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The Brussels Post, 1953-7-22, Page 7Ile Cornered The Market in Model -T. Ford Cars The weather-beaten little sign, bonging above an otherwiseun- distinguished door, stated with wistful candor: Spare Parts For M4d01 T Ford. .A scrawled arrow pointed to- ward a stairway leading down into a basement. X followed the direction, thinking that any man who had spare parts for the Model T would also have un- limited spare time. As 1 went down the steps I remembered vaguely that the last Model T S'Ord had come off the produe- l10n line hi 1927, From the be- ginning in 1905 to that date, :Henry Ford had produced 15,- 000,000 itutomohiles. "My curiosity was aroused. I Wanted to see a man who could make a business out of parts for a car, now seldom seen, and which had been out of produc- tion for nearly a quarter century writes Ed Wallace in "Pageant" Magazine. What I discovered in that musty basement, beneath an old house at 1322 Myrtle Avenue in the, Ridgewood section of .Drooklyn, were the last -vestiges Of an American era and an 80- year-old man, who as9ured me 'With an- elfish grin that the busi- ness kept him hopping like a cranbeiry merchant. William Scharff then cleared up for me just hew busy a cranberry sell- er is supposed to be. ;He picked up a pile of orders, 20 or more, and said they had all come with the morning mail. Be explained that he would be busy all 'day filling the orders from his stock and would come back after supper to wrap and address the packages. Piled on the door around him and hanging on frames over his head were dozens of clincher rims, probably the most cursed piece of automotive equipment in history and certainly the most cantankerous • part of the old li'ord. Completely lining the walls were row upon row of 'boxes filled with bushings and bearing, gaskets and gears and hundreds of other motor parts which xnade the Model T the go - ingest little bit of machinery that ever rattled along country lanes and city pavements of America. On a high shelf were scores of old' headlights, and just below them were as many red -eyed kerosene burning tail lamps, all very old but still glossy blank and unused. Mr. Scharff leafed through the day's orders. A man in St. Jo- seph, Missouri, urged. him to rush out a set of brake shoes for Model T of vintage 1915. A doc- tor in a little Virginia town had written in the most hopeful tone, snail* if Mr. Scharff could sup- ply him with radiater fora Ford he had been driving since 1917. From Little Rock came a long chatty letter from an old cus- tomer, asking Mr, Scharff for Ideas on how to get- hot rod speed from a Model T. "Way back yonder, when 1 was' still pretty much of a young fellow, the' Ford came along and - put me out of business:' Mr. Scharff said. "My father and I used to sell buggies and harness in this same neighborhood. Then the Ford clone along. We had to *re up. Funny, now that I'm 00 the same Ford has given me a bngliness•" Ile explained how it came about, and probably Henry Ford himself never played a - longef nor a smarter hunch. When the Model T was discontinued Mr. Sehraff began buying up stocks of spare parts. Ford agencies and 'parts dealers were amused and delighted to find somebody to buy their tons of obsolete stock: Mr, Scharff cached it away in nooks and corners and waited. For 10 years the Ford com- pany continued to supply parts, but that did not worry Mr. Scharff, He kept buying where ever he found old parts. Re watched the new Mode) "A" come, and he saw it go. Then the modern Ford appeared on the scene, but the seareh for Model T parts continued. Occasionally in some old warehouse he would come across a hundred steering wheels and a few dozen ignition switches, a pile of magneto box- es and coils, He bought them and put them away, Orders began to come in for a steering wheel, a radius rod, clamps and springs, a clincher rim and other such odds and ends. Once in awhile, along with the small orders, he would get a let- ter from a junk dealer or some person tearing down an old ga- rage, asking coyly if Mr. Scharff wanted to buy a batch of parts. Playing it just as coyly, he bought the stock and lei the sellers think they were putting one over on the old man. At the same time more and more orders were arriving at his basement, All over the country Model T owners were learning about him, and just in time since even the hardiest of