MEET GWEN AND PARKER ACKLEY
AND THEIR 1915 DODGE

Gwen and Parker Ackley of Fairfield, Connecticut, happened upon their 1915 Dodge
in Red Hook, New York, in 1999.
Three months and several visits later, they persuaded its owner to sell.

Click on any photo to enlarge


This photo was used for promotion for the 2009
Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance Car Show



This is a comemorative painting by artist Lynn Pritchard
of the Dodge's first long distance drive to Mystic from Fairfield.
Lynn's website is http://fairfieldportraits.com

 

PORT JEFFERSON HILL CLIMB
Port Jefferson, NY, Sunday, August 23, 2015
Featuring Gwen & Parker Ackley's 1915 Dodge Touring Car




Gwen is not afraid to get her hands dirty


This is a photo of Parker driving the Dodge
in the Barnum Festival Parade with an antique horn
attached to the windshield frame playing vintage jazz.
Gwen is dancing the Charleston ahead of the car.
They represented the Fairfield Museum and History Center.



Westport News Article 9-16-09


Westport Magazine Article Nov. / Dec. 2009




The two photos above were used for promotion for the 2009
Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance Car Show om their web site.

 


GREENWICH CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE

http://www.greenwichconcours.com/2008Highlights.htm

Best Combination of Car and Costume
1915 Dodge Brothers Touring - Gwen and Parker Ackley
Actor Ed Hermann to the far right admires the Dodge
while Genia Wennerstrom, far left, presents the award.
http://luxuryexperience.com/arts_and_antiques/antiques/greenwich_concours_d'elegance_2007.html

Parker and Gwen Ackley attend the show every year and are always beautifully dressed in period costumes to match their automobiles. This year they entered their 1915 Dodge Brothers Touring Car, "accessorized" with Parker and Gwen Ackley, and Lynn and baby Lili Pritchard dressed in period clothing.


http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/reader_rides/1267831.html?page=4

Considering the rarity and value of the typical Greenwich Concours automobile, it was most encouraging to encounter a few entrants who believed their cars should not be kept at arm's length. Pennsylvania enthusiasts Dennis and Ann Marie Nash actually had a sign on the windshield of their 1927 Bentley urging spectators to go ahead and touch their car. Meanwhile, Parker Ackley and his wife Gwen, given the Best Combination of Car and Costume award two days in a row, generously afforded the PM.Zone an extended sit behind the thick, solid-wood steering wheel of their 1915 Dodge Brothers touring car. "It's easier to get in if you remember to stand up while doing it," Parker told us as we squeezed into the driver's seat, adding that "as far as air conditioning is concerned, you get a beautiful breeze when you open the bottom half of the windshield." Ackley also drew our attention to the button for the Klaxon horn, which is mounted on the door above the driver's left knee. "The reason that it's there," he explained, "is that it's right under your left thumb while you're driving and have your left elbow resting in the curve of the seat. If both of your hands are occupied, you can even blow the horn with your knee."
Posing their 1915 Dodge with 6-year-old Nicholas Pritchard and a 1925 vintage Victor VV-50 portable phonograph, Gwen and Parker Ackley earned the 2004 Greenwich Concours' Best Combination of Car and Costume award (top). They repeated the feat at Sunday's Concours Europa, with Parker donning a World War I aviator's uniform in honor of the 60th anniversary of D-Day.


http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/elegance_at_concours_delegance/2009

 

News
Monday, September 14, 2009
Elegance at Concours d'Elegance

A 1915 Dodge Bros. touring car provided the backdrop for an elegant lunch Sunday at the 2009 Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport. Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com


This article and the one from Westport Magazine:
Concours D'elegance, An auto enthusiasts' heaven and much more ...
Full story: Brooks Community Newspapers
For Parker and Gwen Ackley, driving their meticulously maintained 1915 Dodge Brothers 5-Passenger Touring Car to the Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance is a pleasantly short drive.


1915 Dodge Touring Sedan
If These Bumpers Could Talk
This story comes from the a-101649 issue of AutoWeek magazine. Reading the magazine is the only way to make sure you don't miss anything. If you aren't getting the magazine, you can sign up today for a low price. GET AUTOWEEK MAGAZINE TODAY!
By NICK KURCZEWSKI
Dodge Brothers Inc. built 249 cars in 1914. In 1915 45,000 Dodges were sold and the company had become the third-largest carmaker in America, behind Ford and Willys-Overland. But brothers John and Horace Dodge were hardly new to the industry. Before achieving such quick success as manufacturers, they had amassed a wealth of experience producing automobile parts and had already worked with industry legends.
The Dodges honed their mechanical and engineering skills by manufacturing bicycle components in Windsor, Ontario, before switching gears, circa 1900, to the production of auto parts across the river in Detroit. Ransom E. Olds contracted the Dodge brothers to build parts for his new car company. This lucrative arrangement eventually caught the eye of Henry Ford, who offered the Dodges a 10 percent stake in his new company, with the condition being the brothers devote their parts business solely to Ford automobiles. It was a gamble, yet for more than a decade the partnership flourished.
The first Dodge used the Model T formula: conservative looks, tough drivetrain, low price and plenty of options. What set Dodge's five-passenger Touring Sedan apart was its standard equipment-a steel body, electric start and lights-features then unheard of in a low-priced automobile. Weighing in at 2200 pounds, the 212-cubic-inch four-cylinder chugged out 35 hp, ensuring modest but acceptable performance. The car was robust and reliable, and priced at $785, it proved to be a resounding sales success.


Gwen and Parker Ackley of Fairfield, Connecticut, happened upon our featured car in Red Hook, New York, in 1999. Three months and several visits later, they persuaded its owner to sell, at which point the Ackleys discovered their conservative-looking classic has a colorful past.
Sheriff Milton Saulpaugh of Hudson, New York, bought the car in 1916 from his brother's Dodge dealership and for more than 20 years used it for police duty. In 1938 Saulpaugh apprehended two bank robbers in Hudson. Apparently the sheriff treated the crooks kindly, which inspired one of them to craft a model of the Dodge while he sat in jail. Upon his release the ex-con gave the model to Saulpaugh as a thank-you. Saulpaugh then sold the car back to his brother, who later sold it and the model of the car to Charles Nichols in 1967. Turns out, Nichols' father-in-law had been locked in the bank vault during that foiled robbery 29 years earlier.


The Dodge Touring Sedan is a dream come true for enthusiasts who prefer cars with a patina rather than a thick coat of polish. We first met the Ackleys at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Connecticut. Dressed in turn-of-the-century attire, with a gramophone playing on the back seat, they looked as though they had stepped out of a time machine.
"We let people in the car and let kids honk the horn," Parker Ackley says.


The car rides firmly and bounces some, though it's not the pogo-stick-at-four-corners feeling one might expect. Ackley explains that the three-speed transmission and its original leather-faced cone clutch needs to be timed right for smooth shifts. Practice makes perfect, but after several flubbed gear changes we were happy to leave the driving to Ackley. A wise choice, since bringing the car to a stop requires even more skill and patience than getting it up to speed. The rear-only mechanical brakes are useful for slowing the car, but a complete stop requires great forethought and a long stretch of empty road ahead.


Driving dynamics aside, the mechanical longevity of the Ackleys' Dodge is a testament to the strength of the Dodge brothers' first automobile and the engineering that brought the company instant acclaim.

This photo was taken at the 2010 Wings & Wheels Show in Stratford, CT
copyright 2010 Warren Disbrow photo

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