PIONEER AUTO MUSEUM and A. J. “Dick” Geisler are a single thought in the
minds of many who have visited and had the chance to know the man with
the ever-present cigar. A Valentine present to German immigrant parents,
Dick knew he and the family farm were not cut out for each other. He
attended a rural school near New Ulm, Minnesota much like the one that
is part of the museum. After high school his mother’s plans for business
college for her son were interrupted by a job selling for the Jewel Tea
Company, and other sales ventures. In 1923 he and a friend drove a Ford
like the one to be seen in the Ford Garage from Minnesota to California
taking odd jobs along the way to finance the trip.
In California he met and married Vivian Petersen who had traveled to
California with her three sisters. The three Geisler children were born
in Pasadena where “Dick” was operating the feed, hardware and appliance
business he started in the height of the depression. In 1942 Mr. Geisler
traded his California home for a farm near Blunt, South Dakota, sold the
businesses and returned to the Midwest.
Crops had been nonexistent for some years prior to his move to South
Dakota and the natives were amused at the West coast city dude who
busily went about planting wheat. The Geisler touch and ideal conditions
brought about the first of many banner years for crops in the area.
In 1945 “Dick” bought a John Deere Chevrolet dealership in Murdo and
moved his family once again. In 1950 he opened the Phillips 66 gas
station at the junction of U.S. 16 and 83. The embryo of the PIONEER
AUTO MUSEUM took shape in the form of an old buggy and a 1913 Ford
Peddler’s Wagon (now located in the Ford Garage) which were parked in
front of the station and elicited considerable comment from tourists. As
the years rolled by a vintage car here and an antique there were added
to “Dick’s” small but growing collection. Dick’s son, John, made the
first trip to pick up a car back east. Upon returning, John told his
father about other cars to be had. By ones and twos the collection grew
to where something had to be done to properly store and show the cars.
Pub. by The Goin Company, Box 746
Mitchell, South Dakota 57301
MADE BY
DEXTER PRESS
WEST NYACK, NEW YORK
[Illustration: Pioneer Auto Museum
Murdo, South Dakota]
Buildings as Numbered
1. Main building and entrance. Autos and coin music machines.
2. Auto building.
3. Autos, motorcycles and bicycles building.
4. Auto storage shed.
5. 1910 Cretors popcorn wagon.
6. Souvenir and gift shop.
7. World’s largest concert band organ.
8. Church of the prairie.
9. 1911 Parker Brothers merry-go-round.
10. Henry’s Ford Garage.
11. Livery stable.
12. Classic car building.
13. Auto building. (mainly Overland, Willys, Kaiser-Frazer)
14. Machinery area.
15. Tractor area.
16. Fire station.
17. Kozy Tourist Cabin.
18. Depot. (display of stoves, dentist’s office, saloon)
19. One-room school house.
20. Milwaukee Road Caboose.
21. General store.
22. Circus display room.
23. Restrooms.
24. Jack’s Jewelry store.
25. Homesteader’s shack.
26. Murdo State Bank.
27. Blacksmith Shop.
28. Barber Shop.
29. Murdo Jail.
30. Gasoline engine and plow display.
31. Wells Fargo stagecoach.
32. Exit building. (Autos, style-show, glassware, antique toys,
telephones, emblems, miscellaneous antiques and other items)
33. Storage and restoration building. (closed to public)
34. Auto and parts boneyard.
[Illustration: uncaptioned]
[Illustration: uncaptioned]
[Illustration: 1903 Cadillac
With $750.00 you were in the driver’s seat of this gem in 1903. This
first model made by the Cadillac Motor Car Co. of Detroit sported a
single cylinder, under-the-floor mounted engine with a two speed
transmission.]
[Illustration: 1908 Brush
This two passenger runabout was one of the popular models of its
day. Built between 1907-1913, it had a wooden frame and wooden
axles, coil springs on all four wheels and was chain driven. Its
single cylinder 12 H.P. engine cranked counterclockwise. Sold new
for $485.00. NOTE: The same man, Alanson P. Brush, designed the
engines for both the Cadillac and Brush described on this page.]
[Illustration: Long Green Car
Long enough to be a 32 cylinder monstrosity, this 1926 Nash was
especially built as an eye-catcher. In identifying the Pioneer Auto
Museum, reference is often made to this car.]
[Illustration: A Lineup of Old-Timers
A sample of man’s mechanical genius found in the Pioneer Auto
Museum. In this lineup, left to right, can be seen a Model T,
Flanders, Spacke, and Schacht.]