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PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM and ANTIQUE TOWN
Murdo, South Dakota
PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM and A. J. "Dick" Geisler are a single thought in the minds of many who have visited and had the chance to know the man with the ever-present cigar. A Valentine present to German immigrant parents, Dick knew he and the family farm were not cut out for each other. He attended a rural school near New Ulm, Minnesota much like the one that is part of the museum. After high school his mother's plans for business college for her son were interrupted by a job selling for the Jewel Tea Company, and other sales ventures. In 1923 he and a friend drove a Ford like the one to be seen in the Ford Garage from Minnesota to California taking odd jobs along the way to finance the trip.
In California he met and married Vivian Petersen who had traveled to California with her three sisters. The three Geisler children were born in Pasadena where "Dick" was operating the feed, hardware and appliance business he started in the height of the depression. In 1942 Mr. Geisler traded his California home for a farm near Blunt, South Dakota, sold the businesses and returned to the Midwest.
Crops had been nonexistent for some years prior to his move to South Dakota and the natives were amused at the West coast city dude who busily went about planting wheat. The Geisler touch and ideal conditions brought about the first of many banner years for crops in the area.
Pub. by The Goin Company, Box 746 Mitchell, South Dakota 57301
MADE BY DEXTER PRESS WEST NYACK, NEW YORK
Buildings as Numbered 1. Main building and entrance. Autos and coin music machines. 2. Auto building. 3. Autos, motorcycles and bicycles building. 4. Auto storage shed. 5. 1910 Cretors popcorn wagon. 6. Souvenir and gift shop. 7. World's largest concert band organ. 8. Church of the prairie. 9. 1911 Parker Brothers merry-go-round. 10. Henry's Ford Garage. 11. Livery stable. 12. Classic car building. 13. Auto building. 14. Machinery area. 15. Tractor area. 16. Fire station. 17. Kozy Tourist Cabin. 18. Depot. 19. One-room school house. 20. Milwaukee Road Caboose. 21. General store. 22. Circus display room. 23. Restrooms. 24. Jack's Jewelry store. 25. Homesteader's shack. 26. Murdo State Bank. 27. Blacksmith Shop. 28. Barber Shop. 29. Murdo Jail. 30. Gasoline engine and plow display. 31. Wells Fargo stagecoach. 32. Exit building. 33. Storage and restoration building. 34. Auto and parts boneyard.
Antiques of Yesteryear
ANTIQUE CARS
Wide variances of opinion exist as to what constitutes an antique car. To those unknowledgeable in history of the automobile it is often merely a relative description of an old car. The Veteran Motor Car Club of America classifies any car over 35 years old as antique. The Antique Automobile Club of America considers all pre-1930 models qualifying as antiques. The Horseless Carriage Club limit their choices for antique designation to pre-1916 cars. As we said, the term is somewhat relative.
The Vintage Years
Following World War I cars that had remained drawing board dreams sprung into reality. Faster production methods had evolved from the war and were now applied to the auto industry. New techniques for making lighter alloys were brought into use and new advances in the theory of the internal combustion engine were tested and applied. The result was a selection of autos superior to those of the previous period.
Production had passed from experiment to refinement. Efficiency was the byword with great care given in the construction of each unit during that post-war period. Mass production sounded the death knell for the short-lived Vintage Years which, it is generally agreed, lasted from 1919 to 1930.
Classic Cars
What does set apart a true classic from a standard production car? Two things in principle: Brilliant and unusual design coupled with the most advanced engineering of the day. Almost inseparable from these attributes are two more basic factors: Superlative hand workmanship and limited production. Some classics may excel in body design coupled to a lesser standard of engineering or vice versa, but all the above qualities are invariably found in a true classic.
Special Interest Cars
To classify as a special interest car it should be distinguished either by unusual body style, an engineering innovation or some other marked difference from the routine production of its day. A few of the special interest cars to be found in the PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM are shown here.
Shucks Ma--" Now I can work 40 acres a day!"
The mechanical age had really arrived as these and many other smoke-belching behemoths rumbled across the plains of South Dakota years ago. The "dirt farmer" came into his own, turning over as many as 40 acres of virgin sod a day. He was soon to be recognized as the most important single factor in feeding a rapidly growing nation. Today's farmer, heir to yesterday's pioneer efforts, finds his role even more important. A hungry world constantly demanding a greater food supply leans heavily on the American farmer's ability to produce more and more.
The giants pictured here have long since retired. But South Dakota is fortunate to have men of vision who have restored and maintained this part of our heritage to see and enjoy now and for years to come.
Antique Town
"Remember way back when--?" and, "When I was a boy I used to walk five miles every day to a one room school back in--!" Here are reminders for those who have made these statements or heard them from the folks. A true turn-of-the-century main street. How different and complex are these same things today!
Everything from barbed wire to groceries to clothing were on the shelves at the old General Store. The coffee grinder, the cracker barrel and the glowing pot-bellied stove are there to help your imagination run back over the years.
The PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM opened in May of 1954 with 25 cars and a single building. As time went on a collection of old farm machinery and tractors blossomed in back. And as old original buildings such as jails, schools, churches, banks and many others were doomed to replacement in the community, Mr. Geisler added yet another facet of olden day preservation to the museum. China, toys, glassware, lamps, musical antiquities and other things too numerous to mention here were added. So many things, in fact, that many buildings such as the general store, the church, and the school house are fully stocked and equipped with authentic original trappings. Today the museum boasts 25 buildings with over 200 vehicles plus thousands of other memorabilia. Because of Mr. Geisler's fondness for Ford automobiles, a special building in the museum, Henry's Ford Garage, contains only Fords. In 1956 Mr. Geisler sold the Chevrolet-John Deere Agency and purchased the Ford Agency in Murdo, which is managed by another son, Dave.
PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM is more than a mere tourist attraction. It is a tribute to a man and woman and their family who have had the foresight to preserve the past. The thousands of items to be seen in a fine state of preservation would have doubtless been lost to the dumps and junk piles. Instead posterity can visit and maybe "live a little" in the days of their forefathers in authentic surroundings.
Visit with Dick and John. They will be happy to give you interesting and expert information on anything in the PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM. They might even relate a few of the interesting and amusing tales of how the cars were found and moved from over 40 states to the PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM in Murdo, South Dakota.
Transcriber's Notes
--Silently corrected a few typos.
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