Classic



By NICOLE HUGHES
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HE 1920S WERE A TIME OF PROHIBITION, flappers, speak-easies and fancy cars.
The National Packard Museum here is offering people the opportunity to step back in time with "Packard -- The Roaring Twenties and all that Jazz." The exhibit is on display until Aug. 30.
The exhibit is new and runs in conjunction with the Ohio Chautauqua troupe that will be in town July 6 to 10, said Mary Ann Porninchak, executive director of the museum.
"With the Roaring '20s, we are trying to illustrate the impact that Packard had on the [American] culture," Porninchak said. "Many prestigious cars came out in the '20s, and with Prohibition and other things that were going on, more people could afford cars."
Status symbol
She pointed out that Packards were a status symbol of wealth and importance.
"Al Capone [the Chicago gangster] had a Packard because they were fast and reliable, and diplomats and successful people owned one to show they were high-class. The average person couldn't afford a Packard."
In 1929, the cost of a Packard was from $2,275 to $10,000 -- a lot of money in the 1920s, she said.
"It was popular to customize cars back then," Porninchak said. "The cars look very much like chariots, like something out of Cinderella."
The car that was added especially for this exhibit is a 1922 Packard that belonged to a woman in Dover, Ohio.
"She had the car customized to look like a buggy," Porninchak said. "This Packard is one of the most sought after because it is a one of a kind. If we were to sell it today, it would go for at least a quarter of a million dollars."
Ads targeted women
Porninchak said many Packard ads back then targeted women, who now had the right to vote and ventured outside the home for employment.
One ad in the Saturday Evening Post read, "There are more Packards in use today than any three other cars combined." Another ad called Packard cars "the symbol of a nation's preference."
The first Packard Motorcar was built in Warren in 1899 at Packard Electric Co.'s subsidiary plant, according to Web site www.packardmuseum.org.
Packard Electric became a division of General Motors Corp. in 1932 and is known today as Delphi Packard Electric Systems.
The National Packard Museum,1899 Mahoning Ave., opened July 4, 1999, and is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children.
For further information call (330) 394-1899 or go to www.packardmuseum.org.

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