The Greentown Grapevine – 1995-07, 02:07

              The Greentown 4- c4* 7? J Fe& l[ @& J
@+@$*
Volume 2, Issue 7 " a paper for the people" July 1995
~~~~~~~~~ FOURTH OF JUW TO BN OBfERYZD
WITH FI
For the first time in about
forty years, a big fireworks
display will be presented in
Greentown. Through the
sponsorship of R. G. Enterprises
and the Greentown Lions Club, a
fireworks show will be held at
the Fairgrounds July 4,
beg- inning at dusk. For best
viewing, it is recommended that
t h e p u b l i c sit in the
grandstands at the northwesl
corner of the Fairgrounds. I1
driving in, enter from Nortk
Meridian St.: across - from
Century Villa Health Care
There will also be fireworks
shows two nights during the
Howard County Fair. On July 24
and 29 the shows will begin at
1O: OO p. m. Those spectacular$
are in celebration of the 50th
year the Greentown Lions have
hosted the Howard County Fair.
The opening barrage will
consist of 150 one and one- haU
inch titanium salutes with rising
silver tail. The main program
progresses from three inch to
four inch to five inch display
shells. These carry such
intriguing names as " twinkling
white chrysanthemum", " tigei
tail to purple", " howling
hailstorm", " spider to strobe"(
" blue chandelier", " battle in
clouds", " Jupiter ring", and
" purple crown crossette." The
Grand Finale will include 60
bombshells with red, white, and
blue; 36 titanium salutes with
tail; and one 300 shot multiple
colored dragons.
Is a " First" A lways
THE First?
Most residents of Howard
County are aware of Elwood
Haynes' place in automotive
history. But how many have
heard of Orlie Scott of
Fairmount and his contribution
to Haynes' invention? An article
in the Marion Chronicle- Tribune
of December 15, 1974, tells the
interesting story of how Haynes
obtained the Scott car.
Orlie Scott arrived in
Fairmount when it Was a " boom
town" and made his living as a
blacksmith, working on oil well
drilling tools. When the paying
jobs were caught up, Scott,
along with helpers Charles
Payne and Nathan Armfield, set
to work on a horseless carriage.
It was fitted with a small gas
tank, with only enough capacity
for a four- mile run. Several test
runs were made around
Fairmount to work the bugs out
of the new machine.
In 1891, Elwood Haynes was in
Fairmount working for the
Indiana Natural Gas Co. office in
Greentown. He was working on a
use for gasoline as fuel to power
an engine, and was intrigued by
the Scott carriage.
What may have been the
world's first traffic accident set
a course which resulted in
Ko komo, not Fairmou n t,
becoming a major automobile
manufacturing center. while on
a test run north of Fairmount,
Scott discovered one major flaw
in his invention - he'd forgotten
the brakes. As the vehicle ran
down an incline, it hit a rock
and tipped over. Scott sold the
wreck to Haynes, who moved to
Kokomo with it in 1892 and
worked out the flaws. Haynes
hired Elmer and Edgar
Apperson to help build the
redesigned Scott buggy.
On July 4, 1894, Haynes made
h i s h i s t o r i c r u n down
Pumpkinvine Pike and into the
history books.
So, did Elwood Haynes invent
the first commercially- built
car? According to Dave Griffey
as quoted in Kokomo Magazine
Vol. 18, " there were others who
were working on cars and
engines around the world at the
same time. Haynes used the tag
line, ' America's First Car.' When
challenged, he took it to court
and legally won the right to
continue using the phrase."
Orlie Scott dropped from
sight. Charles Payne retired
into obscurity and died in
0 klahoma. Nathan Armfield
stayed in Fairmount, working
for nearly 30 years at Fairmount
Grain Co. and later as a school
janitor. His daughters said he
often talked about his work with
Scott, the wreck, and the sale of
the car to Haynes.
A city to the west of
Greentown will soon be having a
Haynes- Apperson Festival. If
you attend the festival, it would
seem appropriate to take a
moment to remember Scott,
Payne, Armfield, and other
unsung inventors and worknien.
Another
" First"
American
Au tomob i le
The Kokomo Daily Tribune,
October 28, 1905, contains a line
rendering of an early vehicle
with the following narrative:
" The cut is made from an old
photograph found recently at
Racine, Wis., and is an
illustration of t h e f i r s t
automobile ever made in
America. This strange looking
horseless carriage was built in
1870, and the designer was Rev.
J. W. Carhart, who is now living
in Texas. It was a four wheeled
machine and resembled a
buckboard, with a vertical
engine on the rear axle. It was a
noisy and erratic contrivance,
throwing a shower of sparks
into the air a distance of sixty
feet. Horses were terrified at its
approach, and it was banished
from the public highway after a
famous race horse became so
frightened that it jumped upon
a barbed wire fence and was
killed, while its driver was
injured seriously."