From the Archives - Oct. 24, 2024
This 1916 photo shows a young Don Howe (right) and his friend playing with the hand-crank on a Model T.
Photo courtesy BOUNDARY COUNTY MUSEUM
This Week in History ~ 100 years ago: "Mrs. P.W. Sword, cook at the Payne and Hewett Road Construction Camp, suffered a fracture of her right forearm last Saturday when the Ford car she was cranking backfired and the crank was hurled against her arm. Drs. Fry and Bowell state that this is the fifth accident of the kind in this county the past year."
The ignition system in the Model T did not need a starting battery. A proper hand-cranking would generate enough current for starting the auto. The engine could backfire, causing the crank to spin the opposite direction. In some instances it would break a finger, hand, wrist, or arm. It was a very common injury.
No, parents did not send their children out to start the auto. However, this is a 1916 photo of young Don Howe (right) and his friend playing with the hand-crank on a Model T.
The Boundary County Historical Society and Museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry, Idaho sponsors this column.
Visit the museum, Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m., or visit the website at boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos and stories, and to see upcoming events. The museum can be reached via email at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or by phone at 208-267-7720.