Don't Forget the Crevices

You never know what you might find...

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Recently, while restoring a 1921 Milburn Light Electric, we discovered a number of artifacts from the 1930's that were lost inside window pockets. They were stunning finds! After lots of research, we were able to determine virtually the whole history of the car, including identifying many of the previous owners. Fortunately, there is a registry of Milburn cars at www.milburn.us that contains a wealth of information of the cars known to remain which was a big help. In addition, there are great resources available to do research, e.g., Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com. Until we discovered the artifacts, this car was misidentified in the registry, so this completely altered the understanding of the history of several cars.

The artifacts in the car verified that the second owner was Stella Hanna of Waterloo, Iowa who was a prominent person in Waterloo, Iowa. In her memory, we decided to name our car after her. (There is a possibility that the original owner was Cory Steely, but that can't be absolutely proven).

This is important history that brought this car to life and will be with this car (hopefully) for generations to come. Vintage car owners are just temporary caretakers who eventually pass along their treasures for others to enjoy. I believe that if you own a vintage car, it is important to do what you can to search for clues to its past. Many times it's impossible, but sometimes you get lucky. Don't forget the crevices!