Chariton Rotarians are celebrating their centennial, too, this year --- along with the Hotel Charitone (where their meetings were held for many years) and the Chariton High School building. And during those years, thousands of guest speakers have addressed assembled members during luncheon meetings.
The speaker on March 3, 1933, was Barney Oldfield (1878-1946) --- a man whose name still is familiar although time has blurred for many the reasons why. Oldfield was a racing car driver whose name was "synonymous with speed" during the first 20 years of the 20th century. He was --- among other accomplishments --- the first to drive a car a mile in a minute on a circular track.
Oldfield had retired in 1918 and at the time of his appearance in Chariton, age 55, was employed by the Chrysler Corporation in a role that involved primarily public relations. But he was working toward a comeback, looking for backers to build a vehicle he and a partner had designed, aimed at reclaiming the world land speed record from Britain's Malcom Campbell.
Those backers did not materialize, but the project explains some references in this report of Oldfield's appearance in Chariton from The Leader of March 7, 1933:
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Automobiles formed the discussion topic at the Chariton Rotary club's luncheon meeting Friday. Included in the large list of guests were Barney Oldfield, best known of all racing car drivers; J. N. Kerr of Detroit, special Chrysler Corporation representative; and managers and salesmen of the Ream Motor Co. and Miley Motor Co., Chrysler agencies for this territory.
Oldfield and Kerr came to Chariton as the guests of Miller Ream, and both spoke on the luncheon program.
Oldfield spoke of his varied racing experiences, and gave his reasons for wanting to break the speed record established by the English racer, Sir Malcolm Campbell.
"I began my racing career on bikes and motorcycles," Oldfield said, "and naturally drifted into the automobile game. When Henry Ford built his first racer, I was called to Detroit to assist him. When he became dissatisfied, my partner and I bought the car, entered it in a race, and won.
"Ford once said that we had been 'made' one another. For many years I thought that my job had been the best, but now I think that perhaps he did the best work.
"I have raced on practically all of your Iowa tracks, and was once arrested in Des Moines for trying out a new board track on Sunday. I drove an automobile on a straight track for the first time in history at a speed of a mile per minute in New York, and repeated on the Indianapolis speedway for an added purse of $250. At Hammond, Ind., the big Peruna manufacturer asked me to break this record on his track. My price was $500; he paid. I took another shot of Peruna (a popular patent medicine still in the 1930s), and a new record was set," he said.
Oldfield gave the spirit of patriotism as his reason for wanting to break Campbell's record. He claimed that British children had been constantly reminded in school that Britain ruled the skies, the waves, and the track.
"Thank heavens, Gar Wood sent Kaye Don home with his tail between his legs after the motor boat races, and someone should take the record from Campbell. He comes to America with a British car, even brings his own fuel with him, is popularized by the American press, and goes home with a lot of Amerian money and a reputation that will earn him much more," he said.
"Campbell is not a racer," he continued. "It doesn't take skill to drive a car down a straight path. We have any number of fellows in America who could travel five laps on the regular track while he was doing four. He wasn't even a good showman until I advised him to change his tactics."
Kerr, in a brief talk, spoke of Oldfield's brilliant record in the automobile world, and recited several indications of an improvement in business conditions. Both Oldfield and Kerr were at the automobile show in Des Moines. Kerr stated the sales on the floor were improved over the past two years, not only in Des Mones, but in other cities.
He also supervised the showing of a motion picture, "Hell Drivers," which had Oldfield and Billy Arnold, famous young racer, in the starring roles.
They returned to Des Moines immediately at the close of the meeting.
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