the old cars had be- gun to break parts like buttons popping from an old shirt Local supplieshad become exhausted and one man in a Brooklyn base- ment had gained great impor- tance for an old guard of auto- ist who had absolutely refused to give up Ford'$ basic formula for transportation. From such odd sources of supe - ply there are intriguing prob- lems of supply and demand. Just now Mr.Scharff is hard pressed to .find even a few ignition switches for the cars built be- tween 1909 and 1912, but from somewhere, now forgotten in an old store room or loft, he is sure that more switches will turn up. There is seldom a week that Mr. Scharff does not have vi- sitors .from across the country, people having,; other business in New York, who come to see his strange treasury and buy parts they have been seeking. "They're the most grateful people in the world, the ones who find a part that will put their T back on the road," he said. "I've had wealthy, fellows who buy new Cadillacs every year, shake my hand and thank me for running this business. They think more of their Model T than the Cadillac." - Mr. Scharff has hundreds of letters. expressing gratitude, but there is one short telegram which he keeps handy to show all visitors. The telegram asks, "Carl you_ supply carburetor for 1915 Model. T," It is signed: Ford Motor_ Co., Detroit, Michigan. "'Now there's something a man can be proud of," Mr. Scharff says. "They made fifteen million Model T's, and now they come -to me for - a carburetor. I guess that ought to _ prove where 1 stand.v:. A Little More Co the Leff, Motti--Qirectlnd arrow. -fire for: hisMdthet Mrs. Gill Beal, is a cinch for two-year-old Nicholas Beal of Win- pahelter, England. Seen above in his stroller, he peers ihiatiph binf'tulnrs while Inalher draws a bow en the target. On The Glory Rood-73,OOP Strong—Above is a dramatic picture of the Cotton Bowl, packed with 75,000 people who came to hear Billy Graham, world-famous evangelist. It was called the largest single evahgelistic audience in church history. The most dramatic moment came when the 34-year=old preacher asked that all stadium Tights be extinguished, Each person struck a match, and the stadium was once again alight. Graham; then asked the people to pray that the flame of freedom will burn forever throughout the world. Comparing athletes of bygone eras with those of today is a fav- orite --and useless—sports pas- time. Personally, we generally put in with those who say that there never was a ball -player to compare with Ty Cobb, a fighter who. was as good as Jack John- son, and al) like that. a * 4 But when it comes to golf— well, youi younger fry can take a do'hble order of back -patting Little Ben Bogan is undoubtedly the finest exponent' of cow -pas- ture pool that ever dug a divot and a lot of aqua -not -so -puna is liable to run through the St. Lawrence Waterway ere his equal conies along. When golfers discuss Ben • Hogan, the question they ask most is: "Is he human?" Many of them are convinced he isn't. They gave up long ago trying to win tournaments in which the "Little Man" is enter- ed. # , .4 They call him 'The Little Man" with respect and awe. The Scots at Carnoustie who watched him win the British open last week, on his first try, have their own name for his: "The Wee Ice Man." "He's the only golfer in the world I'm scared of," once said Lloyd Mangrurn, , "I'll never win an open until .he retires," said Sam Snead, run. up for the fourth thaw this ;fear at Oakont as Hogan won his fourth crown, On the golf course, Hogan re- minds you of a tailor weaving a dark cloak ea defeat for his victims - lie. is grim and tight-lipped. He never sees anything or any- body, they say, except the fair- way and the pin. You can almost see the wheels grinding away in his head as he makes shot after shot with unbelievable precision. .4 .4 . "Golf;"' said Hogan after win- - ning the Masters this spring with a record kcore of 274, 'is 20 per cent skill and 80 per cent man- agement," - . There are several golfers with, the skill pf Hogan, None can match his `management, Whereas most golfers are hit- • ters, Hogan is a fitter, Re puts the ball exactly where he wants it to make his next shot easier. a In that respect he is like, a fine aa, billiards player. i. g it What distinguishes Hogan from other golfers of the era? A won't-' ... a -* . ri be -kicked spirit and unmatched concentration. In 1949, he