JZRIV Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 You just never know what will show up in the Bugle. In a recent issue the article on Glenn Curtiss famous for aviation and motorcycle engine design was of interest. While his affiliation with Buick may have seemed minimal , it was a very educational article. At first after receiveing the latest Bugle, I passed over the article "Promoting the new 1929 Buicks" by Roger Fields and West Peterson from the Buick Heritage Alliance archive moving first to articles I thought interested me more. Imagine my surprise shortly after beginning the read and learning it was relative to Uniontown PA that is just south of me. The article went on to say there were 13 millionaires living in Uniontown which was more per capita than anywhere else in the US. I imagine a Buick dealer would do well in an area with wealthy folks. While that was a surprising statistic, driving through Uniontown and surrounding towns such as Connellsville, Scottdale, and even small towns like Dawson, there are many very stately constructed homes originating in the early 1900's still lining the streets and outlying areas. It would cost millions of dollars today to build a home with the architecture and materials these homes were built with and that's assuming you could find craftsman with the capable skills. With the coal, railroad, and steel booms all going on in the roaring 20s it must have been a very exciting time. Unfortunately today many of these towns became depressed decades ago when big manufacturing jobs dried up; however, one does not have to look too far to see evidence of what once was. Appreciate these historical and educational articles Pete! 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 An interesting point Jason. If you want to see some other extraordinary architecture obviously built in the 30's-50's, drive Rt 5 along Lake Erie from Erie PA to Buffalo. Wow! to describe the sheer number of mansions, is an understatement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 34 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said: An interesting point Jason. If you want to see some other extraordinary architecture obviously built in the 30's-50's, drive Rt 5 along Lake Erie from Erie PA to Buffalo. Wow! to describe the sheer number of mansions, is an understatement! Indeed John! I actually hauled a Cadillac several years ago purchased by my friend from one of those mansions near Derby. As I was preparing the trailer to load the big black Cadillac, I was asked if I had time to go see the sellers "car collection". I'm thinking OK maybe 10- 15 cars.....sure I have time. He chaffered us to an old car dealership building in town. The first car we saw after going through door was a Duesenberg and at that point I knew it wasn't going to be a run of mill collection. 100+ very high end cars later, we left not believing what we saw. Owner was a very humble individual. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Jason: Thank you for commenting on the 1929 article. I grew up in Monongahela about 30 miles north west from Uniontown. My aunt and Uncle lived there and we would visit about 5 times a year. When I started to drive in 1971, a great Sunday drive was through Uniontown on Old Route 40 up over the summit toward Maryland. (in my 1969 LeSabre convertible.) I remember always stopping to look in the window of the Buick dealer at the time who was in that building. They seemed to have a better selection of cars than Pizzica Buick in Monongahela or Bendick--Lancaster in Charleroi. During the same time period many of these towns were beginning to decline with the downturn in the steel industry. This was first timber and then a coal region. Many "Robber Barron" homes we admired on the outskirts of town. Thanks again: Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Fuhrman Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 As an aside - sharing the photo of Guy Bennett's 37, 40 and 42 Buicks on display at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Thank you for posting the photos. It has been about 23 years since we were at the museum. I believe there was a 1918 Buick Coupe there at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Fuhrman Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) On 1/12/2018 at 3:59 PM, dibarlaw said: Thank you for posting the photos. It has been about 23 years since we were at the museum. I believe there was a 1918 Buick Coupe there at the time. Yes still there a dark green one - displayed with a Curtiss 'Jenny' of the same era, (when I saw it last.) They recently had some updates and the place continues to be great! The Bennett's have been supporters of the museum for years. You will have to make another visit sometime! Edited January 17, 2018 by AC Fuhrman (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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