's Totem Pole Tales- American Wood Rim Company Onaway
Totem Pole Tales- American Wood Rim Company
Onaway
Submitted by Nute Chapman
From Onaway Outlook July 19, 2013



CAPTION #1:  THE CENTER hub cover shows that the wheel was most likely from a Lincoln.
width="600" CAPTION #2: LOCAL BUSINESSMAN Brian Janeczek proudly displays one of his favorite pieces of Onaway history.
width="600" All sales of all-wood wheels from 1921 to March 10, 1925. Listed are the names of car companies sold to:
NAME NUMBER
Apperson 1,025
Bay State 31
Cadillac 31,379
Case 1,128
Cole 5,055
Columbia 810
Duesenburg 315
Elcar 394
Flint 26,030
Gemmer 728
Hayner 22
Hupp 12,550
Jordan 20,620
Kissell 2,777
Lafayette 325
Levine 350
Lexington 431
Long 900
Mcfarlan 414
Mitchell 100
Oakland 2,790
Packard 12,026
Paige 2,075
Peerless 15,762
Pierce Arrow 7,410
Premier 64
R. And V. 310
Rickenbacker 20,200
Ross 2,200
Rubay 50
Stearns 3,065
Sterling-Keiser 1,100
Studebaker 149,642
Stutz 1,700
Westcott 2,315
Willis 3,030
Winton 925
During this time period, the American Wood Rim Company was making truck wheels, walnut wheels with aluminum spiders, small maple wheels for the Star Car, a special wheel for the Old Durant Four, the Packard, Lincoln, Buick, Maxwell, Loco Mobile, The Flint Company,and many wheels were being made for airplanes, boats and bicycles (yes, bicycles had steering wheels before handle bars).
Lobdell's total wheel production for this time period was over 1,000,000 wheels per year. An interesting note here is that W. Ford did not use Lobdell's wheels, except the all-wood wheel on some of the Lincolns. Ford made his own wheels. One has to wonder here, if you Ford collectors out there with Model T's, Model A's or Model B's have a Lobdell wheel or a Ford wheel. To show your "Tin Lizzy" at a car show and be all original I guess you would need a Ford wheel.
-From The Onaway Outlook, July 19, 2013, p. 3. Retyped by J. Anderson.

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