was al1l ost killed in an automobile bus accident which left his legsbadly:injured. Some said then he might never walk again, much less play. But a„ year later he came back. Playing on legs which had to be strapped up at night, he won his second National Open in 1950. Then in the spring of 1951 he won the Masters, and- later the Open again. e » Hogan doesn't talk much but when he does it's not like tink- ling cymbals or sounding brass. Every word—like every golf shot —is to the point and has a pur- pose. There are some who have found Hogan cold. He isn't at all. lie is one of the nicest and most considerate of all tourna- ment golfers. He never "brows off." as the expression goes, Perhaps he was a bit hard to approach or understand before his automobile accident. If so, it night have been attributable to his roughearly''1ife1-He and his brother quit school as children to support a fatherless family. He found life hard and he met it the same way. He Mellowed a lot after the accident, "I found the world was full of nice people." he said af- terwards v ,r Hogan"s victory in the British Open followed a familiar pat- tern. He opened back in the pack and then finished„ with a spectac- ular rush. That's the way he's e=on most of his tournaments a great, pressure windup. They say if he needed a 80 to win at Carnoustie, by some means he would have got it, Personally, we haven't a bit of doubt that be could, YOUR CHANCES Have' a yen to go`, driving the country during August? Hide in the hammock instead. This is the most perilous month of the year. 'J;he safest months are Feb- ruary and March. We can -'-also recommend 5 am, to 8 'aan. Thursday morning as :the safest hours of the week Your chances of having; an 'aeoidertt in clear weather are 21h to 1 over that of llavih'g trouble" in `bad Weather. ` And it yeti alI these facts into 'account •and'still get etualht ih an attf.'ident,' It w,ould'.s'till' be a safe -bet for ea to pHcr,,rou.4 to 1 your car Was in go,o4 mechanical condition. SPraight'Shooter—Joanne Rogers is sure to be a "straight-shoot- ing" hostess when she takes over her duties of hostess for the 1953 Salinas rodeo, horse, fair and stock show. Lithe Joanne practices up for the stint with a 111110 gun and rope etudy. In Baseball, Peanuts; Are Big Business In baseball today, peanuts are big business. "The ball club that doesn't have concession, just doesn't make money," said Danny Goodman, self-styled 'peanut man' of the Hollywood baseball park and longtime field manager of en- terprises in Jacobs Bros., far- flung concessions empire. Many Items By 'concessions' are meant bill- board and scoreboard advertis- ing, seat cushion sales, souvenirs, foodand drink staples and so on, Last year, according to Goodman, the Pittsburgh Pirates l'"alized $130,000 from scoreboard adver- tising alone. At the Hollywood Park, total concessions from baseball totalled some $250,000, writes Frank Waldman in The Christian Science Monitor "Concessions have changed a lot since the old days," Good- man remarked sadly. "We used to make more money selling hot dogs at 10 cents a piece than we . do now for 25 cents. Nowadays fence''advertising and programs make the difference between pro- fit and loss. The Baseball Hall of Fame has ;not yet gotten around to accord- ing Danny. Goodman the recog- nition • he deserves for his part in one of baseball's' most notori- ous World Series. In the 1934 Series between the Cardinals and Tigers, Danny ran Concessions in the bleachers at'the Detroit park. Goodman'S field kitchen thus sup- plied ammunition for the famed "vegetable" barrage that Tiger fans`unlcosed upon the person of St. Louis outfielder .Joe Med- wick. .. Small. Pier "I had 5,000 small pies on hand," Goodman recalled, "Most of them the fans threw at Med- wick, That was a good Series from a concessions point of view,' Danny related happily. "People were in the park and eating by nine o'clock fn the morning. We even had good weather." The Detroit portion of the Series launched Goodman off on one of the snost,fanious non-stop missions in concessions history. Because of his labors during that one, hectic - week, Danny stands today as kind of an "Iron Man" McGinnity of t h e conn ssions business. - "As I remember," Danny said, "The Series endedona Thursday. That night, I: hopped a plane to Pittsburgh fa) r a. Friday night football game Duquesne had at ' Forbes Field., I went to work there before checking into my.'