Henney Cars With Satisfying Sensations
-- Olga Gize Carlile, J-S People Editor
Freeport Journal Standard Newspaper
[Transcriber’s Note: This article was published in the Weekender, a publication of the
Freeport Journal Standard Newspaper, Freeport, Illinois on Saturday-Sunday, September 29-30,
1979. It was transcribed and contributed to Genealogy Trails by Alice Horner, with the author’s permission.]
There was a pride that was Henney’s in 1932. And today there is still the pride that is Henney’s.
In 1939, the company marked a milestone -- the story of the 1,200th Henney-Packard was being told.
This year a number of the old Henney cars came back to Freeport -- again proud of the name that was Henney’s. Members
of the Professional Car Society brought these cars -- now antiques -- to Freeport for a convention and the “Concors
d’Elegance” competition. The event was planned to coincide with the second reunion of former Henney Motor company
employees.
The antique cars were parked on the east parking lot of the Holiday Inn -- and by 9 a.m. Saturday there were many
people already there to see them -- these cars made with high expectations.
Antique professional cars are divided into three classes -- funeral, rescue, and livery. No livery cars were on
display.
Six former Henney Motor Co. employees served as judges: Robert Geiser, Lester Kasten, Ray Laible, Karl Schramm,
Art Schofield, and Nuell Steinmetz.
The “best of show” award went to the highest point car of all in the field, a 1938 Model 882-L Henney-Packard Nu-3-Way
funeral coach. The owner was Mahlon Thompson, of Cranbury, N.J.
“Funeral” award went to a 1957 Cadillac flower car. Owner, Tom Loebe of Chicago.
In the Rescue class, the award was received by the 1927 Henney combination funeral car and ambulance. This car
has a Continental engine. Owner is William Alexander of Herndon, VA.
The “longest distance” winner was a 1952 Henney-Packard Nu-3-Way, funeral coach. Owner, Don Pierson of Santa Clara,
Calif.
A “special trophy,” donated by Packard Chicagoland Club, collectors of Packard automobiles, went to Mahlon Thompson
of Cranbury, N.J.
All of the cars were driven to Freeport, with the exception of Mr. Alexander’s, which was towed on a trailer from
Herndon, VA. The happy fact is that the Henneys are still on the road.
Members of the Professional Car Society, owning Henney cars, were delighted to talk with the men who had made them.
Elmer Ascher of the Trim Department explained to Mr. Alexander how he helped upholster his car and showed him some
of his professional secrets, the details necessary to make a perfect job.
Mr. Pierson, the long distance winner, said he had heard more interesting bits about the various things different
employees had done on his car. He made 17 miles per gallon of gas on his drive to Freeport from California.
Some of the cars which came to Freeport still had the original paint. Mr. Thompson’s car had to be repainted. It
had stood for a few years, he explained, near the seaboard and had suffered from the salt air.
At one time, it was difficult for the Henney Motor Co. to chrome plate the bumpers as well as they would have liked
due to the scarcity or a government regulation on chrome plating equipment. One owner had a paper from Henney’s,
which had been given to the original owner, apologizing for the poorer quality of the plating and explaining why.
Today, these awesome cars, restored and bright, still have a sleek, professional look as they cruised serenely
around “Henneytown -- U.S.A.” for the 1979 “Concors d’Elegance” competition and the Henney reunion.
The owners of these Henney’s are richly satisfied that these cars were intelligently engineered years ago. As they
drove into the Stephenson County Historical Museum grounds and later drove out to Cedarville, the site of the original
Henney factory, they provided a spectacle that Freeporters will long remember, truly a memorable sight, those stately
cars with those shiny cormorants, Packard radiator ornaments, glittering in the autumn sun.
