On EWAL, we have an opportunity to bring a piece of Le Mans to you, sharing in the Legend of Le Mans with guests from different eras of over 100 years of racing. We’re delighted to introduce 91-year-old William S. Jackson, one of the co-founders of the Society of Automotive Historians, who isn’t just a veteran of motorsports. From being drafted during the Cold War to racing alongside legends like Carroll Shelby and Sterling Moss, Bill’s journey to Le Mans is a tale of grit, ingenuity, and unexpected grace. On this special Veteran’s Day episode, we’re taking you back to 1958 to a time when racing was raw, personal, and deeply intertwined with the world’s shifting tides. You’ll hear how a flunked college career turned into a military path that led him to Germany, where a chance friendship with a former Luftwaffe pilot changed his view of war, peace and humanity. And you’ll ride shotgun as Bill recounts his time behind the wheel of a 1935 BMW 315 restored with reverence and raced with heart on the hallowed grounds of Le Mans.
Bio
Like most of us, William S. Jackson, became involved with automobiles at an early age. During the early 1950’s, he was a member Penn State University’s hot rod club, and in the mid-50’s he was racing in SCCA events with a Jaguar 120-M and some Morgans. After his military service, he completed his degree at Penn State and began a lifelong career in journalism. His editorship of major vintage car clubs magazines during the 1960’s and 70’s gives Bill credit as one the founders who launched the then-fledgling “old car hobby” turning it into the vibrant community and economic powerhouse that it is today.
Bill is a charter member of the Society of Automotive Historians, founded in October of 1969. And during the Annual SAH Awards Banquet in 2023 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bill presented his Auto-Biography to the banquet audience, including his recollections of the early days of the SAH; and the following recording was made by Bill, from that same script, in 2024.
Slides
Swipe left or right (or use the arrows/dots) to navigate through the presentation slides as you follow along with the episode.
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To learn more about or to become a member of the ACO USA, look no further than www.lemans.org, Click on English in the upper right corner and then click on the ACO members tab for Club Offers. Once you become a Member you can follow all the action on the Facebook group ACOUSAMembersClub; and become part of the Legend with future Evening With A Legend meet ups.
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Like most of us, William S. Jackson, became involved with automobiles at an early age. During the early 1950’s, he was a member Penn State University’s hot rod club, and in the mid-50’s he was racing in SCCA events with a Jaguar 120-M and some Morgans. After his military service, he completed his degree at Penn State and began a lifelong career in journalism. His editorship of major vintage car clubs magazines during the 1960’s and 70’s gives Bill credit as one the founders who launched the then-fledgling “old car hobby” turning it into the vibrant community and economic powerhouse that it is today. BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SAH.
Bill is a charter member of the Society of Automotive Historians, founded in October of 1969. And during the Annual SAH Awards Banquet in 2023 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bill presented his Auto-Biography to the banquet audience, including his recollections of the early days of the SAH; and the following recording was made by Bill, from that same script, in 2024
This episode is sponsored in part by: The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), And has been Edited, Remastered and Produced in partnership with the Motoring Podcast Network. JOIN THE SAH TODAY!
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It’s time to vote for Officers & Directors
Please open the Ballot and the Candidate Biographies linked below.
Using the email protocol specified on the ballot, email your ballot to: sahballots@gmail.com
Click here to open the downloadable Ballot
Click here to open the downloadable Candidate Biographies
Votes must be emailed by September 15, 2025
Your vote is important,
margins are often less than five votes between candidates.
PLEASE VOTE!
(DAY 2) Sunday, September 21
Golden Memories Car Show – Exclusively for original or authentically restored vehicles produced in 1975 or earlier
Flint Cultural Center [1 mile from Factory One]
1310 E Kearsley St., Flint MI 48503
9AM-4PM
Free of charge
(DAY 1) Saturday, September 20
Tour the Sloan Museum of Discovery – History and Durant Automotive Galleries
1221 E Kearsley St, Flint MI 48503
[1 mile from Factory One]
1PM – 3PM
$10 special rate
Tour of the Kettering Archives at Factory One
5PM-6PM
Free of charge
2025 Society of Automotive Historians Annual Award Banquet
Saturday, September 20, 2025
Durant-Dort Factory One
303 W. Water St., Flint Michigan 48503
6PM-9PM
Menu and cost TBA
Speaker: Jim Secreto, retired Detroit automotive photographer and collector extraordinaire of automotive advertising art. Using examples from his collection, Jim will talk about automotive illustration before the digital age.
A number of automotive-history activities are planned. We hope you will join us for a weekend of car talk and celebration.
