The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-03-11
WORKED TEN YEARS ON MODELS
Rudd Gar was Ready for Operation
Only Few Days Before the First
Rambler Car was Turned Out by the
Late Thomas B. Jeffery.

Who was the first automobile owner
fin Kenosha? This question has been
asked lot of times and the answer to
1T is a hard one to get and get 1t with
the proper historical backing, but the
old time automobile makers of the city
seem to be pretty well agreed that the
honor of having the first automobile
should be given to the late Edwin
Rudd. Mr.. Rudd, an expert mechanic,
came TO Kenosha way back in 1881,
and shortly after he came he began to
work out the principle of motor driv-
en- vehicle. He was in no way man
ufacturer and his work in his shop was
largely with the idea of accomplishing
something that others had failed in He
worked on his model for more than ten
years before he had it completed. Some
time before the coming of the first
Rambler car from the old Sterling
plant Rudd was busy on his machine.
He was mechanic at the old Sterling
factory when the late Thomas B. JEFF
ferry and his corps of engineers came
I'M from Chicago and began the task OF
making automobiles. Mr.. Rudd rushed
HIS work and some time before the first
Rambler appeared Mr.. Rudd was rum
ming about the city in the old "chug,
chg. chug" wagon. His invention was
little crude. but it was along the
same lines that have been successfully
used in making automobiles since. Mr..
Rudd never claimed to have been the
maker of the first automobile, but he
was the driver of the first car made in
Kenosha and the first to be seen on the
streets OF the city. Shortly after Mr..
Rudd showed his car the first Rambler
mode it's appearance. There were a lot
of men who worked on the first Ram
bier, but the greater part Of the design
ing Of the car was done by the late
Thomas b, Jeffrey. In those old times
there was no idea Of the luxury that is
put into the automobile at the present
time. The great problem was to make
it go and keep going and the pioneers
who solved this problem were the men
who paved the way for the building Of
the luxurious cars which are on the
market today
The first Rambler was an old side
cranking runabout which had tend
ency to offer problems. 1t was built
light and the motor in it was of the sin
gle cylinder type and in many ways
very unsatisfactory. This old car how
ever made trade name for the Jeffrey
company and in few years all of the
drawbacks of 1t had been ironed out by
lot of expert machinists and it offered
the principle on which many of the
modern automobiles are made.
Kenosha has had lot of home made
automobiles since those early days in
the automobile industry. A lot of men
in Kenosha today are driving cars for
which no trade name can be given
when they apply to the state for
an automobile license. These cars have
many things different from the regular
stock cars and these little differences
a-e being picked up by automobile
manufacturing concerns every day.
Few cities in the country have con-
tribute as much to the automobile in
dustry as Kenosha Kenosha mechan-
les have been helpful in solving a lot
of hard problems of automobile con-
# ===-~==-=-==-=====-=