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Opening of Hostetler Museum
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The dreams and plans of more than twenty years came to fruition on October 5, 2007, when Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum officially opened its doors in the small town of Shipshewana, Indiana. The museum houses 48 cars and trucks -- the largest public collection of Hudson-built vehicles in the world –- which were amassed by Eldon Hostetler, an 85-year-old Hudson enthusiast and owner of Ziggity Systems, Inc., a local manufacturing company which produces poultry watering systems which he invented and perfected. There are Hudson collections elsewhere, but none is nearly as large, covers such a full chronological span, contains so many rare vehicles, and is housed in such new surroundings.
Photo by Norman Kauffman The 20,000-square-foot museum is part of the 65,000-square foot Shipshewana Town Center, a 24-acre complex of buildings that also includes a 15,000-square foot exposition center, an indoor Splash Universe Water Park, and a 154-room hotel. The area is already a tourist destination, due to interest in the Amish culture found in the area. Shipshewana is home to 536 residents, most of whom are Amish. The complex is expected to bring over 170,000 new visitors a year to a community renowned for hosting the Midwest’s largest flea market and auctions, with one million visitors annually. Eight years and over $10 million were involved in planning, design and construction of the entire complex. The resort hotel and waterpark represent an investment of $25 million by The Focus Group of Valparaiso, Indiana, a real estate development and management company. Nearly 300 people attended the opening ceremony in October. Robert Meeks, the area’s local State Senator, presented Hostetler with the “Sagamore of the Wabash” award, conferred by Governor Mitch Daniels. The Sagamore is a prestigious award granted by the governor to those who have contributed a great service to the State. Sue Figert Meyer, President of the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Historical Society presented Eldon and his wife Esta with the “Doc Daugherty Award”, an annual honor conferred upon those who have substantially benefited the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club and Hudson enthusiasts in general. Photo by Jon Battle Although October witnessed the “official” opening, there had already been a “sneak preview” attended by 700 members of the H-E-T Club, who motored in a convoy to the museum on Friday, July 27, from their National Meet in nearby Auburn.
Eldon Hostetler would seem an unlikely car collector, for he grew up on an Amish farm in nearby Pashan, Indiana without such modern conveniences as electricity, telephones or automobiles. However, in 1936 a young neighbor purchased a new Hudson with the optional “Electric Hand” gearshift pre-selector. Though he was only 14 at the time, Eldon was allowed to drive this car from farm to farm, and he became an instant Hudson enthusiast. When he reached the age of 18 |
he purchased – with some financial help from his Amish grandfather – his own Hudson, a used1938 model also equipped with an Electric Hand. This was the first of several Hudsons Eldon would own over the next few years. In 1950 he became a poultry farmer, and in the course of his farming began to develop mechanized systems to help in the task of watering all those chickens. Finally, in 1977, he started a company -- Ziggity Systems, Inc. -- in order to manufacture and sell these systems to others. The new company began to prosper. In the meantime, the Hudson automobile had long-since ceased production and Eldon had switched his allegiance to Chrysler automobiles. But he never forgot his automotive “first love”. In the early 1980’s, as Eldon tells it, his wife Esta – who coincidentally had learned to drive in a Hudson – “suggested I get into a hobby to divert some of my energy.” It was then that he decided to start collecting cars, and there was never any question of what brand of car he’d collect! His eventual aim was to assemble a collection encompassing cars from most of Hudson’s 1909-1957 production run, as well as its full line of nameplates (Hudson, Essex and Terraplane). The very first Hudson that Eldon acquired was a 1952 Pacemaker club coupe, purchased in 1983 from a gentlemen who was still driving it daily. This was followed by yet another Hudson, and then another. Many of these cars were purchased in excellent condition, but he had a number of them restored to perfection by the Appenzeller Brothers of Syracuse, Indiana. (Hostetler also has several cars not currently among the “museum cars”, including that ’52 Pacemaker and a 1928 Buick.) The hardest car to acquire was a 1938 Hudson with the Electric Hand option – the same as Eldon’s first car. He located such a car but the owners wouldn’t part with it. Eldon kept after them for fifteen years before finally acquiring the vehicle! For many years the growing Hudson collection was housed in one of the large Hostetler chicken houses, but eventually everything spilled over into several buildings. Some of the cars were even loaned to various museums, which solved the storage problem even as it guaranteed that the vehicles would be seen by a larger audience! This lead to his 1999 proposal to the town of Shipshewana to offer to the town his collection (now consisting of 48 cars worth over $4 million), the 18 acres of land, and a monetary endowment