Willie K. Talks!
It is a cold, misty Saturday morning here on Long Island. Very similar to the weather conditions on a Saturday morning 100 years ago on October 24, 1908 when George Robertson became the American driver to win the Vanderbilt Cup Race in an American car.
As a salute to William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., referee for the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race, here is a link to highlights of a film "Over the Seven Seas" featuring Willie K. and his wife on a 1931 journey around the world in the Alva, his beautiful 265-foot yacht. It is the only known recording of Willie K's voice. The complete unedited film is available at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum with all rights reserved. Highlights of the film are shown on this website with permission of the Museum.
<Relevant links to the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race:
-George Robertson: Winner of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
-Old 16: The winning car of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
-Old 16 Rides again in Dearborn, Michigan
-The Locomobile Vanderbilt Cup mascot and paperweight
Sampling of Recent Posts:
This month, there have been several wonderful centennial celebrations for the historic Long Island Motor Parkway and the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Here are highlights:
Exhibit "Treasures of the Vanderbilt Cup Races"at the Nassau County Museum of Art
Over the weekend over 750 attended this special exhibit that included; Peter Helck oil paintings, race memorabilia, and the bronze Tiffany plaque given to driver George Robertson for winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Among the special attendees were George Robertson's grandson Peter Shriver and great-grandson William Shriver.
Click here for a pdf of the exhibit.
5th Vanderbilt Centennial Celebration, Nassau County Museum of Art, Sunday, October 19,2008
This year's Centennial Celebration was celebrated with timed demostration runs of over 50 cars with a racing heritage and a Concours de Provenance for vehicles with unusual history or significance. An estimated crowd of over 1,500 people enjoyed this wonderful event.Thanks again to the Nassau County Museum of Art for the beautiful location and the 2008 sponsors; Rallye Auto Group, L'Italiano Trattoria, Porsche of Roslyn and the Metropolitan.
Click here for a pdf of the event.
Suffolk County Long Island Motor Parkway Celebration, Bonwit Inn, October 22, 2008
The trustees of Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy hosted a celebration of the Long Island Motor Parkway at the Bonwit Inn on the Vanderbilt Parkway and Commack Road. Over 70 cars and 200 people from Long Island's auto clubs participated in the event. Hats off to the Bonwit Inn for providing a complimentary lunch to participants.
Media was well-represented including News12 and Newsday.
Newsday.com also posted a one-minute video of the event with interviews of Carol Hart, Bruce Adams and Howard Kroplick.
Click here for a pdf of the celebration.
- Newsday publishes a special pullout section on the Long Island Motor Parkway, Sunday, October 19, 2008.
- New York Times' Automobiles Section's front-page article "First Auto Parkway: From Road to Ruin"
-Arcadia Publishing Issues a press release on "The Long Island Motor Parkway".
-Happy 100th Birthday to the Long Island Motor Parkway
-Eddie Rickenbacker:America's Ace of Aces and Vanderbilt Cup Race Participant
-Roslyn News: “More History on Long Island’s Roadways”- October 2, 2008
-Can you identify this unique 1911 Vanderbilia?
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