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PITTSBURG —
There used to be lots of cute little Crosleys on area streets, but it’s rare to see one now.
Unless, of course, Dan Knaup brings out his 1947 Crosley truck for a parade. Most recently, the small vehicle, co-owned by his wife, Nikki, drew applause in the Parade of Champions honoring the Pittsburg State University Gorillas national championship team.
It almost didn’t make the parade.
“I discovered the morning of the parade that the Crosley’s six-volt battery was shot,” said Knaup, who is director of rehabilitation at Sunset Manor, Frontenac. “Since I had already told several kids and parents that they could walk beside the truck in the parade, I felt I had no choice but to tow it up there and push it through the parade. It all worked out, and turned out to be a lot of fun.”
He said that some might think it appropriate that the Crosley had to be pushed through the parade.
“Those little cars were affectionately notorious for either leaking something or breaking down,” Knaup said.
He purchased the vehicle from a man in Kansas City five years ago.
“It was in awful shape and required a complete ground-up restoration,” Knaup said. “Parts were purchased from many sources, including the Crosley Auto Club, and everything eventually came together very nicely. Mike Sand, Pittsburg, did a wonderful job on the metal fabrication, and Tony Simon, Arma, did a great job on the wiring.”
He explained that his truck didn’t start out as an emergency vehicle.
“Crosley didn’t make a fire truck,” Knaup said. “This was a pick-up truck that was made into a fire truck.”
He has been a Crosley fan for many years.
“I surely caught the antique car ‘bug’ from my dad, Ray Knaup, who was an avid collector,” Knaup said. “My first Crosley was a 1949 station wagon that I purchased from the Kelly brothers in Girard for $50 when I was in high school.”
He has done extensive research on the history of the Crosley automobile, which he said was the brain child of Powel Crosley Jr. He and brother Lewis Crosley build a financial empire in and around Cincinnati in radios, refrigerators and other appliances. Knaup said the Crosley brothers were credited with producing the first radios for the common man and, in 1933, the first refrigerator that had shelves in its doors.
During World War II, the Crosleys manufactured products for the war effort, including proximity fuses and made several design improvements to them. The fuses were hailed as one of the top three product advances made during the war, along with the atomic bomb and radar. Gen. George Patton said that the fuses “won the Battle of the Bulge for us.”
There used to be lots of cute little Crosleys on area streets, but it’s rare to see one now.
Unless, of course, Dan Knaup brings out his 1947 Crosley truck for a parade. Most recently, the small vehicle, co-owned by his wife, Nikki, drew applause in the Parade of Champions honoring the Pittsburg State University Gorillas national championship team.
It almost didn’t make the parade.
“I discovered the morning of the parade that the Crosley’s six-volt battery was shot,” said Knaup, who is director of rehabilitation at Sunset Manor, Frontenac. “Since I had already told several kids and parents that they could walk beside the truck in the parade, I felt I had no choice but to tow it up there and push it through the parade. It all worked out, and turned out to be a lot of fun.”
He said that some might think it appropriate that the Crosley had to be pushed through the parade.
“Those little cars were affectionately notorious for either leaking something or breaking down,” Knaup said.
He purchased the vehicle from a man in Kansas City five years ago.
“It was in awful shape and required a complete ground-up restoration,” Knaup said. “Parts were purchased from many sources, including the Crosley Auto Club, and everything eventually came together very nicely. Mike Sand, Pittsburg, did a wonderful job on the metal fabrication, and Tony Simon, Arma, did a great job on the wiring.”
He explained that his truck didn’t start out as an emergency vehicle.
“Crosley didn’t make a fire truck,” Knaup said. “This was a pick-up truck that was made into a fire truck.”
He has been a Crosley fan for many years.
“I surely caught the antique car ‘bug’ from my dad, Ray Knaup, who was an avid collector,” Knaup said. “My first Crosley was a 1949 station wagon that I purchased from the Kelly brothers in Girard for $50 when I was in high school.”
He has done extensive research on the history of the Crosley automobile, which he said was the brain child of Powel Crosley Jr. He and brother Lewis Crosley build a financial empire in and around Cincinnati in radios, refrigerators and other appliances. Knaup said the Crosley brothers were credited with producing the first radios for the common man and, in 1933, the first refrigerator that had shelves in its doors.
During World War II, the Crosleys manufactured products for the war effort, including proximity fuses and made several design improvements to them. The fuses were hailed as one of the top three product advances made during the war, along with the atomic bomb and radar. Gen. George Patton said that the fuses “won the Battle of the Bulge for us.”
Powel Crosley, as owner of the Cincinnati Reds, had the first night game in major league history on May 24, 1925.
The visionary Powel was also experimenting with television as early as 1929 at WLW, the powerful radio station he owned.
But Powel Crosley had one more dream — that every American should be able to have an automobile.
“Building an automobile had been his dream since boyhood, and the small, economical Crosley was Powel’s vision and design alone,” Knaup said. “Several Crosley models were produced from 1946 to 1952 with a selling price well under $1,000.
“The unique engine featured the first U.S. overhead cam, 44 cubic inches and a whopping 26 horsepower,” Knaup said.
Sadly, the little Crosleys fell victim to the post-war craze for big cars. Still, the vehicles made their mark in history.
“The Crosleys had the first American sports car in 1949, the first disc brakes and overhead cam on a U.S. car, first sport utility vehicle and the first full-bed pick-up truck,” Knaup said.
There’s one more distinction as well.
“I may be prejudiced, but I think that my Crosley fire truck is the cutest fire truck in the world,” Knaup said.
