Automobiles

The automobile had a profound impact on the lifestyle of the Trussell family. Ray purchased his first car, a Reo, in 1912, about the same time that the Roberts and the Wills purchased theirs. At first the excitement was so great that the three families would go picnicking together in their newfound transportation. In 1917, Ray, having "used up" his Reo, purchased a couple of Model T Fords. One he gave to the kids to for transportation to high school, one he modified to sort of a pickup and kept for his personal use.      The above photo, taken around 1916, shows Wilmer, Ruth Kruse and Elmer Webb, sitting on one of the Trussell's Model T's. The photo below, taken about 1909, shows Fred Roberts at the wheel of his REO. He is joined by his brother-in-laws, Andrew and Herbert, riding with him.

The Model T's. Henry Ford set out to build a car every American would use and, with Ray Trussell, he succeeded. Shown here are the two Model T's Ray purchased around 1916/17. In the bottom photo we see the open air pickup that Ray used to run around between ranches, only in this case Rhodes has it set up for a camping trip that he and his sisters, Mary (Rhodes' right) and Rebecca (left behind Rhodes), and their two girlfriends are about to embark upon. In the top photo we see the more conventional Model T Ray bought for the kids to use for their transportation to and from school. By this time Ray has modified it so that he can use it for camping (note the boxed-in running boards) ... in fact this photo was taken while Ray and his brother, Harry, were camping at the Grand Canyon. in the mid-thirties.