M2: From Cutco Media, hello, friends and fellow car lovers, welcome
M2: to Cars that matter. This is Robert Ross.
M11: A lot goes into the history of a car. Who
M11: designed it, who made it, where it was a manufactured.
M11: And then there's everything that happens during the life of
M11: a car. Who drove it? What was it used for?
M11: What races did it win? How did it change the
M11: automotive landscape? Well, today we're going to talk about a
M11: remarkable car, one with some unusual origins, one with a
M11: few changes of fate and one that will be preserved
M11: in the annals of American history. It's not an impressive
M11: vehicle on its own. It's a simple Volkswagen type to
M11: a VW bus in the United States, a VW camper
M11: in the United Kingdom and a Kombi where it was made.
M11: Other places you might see it called a transporter or
M11: a microbus. But the reason why this car matters is
M11: a combination not just of its history and the people
M11: who created it, but most importantly, the people who owned
M11: it and the mission that it served. Today, we're going
M11: to be diving a bit more deeply into exactly how
M11: this car came to be and exactly why it was
M11: so important.
M2: Listeners may have noticed a similar thread through a few
M2: episodes released earlier this year. Brian Howard of B.R. Howard
M2: and Associates and expert art conservation specialist explained the distinction
M2: between conservation when compared to restoration. Brian happen to have
M2: worked on the conservation of the automobile in question, just
M2: the history.
M8: There was a piece that had served as such an
M8: important function and South Carolina.
M2: Then we had Diane Parker as a guest, vice president
M2: of the Historic Vehicle Association, who discussed why the car
M2: was accepted into the National Historic Vehicle Register, the 1966
M2: Volkswagen Type two deluxe station wagon. And finally, Russell Hayes,
M2: author of Volkswagen Beetles and Buses Smaller and Smarter, joined
M2: us recently to discuss the legacy of the world's most
M2: ubiquitous cars. And during our conversation, even he mentioned the
M2: vehicle in question.
M12: That bus is actually called the jenkins' bus, the jenkins' bus.
M2: Clearly, there was an important story coming to light and
M2: one that we wanted to take an extra bit of
M2: time to examine. So using some clips from those episodes,
M2: along with some additional interviews we've recorded since, we want
M2: to look at the history of this one average, yet
M2: truly exceptional automobile.
M12: Let's rewind the clock to just before World War Two
M12: and uncover the origins of the Volkswagen mark, Volkswagen Authority
M12: Russell Hayes, author of Volkswagen Beetles and Buses, explains the
M12: idea that's under German people's car had been around since
M12: the 1920s and there was a real determined campaign that
M12: there should be an affordable German pronunciation folks out, which
M12: was car of the people that people could actually afford
M12: the pressure for. That led to an imposter who set
M12: up his own design consultancy, I think 1931, to start
M12: pedaling around a design for a new type of folks
M12: out to the various manufacturers. There were two motorcycle manufacturers
M12: that were interested and took him on design prototypes, Jundah
M12: and and as you both wanted to move from motorcycles
M12: into small cars. And he presented a design of a
M12: rearrangement to the simple platform to both of them. But
M12: neither of them in the end had the money to
M12: go through with it. But all this incremental design were
M12: testing a prototype started to give them more and more
M12: improved model. And of course, the person who came along
M12: and gave the greatest push to it was Adolf Hitler.
M12: Hitler was so determined that there should be a people's
M12: car to run on the new autobahns as a symbol
M12: of modern Germany and also as a vehicle for export
M12: that he pushed and pushed the design. But he really
M12: gave Porsche a really hard time trying to screw him
M12: down to the lowest possible production price. And Porsche, I think,
M12: was really under pressure to try and get this car
M12: manufacturer of the lowest possible price. But what ended up
M12: benefiting the eventual design is that millions of miles were
M12: covered in development work by the time the car was
M12: presented in its final form, ready for production just before
M12: the outbreak of war. It was a very well tested
M12: car already, possibly one of the biggest test programs that
M12: any car had ever had to date. So when it
M12: came out after its course for the war, it was
M12: already a very well developed car and likely to be
M12: very reliable.
