Richard Hopeman

[MochetVelo]

Sad to report that Dick Hopeman of West Chester, PA passed away last June. I only just learned it when I saw several of his cars and signs in the upcoming Bonham's sale. Dick lived in a large Pennsylvania fieldstone barn he converted to a classy residence and private museum; his "dream home". Since it was a bank barn, he could store cars on two levels. Some of his collection could be seen through a glass wall in his living room. On the lower level was a restoration shop complete with a huge English wheel and spray booth. His collection was eclectic, including a Ford Model A, a 1930 Lincoln Model L touring, and interesting Rolls with, as I recall, a wooden "hunting-break" type body, a cloth-bodied '20s French voiturette racer, and a '56 Lincoln Continental MKII coupe which he bought in boxes (which he had full intentions of restoring). The third level of his barn included an upholstery shop with the largest work table I've ever seen. It must have been twelve feet by ten feet. He acquired his skills in that art years ago from an old-timer, who left him all his tools and parts. In fact, Dick did the upholstery work on the Fred Simeone's 1938 Alpha Spyder (see the July/Aug. 2016 Antique Automobile). Each week, he'd host a small clan of amateur restorers who gratefully partook of his expertise while working on his (and their own) projects. Each session was concluded with a communal dinner. Could life be any better for an old-car guy? 

 

Here is Dick at the 2015 Hershey Elegance with the Keno brothers. They hold a letter they wrote to Dick when they were teenagers. R.I.P.

 

Phil Jamison

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by MochetVelo (see edit history)

[Friartuck]

My Time with Dick Hopeman

It began with a single photograph on the cover of a Restoration Tools catalog. Emerging from an old style arched garage door was a green model L Lincoln Touring. I was excited that a Touring may be near me to aid in the restoration of my Type 177 Touring as I knew the Tool company was located near me in Pennsylvania. The Tool company would not reveal the owner of the vehicle or location of where the photo was taken, but some further research finally solved the mystery. I was owned by Dr. Richard Hopeman. Dick was a professor at VillanovaUniversity having transferred from Syracuse in New York a few years earlier.  The building in the photograph was the Great Stone Barn (GSB), a location in a suburb outside of Philadelphia.  After several emails and some phone calls I finally got an invite for an afternoon at the GSB. The barn itself is a car collector’s dream, an old style stone and masonry building built into the side of a hill and deserves a detailed description. It was customary in that region to build into a hill or massive mound to utilize the terrain for access to the upper floors. At the first floor (base level) was the garage shop entrance (and those four arched doors).  Dick had the area segregated into areas for storage and shop work. Winding your way up the hill got you to the second floor area where a solid barn style sliding wooden door provided access to the second floor storage area. The sturdy wood floor was supported by heavy timbers below and was more than adequate for this additional car storage area. This second floor area represented half of the GSB’s 60 X 150 foot footprint. The other half on the second floor was the living space. A truely open design, it began at one end (above the arched doors) with a master bedroom and one guest room which connected to an open kitchen with a single island running lengthwise. Just past the kitchen was the dining area with a circular oak table and country style chairs. This flowed into a living & sitting area complete with an impressive 4 X 6 stone fireplace at the end wall. Above the fireplace was a complete collection of the Lincoln Bird series by illustrator Stark Davis. The entire long wall of this open floor plan was lined with vertically oriented casement windows which provided a virtually unobstructed view of the GSB’s lower meadow and the neighbors rolling fields, typical of that region of Pennsylvania. Between the living room area and the car storage area of the second floor was a glass panel where Dick could play on the baby grand piano all the while admiring his Lincoln Touring through the glass room divider. The third floor loft was where Dick matted and displayed his automotive art work.

My visit to the GSB launched an over two decade period of friendship where Dick often encouraged me to investigate and document Lincoln matters on authenticity. My creating an hour long documentary on the history of Henry Leland was prompted by Dick which included him introducing me to the book, Master of Precision.  Dick was instrumental in allowing my upholstery trimmer and I access to his Touring for shapes, pattern orientations and other finish details when creating and installing my Touring’s upholstery. The absolute gem was Dick laying out the side curtails on the kitchen center island and allowing us to measure and photograph each panel.

While he will be missed, I prefer to remember him by continuing my contributions to the Hobby, AACA and the LOC’s Fork & Blade in the way of articles and sharing information.

 

Chris Wantuck

Red Bank, NJ