July 27, 1917
To Blaze The Trail To The Boulevard
The big hill climb is just one day off. Tomorrow Livonia will witness the greatest display of automobiles ever seen in this part of the country. Besides the fifty-one cars entered, there will be scores of machines from the cities and villages of Western New York bringing 100’s of enthusiastic motorists to see this unique automobile race and at the same time to get a line on some of the 1918 models. A hill climb is not an event that can be seen anywhere at anytime. Mr. George C. Donahue, the secretary of the Automobile Club of Rochester, states that, aside from the Livonia climb, only one other hill climb has been arranged for in New York State this year, that to be conducted on August 8 at Richfield Springs by the Utica Club. And more than that, the only other climb Mr. Donahue knows of in the country is to be held at Union Town, Pa. So Livonia is one of the three places in which climbs are scheduled to occur this season, ought to realize that something unusual is to happen here tomorrow.
Fifty-one automobiles are entered, 8 motorcycles, with more expected.
3 tractors, 3 in the ladies event. All entries are given below. The start, as stated last week, will be at the crosswalk, which will be white-washed, between E.E. Boynton’s Store and the Red Cross rooms; the finish will be at the State Highway Post in front of H.H. Jerome’s, a distance of just half a mile. Racers will go one at a time. The first run will be made at 2 p.m., and the entire program probably cannot be completed in less than 2 hours and a half. Arrangements have been made with the New York Telephone Co. to install two telephones by 11 o’clock tomorrow, one at the start and one at the finish so that the recording time may be communicated to the starter.
Main Street will be closed to traffic, of course, and the Commercial Street will be reserved for the parking and lining up of the racers. The hill will be used for practice during the latter part of the morning, so every one entering Livonia from the east is requested to make a detour at Livonia Center by the way of Big Tree Street in order to avoid all possibility of accident. The Livonia - Livonia Center Road will be a pretty busy place from the middle of the afternoon until after the events are over, so people are asked to take no chances and to aid in this very definite way by making the suggested detour. All coming from the west are also asked to enter by Big Tree Street, taking the right hand road at the fork at the foot of the railroad hill, and the request is likewise made that those coming from the north use Washington Street in preference to Linden. Cars may be parked on the side streets, and the residents of Livonia are asked to keep their drives open so that the cars may be parked in them. Hundreds of vehicles will be here and the problem of handling them will be no small task, even with the greatest of co-operation. Cars parked in the Main Street drives may not be removed until the racing is over. Thomas R. Grantac of West Main & Fitzhugh Street in Rochester will aid in taking care of the traffic. Keep watch of the flags; a red flag means danger, a white one means course is open, and a checkered flag means “go”.
Everybody will be well taken care of. The Honeoye Falls band will furnish the music for the day, and there will be plenty of opportunity to get food. The hotel will serve its usual good dinners, the Red Cross will have sandwiches, coffee and ice cream for sale at its rooms, and doubtless there will stands of one kind and another at which cold drinks may be obtained.
One thing more, mow your lawns and weed your driveways about Friday evening so that the three or four thousand visitors here tomorrow will get a good impression of the place. Photographers and perhaps a Pathe moving picture man will be on hand and if Livonia is to be shown throughout the country in the Pathe News, it must appear to the best advantage.
1917 Rules
1. All entries must be filed with the Auto Coub of Rochester by midnight, July 17 and duplicate entry sheet mailed to the contest board AAA. Entrance Fee $
2. All drivers and mechanics participating will be specially registered by the representative of the contest board for this event only. Such registration will not hold good for any other meeting and no fee will be charged.
3. No car shall be permitted to return to the starting line by way of the course during practice on July 26th or at any time on July 28th. All cars must return to the starting line by way of posted detour.
4. Practice will be allowed on the course between hours of 2p.m. and 4p.m. on July 26th. On July 28th all contestants must report to the referee at the starting line no later than 1:30p.m.
5. No event will be run in which there are less than three cars of at least 2 differrnt makes entered and ready to start. In this case additional egents may be substituted, with the consent of the contest board representative.
6. Bonnets, floor and dash boards must be carried in all events.
7. In event of inclement weather, the climb will be postponed.
8. Prizes will be delivered to entrants of winning cars 24 hours after completion of the climb, Sunday excepted.
1917 Race Entries and Winners
First Race – piston displacement 161-230 cubic inches:
Franklin 6
Ford 4 – Harry Ward (2 entries)
Maxwell 4 – 48.5 seconds ** WINNER**
Glide 6 – (E.S. Heath)
Dart 4 – (4 entries)
Second Race – piston displacement 231-300 cubic inches:
Buick 6
Saxon 6 (3 entries)
Haynes 6
Oldsmobile 8 (2 entries)
Scripps-Booth 8
Henderson 4
Hudson 6 (2 entries) - Driven by Fred Lennox ** WINNER**
Chandler 6 (4 entries) - Driven by Barney Cane ** WINNER**
Marmon 4
Mitchell 6
Third Race - piston displacement 301-450 cubic inches:
National twelve
Buick 6
Marmon 6 (2 entries)
Oldsmobile 6
Cadillac 8 (2 entries)
Studebaker 6
National 6
Race won by Henry Conolly - 43.6 seconds
Fourth Race - piston displacement 451-600 cubic inches:
McFarlan 6
Packard 6 – won by Fred turner in 43.6 seconds ** WINNER**
Packard 12
Fifth Race – Free for All:
Corbin 4
Scripps-Booth 8
National 12
Hudson 6
Chandler 6 (2 entries) – won by Barney Cave 44.8 seconds ** WINNER**
Marmon 6
Glide 6
Oldsmobile 6
Hudson 4
McFarlan 6
Motorcycles -Two events – 4 entries in each
Harley Davidson twin cylinder
Women’s Free for All
Hudson 6 – Driven by Ruth Calkins – 47 seconds ** WINNER**
Hudson 6 – Driven by Mrs N.E. Andrews
Oldsmobile 8 – Mrs. Fred Decker
Dart – Josephine Davis lost by 1/5 quarter of a second
Below is a newspaper article describing the original hill climb event in 1917.