M2: But Germany lost the war allies, moved in and were
M2: tasked with the well-nigh impossible task of rebuilding the country
M2: they had just defeated. As different countries were given different
M2: responsibilities and geographic sectors in the recovery effort, Great Britain
M2: was given a difficult choice of what to do with
M2: car manufacturing and what would eventually become Volkswagen.
M12: It could have possibly gone to a third of America,
M12: but Henry Ford came and visited, tried one out Volkswagen
M12: from the war years, and it did think it could
M12: be a possible car for sale in Europe with a
M12: bit of refining, but backed off because it was too
M12: near the Russian border. But the British were sent in
M12: to assess what the factory could be turned to, and
M12: that was quite a contingent of them, wanted the factory
M12: just to be used as industrial units, not to go
M12: back to manufacture. But Britain needed the German economy to
M12: get back into gear. And one of the ways of
M12: doing this was to help them restart production of this car,
M12: which was kind of ready to roll before the war.
M12: And the factory wasn't as badly damaged. So eventually it
M12: was put back into action. But the British were certainly
M12: conflicted about what they were doing. A very small team
M12: of people realized that they were potentially going to damage
M12: the British motor industry, but that was their job to
M12: get this car running.
M2: So Volkswagen was saved and the well tested Beetle more
M2: properly there. Kafer went into production. However, the odd German
M2: vehicle proved a bit difficult for America to swallow.
M22: But the turn the Volkswagen arrived in the early 1950s.
M22: The idea of the small car in America just completely gone.
M22: That had been the crossly just after the war. But
M22: as soon as people could afford bigger cars, they abandoned that.
M22: It got off to a slow start in the States
M22: when it was first imported in the very early fifty
M22: fifty fifty one. The Dutch importer bought one or two
M22: over and they were just ridiculed. The press called it
M22: Hitler's car and he touted it round to various dealers
M22: in terms of trying to to take it on. They
M22: weren't interested.
M12: Volkswagen initially had to retreat and rethink and then come
M12: back to America with a much more considered offering. What
M12: they did was they started getting all the dealers in
M12: place and the service in place and the parts in
M12: place so that you had this car, which wasn't the
M12: latest thing. You could get parts anywhere. They were cheap.
M12: It could be readily serviced, which is what a lot
M12: of the imported cars the 1950s failed to grasp. They
M12: bought the cars in cheaply enough, but then there was
M12: no back up. But by getting this organization in place
M12: and this sort of service ethos and back, which was
M12: so new, it started a really good foundation and it
M12: did start to trade off the Polish name. It got
M12: a following amongst people who needed a cheap car. And
M12: that's what was interesting. It wasn't bought by people who
M12: needed a cheap car, was bought by people who wanted
M12: an honest, small, reliable second car. And also at that time,
M12: European things were starting to make their influence felt. People
M12: were travelling abroad again on European holidays. It traded in
M12: that kind of wave of interest in European things as well.
M12: And it became an antique car. In a way, it
M12: became well, I could afford a big Packard, but I
M12: don't want one. I want this nice, modest little car
M12: because it's not going to be out of date when
M12: the model changes, it's not going to look completely different.
M2: My neighbor won't be able to tell what I'm got,
M2: a fifty six or fifty eight people, the Volkswagen of America,
M2: long before car companies were thought of as brands, represented
M2: a lot of things precision, practicality, rugged durability. One Volkswagen
M2: that had a huge impact was the bus, the camper,
M2: the transporter, the deluxe station wagon, the big box on wheels,
M2: which really became a ubiquitous feature in America, especially during
M2: the 1960s.
M12: The two went on parallel tracks. The bus took off
M12: in a different direction to the company in America. Certainly
M12: they really didn't know what to make of it at
M12: all because small vans did not look like this. And
M12: when they tried to sell the company with seats and windows,
M12: it just couldn't work out what it was. One great
M12: story was apparently that when people started buying the companies
M12: and using them as station wagons, some parking lot attendants
M12: wouldn't park them because they said they didn't park trucks.
M12: But that didn't deter sales. The early contrabands really took off.
M12: They really were seen as something new, as a way
M12: of escaping and exploring this big country. And of course,
M12: they could do it because albeit very slowly, but they
M12: could do it reliably. And early camper van conversions were
M12: so ingenious, managing to squeeze all these little cabinets and
M12: washbasins and folding down beds into this tiny space.
