Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

William Renwick, recent graduate of Pomona College, was to attend Yale in the fall, and rather than more mundane modes of travel decided to head East by auto in what he hoped would be the first transcontinental motor tour to begin in Los Angeles. To ensure that he arrived on time, he left in his Olds machine July 23, accompanied by professor E.E. Chandler.

“The couple were well-equipped for the long and tedious journey,” The Times said. “Renwick, as on one of his former appearances in public, looked like a walking arsenal, prepared for bears or Indians, but the only game encountered were jack rabbits.”

Unfortunately, the trip did not proceed well. On Aug.17, Renwick became ill and left the Olds in Ogden, Utah, for repairs while he visited friends in South Dakota to recuperate. Note: 727 miles in 25 days = 29 Miles Per Day or 1.211 MPH.

In the meantime, Chandler abandoned plans to accompany Renwick the rest of the way to Yale because his vacation was nearly over.

Chandler “reports that the trip was uneventful except for several hard-luck mishaps which befell them en route. Several breaks occurred, one when they were stuck in the sand and another when they struck a large rock and bent the axle. On another occasion they took the wrong road and went 50 miles out of their course before they saw anyone to direct them.”

Unfortunately, if Renwick and his Olds arrived at Yale, it was never recorded in The Times.