(DAY 1) Saturday, September 20
Tour the Sloan Museum of Discovery – History and Durant Automotive Galleries
1221 E Kearsley St, Flint MI 48503
[1 mile from Factory One]
1PM – 3PM
$10 special rate
Tour of the Kettering Archives at Factory One
5PM-6PM
Free of charge
2025 Society of Automotive Historians Annual Award Banquet
Saturday, September 20, 2025
Durant-Dort Factory One
303 W. Water St., Flint Michigan 48503
6PM-9PM
Menu and cost TBA
Speaker: Jim Secreto, retired Detroit automotive photographer and collector extraordinaire of automotive advertising art. Using examples from his collection, Jim will talk about automotive illustration before the digital age.
(DAY 2) Sunday, September 21
Golden Memories Car Show – Exclusively for original or authentically restored vehicles produced in 1975 or earlier
Flint Cultural Center [1 mile from Factory One]
1310 E Kearsley St., Flint MI 48503
9AM-4PM
Free of charge
LODGING
Special-priced rooms are available for September 19 & 20 at two local hotels.
Mention the Society of Automotive Historians when making reservations.
Hilton Garden Inn Flint Downtown
110 W Kearsley St, Flint, MI 48502
810 233-9110
Short walk to Factory One
$139 per night
Reservations must be received by Friday, August 29
to receive special group rate.
Hyatt Place Flint-Grand Blanc
5481 Hill 23 Dr. Flint MI 48507
810 424-9000
12-minute drive to Factory One
$119 per night
Reservations must be received by Friday, August 29
to receive special group rate.
If you have questions or would like more information, contact Chris Lezotte.
The new issue of the SAH Journal has five issues in one #328 through #332, 80 pages vs. the usual 16 pages.
SAH Forums
Additionally, there’s a dedicated forum for the SAH within the AACA forums page. If for any reason this link doesn’t work on your platform, just go to:
forums.aaca.org then scroll down… just after the AACA section there’s a section header that says: “Other Automobile Enthusiasts” and “The Society of Automotive Historians” is the only group in that new section just before the Buick section. Click on The Society of Automotive Historians and you’ll enter the SAH topics page. Anyone can view all the posts on the forum, but like all forums, to post one needs to sign up. To sign up, just go to the upper right of the page and you’ll see the instructions to sign up, which will allow you to post on the all the forums on the site.
Searching for information on designer Jack Garnier
Jack Garnier was the last head of Nash Styling. He passed away in 2007, but I’m trying to find out information about his career before AMC and Nash, and also any photos of him or examples of his work as a car designer. Contact Patrick Foster: +203-877-6717 or email oldemilfordpress@msn.com
We welcome AutoMobilia Resource magazine—a new advertiser to the SAH Journal
Since 2018 AutoMobilia Resource magazine has been helping their readers relive history with great editorials about automotive memorabilia. They’ve put together an amazing group of industry professionals who write about history, current values, and the sheer joy of collecting. Each issue includes numerous feature articles on everything automotive from petroliana to model cars, vintage photography to vintage posters, pedal cars to hood ornaments and so much more. They also include detailed auction reports, industry news and up-to-date automobilia event and auction calendars.
AutoMobilia Resource prints 6x annually with quality photography and graphics on beautiful high-end paper stock. A print subscription is only $36 per year (6 issues) or $59 for 2 years (12 issues), and includes a free classified ad. Or you can subscribe to their digital flip edition. In fact, as a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, we’ve put together a special ‘gift’ link for you to ‘test drive’ their latest edition in digital flip format. We hope you like it as much as we do!
Membership Matters
IF you have not renewed your membership, did you know you could renew your membership right online?
Just go to the SAH’s website: autohistory.org – or, to get to the renewal page quickly, just click here.
[Please note: you’ll need your membership number to renew, which is included to the right of your name in parenthesis on the address “TO” line of this message above]
As a reminder, the SAH has introduced digital membership at the annual dues rate of $20. A digital member has all SAH member rights and privileges, but all media and communication is delivered (via these emails sent via “Constant Contact”) and available electronically via the SAH website, again at: autohistory.org.
Please note: while regular annual membership dues for North America (U.S. / Canada / Mexico) remains at $50, given ever increasing postage expenses, annual “Overseas” membership (all territories beyond U.S. / Canada / Mexico) has been set at $60.
Like all members, digital members have full access to the “members only” section of the website, which includes all the past issues of the SAH Journal and the Automotive History Review. From time-to-time, the SAH produces a printed member directory-while digital members will not receive a printed copy, the website has a member directory with full search capabilities. If digital members wish to purchase a directory as well as issues of other SAH publications, they are available at their given price plus postage.