M2: And as a result, the VW bus took on a
M2: brand new reputation.
M12: It was often used as transport for young people to
M12: go across continents. It was used by people who were
M12: on UN humanitarian missions as well, quite a lot in
M12: the 60s, people dispensing words of peace to people around
M12: the globe.
M2: So VW survived World War Two, thanks to the British
M2: and their buses come to America and taken root.
M21: But the next part of the story requires a bit
M21: of a change in scenery. We'll be right back. On
M21: cars that matter.
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M21: Welcome back to cars that matter. As we've detailed a
M21: unique history of the car that is now known as
M21: the Jenkins' VW Bus.
M23: Our story shifts to post-World War Two America, an America
M23: that is suffering from the racism and attitudes that flourished
M23: prior to and sparked the civil rights movement he saw
M23: and Chaney B. Jenkins are living on Strawn's Island, South Carolina.
M23: In 1948, the couple founded the Progressive Club. That co-op
M23: offered their community financial assistance, legal aid and education. The
M23: building housed a grocery store, gas station and a community center.
M23: Esaw in Jany B worked tirelessly to help their community
M23: overcome the oppression of the Jim Crow era.
M2: Sonobe saw Johnny B.. Bill Jenkins at 90 years of age,
M2: shares his family's history.
M3: You start back in 1948.
M4: 1948 is when we started the Progressive Club, when a
M4: white man shot a black man, Olvido, that my daddy
M4: was hustling in the market in Charleston and people came
M4: down into that 70s show. But he's not dead. And
M4: so he went to the hospital and you go to
M4: Scottsbluff and that same them and trying to find a
M4: judge that will handle the case. And a lawyer never
M4: came up. And eventually they got called a meeting at
M4: the Moonshine and Sam turned progressive club formed an named
M4: Progressive Club because it was people from the Hollywood community.
M4: So we had enough of this. People can shoot us
M4: like dogs. And so this could have been a progressive
M4: club and two months and school, we can make it
M4: across the street. And that piece of property was for sale.
M4: And that is when they just got more people from Dallas.
M3: Geldzahler And that part of what law enforcement are people
M3: to do, a player in Georgia and all that fertilizer plant.
M3: To have some latest on a plan that didn't have
M3: to be worked out early in the morning, should have
M3: stayed on the bus until about nine o'clock. So that's
M3: what I was talking about. Why are we letting this
M3: happen to us? And we don't say anything. We're going
M3: to continue to just like an elephant in the room.
M3: Do you even know his own strength when he found
M3: out people were listening to him? And that's when I
M3: told one voter registration was really all started.
M2: But the famous green bus that the drink purchased in
M2: 1966 wasn't the first car to be of use to
M2: the Jenkins. Elaine Jenkins, youngest daughter of Esaw and Jenny
M2: B explains.
F1: With Bill, there was a fleet of buses that our
F1: parents had before we get to the Volkswagen bus. And yeah,
F1: and so those buses we used to transport people to
F1: and from work, the islands did not have a connecting
F1: bridge until the mid 50s. There was a ferry and
F1: the buses were used to transport Islander's into Charleston to work.
F1: The buses were also used because there was no high
F1: school lunch on silence for African-Americans. The Black High School
F1: was in Charleston. So then probably use the buses to
F1: transport the children who wanted to go to high school,
F1: including his own children. My brother here and my two
F1: older sisters would ride in one of the buses or
F1: the truck into Charleston to go to school. And then
F1: a lot of the schools on the island would have
F1: excursions and says, my father had the buses. He would
F1: take the children on outings in the area. The beaches
F1: were segregated, but also so the buses were used to
F1: transport people to two of the black beaches in the area,
F1: Mosquita Beach and Atlantic Beach. Those were the two black beaches.
F1: The buses did a lot of things. And as my
F1: brother said, my parents began organizing people on those buses
F1: during that time to talk about the conditions in which
F1: they were living on these islands. And one of them
F1: was the issue of voter registration and education here in
F1: South Carolina.
F2: At the time, you had to be able to read
F2: a portion of the US Constitution not to up and
F2: pay a poll tax. So what my parents did was
F2: they helped the people to read that portion of the
F2: Constitution that they needed to know.
