Gilmore Museum to hold Pre-1942 Showcase and Swap Meet May 18

Gilmore Museum photo

(April 29, 2019) HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. — The Gilmore Pre-1942 Showcase Car Show and Swap Meet on Saturday May 18, is not your “typical” car event. It’s actually authentic “time travel” back to the early days of motoring. Here you’ll see vehicles produced during the first 50 years of the automobile in motion as they drive around the Museum’s historic campus.

A 1886 Benz — considered the world’s first gasoline powered car — will be started and driven by a Bertha Benz reenactor. On hand will be electric- and steam-powered cars from the turn of the last century. The process of crank-starting a car will be shown;  a “Gilmore Cup” race between a 1902 Curved Dash Oldsmobile and a High Wheel Motor Wagon will be held; free vintage-style carnival games complete with prizes will be held.

This event provides an immersive experience into milestones of history and the role the automobile played in it — from the dawn of the horseless carriage to the Roaring 20s, the gangster era of the 30s, and the start of WWII.

Rather than just viewing cars parked in a show field, this event actually presents “authentic time travel” — stock, original vehicles participating and driving the historic campus, with cars coming from as far away as Washington. This year Gilmore also welcomes a very rare gathering of the remarkable 1909 – 1925 Cole Motor Cars, the largest such reunion in history.

Admission will be free just by showing a membership card from these area attractions — the Air Zoo, Binder Park Zoo, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary or Kellogg Manor House!

The Gilmore Car Museum — North America’s Largest Auto Museum — is located midway between Chicago and Detroit. In addition to its nearly 400 vehicles, many housed in historic buildings and re-created automobile dealerships, the 90-acre campus includes a vintage gasoline station and authentic 1941 Blue Moon Diner that serves lunch daily.