., hotel. After zvokking the game " I helped inovf all of our equip- ment up. to Pitt 'Stadium for the Pitt -Minnesota name Saturday afternoon. lfIind, ill of this time. 1: hadn't even,.,bee11«' to bed. - i.., . .,, No G'onnpicrison tive'•finishedwrw6rk around 1 :actoelc;im-the,morning. A couple*• oP times 'i fell asleep standing up. Sunder mol,niag, we hauled all our stuff back to.,Forbes Field for an tixhibitibn'haseball game that afternoon between the Dean brothers and Satchel .i_'aige." pkoellin as was that experi- ed ''e;o'^ it nndticompare w i t h: Danny Goodnlan's private July 4th in ' Baltimore during the otherwise celehrated+year of 1929. t'I was in charge of the Read- ing, Pee ball park., at the time Jacobs' brothers Used to bring in all of their men from a 200 -mile radius to Work the big Fourth of July parade in Baltimore They used to plan it just like a mill- ' tory-campaign, Over 250,000 peo- ple used to come in for the par- ade, • "Go this particular, Fourth I'm in charge of a popsickle truck. STOP of/aseat ia't?as4 Ouickl Stop Itching of insect bltee, had rash, moon, blue!, plmp1eo stales, eenbles, athlete's foot and other externally reused akin tremble,. Una qquick=nrling 800thing, antiseptic D. O. D. PRIRSCI89yeP-�Y�oii. Gyyma,cgglis�ss, otoinlcee, lath bt'oN n& Mullis,. 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ICASHFINDER, Wichita, Icaama8. FURNITURE moms 1n Texas town of 6,000 doing 111,005 yearly, SaorlfIce price, K..ASIIFINDER, Wiehftn, Kansas. ORION() ANY, CLEANING HAVE you anything nestle dyeing or clean. ins? Write to us for information, We are Mud to answer your que0ti0ne. De- partment H. Parker's Dye Works Limited. 91 Yonne 8t-, Toropto, Mitt SALE LUMBER, Coal and Builders' Hardware Busine,s in Nebraska. Paced with term.. Write KASHFn.'D1111, Wichita, Kansas. NEN Steel Ferguson Thresher. Se1f- allgning bail bearings, Ilebtest running machine available. Write for details, Ferguson Threaher .Company. Maxvino Ont.. Phone taw. CRESS WART REMOVER. Leaves . no scars, Your Druggist sells CRESS. RETAIL LUMBER and Building Mater- ials Business in Texas, doing, 0300.000 yearly. Buy or lease building. KASH- FINDER. Wichita, Kansas. 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Send Money Order or will send C.O.D. Me1101,'o Drug Store, 23 William Street. Brantford, Ont It's hot, but I'm not worried be- cause I know I've got the pop - sickles paeked in dry ice. I12 those days, of course, we didn't have refrigeration trucks. There's a fellow, a hot dog man, has his truck parked next to me and all morning he's burning charcoal to make the bricquete to keep hit hpt dogs warm." Cozy -Fire Inevitably 'Baltimore heat and the cozy charcoal fire combined -to play a scurrilous trick on the trusting Goodman. - -, "When I went to' o p e ti niy truck te ,parcel; out the popsickles to my 1 eeridors," Danny related, "at.l d of' melted lice cream po fxd•• out all o v a r me My ejloti'ies iv et e`rruined. I was a sight, All than'' was left in the 'Truck was a pile of sickles Ultimately, virtue or ingenu- i,#tyy .pr maybe' both Allied the day fOr the doufghtY little corkessilen king. "We ruse up" a bitch of fruit al9riiik ,Gin the 'spot," •Danny said proudly. 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The nag gave him a won- derful run for his money and led, as a matter of fact, right down to the stretch. In the last hundred yards, however, the favorite came up fast and pull- ed into the lead. As the horses came down to the wire almost neck and neck, McCormick could contain himself no longer. He jumped to his feet and bellowed at the topof his lungs. 'Slide, you bum, slide." MERRY MENAGERIE "Junior! What did S tell you about bubble gum?" ISSUE 30 — 1'53 IT ,,M Mri YOUR LIVER If Lifo'o not wortlj•'living ' if your your livt+rl Tt'o a feet! It Uate'e"i1'5tY4t025.211tte of liver bile sdat' to keep your di46gtivo'trect in top 01apel It your liver bila in not aowOng freely your -food may not di t .. ,• 9004)1oate u your t0m9o1l Slat Constipated and ell .ttie'fsia and Slat1{I04 out of life. That's whop yo need' „TiI Radio Carter's Little Livor Pills. These famous vegetable Aim helpeti1nu10te. the flowo Bvoptyilo. Soon 50:11.dige1tton• leaser alielibnfn properly and you tool that happy days aro hero again! Dont ear stay sunk, Alweye keep Carter's LittlenjaiverLhfk erupandli;11'- ,t 1' '+•,;'�i uytaX,s,�;e't