to assure the operation of the new museum, if it would erect a museum. The town fathers agreed. State and Federal grants, personal contributions, and the sale of bonds helped raise additional funds. The town decided to expand the project to include an expo center. At this point The Focus Group agreed to develop a resort hotel and waterpark if the town would agree to sell sufficient land to begin the development immediately. An agreement was made and both projects started simultaneously. A small portion of the water park receipts will go towards retiring the bonds on the Town Center building in which the museum is housed. On August 25, 2005, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, and the project was off and running. Great care was taken in planning the Center to make the new project harmonious with its environment: for example, two homes and several farm buildings previously situated on the plot were moved from the property rather than torn down, and architects for the new building designed its facade to follow a “barn” motif. Currently, the museum is managed by the Town of Shipshewana Visitors Center, but eventually a board of directors will be appointed. As he was busy buying Hudsons and a large number of Hudson-related artifacts and collectibles, Hostetler began to ponder the future of his collection. He knew the sad history of the legendary and massive William F. Harrah auto collection in Reno, Nevada, most of which was broken up and auctioned off after Mr. Harrah’s death in 1978. Hoping to see his own collection survive him intact, Eldon began to devise a plan for erecting a stand-alone museum for his cars, possibly to be administered by a foundation or other entity interested in its preservation, and sustained by a guaranteed source of funding. In August of 1992 |
he began to act on this plan, purchasing eight acres of land in Shipshewana, and five years later he bought another ten acres adjacent to it. The most remarkable thing about the Hudsons in the new museum is how rare some of them are. When most people hear the word “Hudson” they picture the cars produced during Hudson’s “Step-Down” era from 1948 to 1954, when its revolutionary unit-bodied design surrounded passengers with a sturdy perimeter frame and people “stepped down” into a recessed floor. (This design, unusual when it was popularized by Hudson 60 years ago, has now become virtually standard.) However, the vast majority of the Hostetler collection consists of cars that were unusual or downright-rare even when Hudson produced them, such as a 1916 aluminum-bodied limousine, a 1925 New Zealand-bodied roadster, a 1927 fire truck, a 1928 Murphy-bodied phaeton (4-door convertible with roll-up windows), a 1928 Murphy-bodied town car (that could pass as a Rolls-Royce!), a 1929 Essex boat-tailed “Speedabout” boattailed roadster, a 1929 Hudson dual-cowl phaeton, a 1929 “Dover” mail truck once used by the U.S. Post Office, a 1933 Essex Terraplane sedan delivery used as a funeral “flower car”, a 1937 Terraplane pickup truck, a 1937 British-built Railton (using an English body and Hudson running gear), a 1942 Hudson wood-bodied station wagon, a 1947 Hudson pickup truck and a 1951 customized convertible. Yet the rest of the collection could hardly be considered “run of the mill” in comparison. It’s populated with beautifully-restored coupes, convertibles and sedans that would stand out at any car show or museum collection. Incidentally, the museum collection isn’t “frozen” at 48 cars; in fact, Hostetler will soon be adding car number 49 (a freshly-restored 1928 Essex coach). Number 50 -- a 1936 Terraplane panel truck – is waiting in the wings for its restoration and incorporation into the museum |
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At the October 5 ceremony Indiana State Senator Robert Meeks (left) presents the Sagamore of the Wabash, the state's highest honor, to Eldon Hostetler (in white coat) on behalf of Governor Mitch Daniels. Esta Hostetler is at right. Photo by Norman Kauffman |
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As he looks back over the many years of planning for his museum, Eldon Hostetler recalls that the path was not always smooth, and he encountered an occasional problem or two along the way. But he’s gratified by the positive comments made by the many visitors to the museum over the last couple months, and he feels that his efforts are justified by the pleasure that his cars bring to others. Says Eldon, “It was a ten year wait, and when it finally came to completion -- after the cars were in there and the lights were turned on -- it just proved itself!” At present, Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum displays only automobiles, but future plans call for Hudson-related artifacts to be exhibited, including signs, posters, photographs, models, advertising materials and technical literature. A gift shop selling automotive and Shipshewana-related items is already open, and the H-E-T Historical Society will soon be moving into offices at the museum as well. Admission to Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $6 for people in groups, $5 for military personnel and children aged 6 – 12, $3 for children aged 3 – 5, and free to children under 4. The museum is open daily (except holidays) from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It’s located on South Van Buren St. (Route 5), just south of the center of Shipshewana. http://www.hostetlershudsons.com/
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