F1: I mean, they memorized it and how to write their name.
F1: That's the backdrop of these two Volkswagens. Now, when we
F1: fast forward at the time of purchase, the 1966 minibus,
F1: most of the fleet of buses, he had maybe one
F1: or two left.
M6: He started off with one he bought from a horse
M6: with a Chevy, but then he bought a Chevy was right.
F4: You come out the fleet, the larger buses.
M7: But when we get to the Volkswagen bus, he only
M7: had one of those long lines. And I wanted to
M7: go around the community and try to talk to people
M7: to let them know what being a citizen mean more
M7: than any other citizen.
F1: I think in nineteen sixty six, the sea of. Federal
F1: credit union was established. My father had gone to a
F1: year earlier to a meeting in Washington, D.C. He went
F1: there for one purpose, but then he heard about a
F1: community meeting that was being held, hearings that were being
F1: held on Capitol Hill. And he went there and he
F1: spoke about the fact that for African-Americans in South Carolina,
F1: they had to buy expensive money. It was they had
F1: to go to individual individuals instead of banking institutions to
F1: borrow money. And they started for about a year. They
F1: discussed the possibility of starting a of federal credit union
F1: in Charleston.
F2: So once that credit union was up, then part of
F2: them got the first Volkswagen Volkswagen bus and it had
F2: set a federal credit union on it.
F1: On the side of it, the back hatch had let
F1: everybody knew this, but the Charleston County, whenever they saw
F1: their bus, then there was this jenkins' coming about something.
F1: But he loved that Volkswagen that sixty six and a
F1: several years later, he bought a blue Volkswagen personally. But
F1: it was that Volkswagen that was for the Citizens Committee
F1: that he went around, talked about voter registration, encouraging people
F1: to register and vote and to join the failed Federal
F1: Credit Union. And he still took people around in that.
M6: And the Volkswagen and stuff even went to a lot
M6: of them walking back to a role in that Volkswagen.
M2: But as time went on, the bus became not only
M2: a member of the community around it, but of the
M2: Jenkins family itself, some type of something.
M3: And I just didn't know what he was going to
M3: he had to be going to such and such a place.
M3: And I got to with such. And he just going
M3: to take a nap while I'm driving. Once you get there,
M3: he's over talking. And he said, come on, wake up.
M3: We've got a lot of things to do and we
M3: don't have a whole lot of time to play role.
M3: He will stand at times, but he knew how to
M3: deal with people. I know he used to call all
M3: of these islands in Charleston County. There were many islands, five, five.
M9: I see islands still.
M3: But you go to Mount Pleasant, some of those others
M3: to MacLellan. Well, and what they used to get people
M3: from each of those islands that you could identify and
M3: instead talk to the ones that I want you to
M3: give me a report on how far you've got and
M3: how could I help you. And you go from one island,
M3: especially in Charleston County. You started off with James Island
M3: because that was the largest island in population. Jones Island
M3: was the largest island in the area.
M6: Everything was the smallest island and the farthest away and
M6: the farthest away, the last part of Charleston County.
M3: And it had young and all those islands for this
M3: one from here, MacLellan bill. But that was not in
M3: Charleston County. It was in Charleston County, but not in
M3: the south. So he had key people in each one
M3: of these islands that he could call. And everybody was
M3: a joke after he died. So the phone rang on
M3: Sunday morning. What church? Somebody would get a call from
M3: my dad and say that I want you to do so.
M3: He never asked you told you I want you to
M3: go to Sunday school during the announcement. You I want
M3: you to say this. We've got to get our people
M3: to register. And most of this was happening in the
M3: little book, and this was 67, 68.
M2: That little green bus became memorable not only for the
M2: family inside, but because of the writing on the body
M2: of the vehicle itself. Citizens Committee was painted bright white
M2: letters on the side. And as Elaine and Bill mentioned
M2: earlier on, the tailgate was painted. Love is progress. Hate
M2: is expensive.
