H U M A N   I N T E R E S T

What did people do before there were tow trucks?

Frank Thomas: "Before wreckers, there was the 'auto ambulance.' The first cars weren't heavy at all. If you got stuck, or broke an axle or a wheel, you would drop that end of the car onto the auto ambulance - a long iron bar with a two-wheel axle at one end and a hitch at the other.
"Then you'd hitch the ambulance to a horse, or another vehicle, and take the car to be repaired."

Is there a difference between a wrecker and a tow-truck?

Thomas: "At the Holmes Co., we didn't call them tow trucks. We made wreckers, and it was still a wrecker when it was put on a chassis.
"Until recently, 'wrecker,' as we know it, was not in the dictionary. Even 'tow trucks' were not in state vehicle codes until a few years ago.
"Over the years, people have come to mix up the word 'wrecker' with 'tow truck,' but wrecker really means the boom, chains, and other equipment for towing and recovery."

Where did the idea for the first wrecker come from?

Thomas: "In 1915, Mr. Holmes made his first recovery down by Chickamauga Creek, just outside of Chattanooga.
"Mr. Holmes was a mechanic and owner of Chattanooga's first independent auto repair garage. He also attended a business school owned by a Mr. Wiley, who ran his Model T into Chickamauga Creek. Knowing that Mr. Holmes had a garage, he called on him to recover his car from the creek. It took approximately eight hours, using eight to ten men, to pull the car out.
"Three months later, Holmes built his first wrecker using his own twin-boom design. The wire rope from one boom was hooked to a rock or a tree while the other was used to pull the car out.
"Many wreckers built today use the same design as Mr. Holmes' first wrecker - they even have the same angles."

How did the museum get started?

Jerry Bullock: "John Hawkins II, director for the Towing and Recovery Association of America, and about 10 or 15 other guys in the industry started Friends of Towing, an international association of people affiliated with towing and recovery. They opened the museum in 1995.
"The three goals of the museum are to honor people who have excelled in the industry, to put its history down on paper, and to provide a permanent home for the Hall of Fame.
"The first class for the Hall of Fame was inducted in 1986. There are currently 160 members, and we add eight new members every year. There are members from England, Africa, Japan, Canada - all over the world.
"This year, we'll hold our ceremonies during the Southeast Regional Tow Show here in Chattanooga from September 24 to 27. One inductee is from France and another from England."

Is there an image problem that the museum is trying to address?

Bullock: "One of the reasons for starting the national association was to help that image.
"Towing started in wrecking yards, and I think a lot of people still think of tow trucks as old, worn-out trucks pulling junk.
"Now there are schools starting up all over the country. When I first got into towing, it was trial and error until you learned how to do it right.
"To be a tow-truck operator these days, you have to be a truck driver, plus a policeman, plus a logger, plus a public relations expert. There are many situations to call one, and usually when a tow-truck operator shows up, there's a problem and people are upset. You have to be able to deal politely with them."

Towing and recovery sounds like it would draw a select group of visitors. Who normally comes in?

Thomas: "Mostly families, but we get a pretty good mix of folks. I can't tell you how many times we'll get little tots who look in the window and bring in their parents - or even their grandparents - in here.
"You never know how many people are going to show up. We slow down during the middle of the week, but our busy months are during the summer when children are out of school - and tow truck operators don't have as much to do.
"During the Olympics, we had two women from Russia come in and stay about two hours. They wanted to know about everything - all the vehicles, how they were used, and did people really make a living using them? In their country, police and the government operate the tow trucks."
Bullock: "There are a lot of foreign tourists who come in. You could name just about any country: Japan, England, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Canada, Germany. Puerto Rico, too.
"One time, a group from Germany came in, but only two spoke English. One happened to be the head of the towing association there, and he translated."

Besides the antique trucks, what else is in the museum?

Thomas: "Videos on recovery, all the manuals that came with the wreckers, hooks and displays from different companies.
"We also have old copies of Tow Times and Towing News, and a great collection of about 400 toy trucks from Peter Fuerst and others across the country." Do you have a favorite truck in the collection? Thomas: "Without question, it's the Holmes W-45 with the Diamond T chassis.
"This truck was used in the famous 'Red Ball Express,' a supply route from Normandy to Belgium that supplied Patton's army in World War II. It pulled out stuck vehicles or broken-down trucks, and though it's rated to pull 15 tons, it would pull until something gave or broke off. You couldn't stop it.
"Holmes built 7,238 to supply all the Allies around the world, including Russia, and several are still in use. Ours was used by the French Army until 1973, and it's now on permanent loan to the museum."

With more than 80 years behind it, the towing and recovery industry must have gone through some changes. What were some of the biggest?

Thomas: "Hydraulics. Holmes built the first hydraulic wrecker in 1953. Before that, everything was mechanical.
"We've also had wheel lifts, and car-carriers, and as trucks get bigger, the equipment gets bigger. Now that the world is so small, people get ideas from other countries and incorporate them. Everybody comes up with a better mousetrap."
Bullock: "A recent innovation is the rotator, where the wrecker rotates like a turret on the chassis.
"It saves a lot of time and space in clearing roads when you can get to a car without blocking traffic, or pick up a car and move it to the side of the road. Rotators started overseas and there are not too many in the U.S., but we're seeing more of them."

If there's no place like this museum anywhere else in the world, what do you want visitors to leave with?

Thomas: "History. That they've learned something about years gone by. "This is a world-wide organization. Someday, hopefully, we'll have more wreckers from around the world. Like the W-45 from France."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum (401 Broad Street, Chattanooga) is open during the week from 10 AM to 4:30 PM, and on weekends from 11 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $3.50 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and children age 5 to 18. Children under 5 get in free. If you're planning a trip, groups of more than 20 can receive a discount. Reservations are not required, but call ahead so Mr. Thomas can have someone mind the store while he and others take you back to another time on American roads. The number is- (423) 267-3132.

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