Cadillac recently hosted the Model T Ford Club International for its annual tour.
The week of history on our streets ended Friday, with a final drive to Reed City for a visit to the Old Rugged Cross Museum.
The club’s president, Gord Koll, says touring in a Model T is much different than touring with a modern vehicle touring club. According to him, the best part of driving the antiques is how much exposure they give you to roadside nature.
“The preferred roads are those similar to what there was back in the ‘20s, a lot of the roads were dirt and when you’re traveling at 25 to 30 miles an hour,” said Koll. “You see deer in fields or the wildflowers on the side of the road, you see so much more of what’s real.”
Due to his participation in the Model T club, Koll took his family all over the country while his kids grew up.
“We’ve been all over and [been] able to expose our kids to a lot of these places in a way that’s distinctly different than what you see on television or reading a book even,” said Koll.
Tom Praus has been a Minnesota club member since 2017. He says his family has had Model Ts as long as he can remember and thinks driving them is the best part.
Steve and Jan Shotwell have been part of the club for 20 years, Steve says he “celebrates life” by driving his grandfather’s Model T that briefly left the family years ago.
Steve Shotwell says he and some of the other club members cruised all the way from New York to Seattle a few summers ago.
Though the unique experience of driving in a Model T is a main reason people take part in the club, Koll says the friendships made through the club keep it together too.
“The friendship that you develop with people in a common vehicle, and you get to meet your best friends once a year on the annual tour of the club,” said Koll. “When you have (this) experience, you almost develop a friendship with the cars themselves.”
Koll says he has owned one of his Model Ts since 1971 when he graduated high school. “That’s the car that our three children grew up touring in and we have fond memories of doing a lot of different things in that car so it’s almost like a member of the family.”
