1907 Holsman
Restored Automobile
Holsman Automobile
Built in Chicago from 1901 until the end of the era of the “high wheeler” in 1910, Holsman was a successful manufacturer in the early automotive era. Designed for rough Midwestern roads, cars like this traveled at slow speeds but were both rugged and capable in harsh environments. With a two cylinder engine under the seat and its unusual “rope drive,” the Holsman is a reminder that there was no standard way to build a car in the early years of the automobile and many manufacturers found success in different ways.
Restoration
This particular car has an unusual history. Purchased new by the grandfather of McPherson College biology professor Gilford Ikenberry, the car has been in the same family it’s entire life. After a brush paint job in the 1940s, the car remained unrestored until students in the McPherson College Automotive Restoration program completed a restoration in 2017. The process involved stabilizing the fragile wooden body, carefully sanding the 1940s paint job to reveal the original striping, then thoroughly documenting all of the details before painstakingly recreating every detail.
John Clemens and New Technology
John Clemens was born December 5, 1865 in the tin mining town of St. Just, Cornwall in Great Britain. By the age of three, his family had moved to Pennslyvania before finally settling in the small Michigan mining community of Negaunee in 1880. There he met his wife, Jane Rule. Shortly after their marriage, they moved to the newer mining community of Ironwood in 1891. Within a decade, John became captain of the Newport mine.
Fascinated by new technology, John became the first in Ironwood to own an automobile. He liked the practicality of the large wheels for driving around the muddy landscape. The Holsman was sent by rail from the manufacturer in Chicago. The family had many outings in the Holsman until John’s son, Chester, began to take corners at 25 miles per hour while driving his three sisters. Complaints from their mother and neighbors that they were going to kill themselves prompted John to roll the Holsman into his garage where it stayed for forty years.
