not exist anywhere else in the world. The box we found in Vegas was almost all Alaskan based with a little bit of Indiana and Cheyenne. Cheers. Michael www.thegreatestautorace.com

[Nancy DeWitt]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to visit the Reynolds Museum some day and look through the archives.

It would be fun if our museum could ever borrow the Thomas replica for an exhibit, as it's unlikely we'd ever get the original up here. We plan to do an exhibit on the race some day, and it would be nice to have a Thomas (even a replica) for the display. Interestingly, most people in Fairbanks have never heard of the race, even though our newspaper's popular local-interest writer penned my favorite book about it, "Hard Driving" (by Dermot Cole). We'd carry the book in our museum gift shop, but unfortunately it's out of print.

We do have several large photographs on the museum walls from the race. We bought your movie awhile back and hope to show it to the local car club some evening (assuming that's okay).

[frame30]

Dear Nancy: The curator at the Reynolds might be open to the idea of lending you the Thomas. It can be configured as it was in NY, Buffalo, San Francisco, and Vladivostok. I would hope you would not show the film as it is heavily copyrighted and a public exhibition falls in to that area, "The unauthorized reproduction or distribution or public screening of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, Canada, and other abiding by the Hague convention." I hope this helps. The person to talk with at the Reynolds is Neil Ratch. Trust you are warm. Cheers. Michael.

[Nancy DeWitt]

Thanks for the info, Michael. Is there a way to pay a royalty or other related fee for a public showing?

Winter is trying to arrive in Fairbanks. We've had some snow but most of it has melted. We don't have trouble staying warm, with all the high-tech clothing available now. Can't imagine riding in an open car like they did here 100 years ago, though!
Nancy

[frame30]

Our actors got a real sense of the winter driving. When we did the winter scenes it was -30C but they never had to ride more than a mile at a time. Yes, they were very cold. We can probably work something out. Is it a free screening to the public or are you charging them? Will it be a one time screening? Look forward to your reply, Nancy. my direct email is michael@frame30.com Cheers. Michael.