Richmond, Indiana, seems to have become the de facto Model T Capital of the World. The Model T Ford Club of America is headquartered there and operates a marvelous museum dedicated to Henry’s world changing creation. In 2008, when the T turned 100 years old, Richmond hosted a birthday party attended by approximately 1000 of the cars. I was there for one day. This year, with the T turning 110, Richmond had another party. It wasn’t nearly as big as the centennial bash but it was still a pretty big deal with about 100 Ford Model Ts showing up. Again, I was there for one day, Saturday.

Some of those 100 or so visiting Model Ts were parked in the street but many were in the museum’s parking lot. It was a great day for looking the cars over but, because of their proximity to one another and the number of people sharing the space, getting good photos wasn’t so easy. A dead skunk emerging from beneath a rear tire does seem to provide a little extra space, however.

The museum was open and entirely free all day which really was great but the space and people issues seen outside were amplified inside. A chunk of normally open space in the annex was filled with a series of seminars.

I’ve visited the museum in the past when I was the only one there and I expect that will happen again. Today’s lack of “photo space” didn’t really bother me. The cars, in fact, were not the primary reason I was there. I’d first learned of this event last fall on a visit to the museum to see a car named the Silver Streak. In the 1930s and ’40s, a group of young women had used the Streak to travel the country. The car was on loan from its current owner, John Butte. I bought a copy of the book John had written about the car and was in Richmond today to get it signed and meet its author. John is in all three of these photos. The third includes his wife Carmen and the Silver Streak. A few pictures of the car accompanied my review of the book.

Doug Partington is the owner of another Model T with a great story guy. The Wikner Ford Special is the very first race car built in Australia. Doug bought the partially disassembled car when he was fourteen. Only after he’d had considerable fun and success racing the car did he learn of its unique history. The Wikner Ford Special will be on display at the museum for the next eighteen months. The Silver Streak will be leaving in August.

Among the many Model Ts on display was an open car much like the one my great grandparents drove to Florida in 1920 and a green coupe similar to one they subsequently owned which is currently in the possession of an uncle.

Of course the gathering was not limited to already complete and fully functioning automobiles. There were also plenty of pieces that just might be the key to another complete and fully functional Ford.