MTFCA Forum

Me: Well the water's edge looked shallow to me and the spokes were loose.

Don’t know what happened, but the guy in the vest has a line on it.

Oberfield's Garage:
We sell and service Chevrolets.
We drive Fords.

Really neat photos of Model T’s in daily life and not having good brakes to keep running or rolling into the water! I wonder how it got there.

The 15th picture from the top with the little boy standing behind the T is really interesting.
Did anyone notice the Stoplight on the near rear of the car? Must have been an accessory stoplight. Even at that time an actual light was thought to be necessary. I wonder why it wasn’t put on closer to the rear. Ideas??

If it was put closer to the rear, it would also be a foot lower (on the fender).
The deck lid is an option but who wants a leaky trunk.

Rolled off the ferry, don't forget to set the brake!

Boat launching incident. Still a common problem today.

Judging by the curved path and steps leading to it, I would guess that it is a picnic, swimming and hiking park. I think that the driver parked the T near the edge of the parking lot and forgot to set the emergency brake and it rolled down the steps and into the water. I don’t think it was a boat launching area or a ferry loading area since there is no Ferry ramp or boat ramp leading into the water. Why do you suppose there is a rope tied to the top? That is not a load bearing point. Does anyone recognize the area? Looks like it would be a nice place to visit.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 10, 2025 9:40 am

The 15th picture.
Did anyone notice the Stoplight on the near rear of the car? Must have been an accessory stoplight. Even at that time an actual light was thought to be necessary. I wonder why it wasn’t put on closer to the rear. Ideas??

That was the common place for mounting the many aftermarket stop lamps made, esp. for owners in busy metro areas. Driver coming from the rear could easily see the stop signal on the left rear fender in front of him.

Love these great old pictures !

#1 that looks like it was taken at Sylvan Lake about 7 miles north of Custer SD where I grew up.
Looking over the water toward the opening is Sunday Gulch.
The steps on the left were at the original Sylvan Lake Hotel which burned down many year ago.
The walkway going around the edge goes back to a 4 to 5 foot wide walkway going between the high granite rock, very impressive to see. Going thru there you can hike down Sunday Gulch.
Those cement steps are gone long ago but there is still pieces of the hotel foundation still there.
I have caught many trout about where the Model T is taking a bath.

jiminbartow wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 10, 2025 11:13 am

Judging by the curved path and steps leading to it, I would guess that it is a picnic, swimming and hiking park. I think that the driver parked the T near the edge of the parking lot and forgot to set the emergency brake and it rolled down the steps and into the water. I don’t think it was a boat launching area or a ferry loading area since there is no Ferry ramp or boat ramp leading into the water. Why do you suppose there is a rope tied to the top? That is not a load bearing point. Does anyone recognize the area? Looks like it would be a nice place to visit.

Dennis is correct. It's Sylvan lake in the black hills. I was there a few weeks ago. The last of many visits there in the last 60 years.