M10: It means racial tension in this area. That particular time
M10: you have a figure. If you would put something on
M10: the back talking about love and hate, that may draw
M10: attention to a lot of people because they could be
M10: most of my experience, both love because they were a
M10: few white folks around here. The problem could get some
M10: money from. And if you couldn't get the money from
M10: those people, you can do anything at all because you
M10: couldn't go to the bank and you mentioned it earlier.
M10: And hate means that they're going on as though you
M10: don't exist until they did so. And so if you
M10: go around trying to hate them because they are treating
M10: you as though you are less than a dope, you're
M10: going to end up dying from hypertension or something because
M10: you've got to stop building up. And so he put
M10: on his love, his progress, if you can love them.
M10: But I don't mean that you have to hate them.
M10: Would you just make sure you know who you are
M10: you don't want them to take advantage of? You know,
M10: more than you have done. Really?
F4: I always thought it had a real. Religious aspect, as
F4: well as the very practical aspect of it, when we
F4: were growing up for the people on the islands. Religion
F4: was the way of life and it impacted everything, every
F4: area of life, really. And one of the greatest commandments
F4: is to love thy neighbor. The epistle of John talks
F4: about God is love. And then, on the other hand,
F4: how hate destroys the human spirit, but then is also
F4: something very practical.
F2: As I heard people say a lot of times, when
F2: you spend all that time trying to have two unequal things,
F2: I mean, you're wasting money. A white water fountain, a
F2: black water fountain full for whites is all for blacks separate.
F2: Definitely not equal. But you're spending money just to maintain
F2: that apartheid state. Right.
F5: And that once you open up the love and not
F5: that sentimental kind of love, but the Agape love that
F5: the Bible talks about, the love that you can have
F5: for a person who you perceive as an enemy, that
F5: you can then begin making progress.
M2: But what made them keep the bus all these years?
M9: My mother did.
F4: We saw it was Poppa's bus. They had done a
F4: lot together with that bus. She said that she never
F4: wanted it. So we were looking at restoring the progressive
F4: club after Hugo did a lot of damage to it
F4: in 1989 and maybe finding funds to renovate the progressive
F4: club itself, the building. So we were looking at some
F4: point perhaps starting a museum there and putting the bus there.
F4: But that never happened. It just took longer than we anticipated.
F4: And when the Smithsonian came to us, they had heard
F4: about you saw Jenkins and that the bus was in
F4: the backyard. We thought it was a godsend. We saw
F4: the bus deteriorating. Mama asked us never to sell the
F4: bus and we didn't know how to preserve the bus.
F4: So when they came, we thought, here is something that
F4: we really can do to honor our mother's wishes. And
F4: they took the hat back of the bus.
M6: The margin for error was coming to be because she
M6: had gone somewhere that we could that. But we didn't
M6: know how and when and when we got a chance
M6: to talk to some of the people from the museum first.
M6: And we got 19 people started the historic sites and
M6: this was one of those historic sites. And, you know,
M6: you are on the right track. You are training people
M6: to learn about books.
M2: And from that point on, and it was all one
M2: of the tailgaters currently on display at the Smithsonian National
M2: Museum of African-American History and Culture. But the question still
M2: remained about what was going to happen to the rest
M2: of the Jenkins bus.
M13: We'll be right back. On cars that matter a moment
M13: of your time.
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M13: Welcome back to cars that matter.
M2: For decades, the Jenkins' bus had been sitting in the
M2: union's backyard, the tailgate painted with the slogan Love is progress,
M2: hate is expensive, had just been taken to the Smithsonian.
M2: But then some new characters that are our story. First,
M2: Diane Parker, vice president of the Historic Vehicle Association.
F10: We got a call from very Steeple and Grant Gilmor
F10: from the College of Charleston, and they said, We know
F10: what you're doing and we think it's great. We have
F10: wonderful local story that we believe should be preserved. And
F10: so they put us in touch with Jirina Jones from
F10: the family. And from there we went down and met
F10: with the family and took a look at the bus.
F10: College of Charleston met us out. There was a young
F10: man that wrote a paper on it, as a matter
F10: of fact, in the college. And that's how we were
F10: introduced to this wonderful story.
M2: And what makes the historic vehicle association so important?
