Horseless carriage tour brings car enthusiasts from across the country to New London

Horseless carriage owners and vintage car enthusiasts convened on the morning of Sept. 28 in New London to kick off the main event of the 8th Annual Redflag Horseless Carriage Tour.

The tour, which ran from Thursday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, included close to 30 registered horseless carriages - all vehicles made before 1927 - that travel from all over the country to participate in the yearly tour. This year, owners came from all over the Midwest including Nebraska, Minnesota, and even as far as Ohio.

The event was inspired by an annual tour in England that goes from London to Brighton and celebrates the beginning of the widespread use of motorized vehicles. New London adopted the idea eight years ago and has continued with the tradition.

On the final day of the tour, the annual ride from New London to Brighton began with a gathering by the Dover Museum that included free breakfast and live entertainment by the brass quintet called the South Hill Brass. The horseless carriages were lined up and parked in a lot for locals to enjoy and view.

Mark Hempen, a former New London city council member and board member of the Red flag Horseless Carriage Tour, says his favorite part of the event is 'seeing the simplicity of the vehicles.”

'How we've come from hand-cranking them to start, to pushing a button now - that I think is the most fascinating part for me,” Hempen said.

Locals like Bill Thele, a retired New London resident, has attended the event every year since it began. Along with his grandsons, 8-year-old Liam McPherson and five-year-old Hayden McPherson, who traveled from Danville, Thele perused the cars under the overcast sky. His love of cars inspired him to share and pass down his interest to his grandsons. Thele also owns his own vintage car, a 1929 Model A Ford, which was just slightly younger than what the Redflag Tour was looking for.

'I got my first interest at Old Threshers in the mid ‘50s … I was really, as a kid, fascinated by the shiny brass. I just always had an interest about them from that … I hope [Liam and Hayden] learn to like the old cars like I do,” Thele said about bringing his grandsons out to the event.

As the trio walked up to each car, Thele encouraged Liam to attempt to deduce the age of each vehicle by its features. As Liam approached one Model T, he explained that, 'It has a wooden frame on the front but there's no door, so it's a 1911 or 1912.”

Hayden also chimed in to explain his 'favorite part is the wheels and the windshields.”

'The windshields have pretty cool stuff and they go up and down and the wheels have different shapes,” Hayden concluded.

Hailing from New Prague, Minnesota, Tim and Deb Miller not only traveled for the event, but also dressed up for the tour. The 2019 tour was the fourth that the couple had participated in.

'We love history and old cars,” Tim explained. The couple own a 1914 Model T, which they bought close to a decade ago.

'We get to meet amazing people. Iowa is very friendly and with the cars, you get to engage quickly with those who share your same passion,” Deb said about what keeps the couple coming every year.

'It appeals to our inner child,” Tim explained, 'You have to play every once in a while … and it affirms the goodness of mankind. The people are just wonderful and gracious,” he said.

Following breakfast, a ceremony, which included the burning of a red flag, symbolizing the entrance of a new era with the enactment of an 1896 law which raised the speed limit from four miles per hour to fourteen, and a speech by Lord Winchilsea, reenacted by Gerry Schnepf, saw the cars off to the final tour of the event. Each registered car received a stamped certificate as proof of their participation in the event.