Model-T featured in 1958 ASU yearbook to return for 50th anniversary

Ken Swan of Selmer, Tenn. stopped off at Mapco with his Model T while on his way to ASU. (Democrat photo/Mark Randall)

The girls, who were from Phi Mu, were having a 1920's themed dance and wanted to know if they could borrow his car to use as a prop at the dance.

"When I came out of class and saw all those pretty girls by my car I thought 'Thank you, God!'" Swan said. "I told them they could use it, but only if I could come to the party. They said 'okay.'"

Somebody from the campus newspaper snapped a picture of the girls posing with his car which ended up in the 1958-59 year book.

The car -- which is still on the road and in pristine shape after 87 years - will be making its way back to ASU later this year for another photo shoot with the girls from Phi Mu, almost 50 years to the day from when the original photograph was taken.

Swan, who now lives in Selmer, Tenn. but grew up in Jonesboro and Marked Tree, stopped off at Mapco in Trumann last week with the car while on his way to meet with officials at ASU.

"When I found out the school was celebrating its 100th anniversary, I contacted the Alumni Association," Swan said. "They have identified everyone in the picture and they're going to try and get them all back together."

Members of Phi Mu sorority pose in Ken Swan's 1922 Model T Ford touring car at a Roaring 20s party in this 1958 yearbook photo. (Photo courtesy of Ken Swan)

Swan said his brother found the car parked in a chicken barn in Dover, Ark. in the summer of 1958 and bought it for $25.

They smeared some black "stove pipe" paint on the body to spruce it up, covered the seats in red plastic, cobbled together some wheels and drove it 200 miles back home.

"It still had chicken manure in it," Swan said.

He drove the car to school his senior year in Marked Tree then used it to get to class during the two years he attended ASU.

"This was my only transportation," Swan said. "I stayed with my grandmother in Jonesboro. They owned a farm over near where the fair grounds are."

The car has been a passion of his ever since then.

He's taken it apart bolt by bolt over the years and has completely restored it.

Ford produced 15 million Model-T's from 1908 through 1927. About half a million of the cars still exist today in some shape or another, but only about 300,000 are still on the road.

Swan said he still marvels at how well built the Model-T's were and the history behind them.

"I've got the same carburetor, the same generator and the same starter," Swan said. "It's a unique car. It was the car of its times. The Model-T literally changed everything from how you are, where you are, what you eat, to what you drive and where you live. Henry Ford set the world in motion with his manufacturing technique and relentless drive to put a car out there that people could afford."

The Model-T only cost about $250 in those days, he said. Ford even offered financing.

Swan said he and his wife love to hit the road in their classic.

"It's more than just a love affair," Swan said. "It's a passion."

They have driven it everywhere from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico and been across the country from Ohio to California.

And everywhere they go, people still stop, stare and get their cameras out.

"We'll be driving down the road and people will honk and wave or slow down and take pictures," Swan said.

The car cruises along at about 35 miles per hour.

"It takes exactly twice as long to get where you're going," he added.

Swan said he is excited to bring the car back to ASU for the momentous occasion.

"It's going to be a once it a lifetime event for me," Swan concluded. "And the fact that the car is still around 50 years later is just amazing."