F3: I would say, first of all, our why why we
F3: are here, why we are the VA is because we
F3: believe that America's automotive heritage is worth saving, that the
F3: stories are worth telling, and the human interest aspect of
F3: it is worth bringing forward to people. And it's not
F3: just about car guys and car girls. This is for everyone,
F3: because you may not be a car person, but everyone
F3: loves a really great story. And that's what we're doing here,
F3: is we're saving history and we're telling some really great stories.
F3: We are connected through the Department of Interior's historic American
F3: engineering record, who then is connected to the Library of Congress.
F3: And that is through our programming, which is the National
F3: Historic Vehicle Register. It can be complicated. So to simplify,
F3: everything is we're filling a gap in our history. We
F3: have over eighty thousand buildings covered, bridges, aircraft and other
F3: objects that have been covered as part of our cultural past.
F3: But the vehicle had never been included until the VA
F3: came along and started filling that gap in 2014 and
F3: we were created in 2009. So we don't want to
F3: get listeners confused. Initially, when the VA was created, it
F3: was more of a legislative watch, kind of this overall
F3: what was going on. And then we discovered that there
F3: was this huge gap in our history and our cultural
F3: heritage and we thought no one else is doing it.
F3: So we're going to fill this one car at a time.
F3: So we did an agreement with the Department of Interior.
F3: Suddenly we are filling this long gap that has never
F3: been filled. People are really astonished when they find out.
F3: What do you mean? The cars have never been a
F3: part of our documented heritage. They've been a part of
F3: our lives for hundreds of years. It's one of the
F3: greatest technological advancements and will continue to be and it
F3: was never recovered. It is the human interest story behind
F3: the horsepower, and that's what makes this bus so incredibly significant.
F3: Isaw met with people like Martin Luther King, leaders like that.
F3: Martin Luther King actually consulted, wanted to know, what are
F3: you doing that's working? You're kind of getting people behind
F3: this movement. And that's because you saw Jenkins was working
F3: with the people and he was working up where Martin
F3: Luther King was kind of working from the top down.
F3: It's where these leaders came together. So this little bus
F3: rested in the backyard of the Jenkins home. It survived
F3: many a storm where buildings and homes, including the progressive
F3: club where saw Jenkins had many of his meetings, didn't last.
F3: This little tiny bus lasted until we came along and
F3: we took it out so that we could share the story.
F3: This bus was almost up to the axles. It was
F3: sunk into the backyard. We brought in some talent from
F3: the NBA Center for American Automotive Heritage, and they helped
F3: us stabilize the bus so that it could actually be
F3: moved because we didn't want the roof caving in naturally
F3: because we had to get it from South Carolina to
F3: our lab in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And once we got it there,
F3: then we called Broward Howard in to take a look
F3: and see what needed to be done, because the family
F3: does not want this to be restored. They want it
F3: to be preserved. Broward did a spectacular job. They brought
F3: out some things underneath the finishes and the paint once
F3: they got the dirt off where you could see just
F3: a little bit of lettering about the community on the side.
F3: This was the only project to date where we have
F3: actually been involved and got other qualified subject matter experts
F3: involved to stabilize, preserve and conserve the automobile. And we're
F3: very glad that we did. It's a spectacular story.
M2: We contacted Broward and Associates, a company that specializes in
M2: the conservation of priceless art and artifacts. Think of the
M2: carriage that took Lincoln to Ford's Theater on the night
M2: of his assassination. Brothers Braden and Colin Howard were the
M2: two experts who spent the most time working on the bus.
M8: We were actually doing work down at the National Museum
M8: of the United States Army Museum is still being constructed.
M8: And we were working on a lot of macro sized
M8: military vehicles and Casey, Max. And. From the historic vehicle association,
M8: I believe you sent me a text telling me he
M8: would send an email and he sent a whole bunch
M8: of photos of the bus and saying, please give him
M8: a call when we had a chance. So he's such
M8: an enthusiastic guy, as well as Diane Parker over there.
M8: So we were excited to see what this bus was
M8: and get a little bit more information on the history
M8: and what they were looking for from us in terms
M8: of work or consulting.
M15: Seeing the vehicle for the first time was more along
M15: the lines of like an archaeological relic that had literally
M15: just been dug out of the ground. Everything was rotten
M15: on it and there was no solid metal to be found.
