Warning: Undefined array key "weather_location" in /homepages/6/d631178892/htdocs/clickandbuilds/2020folder/wp-content/plugins/jnews-weather/class.jnews-weather.php on line 64

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/6/d631178892/htdocs/clickandbuilds/2020folder/wp-content/plugins/jnews-weather/class.jnews-weather.php:64) in /homepages/6/d631178892/htdocs/clickandbuilds/2020folder/wp-content/plugins/jnews-weather/class.jnews-weather.php on line 66
A Presidential Revelation - Arlington Today Magazine
Saturday, March 25, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar
Arlington Today Magazine
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Arlington Today Magazine
Home Community

A Presidential Revelation

Adlai Pennington’s 1949 Packard is as historical as it is impressively crafted

Richard Greene by Richard Greene
March 4, 2023
in Community
0 0
0
A Presidential Revelation
0
SHARES
54
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When Adlai Pennington set out to find one of the last of Packard Motor Company’s prestige cars of the postwar period, he had no idea that the quest would result with him unexpectedly acquiring one of President Harry Truman’s limousines. 

 

Related posts

UTA’s Use of Plastic Road Material a First for Texas Highways

UTA’s Use of Plastic Road Material a First for Texas Highways

March 8, 2023
Mansfield Awarded Grant From Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission

Mansfield Awarded Grant From Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission

March 8, 2023

He located this unrestored 1949 classic in Houston, purchased it for $2,500, had it repainted and replaced the tattered upholstery.

 

Adlai’s eclectic collection, as we discovered when we featured his 1948 Pontiac Silver Streak a few months back, consists of a wide variety of vehicles, with almost all of them in the condition just as he found them.

 

The more original, the better. So, with only the new paint and seat covers, he proudly parked the Packard in his garage/man cave among the other autos in his collection that visitors are able to explore and admire.

 

However, that turned out to be only the beginning of the journey that led to the discovery that this car came from the Truman Presidency.

 

A Pennington family friend was getting married, and she asked Adlai if he would deliver her to the wedding in his sleek antique Custom 8 Packard that was bound to turn everyone’s head upon its arrival.

 

He gladly agreed – only the old limo never made it to the desired destination. En route it sputtered to a stop on the highway. With a fresh battery, Adlai was able to maneuver it into the parking lot at Mansfield’s Cinemark Theater, where it died again.

 

Fortunately, a backup plan was available just in case something like this happened. His

daughter was following in a SUV with the bridesmaids, so she was able to rescue the bride and get her to the altar. Adlai’s wife retrieved him from the parking lot so he could join the ceremony, and he left the Packard behind. It would be several days before arrangements could be made to get it going again, so it just sat there appearing, for all intents and purposes, as an old deserted car. Local authorities weren’t sure how to find its owner, but the Mansfield newspaper entered the picture and began to report on what had become the “Mystery Packard.”

 

A trace of the car’s vehicle identification number discovered it had been first delivered to the White House, where it joined the fleet of vehicles supporting the movements of the president. That finding, of course, became part of newspaper’s coverage. With the impressive pedigree now attached, it added an unexpected dimension to the saga of the mystery car, with the newspaper estimating its value at somewhere around $150,000.

 

It was then that Adlai made contact, identified himself as the rightful owner, brought in some help to get the car running again, and returned it to its place in his collection.

 

Harry Truman was born before the age of the automobile. Historians tell us he developed a fondness for cars as they progressed from the horseless carriage to modern vehicles that transformed the country. By the time he became the nation’s 33rd president, his travels were being provided by Secret Service men in the presidential sedans and convertibles moving from place to place and often in the presence of adoring crowds. 

 

Sometimes, maybe often, he insisted on driving the cars himself. He enjoyed doing that and, seeing how he was the president, he got what he wanted. There is, of course, no way of knowing if he ever drove this one. But it’s fun to imagine that he did.

 

So, when Adlai is sitting behind the steering wheel, like he is in the photo on page 50, he can visualize it as a seat once occupied by the man who helped to shape the world following the end of history’s most hellacious war.

 

It is entirely possible that Truman, along with members of his cabinet, foreign dignitaries and other famous figures of that time did, in fact, occupy the spacious limousine’s interior on their way to somewhere.

 

Among them may have been Adlai Stevenson, a close Truman friend who served on the committee in 1945 that led to the creation of the United Nations and would seek, with Truman’s endorsement, the presidency in 1952.

 

Coincidentally, Mr. Pennington just happens to be Stevenson’s namesake. Very likely, that makes him the second Adlai to occupy the car that can now, thanks to the local research of the “Mystery Packard,” rightfully be called famous.

Related Posts

  • Classic Car

    Read February 2022's Classic Car in the button below: Classic Car

  • Classic Car

    Read this month's edition of Classic Car in the button below: November CLASSIC CAR

  • A classic car retrospective

    We thought our readers might like to take a look back at some of the…

Tags: Classic Car
Stephanie A. Foster

Follow Us

  • Is your pet PAWfect? 🐾 Tell us about them! Send in a picture and a brief bio to info@arlingtontoday.com for a chance  to be featured in the magazine! 🐱🐶
  • Here’s a reason to smile! 😃 Sink your teeth into Fun Dentist Pediatric Dentistry! 🦷 Find out more at www.fundentist.com
  • Is major league golf ready “FORE” Arlington? Read all about the possible event coming to town in the link in our bio.
  • Make this Monday MARVELOUS with our look at Arlington’s Women in Business! Read this cover story in the link in our bio.
  • John Rhadigan is introducing us to the Rangers’ new skipper, Bruce Bochy! ⚾️ Read all about it in this month’s Speaking of Sports in our bio.
  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Arlington Today!☘️ Tell us how you’re celebrating around Arlington in the comments! 💚
  • Our new editor, Mark Bauer, is hitting the starting line! Read all about it in the link in our bio.
  • Mansfield’s parks are GRANTING your wildlife wishes! 🌳 Read all about it in the link in our bio.
  • UTA is making Texas highways greener! Read all about their “plastic roads” in the link in our bio.
  • 12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • March Scene

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Visionary Who Didn’t Give Up

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Boot-scootin’ Boogie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • In case of emergency: Mansfield Fire Department introduces the ‘Vial of Life’ initiative to keep residents on the ready

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Arlington Texas Area News and Events Magazine

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • UTA’s Use of Plastic Road Material a First for Texas Highways
  • Starting Line
  • Getting to Know Rangers’ New Skipper Bruce Bochy

Category

  • Arlington News
  • Business and Education
  • Commentary
  • Community
  • Design and Interiors
  • Featured
  • People
  • Scene
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellness

Recent News

UTA’s Use of Plastic Road Material a First for Texas Highways

UTA’s Use of Plastic Road Material a First for Texas Highways

March 8, 2023
Starting Line

Starting Line

March 8, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar

© 2023 Arlington Today - Designed by

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • Community
    • People
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Arlington Today - Designed by

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Add Arlington Today Magazine to your Homescreen!

Add