Red flag tour is Christmas for Dan Pauley

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

It?s plain and simple ? Dan Pauley loves vintage cars. He also enjoys taking his collection of pre-1931 vehicles on tour.

?I look forward to going on tours the way some people look forward to Christmas,? Pauley said Thursday morning as he stood beside his 1917 Maxwell on the west side of the Mt. Pleasant square.

Pauley was in Mt. Pleasant to participate on his fourth Red Flag Horseless Carriage Tour in Henry and Washington counties. A member of the Red Flag Board of Directors, the Clear Lake resident was smiling as he glanced at the row of old-time vehicles parked along the square.

?I?m really impressed with the growth of this tour,? he said, still smiling from ear to ear. ?The word is getting around. I think we have about 10 more cars this year.?

Pauley became involved in the local tour by chance. ?I went to a similar tour in Minnesota five years ago and ran into Jeff Krug (Mt. Pleasant resident who launched the tour) and Gerry Schnepf (member of the tour board of directors) and the next thing I knew, I was part of the organization.?

Minnesota is one of just a few states in the United States that has a tour modeled after an 1896 event in England. The excursion in England, ran from London to Brighton, and celebrated a law raising the speed limit for light locomotives from 4 miles-per-hour to 14 miles-per-hour and abolished the requirement that vehicles be preceded by a man on foot carrying a red flag.

Although Pauley has attended the Minnesota event several times, he has never participated in it. ?The Minnesota tour is about 120 miles, which is long for old cars like these, and it also goes into part of Minneapolis,? he explained.

Due to the fact that New London and Brighton, Iowa, are in close geographical proximity, Krug thought it would only be natural to start a similar tour, which began in 2011.

The 1917 Maxwell, which Pauley is driving this weekend, is one of his six vintage vehicles. He also has a 1912 Maxwell, which his brother, Dick Pauley, of Jefferson, is driving on the tour. His other cars are a 1910 Sears, 1924 Ford Model T, 1928 Buick and 1931 Ford Model A Roadster.

Why the love for Maxwells?

?My grandfather owned one and I thought it would be a good touring car,? the retired consulting engineer explained.

He found his 1917 Maxwell on eBay five years ago from a seller in Akron, Ohio.

Incidentally, the Maxwell was the forerunner of the Plymouth as Walther Chrysler purchased the Maxwell plant in 1921 and it became part of Chrysler Motors.

His 1917 four-cylinder Maxwell travels about 300 miles a year, he said, primarily in parades and on Sunday afternoon excursions.

So, why does Pauley keep returning to the local tour? ?I really like this part of the state and I like driving old cars,? he began. ?I also enjoy working with Jeff (Krug), Mark (Hempen of New London) and Chuck (Emry of Brighton) on the board. Jeff really does a great job.

?This has become a little fraternity because you get to know others on the tour and look forward to getting together again with them the next year,? he continued. ?I like the small pace of this tour and it isn?t too large of an event so it is enjoyable.?

Finally, he said the people in communities the tour visits can?t be topped. ?The people in the towns, particularly Brighton and Wayland, are so welcoming, They do everything they can for us.?

The tour is always on the final weekend of September and culminates with a Saturday drive from New London to Brighton.