M15: The roof was collapsing. There was biological growth and lichens
M15: all over the vehicle. It truly was a quite scary
M15: thing to look at as far as something we might
M15: be working on. Our primary concern was just handling it
M15: and moving it because of the paint.
M16: The paint was so oxidized and friable and then there
M16: were areas that were flaking. We weren't sure exactly how
M16: we were going to remove the biological growth without in
M16: some way disturbing the paint. Whether that is kind of
M16: leaving finger marks on the oxidized, really almost or burnished
M16: or areas would flake. So our first problem was to
M16: find a way to remove safely the biological growth without
M16: impacting or changing the way that old paint looked on
M16: the vehicle.
M8: And we ended up kind of having to think outside
M8: the box. We kind of developed this misting system, which
M8: is typically used in conservation of historic either sculpture or
M8: building facades. They will put it up even several stories high,
M8: and they put a very gentle misting system on the building.
M8: So that marble in stone where it becomes powdery, they
M8: can't pressure wash it. They can't scrub it because it
M8: will continue to deteriorate masonry. They'll put these very gentle
M8: misting systems on. And that's what we did with the bus.
M8: We set up scaffolding. We made a climate control room
M8: where there was air movement and large dehumidifiers. And then
M8: we put articulating misting arms. We created kind of a
M8: system where these mister's could be articulated and projected onto
M8: the bus. And we programmed it to come on for
M8: a few minutes, then to go back off. It was
M8: all environmentally safe product that was used to kill the
M8: biological growth. And we also introduced AMS, which would not
M8: cause additional corrosion to the bus. So that was the
M8: first stage which removed the biological growth very slowly. And
M8: then we saw just the rust coming through onto the
M8: page and we used gel kilolitres, which removed the iron
M8: staining but left for the paint untouched. So we didn't
M8: have to physically wash it or scrub it or handle
M8: or touch the paint in any way. Professionally, it was
M8: a challenge. It really had to think outside the box
M8: using approaches that would be typically applied to buildings used
M8: for an automobile. But from a historical perspective, I hadn't
M8: even heard of Isaw Jenkins and Jamie Jenkins. You go
M8: to school and you hear of civil rights leaders and
M8: figures and you learn about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks,
M8: Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela. But I hadn't heard more localized
M8: stories of people like the Jenkins making an impact on
M8: the community. It was like peeling back the onion, realizing
M8: there's so many more things happening in these movements than
M8: just the big names that you hear and read about.
M17: I was really scared to take on the project being
M17: in the circumstances that the bus was in, but then
M17: to be able to send it out the doors really
M17: with it looking wonderful and being sick, the bus was
M17: stable now to a point where it could be shown
M17: and the people could enjoy it.
M15: Like Braden said, historically, we've got to learn how other
M15: people they sacrificed, these people sacrificed and worked really hard.
M15: And I think that's something that we're losing now. So
M15: I think that's a good life lesson that can be
M15: taught personally. It was touching to see the family to
M15: be able to work on Thomas Edison's car is cool
M15: and to sit on a chair that Abraham Lincoln sat
M15: on is cool.
M17: But we don't ever get to interact with the families
M17: of these objects. That was something that was different. We
M17: got to actually interact with family members and that brought
M17: the object to life in a whole different light.
M2: The vehicles that are inducted into the National Historic Vehicle
M2: Register by each VA each year are displayed at an
M2: event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., called Cars
M2: at the Capitol. The cars are placed in beautiful glass
M2: display cases with informational signs that explain the importance of
M2: each car. Braiden and Colin actually had the opportunity to
M2: travel to the Capitol to see the end result of
M2: their work.
M8: It was a very surreal experience because you had this
M8: relic of us in this state of the art glass
M8: sort of vitrine on the mall. And if you read
M8: it from the east, you had the US Capitol behind it.
M8: And if you viewed it from the West, you had
M8: the Washington Monument. There was just all the modern cars
M8: driving by on the streets and construction and cranes building.
M8: So time was moving on as you have this still
M8: relic sitting in the mall and the people walking through
M8: the mall, you know, everybody's busy. So they're looking at
M8: their iPhones, but all of a sudden they kind of
M8: catch a glimpse and it just stops them in their.
