Once upon a time in Ada
Once upon a time in Ada
Things you didn’t know about your own hometown
By Lee Crouse
[email protected]
July 1938 STANLEY MAIN FINDS “ADABILE” CENTER of SCIENTIFIC INTEREST- To Stanley Main, sixteen-year-old son of J. Stewart Main, goes the distinction of owning the first “Adabile,” probably the first automobile ever built here, and certainly the first and only one of its kind. The car was especially constructed for Stanley, a victim of infantile paralysis since childhood. A product of Ada’s best mechanical engineering genius, including such experts as Carl Luft, S.M. McCurdy, Harry Castle and J. Stewert Main, the illiputian vehicle is driven by a one horse power air-cooled gas engine. Most of the work was done by Carl Luft in the Luft & Gardner garage. The 74 inch streamlined body once served as a side car on an Indian motorcycle and is wide enough to seat two people. It has balloon tires and a wheel base of fifty-four inches. The operation of the car, which has a speed of about four miles per hour, is completely controlled by a steering tiller which also acts as a clutch lever.
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, June 27, 2025
- Michael E. High was a millwright
- Ada School board meeting scheduled for June 30
- Put a little more Ada in the Icon
- Big CAT makes short work of Main St. home
- Eight vehicle injury crash on I-75 near Bluffton
- Letter: Ask for veto of HB 96 library provision
- ODNR Offering Hunter Education Instructor Classes
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Monday, June 23, 2025
- Anna Marie Beagle taught at Allen East Elementary
- Updated trash pickup times during extreme heat
- Noteworthy dress rehearsal and concert with potluck, June 23 and 29
- Unconstitutional presidential action
- Hardin County Commissioners send letter objecting to HB 335
- Canvases create Ada Public Library art gallery
- Ada Athletic Boosters, Pony Pals Horse Club consult with Park board
- Upcoming APL events, June 23-28