Website Benefits: all members are entitled to access the “members only” section of the SAH website: autohistory.org. There, you will find portals to access all the issues of the SAH Journal and the Automotive History Review as well as other features, like the photos and images library; and the website will continue to expand its features and benefits.
Thank you for your time, attention, support, and membership in The Society of Automotive Historians!
The deadline for Cugnot-English, Benz, Friend of Automotive History, Brigham, Bradley, and Ingersoll award nominations is upon us. If you’ve read a good automotive book, article, or periodical; viewed a film, documentary, or television program that presented auto history in an engaging way; visited an exemplary auto museum or library; or know of someone who has made a profound individual contribution to automotive history community, then please submit a nomination to the SAH Awards Committee at sahawards@autohistory.org
Winners will be recognized at the annual SAH Awards Banquet in Flint, Michigan in September 2025. Submission requirements, as well as additional information on these awards, can be found here.
April 15th is the nomination deadline for these awards:
- NICOLAS-JOSEPH CUGNOT AWARD, ENGLISH
The Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Award, English is presented each year for one or more books that best advance the understanding of the history of the automobile in the English language. Consideration will be given to traditional automotive histories – books focused on cars, automakers, individuals, and events – as well as social histories of the automobile, which examine the effect of the automobile on society, culture, and everyday life. - CARL BENZ AWARD
The Carl Benz Award recognizes excellence in the presentation of automotive history appearing as an article in a periodical. Articles in all commercial, club, and academic periodicals are welcome to be nominated. The article must have appeared in a publication with an on-sale date within the previous calendar year. - RICHARD AND GRACE BRIGHAM AWARD
The Richard and Grace Brigham Award is presented to the commercial, institutional, or club automotive history periodical that represents the most exemplary editorial, graphic, and historical content published in the previous calendar year. Periodicals with an online-only presence are also eligible. Award evaluations are based on issues for the entire calendar year, rather than a single issue. - E.P. INGERSOLL AWARD
The E. P. Ingersoll Award is given for the best presentation of automotive history in media other than print. Film, television, video documentaries, oral histories, sound recordings, podcasts, websites, blogs, social media, cell phone and tablet apps, computer software, and art are eligible for consideration. - JAMES J. BRADLEY DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
The James J. Bradley Distinguished Service Award is presented by The Society of Automotive Historians to museums, archives, and libraries for exemplary efforts in preserving motor vehicle resource materials. - FRIEND OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY AWARD
The lifetime Friend of Automotive History (FOAH) Award recognizes an individual who has made a profound individual contribution to the automotive history community and the historical record.
June 15th is the nomination deadline for the Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Award, Language other than English (LOE), and the Richard P. Scharchburg Student Paper Award
The Society of Automotive Historians is pleased to announce the first SAH/Kettering Travel-to-Collections Grant recipient. Jennifer Eaglin PhD, an Associate Professor at Ohio State University, will use the grant to continue research for her upcoming book Auto Americas: A Hemispheric History of the Automobile. Congratulations to Dr. Eaglin!
Upon the completion of her travel-grant research stay, Dr. Eaglin will be presenting her findings at 12:15PM Thursday, June 5, 2025, on the Kettering University Campus in Flint, Michigan. SAH members are welcome to attend this presentation. If you are interested in attending in person, please email Chris Lezotte by end-of-day Thursday, April 3 so that the Kettering staff can arrange for additional space and parking.
The SAH/Kettering Travel-to-Collections Grant was established to offer support for scholars and students to use the Kettering University Archives collections for automotive research. The decision committee is composed of both Kettering faculty and SAH members. More information on the grant, as well as the submission process, can be found here. Further information on Dr. Eaglin can be found here.
The Society of Automotive Historians thanks member David Schmidt for serving on the inaugural SAH/Kettering Travel-to-Collections Grant selection panel.
THE PRESENTATION TO THE RECIPIENT OF THE INAUGURAL SAH/KETTERING TRAVEL-TO-COLLECTIONS GRANT WILL BE HELD JUNE 5, 2025 ON THE KETTERING UNIVERSITY CAMPUS – SAH MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.
America’s Packard Museum invites US-based SAH members to register to borrow books from their Turnquist Library. The Library holdings consist of over 3,500 books and more are added on a regular basis. The Library is named in honor of two Packard historians and friends of America’s Packard Museum, Robert and Sonia Turnquist. Seach the Library here. Register to borrow books here.