M8: The iPhones went back into their pockets. People wanted to
M8: see what this was. It just caught our attention and
M8: they just stood there and appreciated it for what it was.
M8: And just to see the family's reaction all coming together,
M8: traveling back to the mall to see this thing and
M8: reminisce about playing in the bus as children, wiping tears
M8: and seeing them laugh. It was a really wonderful experience.
M21: So what happens to the car now?
F3: Right now, it's at the Peterson Museum. It will eventually
F3: come back to the family. So the family is very
F3: involved in building an African-American museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
F3: They're also trying to rebuild the progressive club. And so
F3: eventually the Jenkins bus will go back home. Until then,
F3: we have a place for it in our very safe
F3: and temperature controlled lab in Allentown. And it's our pleasure
F3: to help the family in that way. We've become very
F3: close to all the members of the family, which often
F3: happens with us because we spend a tremendous amount of
F3: time with the stewards or the families of these vehicles
F3: in order to do the research. And these families, they
F3: share so much of their lives with us. They will
F3: pull out the photographs and old films and they'll sit
F3: down with us and tell us stories. And consequently, we
F3: become extremely close to the people. I have long lasting
F3: family within the community here, and it's a very, very
F3: special part of the job that we do. And that
F3: really speaks to these human interest stories. It's more than
F3: just the car.
M8: The Jenkins were very passionate people. They were very involved
M8: in society. So I think that the story of them
M8: and the bus should encourage people to get involved in
M8: the things that they are passionate about. And they don't
M8: need to be a big player to make an impact
M8: in their community and that everybody has something that they
M8: contribute positively towards impacting other people.
M2: But the Jenkins hope that what we learned from this
M2: car goes even deeper than that, though.
M19: When you look at just what you see, that the
M19: person that owned the most, everybody is going to hurt you.
M19: And when you put the two together, just try to
M19: make sure that everyone can live together, that we actually
M19: live a long life and enjoy where you live.
F12: I heard former Ambassador Andrew Young say when he came
F12: to this area, I don't know how many years ago,
F12: but it was the dedication of one of the health
F12: clinics on Yeonpyeong Island that was being dedicated in memory
F12: of our father. But and that's what he said, was
F12: that the civil rights movement started on this little unknown
F12: island and a little Methodist church by an unknown gentleman
F12: named Esau Jenkins.
F5: What my parents did, they didn't do for recognition. They
F5: saw a need and they tried to meet that need.
F5: And because I think basically we are an African people
F5: and you find your identity in community rather than individual.
F2: And I think that buses that we all have a
F2: role to play, no matter who you are, where you are,
F2: find that niche, find that place where you can make
F2: this world a better place than what you found. That's
F2: what my parents really tried to do. And then that's
F2: what they instilled in us.
F12: I didn't send you to school there so you can
F12: be about yourself. You have to come back. And they
F12: told each one of that. You've got to give back
F12: to the community because the community has given you so much.
F12: You've got to give back to the community. Right. And
F12: we all have a role to play. And it's the
F12: thing that my siblings tell their children and their children,
F12: tell their children, let's discuss how we are, I mean,
F12: and how the community is. You can't leave without trying
F12: to make a contribution to make this world better.
M20: From the origins under the Nazi rise to power, to
M20: the hard decision by the British to keep the VW
M20: more alive, to the rebirth as a symbol of peace
M20: and freedom from the hands of a close knit family
M20: in South Carolina fighting back against racial hatred through a
M20: complicated conservation program to preserve its own history. And finally,
M20: to an honored place in the records of America's Library
M20: of Congress, no one could have guessed the importance that
M20: one unassuming car could have.
M21: So what are you doing with your car right now?
M21: Because remember this, you can make a car matter. Come
M21: back next time as we continue to talk about the
M21: passions that drive us and the passions we drive. This
M21: episode of Cars That Matter was hosted by Robert Ross,
M21: produced by Chris Porter, written by Chris Porter, edited by
M21: Chris Porter, theme song by Celeste and Eric Dick, additional
M21: music and sound by Chris Porter, please. Like subscribe and
M21: share this podcast. I'm Robert Ross. Thanks for listening.
M1: Kurt, media, media for your mind.