Leonard - Another picture of Mrs Thorpe

[monomaniac]

If you don't already know, the good looking fellow standing next to Mrs. Thorpe with his hand in his pocket is Ray Windecker, former Studebaker sales rep, former writer for Automotive Industries and for TW.

[monomaniac]

If you don't already know, the good looking fellow standing next to Mrs. Thorpe with his hand in his pocket is Ray Windecker, former Studebaker sales rep, former writer for Automotive Industries and for TW.

[Bill Pressler]

Nice '58, and I enjoyed the photos and article about the Thorpe Motor Co. I remember Ray W.'s article in our chapter newsletter, the "Buckeye Bullet-in" a few years back. Ray was very complimentary about how Mrs. Thorpe ran the business...I think he said she was "...a model of midwestern fortitude and values". People always referring to her as "Mrs. Thorpe" was just probably the polite thing to do back then.

Isn't it ironic that this midwestern town where Thorpe Motor Co. operated is now the U.S. home of Honda automobiles?

I wonder if Owen Thorpe is still with us. He might be pleased that the family business is still being talked about and enjoyed. A woman owning a car dealer back then, absolutely a rarity!

Bill Pressler
Kent, OH

[Bill Pressler]

Nice '58, and I enjoyed the photos and article about the Thorpe Motor Co. I remember Ray W.'s article in our chapter newsletter, the "Buckeye Bullet-in" a few years back. Ray was very complimentary about how Mrs. Thorpe ran the business...I think he said she was "...a model of midwestern fortitude and values". People always referring to her as "Mrs. Thorpe" was just probably the polite thing to do back then.

Isn't it ironic that this midwestern town where Thorpe Motor Co. operated is now the U.S. home of Honda automobiles?

I wonder if Owen Thorpe is still with us. He might be pleased that the family business is still being talked about and enjoyed. A woman owning a car dealer back then, absolutely a rarity!

Bill Pressler
Kent, OH

[53k]

quote:Originally posted by tstclr

She looks like a school teacher I once had! Was she the only female Studebaker dealership owner?

In 1966 or so I visited the Studebaker dealer in Hilo, Hawaii- owned and operated by a very nice woman named Pat Silva. She let me take some stuff off a '53 Land Cruiser and she gave me some old dealer literature.


[img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/R-4.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64L.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64P.jpg[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/53K.jpg[/img=right]Paul Johnson
'53 Commander Starliner (since 1966)
'64 Daytona Wagonaire (original owner)
'64 Daytona Convertible (2006)
Museum R-4 engine

[53k]

quote:Originally posted by tstclr

She looks like a school teacher I once had! Was she the only female Studebaker dealership owner?

In 1966 or so I visited the Studebaker dealer in Hilo, Hawaii- owned and operated by a very nice woman named Pat Silva. She let me take some stuff off a '53 Land Cruiser and she gave me some old dealer literature.


[img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/R-4.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64L.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64P.jpg[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/53K.jpg[/img=right]Paul Johnson
'53 Commander Starliner (since 1966)
'64 Daytona Wagonaire (original owner)
'64 Daytona Convertible (2006)
Museum R-4 engine

[Studedude1961]

I thought Mrs. Thorpe kind of had a wry look to her face in both photos that appeared in Turning Wheels, a look that said, "I don't see what all the fuss and feathers are about!" One of those stern ladies with a heart of gold that command respect but you can't help but love once that tough exterior is scratched a little. The Midwest is FULL of them! I would have purchased a new Studebaker or Packard from this woman in a heartbeat.

Studedude1961
--1963 Cruiser

[Studedude1961]

I thought Mrs. Thorpe kind of had a wry look to her face in both photos that appeared in Turning Wheels, a look that said, "I don't see what all the fuss and feathers are about!" One of those stern ladies with a heart of gold that command respect but you can't help but love once that tough exterior is scratched a little. The Midwest is FULL of them! I would have purchased a new Studebaker or Packard from this woman in a heartbeat.

Studedude1961
--1963 Cruiser

[bondobilly]

quote:[i]

In 1966 or so I visited the Studebaker dealer in Hilo, Hawaii- owned and operated by a very nice woman named Pat Silva. She let me take some stuff off a '53 Land Cruiser and she gave me some old dealer literature.
[/quote]

I won a 1941 Studebaker Truck brochure on E-bay a while back. Cannot remember when. But when we opened the package there was a rubber stamp on the catalog page. "Jimmy Choo-Representing Hawaii Studebaker" How the hell it survived from before Peal Harbor, and wond up on the mainland and in the hands of a guy in New England surprises me.

BG

[bondobilly]

quote:[i]

In 1966 or so I visited the Studebaker dealer in Hilo, Hawaii- owned and operated by a very nice woman named Pat Silva. She let me take some stuff off a '53 Land Cruiser and she gave me some old dealer literature.
[/quote]

I won a 1941 Studebaker Truck brochure on E-bay a while back. Cannot remember when. But when we opened the package there was a rubber stamp on the catalog page. "Jimmy Choo-Representing Hawaii Studebaker" How the hell it survived from before Peal Harbor, and wond up on the mainland and in the hands of a guy in New England surprises me.

BG