The Wisconsin Society of Automotive Historians (WSAH), in addition to being a chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. (SAH) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society(www.wisconsinhistory.org). The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) is one of the most active historical societies in the nation and was established in 1846, two years before Wisconsin became a state.

While the majority of our members are Wisconsin residents, that is certainly not a requirement; we currently have members from four other states and welcome inquiries and membership from anyone, anywhere. The purpose of WSAH is to preserve, advance, and disseminate knowledge of the history of the automobile in Wisconsin, in the United States, and worldwide.

WSAH meetings are held three times a year, with established sites for the official Annual Meeting at the lola Old Car Show in July, at the Hill and Valley car show and tour in Cross Plains in September, and in April at The Wisconsin Automotive Museum (www.wisconsinautomuseum.com) in Hartford, home of the Kissel.  Other activities are varied and scheduled as they come about.

One of our major activities, and our primary fund-raiser, is our involvement with the Iola Old Car Show (www.iolaoldcarshow.com) where we are paid for our efforts along with more than 135 other non-profit organizations whose members volunteer. Since 1991 we have planned and staffed the Theme Exhibit section of the show, which involves displaying 200-300 vehicles (including up to 50 for a special exhibit under a tent) and selecting vehicles for the official poster and a variety of other promotional and collectible items including beer cans, pins and buttons, commemorative coins, and model car banks. We sell these items for the Car Show in the special exhibit tent where we display our SAH/WSAH banner and promote membership along with answering questions about the show and automotive history.

For several years we have given monetary support to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum, have donated to various Wisconsin historical projects, and have sponsored benches for the lola Old Car Show. We published the book "Wisconsin cars and Trucks: A Centenary" and produced the video "A Walk through Automotive History with Chet Krause" (Chet is the founder of Krause Publications - now F+W Media - and the Iola Old Car Show). We recently began a membership information exchange and are planning professionally produced videos of some prominent Wisconsin automotive-related personalities, collectors, collections, and businesses.


A few words about our WSAH logo, created in 1979: The "Spark" steam vehicle, developed by Dr. J.W. Carhart of Racine in 1871, is thought to be the first automobile in Wisconsin and, some say, in the United States. The silhouette was drawn from an early photograph and is set within an outline of Wisconsin.

 




For inquiries, please contact:

Ken Nimocks, WSAH
3765 Spring Green Road
Green Bay, Wl 54313-7565
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(920) 865-4004 home, (920) 655-2740 mobile