The "A Tall Guy In A Neat Car" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching the web for nothing in particular when I came across a photo of a young fellow sitting in an old car with fire passengers and a dapper young guy holding onto the front headlight while standing along the roadway.  Not sure what key I may have struck on the keyboard of my MacBook Air, but the photograph was really neat.  It was part of a story I found on "The Old Motor" website which is an entertaining and informative vintage automobile internet magazine.  Was actually searching for a page about the Maserati automobile which my son, Tad, told me he has a chance to buy.  Neat car, but the old 1903-1906 Rambler two-cylinder five passenger Surrey pictured on "The Old Motor" website was almost as neat.  The Rambler was a popular early car built by Thomas B. Jeffrey.  The chassis had one of the first overhead valve four-cylinder units to be made by the company.  

George Russel Kersey with his Rambler and family.

The steering column may seem to be made a bit higher for the size of the driver, but it evidently is standard size for all the Ramblers.  I began to read the short story printed next to the old black and white photograph and found the guy sitting behind the very large steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car was a fellow from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  His name was George Russel Kersey and he had quite a history about him.  At the age of 13 he was said to have been the tallest boy in the United States at the time.  He was 7-feet tall!  In his youth he was a drum major in a high school marching band and later was the tall man in a traveling circus run by Adam Forbach.  He eventually decided to take up the profession in which his dad worked, dentistry.  After years of schooling he became a dentist in Elizabethtown which is about a 20 minute drive from Lancaster, PA.  Being he was now a professional with a well-respected occupation, he felt he should drive an automobile, or "horseless carriage."  He purchased the automobile pictured in the photograph I have enclosed with my story.  

Another neat Rambler from the same time period.

The story I was reading said it appears to be a 1906 Rambler, but after reading a bit more on other web- sites, it may really be a 1903.  I'm not sure what the difference may be, but the second site pointed out a few differences.  Hey. I would take either one of them.  The photo in "The Old Motor" was taken by Mary Meszaros who happened to be at the spot at the right time.  She was Mr. Kersey's great granddaughter.  The others in the photograph were from the left: his sister, daughter and his wife Beda—to his right are, another daughter and son and his brother-in-law.  I love classic cars and was pleasantly surprised when I came upon this photograph.  The car shown in this story is rather unique, but I must admit that it isn't as neat as a Maserati!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.