I know most of you are restoring or resto-rodding your Conestoga wagons, and as you know, my '54 Commander Ambulet ambulance is pretty faithfully restored. The interesting thing about an ambulance is that it's unique. It's not a car just like thousands manufactured just like it. A professional car is specific and is part of someone's or some town's history. And occasionally, one can luck out and talk to someone that knows and cares about that history. I got to find out a little more about the history of my Ambulet. If you're interested, read on.
The other day, I spoke with Mr. Max Venolken, from Nashwauk, MN. He called me and left a message that he was “the guy that drove that Studebaker ambulance into the city of Nashwauk the day it was brought home.” My Studebaker Ambulet is, of course, from Nashwauk.
Max said someone had shown him a photo of my Studebaker Ambulet in a magazine (apparently, Old Cars Weekly), and he found my number on the internet.
Max told me that he was the wrecker owner in Nashwauk in '54, he owned two wreckers. Mr. Frank Blair was a police officer. One night, Max and Frank were at an auto accident, and watched a friend of theirs die on the side of the road due to there not being an ambulance. Mr. Blair then decided to start an ambulance service for Nashwauk. This was the first ambulance in the city. Max said he was “about 17” when he started working for Blair (but he is 75 now, so he was probably 20).
They bought a Studebaker ambulance because “there was not much else to choose from, other than hearses.” Max said the ambulance was very fast with the V-8 motor, which was what they needed. He acknowledged that the Studebaker was pretty small, but OK for most patients. He said that “the big guys could bend their knees a little, then they’d fit OK.” He said Mr. Blair had some trouble driving the ambulance as he was a big fellow, so he had to sit bent over a bit. Max didn’t have a problem, as he’s “not but 5 feet tall”.
Max said they did not carry much equipment, just a small first aid kit. They did not carry oxygen or a resuscitator. He didn’t remember if they had a second stretcher.
Max said that Mr. Blair was concerned that the ambulance “didn’t attract enough attention”, so he soon added a “big, chrome, Federal siren” to the right front fender. With that siren and the siren on the roof, now it attracted enough attention for Mr. Blair. (When the shop was restoring my Ambulet, they found holes in the front fender they couldn't identify, which prompted my question to him about it).
Max said they kept the car for a few years and were very happy with it. They bought a ’61 Chevy wagon ambulance to replace it, and they sold the Studebaker at a local car auction. A guy and his two sons bought it, he thinks the sons probably added the extra chrome trim to it that was on it when I bought it. He didn’t know what happened to it after that.
Neat bit of history, and a great opportunity to talk with a man who drove my car when it was new. He and I pledged to keep in touch, and he has invited me to bring the Ambulet to their Fourth of July parade.